Adams 12 Five Star Schools elections (2013)
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Two seats on the school board for Adams 12 Five Star Schools were up for general election on November 5, 2013. Kathy Plomer defeated Joshua Bastian, Debbie Christensen and David Elliott for the District 3 seat. The District 4 seat was filled by the board within 60 days of the election due to the disqualification of challenger Amy Speers. Speers was ruled ineligible on October 29, 2013 because she lives outside of District 4 but her name remained on the ballot as disqualification took place after ballots were printed. She won more votes than incumbent Rico Figueroa in the general election.[1]
About the district
- See also: Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Colorado
Adams 12 Five Star Schools is located in Adams County, Colorado. The county seat of Adams County is Brighton, Colorado. According to the 2010 US Census, Adams County is home to 459,598 residents.[2]
Demographics
Adams County underperformed the rest of Colorado in terms of its average household income based on the 2010 U.S. Census. The median household income in Adams County was $56,089 compared to $57,685 for the state of Colorado. The poverty rate in Adams County was 14.0% compared to 12.5% for the entire state. The U.S. Census also found that 20.7% of Adams County residents aged 25 years and older attained a bachelor's degree compared to 36.3% in Colorado as a whole.[2]
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Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Method of board member selection
The Adams 12 School Board consists of five members, all of whom are elected by a different geographic district to four-year terms. There was no primary election and the general election was held on November 5, 2013. Two seats were on the ballot in 2013.[4]
Individuals interested in running for the board began circulating nominating petitions on August 7, 2013. The filing deadline for school board candidates to get on the ballot in the 2013 general election was August 30, and the filing deadline to serve as a write-in candidate was September 3.[5]
Elections
2013
Candidates
District 3
- Joshua Bastian
- Graduate, Colorado State University
- Accountant
- Debbie Christensen
- Educator
- Kathy Plomer
- Graduate, University of Michigan
- Public health specialist, Tri-County Health Department
District 4
- Rico Figueroa
- Incumbent
- Graduate, The Masters College
- Program manager, The Center for Relationship Education
- Amy Speers
- Graduate, Emory University
- School nurse
- Disqualified on October 29, 2013
Election results
| Adams 12 Five Star Schools, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Kathy Plomer |
38% | 11,361 | |
| Nonpartisan | Debbie Christensen | 37.9% | 11,333 | |
| Nonpartisan | David Elliott | 14% | 4,183 | |
| Nonpartisan | Joshua Bastian | 10% | 2,993 | |
| Total Votes | 29,870 | |||
| Source: Adams County, Colorado, "Election Summary Report," November 19, 2013 | ||||
| Adams 12 Five Star Schools, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Amy Speers |
63.6% | 19,180 | |
| Nonpartisan | Rico Figueroa Incumbent | 36.4% | 10,971 | |
| Total Votes | 30,151 | |||
| Source: Adams County, Colorado, "Election Summary Report," November 19, 2013 | ||||
Endorsements
Kathy Plomer received an endorsement from Dr. Frederick J. Schaefer, who was the previous board member for District 3. She also received endorsements from the Citizen’s Coalition 4 Children’s Success, the District Twelve Teachers Association and Colorado Representatives Joe Salazar, Dianne Primavera and Cherylin Peniston.[6] Debbie Christensen received endorsements for her campaign from Adams 12 Board President Mark Clark, Thornton City Mayor Heidi Williams, Westminster City Councilmen Bob Briggs and Herb Atchison, Adams County Treasurer Brigitte Grimm and Commissioner Erik Hansen.[7]
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $17,777.41 and spent a total of $13,753.94 during the election, according to the Colorado Secretary of State.[8]
In the District 3 race, candidates received a total of $10,234.00 and spent a total of $8,234.65.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joshua Bastian | $1,470.00 | $1,451.86 | $18.14 |
| Debbie Christensen | $0.00 | $464.20 | -$464.20 |
| David Elliott | $0.00 | $81.42 | -$81.42 |
| Kathy Plomer | $5,975.00 | $3,916.96 | $2,058.04 |
In the District 4 race, candidates received a total of $7,543.41 and spent a total of $5,519.29.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rico Figueroa | $3,103.62 | $3,103.62 | $0.00 |
| Amy Speers | $4,349.79 | $2,415.67 | $1,934.12 |
Past elections
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What was at stake?
Two seats on the board were at stake in this election. Incumbent Rico Figueroa ran unopposed to keep his District 4 seat after challenger Amy Speers was deemed ineligible to run due to her residency outside of the district, while in District 3, the retirement of current board member Dr. Frederick J. Schaefer left the seat open to newcomers Joshua Bastian, Debbie Christensen, David Elliott and Kathy Plomer. On November 5, the Colorado Secretary of State issued a rule stating that votes for disqualified candidates cannot be reported, which includes Speers.[9]
Issues
Financial activities report
In February 2013, Fox 31 Denver reported that officials in Adams 12 Five Star Schools may have been, in their words, "hiding" millions of dollars while cutting student services.[10] The allegations arose after former district internal auditor Gina Holub went public with claims that school Chief Financial Officer Shelley Becker was intentionally misleading board members about district finances. Fox 31 described Holub as a "whistleblower" while Adams 12 superintendent Christopher Gdowski referred to her as a "disgruntled former employee" in a letter to members of the community.[11] A team was hired by the district to prepare a report on the financial activities of the administration. Once the report was released, board members said that the report vindicated the administration of wrongdoing. Jim Sorensen, a CPA, Ph.D. and an expert in forensic accounting who spoke with Fox 31 said, 'The president needs to re-read the report because the report says quite the opposite.'[12]
In late March, the president of the CEA state teachers union sent a letter to the Governor, requesting that the state investigate the district. At a February 6 school board meeting, a group of teachers and other District 12 employees gave superintendent Chris Gdowski a standing ovation.[13] On February 11, 2013, Holub filed a federal lawsuit against the district, Chris Gdowski, Shelley Becker and Mark Hinson, who is the assistant superintendent of human resources.[14]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Adams 12 Five Star Schools election in 2013:[5]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| August 7, 2013 | Last day for nominating petitions to be made available to candidates |
| August 30, 2013 | Last day to file nominating petitions |
| September 3, 2013 | Last day to file as a write-in candidate |
| October 15, 2013 | Candidates must file first Fair Campaign Practices Act report detailing their contributions and expenditures |
| November 1, 2013 | Candidates must file second Fair Campaign Practices Act report detailing their contributions and expenditures |
| November 5, 2013 | General election |
| December 5, 2013 | Candidates must file third Fair Campaign Practices Act report detailing their contributions and expenditures |
Additional elections on the ballot
This election shared the ballot with two statewide measures. Voters decided on a ballot measure dealing with excise taxes and sales taxes on marijuana sales in Colorado, which passed. They also voted to reject Amendment 66, which was an initiated constitutional amendment to raise the state's income tax in order to increase state funding for public school districts.
See also
- Colorado school board elections focus on Amendment 66, school reform
- School board elections review: Voters opt for experience over new blood in nation's largest school districts
- School board election wrap-up: Incumbents re-elected overwhelmingly in November 5 elections
- Colorado
- Adams 12 Five Star Schools, Colorado
- List of school board elections in 2013
- Adams County, Colorado ballot measures
- Local ballot measures, Colorado
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Denver Post, "Disqualified candidate wins Adams 12 school board race after new count," November 19, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 United States Census Bureau, "Adams County, Colorado," accessed October 2, 2013
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Total Registered Voters By Party Affiliation and Status," accessed October 2, 2013
- ↑ Adams County, Colorado, "Certified List of Ballot Content," accessed October 2, 2013
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "2013 Election Calendar," accessed October 2, 2013
- ↑ Kathy Plomer, "Endorsements," accessed October 7, 2013
- ↑ Debbie Christensen - Adams 12 Board of Education, "Endorsements," accessed November 4, 2013
- ↑ Colorado TRACER, "Candidate and Candidate Committee Detail," accessed December 20, 2013
- ↑ Adams County, Colorado, "Media Advisory Adams 12 Five Star Schools Update," accessed November 6, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ Fox 31 Denver, “State’s 5th largest school district hid millions while cutting services to students?” February 13, 2013
- ↑ Adams 12 Five Star Schools, “A letter to the community” February 4, 2013
- ↑ Fox 31 Denver, “Caught on tape: School officials laughing as they talked about hiding millions of dollars” March 27, 2013
- ↑ 'Our Colorado News, “Superintendent reacts to improper budgeting allegations” February 13, 2013
- ↑ KDVR, "Gina Holub lawsuit," February 11, 2013
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