Yakima School District elections (2013)

2013 Yakima School District Elections
General Election date:
November 5, 2013
Table of Contents
About the district Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links References
See also
Washington Yakima School District

Three seats were up for election on the Yakima Board of Directors. Seats in Positions 1, 2 and 4 were on the ballot on November 5, 2013. The district is dealing with low test scores, rising enrollment and a dwindling reserve fund. The Position 1 race has attracted attention as challenger Jeni Rice defeated incumbent Graciela Villanueva despite withdrawing from the race in September. Walt Ranta and Raymond Navarro, Jr. ran unopposed and won seats in Positions 2 and 4.

About the district

See also: Yakima School District, Washington

Yakima School District in Yakima County is located in south-central Washington about 60 miles south of Mount Rainier. The population of Yakima was 243,231 according to the 2010 U.S. Census.

Demographics

Yakima lags behind state averages for higher education achievement, median income and poverty rate. The percentage of city residents over 25 years old with undergraduate degrees (16.0%) is below the state average (31.4%). The 2010 U.S. Census calculated Yakima's median income at $44,419 while the state median income was $58,890. Yakima had a poverty rate of 21.4% in the 2010 U.S. Census while the state rate was 12.5%.

Racial Demographics, 2012
Race	Yakima (%)	Washington (%)
White	88.4	77.3
Black or African American	1.4	3.6
American Indian and Alaska Native	5.7	1.5
Asian	1.4	7.2
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.2	0.6
Two or More Races	2.8	4.7
Hispanic or Latino	46.3	11.2

Presidential Voting Pattern
Year	Democratic Vote (%)	Republican Vote (%)
2012	42.9	54.5
2008	43.6	54.1
2004	39.1	59.5
2000	36.2	56.0

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Method of board member selection

The Yakima Board of Directors consists of five members who are elected at-large to four-year terms. There was no primary election on August 6, 2013 and the general election for Positions 1, 2 and 4 was held on November 5, 2013. Seats in Positions 3 and 5 were up for election on November 3, 2015.

Elections in Washington require candidates to pay filing fees equal to 1% of a position's annual salary. Board members in Yakima can be reimbursed up to $4,800 for district activities but do not receive salaries, which eliminates the filing fee. Candidates were required to file nominating petitions by May 17, 2013 to qualify for the November ballot. Each candidate could also submit a photo and statement of 100 words or less by May 24, 2013 for the local voters' pamphlet.

Position 1

• Graciela Villanueva
  • Incumbent
  • Graduate, Heritage University and Washington State University
  • Recruiting manager, Yakima Valley Farm Workers Clinic
• Jeni Rice
  • Graduate, California State University-Bakersfield
  • Testing coordinator, Yakima Valley Community College

Position 2

• Walt Ranta
  • Incumbent
  • Graduate, Central Washington State College
  • Retired

Position 4

• Raymond Navarro, Jr.
  • Incumbent
  • Graduate, Central Washington University and National Apostolic Bible College
  • GEAR UP coordinator, University of Washington
  • Veteran, U.S. Army

Results

Yakima Board of Directors, Four-year term, Position 1, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Jeni Rice	61.2%	5,278
	Nonpartisan	Graciela Villanueva Incumbent	38%	3,280
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.8%	65
Total Votes				8,623
Source: Yakima County Auditor, "Cumulative Report," November 26, 2013

Yakima Board of Directors, Four-year term, Position 2, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Walt Ranta Incumbent	97.1%	7,271
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	2.9%	215
Total Votes				7,486
Source: Yakima County Auditor, "Cumulative Report," November 26, 2013

Yakima Board of Directors, Four-year term, Position 4, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Raymond Navarro, Jr. Incumbent	96.4%	7,019
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	3.6%	265
Total Votes				7,284
Source: Yakima County Auditor, "Cumulative Report," November 26, 2013

Campaign finance

No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election, according to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission.

Past elections

2011

Yakima Board of Directors, Position 3, November 8, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	John Vornbrock Incumbent	98%	8,570
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	2%	177
Total Votes				8,747
Source: Yakima County Auditor

Yakima Board of Directors, Position 4, November 8, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	David Garcia	96.5%	7,847
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	3.5%	286
Total Votes				8,133
Source: Yakima County Auditor

Yakima Board of Directors, Position 5, November 8, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Martha Rice Incumbent	97.6%	8,334
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	2.4%	203
Total Votes				8,537
Source: Yakima County Auditor

What was at stake?

Incumbents Walt Ranta and Raymond Navarro, Jr. ran for re-election to the board without opposition. Challenger Jeni Rice dropped out of the race for the Position 1 seat against incumbent Graciela Villanueva in September to pursue a professional opportunity. Rice's name remained on the ballot and voters overwhelmingly selected her for the Position 1 seat. She has indicated that she will accept the position despite her withdrawal. Villanueva argued that Rice won the election because voters confused the challenger with current board member Martha Rice. The incumbent also alleged that voters rejected her re-election bid because of local discrimination against Hispanics.

Budget shortfall

The district will be challenged by growing enrollment, slow revenue growth and increased demands on the annual budget. District schools have seen a 5.3% increase in total enrollment between 2008 and 2012. The 2013-2014 budget approved by the Board of Directors on August 20, 2013 requires an infusion of reserve funds to fill a $11.3 million shortfall. Budget discussions revealed that the district saw a 8% increase in revenue over the previous budget year but a 12% increase in expenses.

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Yakima Board of Directors election in 2013:

Deadline	Event
April 29, 2013	First day to file nominating petitions by mail
May 13, 2013	First day to file nominating petitions online or in-person
May 17, 2013	Last day to file nominating petitions
May 24, 2013	Last day to submit photo and candidate statement for local voters' pamphlet
August 6, 2013	Primary day
November 5, 2013	Election day
November 26, 2013	Certification of vote results by county
December 5, 2013	Certification of vote results by state

Additional elections on the ballot

The Yakima Board of Directors election shared the ballot with other local elections. Voters in Yakima chose three members of the City Council and two judges for the Yakima Municipal Court. There were also two statewide initiatives and five advisory votes on the November 5, 2013 ballot.

See also

• Washington
• Yakima School District, Washington
• List of school board elections in 2013
• Yakima County, Washington ballot measures
• Financial policies, education standards at stake in November school board elections
• School board election wrap-up: Incumbents re-elected overwhelmingly in November 5 elections
• School board elections review: Voters opt for experience over new blood in nation's largest school districts

External links

Suggest a link

• District page
• Yakima County Auditor