# Berkeley Unified School Board

Sandy Park, Jennifer Shanoski, and Ka'Dijah Brown are running uncontested for Berkeley Unified School Board. Full ballot at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. 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.

- Jurisdiction: City of Berkeley
- Election: November 3, 2026 California general election
- Seats: 3
- Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements.
- Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/berkeley-school-board
- Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/
- Sources last retrieved: September 1, 2026
- Source-objectivity score: 87 out of 100 (Strong), across 10 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology

## On the ballot

- **Sandy Park** — Education Consultant
- **Jennifer Shanoski** — Incumbent
- **Ka'Dijah Brown** — Incumbent

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

Exactly three candidates qualified for Berkeley Unified's three open school board seats. They are incumbents Ka'Dijah Brown and Jennifer Shanoski, plus newcomer Sandy Park. All three are effectively elected outright.

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 grew up in Berkeley. She attended Berkeley public schools through Berkeley High, class of 2009. She now teaches fifth grade at a charter school in Richmond. She was first elected to the board in 2018. Her fellow directors chose her as board president in December 2021. At 30 she was the board's youngest ever president. She was also, at the time, its only sitting classroom teacher. She still leads the board this cycle. Her ballot designation is "Incumbent."

**Strengths:** Board leadership as president since 2022. She still teaches in a classroom, which keeps her close to what BUSD's policies affect day to day.

**Trade-offs:** As board president she owns the board's recent record most directly. That includes this year's superintendent transition and the Vasudeo seat appointment process.

**Keep in mind:** Being both a sitting teacher and a school board member is a real and distinctive combination. No independent reporting was found on whether it raises any conflict of interest questions.

## Jennifer Shanoski

Jennifer Shanoski is a sitting Berkeley Unified school board member. They are seeking a second term. Their ballot designation is "Incumbent." Their committee is Re-Elect Shanoski for Berkeley School Board 2026. It reported $5,410 in money raised and $662 in spending for the first half of 2026. It also reported $19,140 in public financing matching funds from the city. That is more than triple their itemized contributions.

**Strengths:** A completed first term plus the field's largest fundraising total. Shanoski's campaign is active and well resourced even in a race with no opponent.

**Trade-offs:** No independent 2026 news profile of Shanoski was found. Berkeleyside's own roundup covers the race overall.

**Keep in mind:** Heavy fundraising in a guaranteed win race says nothing on its own about their record. Berkeley's public financing program pays out on qualifying small dollar contributions. It does that whether or not a seat is contested.

## Sandy Park

On her own campaign site, Sandy Park describes herself as the mother of three BUSD students. She calls herself a community organizer. She has worked as an educator, a school administrator, and a consultant to school districts around California. She served before this on Berkeley's Peace and Justice Commission. Her ballot designation is Education Consultant. Her committee is Sandy Park for Berkeley Unified School District Director 2026. It reported $1,860 in money raised and $138 in spending for the first half of 2026.

**Strengths:** A background across many education roles, from teaching to school administration to district consulting. She is also a current BUSD parent.

**Trade-offs:** She is the only non-incumbent in the race, so she has no board voting record. She also arrives with no incumbent's decisions to answer for.

**Keep in mind:** Her work history comes from her own campaign site. It is an accurate self-description. It was not checked against outside reporting.

## Review notes

- Sandy Park's own 2026 campaign site (sandyparkforberkeley.com): self-description, attributed in text -- she is the mother of three BUSD students and a community organizer who has worked as an educator, school administrator, and consultant to school districts around California, and previously served on Berkeley's Peace and Justice Commission. may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

## Sources

1. [City of Berkeley -- City Clerk Mark Numainville's signed "Nominees for Public Office" notice for the Nov. 3, 2026 General Municipal Election (dated Aug. 19, 2026): lists all 23 candidates across all seven Berkeley races in ballot order with their exact ballot designations -- Auditor, Council Districts 1/4/7/8, Rent Stabilization Board Commissioner, and School Board Director.](https://berkeleyca.gov/sites/default/files/Notice%20of%20Candidates%20Nov%203%202026%20-%20WEB%20Version.pdf)
2. [Alameda County Registrar of Voters -- own JSON API behind its "Candidate List" web app (electionId 260 = General Election - 11/03/2026, Official): the candidatelist/260 endpoint returns every race category countywide with no County category at all (zero Board of Supervisors/row-office/judicial seats on the Nov. 2026 general), and the racelist/260/600 endpoint names all 46 City-category races countywide, including the exact seven Berkeley races (four Council districts, Auditor, Rent Stabilization Board, School Directors) with their raceIds and vote-for-N seat counts -- confirming Alameda County publishes a unified countywide candidate document, unlike Santa Clara County.](https://www.alamedacountyca.gov/rov_app/racelist/260/600)
3. [Alameda County Registrar of Voters -- the same candidatelist app's per-race candidate-detail view (POST to /rov_app/candidatelist/ with electionId=260 and each Berkeley raceId), queried directly for all seven Berkeley races: returns each candidate's exact ballot designation, filing agency, and on-ballot status -- the same roster as the City Clerk's own Notice of Candidates, independently confirming all 23 names and designations.](https://www.alamedacountyca.gov/rov_app/candidatelist/)
4. [City of Berkeley -- "Candidate Information" elections page: states which offices are elected on the presidential cycle (Mayor; Council Districts 2, 3, 5, 6) versus the gubernatorial cycle (Auditor; Council Districts 1, 4, 7, 8) -- both alongside Rent Board and School Board, which are elected every cycle -- and states the vote-threshold rule: Mayor/Auditor/Council require ranked-choice majority; Rent Board/School Board are decided by plurality.](https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/elections/candidate-information)
5. [City of Berkeley -- "Voting Information" elections page: states in full how Berkeley's ranked-choice voting works for Mayor, City Council, and Auditor (voters may rank up to five choices; last-place elimination repeats until one candidate has a majority) and that Rent Stabilization Board and School Board are decided by plurality vote instead, "typically multiple candidates elected at each election."](https://berkeleyca.gov/your-government/elections/voting-information)
6. [Berkeleyside -- "Election 2026: Who's running for Berkeley City Council, school board and more" (originally published Aug. 14, 2026, updated Aug. 19, 2026 to report Fred Feller's withdrawal from the District 8 race), read in full: profiles every 2026 candidate across all seven Berkeley races by name, occupation, and background; reports incumbent Rashi Kesarwani (D1), Cecilia Lunaparra (D7), and Lori Droste's since-2022 successor context are not seeking reelection; and reports Rent Board incumbent Vanessa Marrero's disqualification from the ballot over a signature shortfall and her stated plan to challenge it.](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2026/08/19/berkeley-election-candidates-city-council-rent-board-school-board)
7. [City of Berkeley's own NetFile-hosted public campaign-finance portal (aid=BRK), queried directly via its own QuickNameSearch and filings/byCandidate JSON API for all 23 2026 candidates, with each candidate's most recent 2026 FPPC Form 460 (the Jan. 1-June 30, 2026 semi-annual statement) downloaded directly via the portal's own CampaignDocuments/download endpoint and read for its actual reported totals. Real H1 2026 totals (monetary contributions raised / total expenditures / public-financing matching funds received, where applicable): Jenny Wong (Auditor) $6,916 / $1,109; Laura Babitt (D1) no 2026 committee Form 460 on file yet, only a Form 410/501 -- her filings show active participation in the city's public-financing matching-funds program; Ross Bernet (D1) $4,449 / $209; Moni Gangopadhyay (D1) $3,307 (incl. $500 nonmonetary) / $2,163; Steve Kromer (D1) no committee located; Daria Wrubel (D1) $120 / $0; Igor Tregub (D4) $10,287 / $3,405, plus $20,670 in public matching funds; Majdi "Gaith" Abuhamdieh (D4) no Form 460 on file, only a Form 410/501; Aidan Hill (D7) $1,102 / $257 on his current District 7 committee (a separate, older "Aidan Hill for Berkeley City Council 2022" committee also remains on file from a prior run, not further researched here); Syrak Micael (D7) $5,698 / $4,444, plus $12,600 in public matching funds; Mark Humbert (D8) $1,630 / $56; Michael Wallman and Fred Feller (D8) no Form 460 on file, only a Form 410/501 each; Mari Mendonca (D8) an active committee reporting $0 contributions and $0 expenditures this period; Carole Marasovic (Rent Board) an active committee reporting $0 contributions and $0 expenditures this period; Avery Arbaugh (Rent Board) no 2026 Form 460 on file, only records from an unsuccessful 2024 Rent Board run; Ida Martinac (Rent Board) no 2026 Form 460 on file yet, only a Form 410/501; Nathan Mizell (Rent Board) an interim Jan. 1-May 10, 2026 report showing $0 contributions and $0 expenditures; Vylma Ortiz and Derek Rodriguez (Rent Board) no Form 460 on file, only a Form 410/501 each; Sandy Park (School Board) $1,860 / $138; Jennifer Shanoski (School Board) $5,410 / $662, plus $19,140 in public matching funds; Ka'Dijah Brown (School Board) filed her new 2026 committee's organizing paperwork July 23, 2026, after the H1 reporting window closed, so no H1 2026 Form 460 exists for it yet.](https://netfile.com/public/berkeley/campaign)
8. [Wikipedia's Berkeley, California article -- 2020 census population (124,321), the 4th-largest city in Alameda County.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkeley,_California)
9. [Berkeleyside -- "At 30, Ka'Dijah Brown is Berkeley school board's youngest president -- and its only teacher" (by Ally Markovich, March 2, 2022), read in full: Brown grew up in Berkeley and attended Berkeley public schools through Berkeley High (class of 2009), teaches fifth grade at a Richmond charter school, was first elected to the board in 2018, and was chosen by her fellow directors as board president in December 2021 after a year as vice president.](https://www.berkeleyside.org/2022/03/02/kadijah-brown-berkeley-school-board-youngest-president)
10. [Sandy Park's own 2026 campaign site (sandyparkforberkeley.com): self-description, attributed in text -- she is the mother of three BUSD students and a community organizer who has worked as an educator, school administrator, and consultant to school districts around California, and previously served on Berkeley's Peace and Justice Commission.](https://www.sandyparkforberkeley.com/about)

## The rest of the ballot

Berkeley Unified School Board is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/

## How to cite this page

Vote or Else, "Berkeley Unified School Board — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/berkeley-school-board (sources last retrieved September 1, 2026).

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