Barrera Leads Shaw in Early Superintendent Race

Early election returns showed San Diego Unified school board president Richard Barrera leading Chino Valley Unified board president Sonja Shaw in California’s nonpartisan race for state superintendent of public instruction, though only a small share of votes had been counted and the result remained uncertain. The contest reflected a sharp ideological divide: Barrera, a Democrat backed by teachers’ unions, supports California’s protections for transgender students and has emphasized investment in public schools, while Shaw, a Republican, has campaigned on conservative positions including opposing transgender participation in girls’ sports. The winner will take office amid a major restructuring of the position: a governor-appointed education commissioner will assume management of the California Department of Education, while the elected superintendent’s revised responsibilities are still being defined.