SDUSD Reform Ballot Comes Up Short on Valid Signatures

Supporters of a proposal to reform the governing structure of the San Diego Unified School District, which includes the five public schools in La Jolla, was not able to gather enough valid signatures to qualify a ballot measure earlier this week.

Members of San Diegans 4 Great Schools needed more than 93,000 valid signatures but only had 90,000, according to the San Diego City Clerk’s office. The organization submitted more than 129,000 signatures. The clerk’s office reported that 22,520 who signed the petition were not registered to vote and another 14,746 signatures were duplicates.

The ballot measure aimed to add four appointed members to the five-person Board of Education. Current members are Scott Barnett, who represents the schools in La Jolla, Richard Barrera, Kevin Beiser, John Lee Evans, and Sheila Jackson. The proposal also called for 12-year term limits.

“We’re very disappointed to learn that our measure failed to qualify for the ballot,” said Scott Himelstein, a support of the measure. “However, we’re proud that we started an important conversation on school reform and we hope to see it continue.”

City News Service contributed to this report.