COUNTY: County Superintendent of Schools (Non-Partisan) – 2026 Primary

VOTER GUIDE – QUICK LINKS TO:

PAY ATTENTION TO THIS RACE!

OMG, there’s DRAMA going on here!

And, OMG again! Look at the endorsements of the candidate at the bottom of the page. “Non-partisan” races are where the book banners and worse sneak into public office.

County Superintendent of Schools (Non-partisan) – Vote for (1)

Watch the video above here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQZC_AgeeB0

CESAR MORALES – Incumbent, but maybe not for long.

RECOMMENDATION: NO! Last election – we had asked people to vote for this guy. Not this time!

Back to Top

(Update (06/25/26): Anonymous Mommy’s research has led to more information as to what guardrails need to be added to this office in the future: (https://www.facebook.com/a.anonymous.mommy/posts/pfbid02vAZAt3DRToYPpNxndhq68pW3P9brqNEQN4qitjZbB4PgPWs7W4aD6b3wXioxmsscl)

(05/12/26) A community advocate that we respect – Anonymous Mommy – has created a compilation of all her investigations into multiple alleged shenanigans of this candidate.

Here’s just one of the issues she’s been researching…Dr. Morales is now engaged to Misty Key, his VCOE Deputy Superintendent of Fiscal Services.

Why is this a problem?

(Anonymous Mommy) “At a February 2026 endorsement meeting, Morales reportedly stated that county legal advised there was no conflict so long as he did not directly evaluate Key’s performance (he never produced that legal statement by the way … and when board trustees expressed concerns — he told them they don’t have authority over personnel decisions). Shortly afterward, he promoted an associate superintendent to deputy superintendent of student services — so that Key could be evaluated by someone other than her fiancé. It’s pretty much unheard of for deputy superintendents to evaluate one another … more than that, it’s actually highly unusual for a county office of Ventura County’s size to have two deputy superintendents (very well compensated positions, mind you). Go us, paying for Dr. Morales’ fucked up sex life escapades.” 

She also details the little issue of a $17,000 bonus that he shouldn’t have received. Her research has led to this…

Which led to this:

(Anonymous Mommy) “Update: I have confirmed that current Ventura County Board of Education Trustee Mike Teasdale has officially pulled his endorsement of Dr. Morales.

The board of trustees, as you know, have retained legal counsel and held a special meeting in closed session last Friday, which also included legal counsel for Dr. Morales, related to the allegations that currently plague Dr. Morales, especially those surrounding the matter of undisclosed bonus payments.

Teasdale has previously shared support for Morales, and made a significant donation to Morales’ campaign earlier this year.”

Samples of Endorsements here.

Julia BrownleySALUD CARBAJAL
Ventura Co. Professional FirefightersVentura Co. Professional Firefighters

Source: https://www.vcstar.com/story/news/education/schoolwatch/2023/09/14/ventura-county-community-college-district-settle-misconduct-claims-president-trustee/70852015007/

SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENTSSCHOOL LEADERS
Marlene Batista – Superintendent, Mupu School DistrictDarlene Bruno – Board Member, Hueneme Elementary School District
Dr. Kelly Castillo – Superintendent, Oceanview School DistrictEfrain Cazares – Board Member, Ocean View School District
Dr. Antonio Castro – Superintendent, Ventura Unified School DistrictDebra Cordes – Board Member, Oxnard School District (retired)
Dr. Danielle Cortes – Superintendent, Pleasant Valley School DistrictDr. Jerry Dannenberg – Board Member, Ventura Unified School District
Dr. Jeff Davis – Superintendent, Oak Park Unified School District (retired)Wayne Edmonds – Board Member, Oxnard Union High School District (retired)
Dr. Ana DeGenna – Superintendent, Oxnard School DistrictDr. Francisco Escobedo – Member, California State Board of Education
Dr. Carlos Dominguez – Superintendent, Briggs School DistrictTommy Frutos – Board Member, Santa Paula Unified School District
Dr. David Gomez – Superintendent, Santa Paula High School District (retired)Kathy Smith – Board Member, Ojai Unified School District
Dr. Sherrill Knox – Superintendent, Ojai Unified School DistrictBexy Gomez – Board Member, Hueneme Elementary School District
Dr. Rich Malfatti – Superintendent, Somis School District (retired)Tricia Gradias – Board Member, Fillmore Unified School District
Dr Jason Peplinkski – Former Superintendent, Simi Valley Unified School DistrictSoyon Hardy – Board Member, Oak Park Unified School District
Dr. John Puglisi – Superintendent, Rio School DistrictDenise Helfstein – Board Member, Oak Park Unified School District
Dr. Raul Ramirez – Superintendent, Mesa Union School DistrictCynthia Salas – Board Member, Oxnard School District
Christine Schiefferle – Superintendent, Fillmore Unified School DistrictMonica Madrigal Lopez – Board Member, Oxnard School District
Dr. Jesus Vaca – Superintendent, Somis Union School DistrictBrian Melanephy – Board President, Oxnard School District
Dr. Christine Walker – Superintendent, Hueneme School DistrictOlivia Palacio – Board President, Fillmore Unified School District
Jeff Weinstein – Superintendent, Santa Paula Unified School DistrictEleanor Torres – Board Member, Rio School District
Anais Wenn – Superintendent, OakPark Unified School DistrictLucy Rangel – Board Member, Fillmore Unified School District

ENDORSED KAREN SHER – Governing Board Member Oxnard Union High School District – YES!

RECOMMENDATION: YES! Time to break the cycle of whatever-hellfire is currently going on at the VCOE offices and get some competent, smart leadership.

Back to Top

  • Karen Sher
  • Age: 
  • City of residence: 
  • Occupation: Governing Board Member Oxnard Union High School District
  • Education: –
  • Funding:
  • Website: https://sherforschools.com

Samples of Endorsements here.

GOOD club
SIMI VALLEY DEM
Cause action fund
Fiona Ma
Amber Thompson
Community Leader		KC Rodriguez
Arts Commissioner		Deborah Meyer-Morris Attorney / Disability Advocate
Central Coast Labor Council
VENTURA COUNTYOXNARD
Josh Chancer, Ventura County Community College District Board of TrusteesLuis McArthur, Mayor
Kathy Long, Ventura County Supervisor (ret.)Gabe Teran, Oxnard Mayor Pro Tem
Ryan Valencia, Ventura County Democratic Party Chair (ret)Michaela Perez, City Council
Celia Daniels, President, Ventura County Stonewall Democratic ClubGabriela Rodriguez, City Council
RL Miller, Democratic National Committee (ret.)Gabriela Basua, City Council
CAMARILLOGenevieve Flores-Haro, Assoc. Director, MICOP VP, Oxnard Union High School District School Board of Trustees
Dr. Martita Martinez-Bravo, Vice Mayor, City CouncilLinda Baker Torres, Oxnard Union High School District Trustee
Susan Santangelo, City CouncilMary Anne Rooney, Port of Hueneme
Bev Dransfeldt, Pleasant Valley Rec & Park Board of DirectorsDr. Gary Davis, Oxnard Union High School District School Board of Trustees & Former OUHSD Superintendent (ret.)
Jordan Roberts, Pleasant Valley Rec & Park Board of Directors (ret.)Dr. Gary Davis, Oxnard Union High School District School Board of Trustees & Former OUHSD Superintendent (ret.)
Doug McDowell, Pleasant Valley School District TrusteeDr. Joe Mendoza, VCOE Director, Migrant Education (ret.)
PORT HUENEMEDr. Debra Salgado, Oxnard Union High School District, Asst. Sup., HR (ret.)
Martha McQueen, MayorRIO SCHOOL DISTRICT
Laura Hernandez, Mayor Pro TemAlesia Martin, Rio School District Board of Trustees
Jess Lopez, City CouncilKristine Anderson, Rio School District Board of Trustees
Bobby Martinez, Mayor (ret.)SIMI VALLEY
SANTA PAULARuth Luevanos, City Council (ret.)
Pedro Chavez, Councilmember & former Mayor Sofya Bagdasaryan,  Simi Valley Unified School District Trustee (ret.)
Nathan Ramos Rodriguez, Santa Paula Unified School District TrusteeJoe Ayala, VP of Communications Workers of America, Local 53
VENTURAVENTURA SCHOOL DISTRICT
Liz Campos, City CouncilJames Forsythe, President, Ventura Unified School District
Ryyn Schumacher, City CouncilShannon Fredericks, VP, Ventura Unified School District Trustee
Carl Morehouse, Mayor (ret.)Matt Almarez, Ventura Unified School District Trustee (ret.)

MAGGIE MARSCHNER – Educator and something else!

RECOMMENDATION: NOOOOO! – Holy smokes! Transfixed by the drama over at the VCOE, many may have missed that Maggie is being endorsed by a grab bag of right-wing extremists, including Moms-For-Liberty-endorsed Sonja Shaw, a terrifying candidate running for the State Superintendent of Schools job. And Ms. Marschner got 4 STARS from the Election Forum, which is not a good sign for us!

Conservative groups encourage candidates to run in “non-partisan” races to build their name recognition. This is especially evident in boards concentrating on education, where they can push hot-topic cultural issues like banning books and torturing LGBTQ+ kids.

Back to Top

Samples of Endorsements here.

Sonja Shaw
Pres., Board of Education, Chino Valley USD
Moms-For-Liberty
candidate

Oh, dear!

4 stars! Oh, boy. She is rated “Very good” by some far-right people.

We’re guessing she earned her 4-star rating by answering this version of their questionnaires. RED HIGHLIGHTS are ours!

ELECTION FORUM QUESETIONNAIRE

Election Forum Candidate Endorsement Questionnaire for School Board

Dear Candidate,

Congratulations on your decision to run for office.

For over 20 years, the ElectionForum.org has conducted California election forums where we make specific candidate recommendations.

Last election cycle we had about 1 million voters following our endorsements, many in your district.

Besides conducting a dozen live Election Forums and several webinars giving endorsements, we will be posting our endorsements of candidates on our four websites, emailing and publicizing our recommendations to several hundred thousand California voters.

In addition, our recommendations are also broadcast on radio stations.

In your office we will either say:

  • Endorsed…Giving you a 1 to 5 star rating
  • Not endorsed
  • Refused to disclose position

I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully giving you our endorsement.

    1. What is your name and what office are you running for?
    2. What are the three (3) most pressing issues facing the school district? Please prioritize them. What if anything do you plan to do about them if you are elected to the position of governing board member? What specific promises will you make to the voters in order to be elected?
      (1)
      (2)
      (3)
    3. Do you support or oppose the Transgender Bathroom Bill (AB1266) signed into law by Governor Brown? Why or Why not?
    4. There a drop out problem in our schools. What can we do about it?
    5. Do you favor or oppose the expansion of charter schools within the school district? Why or why not? Do you favor or oppose the use of voucher system within the public school system? Why or Why not?
    6. Do you believe there is a place for celebrations of religious holidays and singing religious music in holiday programs? What would you support and allow and what should be excluded from the school?
    7. When teaching science, should alternatives to evolution (such as Intelligent Design) be taught in public schools? Should individual instructors be given leeway to teach both points of view? Or should only the accepted theories of evolution be taught without mentioning the scientific objections to the theory?
    8. Do you favor or oppose new taxes, fees, or bonds?
    9. Will you support or oppose those choosing homeschooling?
    10. What national politician do you admire the most and why?
    11. What does Critical Race Theory mean to you and what are your thoughts about the teaching of Critical Race Theory in public school?
    12. What are your thoughts about transgender boys playing in girls’ sports and dressing in girls’ locker rooms?
    13. Should teachers be teaching values to students and should they be telling students what to believe and what to think or should they merely be teaching the subject matter?
    14. Who should have final control over the content of a child’s education, including the books they read?
    15. Do you believe in absolute truth? Why or why not?  If you believe in absolute truth, what is the source of absolute truth?  If you do not believe in absolute truth, how do you determine what is true?

Back to Top

VOTER GUIDE – QUICK LINKS TO: