Santa Barbara principal rigged student election so daughter won

A Santa Barbara school principal has admitted to overriding student election results to award two positions to runners-up, including her own child.

The elementary school principal has returned to campus after she tried to put her own daughter in a coveted student government position — sparking fury among parents and teachers.

In a letter to families Thursday, Arielle Curry, who leads Washington Elementary School in Santa Barbara, acknowledged manipulating the outcome of two student government races, according to the Santa Barbara Independent.

Curry admitted she intervened after ballots were counted, resulting in two candidates who finished second being awarded positions instead of the winners chosen by their classmates.

One of those positions was sixth-grade president, which went to Curry’s own child.

Curry was placed on administrative leave on Sept. 28 after her scheme was discovered.

“I led deliberations after the student votes were tallied that resulted in overriding the outcome of two positions,” Curry wrote in her letter to families, according to The Independent.

She apologized “for allowing this practice to persist” and acknowledged that “our school’s process for selecting student officers lacks transparency and fairness.”

Curry also pledged to overhaul the election process, writing, “I am committed to making this right moving forward.”

But her return to the school Friday did little to quell the turmoil, with parents and teachers describing a campus divided by the controversy, accusations of mistreatment and emotional confrontations.

One parent and one teacher, who spoke to The Independent on condition of anonymity, said tensions had spilled over into the school community, with students and staff experiencing tears, harsh exchanges and deep divisions.

The person who initially reported the alleged misconduct had also been verbally attacked, the two told the outlet.

The school district had to provide staff with information about legal protections for whistleblowers, according to The Independent.

The controversy has raised questions about how a school election intended to teach children about democracy could be overridden by administrators.

Candidates at Washington Elementary, a sought-after gifted and talented education magnet school in Santa Barbara’s Mesa neighborhood, reportedly campaigned by making posters and delivering speeches to classmates before roughly 200 fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders cast their votes.

Student government members receive privileges such as leaving class to attend meetings, while the president gets the opportunity to deliver the graduation speech at the end of the school year. The student body also helps select school activities, including themed events such as “crazy hat day.”

District officials made clear that the expected policy was for the actual vote totals to determine the winners.

“The district expects that for student/ASB elections, the candidate with the most votes wins,” assistant superintendent for human resources John Becchio told The Independent.

Becchio also urged the community to respect students’ privacy and allow the school to move forward after the incident.

But some members of the school community believe the controversy goes beyond this year’s election.

The parent and teacher interviewed by The Independent alleged that the practice of awarding positions to favored students predated the latest vote, claiming Curry had inherited a tradition of selecting certain winners rather than simply following the results.

They also questioned whether the principal’s promised reforms would change the outcome of this year’s election, noting that her commitment focused on making changes “moving forward.”

As one of the interviewees asked: “Isn’t losing a good learning opportunity?”

Curry has worked in the Santa Barbara Unified School District for several years, previously serving as principal of Santa Barbara Junior High and as an assistant principal at Washington and Franklin elementary schools.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters