School board seats uncontested in Sonoma, Napa. This is what it means for local education

Only nine of the 101 seats on the Sonoma County School Board up for election on Nov. 5 are contested — that’s less than 10%. In Napa County, only four of 16 seats have challengers, all within the same district.

There are no candidates or only one candidate for the remaining seats, meaning most residents of Sonoma and Napa counties will not vote for their school board representatives this year.

According to the California School Boards Association, school boards determine the direction of a school district and ensure accountability. Community involvement is necessary for their success. But a number of factors seem to be driving people away — from verbal attacks on board members and a lack of incentives to serve, to the way districts are divided.

This situation is not unique to Wine Country.

A statewide analysis by EdSource revealed that more than 50% of California school board races are not on the ballot this election. In Sonoma, which has 40 school districts, and Napa, which has five, the trend appears even more acute.

“It’s very difficult to be part of local government,” said David McCuan, a professor of political science at Sonoma State University. “It’s demanding and a difficult environment. And then the school boards have become a focal point for political and culture wars that have driven people away.”

Aggression during meetings

McCuan said specifically about Sonoma County School board members are regularly victims of verbal attacksespecially in the ‘Zoom era’.

“This prevents people from taking action unless they have an agenda. The next generation of leaders don’t know if this is worth it or if they can really make the changes they think are needed,” he said.

Echoing him, Julie Aiello, board president of the West Sonoma County Union High School District, said it is “extremely unpleasant” when people come to meetings and are aggressive or insulting toward board members. This happened, for example, when her district decided to do so closes El Molino High in 2021.

“When people start yelling at you and saying horrible things, it’s hard not to say, why am I doing this? We need to have more civil dissent without taking advantage of the people who volunteer to be on the school board,” she said.

Aiello chose not to hold these elections, largely due to the time commitment required to serve on a school board. There is one candidate – Rio Kuteira – running for the seat she currently occupies, who will be elected unopposed.

General elections to area-based elections

West Sonoma County Union High School District, along with Petaluma City Schools and Rincon Valley Union School District, is transitioning this election from at-large to area-based elections.

In a general election, candidates run through the entire district and voters vote for all seats. In area-based elections, voters only vote for their seat in the area and candidates must live in the area they wish to represent.

Several school districts and city councils have opted for this change to increase diversity and ensure that local government is more representative of its constituents.

But this could also be a reason for reduced participation in elections, according to McCuan, mainly due to a lag effect where people take the time to understand where the boundaries are.

Petaluma City Schools Trustee Sheldon Gen is completing his term this year and has opted not to run for re-election.

“It’s harder to find candidates within these smaller areas,” he said. “I asked about ten people to run for the seat I am vacating, all excellent people who can strengthen public education in their own way, but they all said no.

“Still, I think it (area-based elections) is a positive change overall.”

Only one candidate – union organizer Ryan Williams – is running for the seat of Gen, and will be elected unopposed.

Remote regions

In more remote regions or smaller districts, there are often fewer candidates running for office, simply because a smaller population means a smaller pool.

This appears to be the case in Napa County’s uncontested school board races.

Of the five school districts, four have uncontested races. Only Napa Valley Unified, the largest district in the county, has four available seats, all of which are contested. With the recent school closures and the controversial Mayacamas charter school issue is that community opinions within the current administration are polarized and at least two challengers are running directly as a result of their dissatisfaction with the handling of these matters.

In contrast, Howell Mountain Elementary School District, located in Angwin and with a student body of fewer than 100, has all five seats up for grabs with only two candidates running for them.