CA-ED: California voters are about to elect a new state superintendent. It's barely on the radar

[RandySF]

The primary for the state’s top K-12 schools job is in less than a month, but judging from the polls, it’s debatable whether anyone is paying attention.

A whopping 32% of voters are undecided with just a few weeks until the June 2 primary for state superintendent of public instruction, according to a recent poll by the Public Policy Institute of California. In the past, it’s been one of the state’s hottest races, with millions of dollars in spending.

Among the dozen or so candidates, none had more than 10% of voters’ support, meaning that the race is essentially a 10-way tie.

“There’s no lack of qualified candidates, but previous elections had an urgency and a sense that who won really mattered,” said Morgan Polikoff, an education professor at USC. “We don’t have that this time.”



https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2026/05/ca-superintendent-election-2026/

[Auggie]

1. Today the San Francisco Chronicle endorsed Richard Barrera

With nearly two decades of experience governing California’s second-largest school district, Barrera has an encyclopedic knowledge of education policy and a track record and obvious passion for helping students succeed.

Barrera is endorsed by the powerful California Teachers Association, whose preferred candidate hasn’t lost a state superintendent race in decades. This certainly could be seen as a red flag; the union has often seemed more interested in helping its members than in prioritizing kids, such as when it fought legislation to require elementary-school teachers to be trained in the “science of reading,” a phonics-based method particularly effective at teaching early literacy.

But there’s no denying the positive results Barrera has helped achieve in San Diego, which suggests that his top priority is improving student outcomes, not currying union favor.

SNIP

We believe Barrera is uniquely qualified to get diverse stakeholders rowing in the same direction to improve outcomes for kids. He deserves your vote.

https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/editorials/article/california-school-superintendent-richard-barrera-22154372.php

[dickthegrouch]

2. What with the 56 egotists on the ballot for Governor

Among the actual 58 candidates, and the multitude of candidates for other races that I've never heard of, I might just have to leave a few races untouched on my ballot.
I usually take Equality California's recommendations, but haven't found them yet.