California voters are choosing the next state superintendent of public instruction Tuesday, closing a primary race that has yet to produce a clear front-runner among a crowded field of candidates seeking to lead the nation’s largest public school system.
Ten candidates are competing for the nonpartisan office, which oversees California’s roughly 10,000 public K-12 schools. The next superintendent will take office at a pivotal moment for education, as districts contend with artificial intelligence in classrooms, uncertain state funding, declining enrollment, uneven test scores and other pressures affecting schools from the Inland Empire to the Bay Area.
The future authority of the office is also uncertain. In January, Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed changing California’s education governance structure in a way that would significantly reduce the superintendent’s responsibilities. Under the proposal, more decision-making power would shift to the 11-member State Board of Education, whose members are appointed by the governor, and to a new education commissioner. The superintendent would function more as a public advocate for education policy.
Newsom has said the change would simplify a bureaucracy he has described as cumbersome and difficult to navigate, while improving transparency and accountability. He has also argued it would bring California more in line with how most other states manage education. Candidates for superintendent have sharply criticized the idea, saying it would weaken voters’ influence and concentrate too much power in the governor’s office.
Both Newsom and current Superintendent Tony Thurmond are completing their terms this year.
The race has been notably quiet compared with previous contests for the office, which have often drawn major spending and sharp debates over charter schools. In an April statewide survey by the Public Policy Institute of California, no candidate had more than 10% support, and 32% of voters remained undecided. As of last week, no candidate had raised more than a few hundred thousand dollars.
That is a sharp contrast with the 2018 race between Thurmond and Marshall Tuck, a former charter school executive, which drew more than $50 million in contributions.
This year, one of the biggest surprises has been the alignment of two groups that have historically been on opposite sides of California’s education battles. The California Teachers Association and the California Charter Schools Association both endorsed Richard Barrera, a San Diego Unified School District board member who was not widely known outside San Diego before the campaign. Both organizations cited his record on the school board and his support for public education.
The joint endorsement reflects a shift in the politics surrounding the superintendent’s race. For much of the past two decades, charter schools dominated campaigns for the office and helped drive millions of dollars in spending. This year, the issue has received far less attention, likely because charter school enrollment appears to have leveled off and both charter and traditional public schools are facing many of the same challenges.
Another closely watched candidate is Sonja Shaw, president of the Chino Valley Unified School District board in San Bernardino County. Shaw drew statewide attention in 2023 after clashing with Thurmond over privacy rights for transgender students. She has centered her campaign on policies opposing LGBTQ+ protections in schools. In the April poll, Shaw was tied with Barrera.
Other prominent candidates include Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi, a former chair of the Assembly Education Committee; Josh Newman, a former chair of the Senate Education Committee; Anthony Rendon, a former Assembly speaker and longtime early childhood education program administrator; Nichelle Henderson, a member of the Los Angeles Community College District Board of Trustees; and Ainye Long, a teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District.
The state superintendent position is nonpartisan and pays $210,460 a year.
Original source: CalMatters
