Only nine of the 101 Sonoma County School Board seats up for election in the Nov. 5 election are contested, or less than 10 percent. In Napa County, only four of the 16 seats have challengers, all in the same district.

The remaining seats either have no candidates or only one candidate, meaning most people in Sonoma and Napa counties will not vote for their school board representatives this year.

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

This situation is not unique to Wine Country.

A statewide analysis by EdSource found that more than 50% of school elections in California were not on the ballot this election. In Sonoma, which has 40 school districts, and Napa, which has five, the trend seems even more acute.

“Being in local government is really difficult,” said David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University. “It’s demanding and it’s a difficult environment. And then, with school boards, they became a hotbed of political and cultural wars that drove people away. »

Aggression during meetings

Speaking specifically about Sonoma County, McCuan said school board members are regularly subject to verbal attacksespecially in the age of “Zoom”.

“It discourages people from getting started unless they have a program. The next generation of leaders don’t know if it’s worth it or if they can actually make the changes they think are necessary,” he said.

Echoing him, Julie Aiello, president of the West Sonoma County Union High School District board, said it was “extremely off-putting” when people came to meetings and were aggressive or abusive toward members. of the board of directors. This happened, for example, when his district decided to close El Molino High School 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 disagreement without abusing people who volunteer to serve on the school board,” she said.

Aiello chose not to run in this election, largely because of the time demands of being a school board member. There is one candidate – Rio Kuteira – vying for the seat she currently occupies, who will be elected unopposed.

Generally in regional elections

The West Sonoma County Union High School District, along with Petaluma City Schools and the Rincon Valley Union High School District, are moving this election from a general election to a regional election.

In the case of a general election, candidates run across the entire constituency and the electorate votes for all seats. In regional elections, voters only vote for their regional seat and candidates must reside in the region they wish to represent.

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

But it could also be a reason for reduced voter turnout, according to McCuan, particularly because of a lag effect in which people take time to understand where the zone boundaries are.

Petaluma City Schools Trustee Sheldon Gen is finishing his term this year and has chosen not to run again.

“It’s harder to find candidates in these smaller areas,” he said. “I asked about 10 people to run for the seat I am vacating, all excellent people who can strengthen public education in their own way, but everyone said no.

“However, overall I think (the regional elections) are a positive change. »

Only one candidate – union organizer Ryan Williams – is running for Gen’s seat and will be elected unopposed.

Remote areas

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

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

Of its five school districts, four have uncontested races. Only Napa Valley Unified, the county’s largest district, has all four of its available seats contested. With recent school closures and Controversial Mayacamas Charter School community opinion is polarized within the current board and at least two challengers are running directly due to their dissatisfaction with the handling of these issues.

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