Emery Unified Voters Weigh 5 Candidates for 3 School Board Seats

Voters in Emeryville will elect 3 members of the Emery Unified School District Board of Trustees on Tuesday, Nov. 3, choosing from a 5-candidate field after a campaign marked by sparse candidate participation in public forums and mounting concern over student test scores, according to The E'ville Eye editor Rob Arias.

Five-Day Filing Extension and Limited Oct. 18 League of Women Voters Forum Turnout

When the initial nomination window closed, only 2 candidates had filed for the 3 open seats: incumbent trustee Regina Chagolla and 40-year Emeryville resident Brian Donahue, who ran in the previous 2 elections. Because an incumbent declined to seek reelection, election officials extended the filing deadline by 5 days, drawing 3 additional contenders: former trustee Kimberly Solis and newcomers Christopher Keith Allen and general contractor David Ridlehuber, whose daughter attends Anna Yates Elementary:

• Candidate Forum & Questionnaire Participation: Only Ridlehuber paid to publish a ballot statement in the official voter guide, and only 2 of the 5 candidates—Donahue and Ridlehuber—participated in the League of Women Voters forum on Oct. 18 after an in-person Oct. 8 event was moved online. Some contenders sought to avoid Donahue, who became subject to a 3-year civil restraining order protecting 2 city employees in September 2025. When The E'ville Eye sent a 10-question survey on Oct. 22, only Donahue submitted written answers, while Chagolla responded 5 days later (though she answered questions from UC Berkeley's Emeryville Today), Solis declined after a 1-week work trip, and Allen did not respond.
• Divergent Governance Proposals: During the Oct. 18 forum, Ridlehuber advocated expanded tutoring, small-group instruction, individualized learning plans, 2-adult supervision, and exploring teacher housing alongside Habitat for Humanity while praising the roughly $95 million Emeryville Center for Community Life campus built 10 years ago. Donahue called for leadership changes, higher teacher pay, no new bond construction, and studying a potential merger with Berkeley Unified.

CAASPP Proficiency Ranks 16th of 18 Alameda County School Districts

The election comes as Emery Unified receives "Differentiated Assistance" from the Alameda County Office of Education and evaluates its 2026–2027 Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP):

• Elementary & Secondary Assessment Gaps: A ScoreCA.org analysis of 2025–2026 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) data ranked Emery Unified 16th out of 18 Alameda County districts, with 33.8% of students proficient or above in English language arts (ELA) and 27.3% in math. At Anna Yates Elementary, 39.3% of students scored at the lowest achievement level in ELA (compared with 29% statewide) and 47.6% scored at the lowest level in math (versus 38.2% statewide). At Emery Secondary, where 18 tested 11th-graders were evaluated, 66.7% scored at the lowest math level while 50% met or exceeded ELA standards.
• LCAP Benchmarks & Special Education Needs: Although the district posted a 95.7% graduation rate, only 50% of graduating seniors completed University of California and California State University A–G course requirements in 2024–2025—short of the district's 70% goal—and staffing shortages left the district without a full career technical education (CTE) course sequence for 3 consecutive years. On the 2025 California School Dashboard, students with disabilities scored 96.5 points below standard in ELA and 149.3 points below standard in math.