By admin 
Three seats on Davis Joint Unified School District’s five-member board of trustees are on the ballot this November. The candidates elected will confront declining enrollment that has led the district to consider school closures. Some races feature candidates who have become regular speakers during public comment at board meetings to criticize district policies on gender and sexuality.
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Where are the districts?
Davis voters can find their trustee area using or a district search tool.
covers areas of Davis west of Highway 113. is bounded by Russell Boulevard and Fourth Street to the south, Covell Boulevard to the north, Highway 113 to the west and L Street to the north. extends east from Area 3 to Mace Boulevard.
Who are the candidates?
In Area 1, Board President Hiram Jackson is not seeking another term. Lawyer Colleen Zern and Dorte Jensen, a small business owner, are running to replace him.
Zern teaches at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. Jensen, a member of the conservative organization Moms for Liberty, told the Davis Enterprise that her qualifications include years of experience making public comments at City Council and school board meetings and following local news.
Jensen is running because she thinks the current board was not transparent in its approach to the school closure debate, she wrote in her candidate statement. “I will advocate for transparent decision-making, meaningful community engagement, and responsible long-term planning,” Jensen wrote. “So families are never again blindsided by proposals that fundamentally affect their children’s education.”
Zern, who has three children in DJUSD schools, believes that her experiences as a parent and as a professor of managerial accounting and professional development will allow her to bring transparency and evidence-based decision-making into the role, she wrote in her candidate statement. “I will lead with transparency, collaborate with our community, and ensure the best interests of students are at the center of every decision,” Zern wrote.
In Area 3, Joe DiNunzio is seeking reelection against lawyer Kurt Wendlenner, who works in the general counsel’s office for the League of California Cities, an organization that advocates for local governments.
DiNunzio has served on the school board since 2018. He is running on his eight-year track record as a trustee and two-time board president. “I helped shape and adopt a strategic plan that puts student outcomes at the center of decision-making, sets priorities, measures progress, and holds our district accountable for results,” DiNunzio wrote in his candidate statement. While on the board DiNunzio “helped advance full-day kindergarten, expand Career Technical Education, improve facilities, strengthen student services, and invest in educators and staff,” he wrote.
Wendlenner served on DJUSD’s Measure M school bond oversight committee, Davis’ Social Services Commission and the school site council for Monarca Elementary School, formerly Cesar Chavez Elementary School. He has also worked on a number of committees for the city of Sacramento, according to his candidate statement. If elected, Wendlenner said he would “work to make the district’s decision-making process more transparent, strive to ensure that technology supports teaching rather than replaces it, and endeavor to eliminate the wage-gap between administrators and educators,” he wrote.
In Area 4 incumbent Elizabeth Moon is running against anti-transgender activist Beth Bourne. Moon was first elected to the school board in 2022. Bourne, who leads the local chapter of conservative organization Moms for Liberty, was recently charged with violating a court order.
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Bourne’s qualifications include her professional experience as a city planner and her 25 years as a Davis resident and parental-rights advocate, she wrote in her candidate statement.
“I have testified before state and national leaders on California’s school-to-gender clinic pipeline,” Bourne wrote in her candidate statement. As a trustee, she said she would “refocus our schools on academics—not social or political agendas,” Bourne wrote. “I will demand real transparency so parents can easily review every curriculum and policy.”
Incumbent Moon said her priorities include “advocating for neighborhood schools, attracting and retaining outstanding teachers and staff, guaranteeing student mental health access and family support, and strengthening career technical education and dual enrollment opportunities,” she wrote in a candidate statement. In her four years as a trustee she championed an “away for the day” cellphone policy on campuses, pushed for higher compensation for support staff and weighed in on the district’s strategic plan, according to her candidate statement. DJUSD needs “an experienced, thoughtful leader who listens to our community, brings people together, and keeps students at the center of every decision,” Moon wrote.
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Who is funding the races?
In Area 1, Zern has raised about $2,500 from 13 individual donors, while Jensen has not filed any campaign finance disclosures.
In Area 3, DiNunzio has raised about $9,500 from roughly 30 individual donors for his reelection campaign. Wendlenner has not filed any campaign finance disclosures.
In Area 4, Moon has raised $1,000 from one donor for her reelection campaign. Bourne has not filed any campaign finance disclosures.
Who is supporting the candidates?
In Area 1, Zern is endorsed by the Yolo County Democratic Party and Jensen is endorsed by the Yolo County Republican Party.
In Area 3, DiNunzio is endorsed by the other four current school board members, Yolo County Supervisors Lucas Frerichs and Sheila Allen and other current and former elected officials. Wendlenner is endorsed by dozens of community members, including coaches, teachers and school site council members.
In Area 4, Moon is endorsed by the Davis Teachers Association, the Davis Democratic Club, the Yolo Pride Democratic Club and current and former local elected officials, including Davis Mayor Donna Neville and City Council members Gloria Partida and Josh Chapman. Moon also has the backing of every member of the current Davis school board. Bourne is endorsed by the Yolo County Republican Party.
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