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Berkeley Unified School Board

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City of Berkeley

Berkeley Unified School Board

This person would hold one of three Berkeley Unified school board seats up this cycle, alongside directors not up this cycle. They vote on district policy, the budget, and hiring the superintendent. The term is four years. The seat is decided by plurality vote -- not ranked-choice.

Three candidates qualified for Berkeley Unified's three open school board seats. They are incumbents Ka'Dijah Brown and Jennifer Shanoski, and newcomer Sandy Park. With three candidates for three seats, all three are effectively elected already.

This person would hold one of three Berkeley Unified school board seats up this cycle, alongside directors not up this cycle. They vote on district policy, the budget, and hiring the superintendent. The term is four years. The seat is decided by plurality vote -- not ranked-choice.

This is a quiet cycle for Berkeley Unified: Berkeleyside reports the Aug. 7, 2026 nomination deadline closed with exactly three filers for the three open seats, meaning no competitive race this November. Separately, and not on this November ballot, the board this summer appointed former board member Beatriz Leyva-Cutler to fill out the remainder of a different seat -- vacated when Ana Vasudeo left to join the Alameda County Board of Education.

Ka'Dijah Brown

Ka'Dijah Brown teaches fifth grade at a charter school in Richmond. She grew up in Berkeley and graduated from Berkeley High in 2009. First elected to the board in 2018, she became the board's youngest president in 2021.

Jennifer Shanoski

Jennifer Shanoski is a sitting Berkeley Unified school board member. They are seeking a second term, and their ballot title is "Incumbent." Their campaign has raised $5,410 and spent $662, plus $19,140 in city matching funds.

Sandy Park

Sandy Park is the mother of three BUSD students and a community organizer. She has worked as an educator, school administrator, and school district consultant in California. She served on Berkeley's Peace and Justice Commission, and her ballot title is Education Consultant.

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A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot.

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