Anoka-Hennepin School District elections (2013)
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Three seats on the Anoka-Hennepin School District school board were up for general election on November 5, 2013. Incumbent Bill Harvey defeated Grace Baltich for the District 3 seat, while newcomer William Fields won the vacant District 4 seat against Janelle Kirkeide and Paul Meunier. Incumbent Jeff Simon ran unopposed and kept the District 6 seat.
About the district
Anoka-Hennepin School District is partially located in Anoka County, Minnesota. Thirteen suburban communities are a part of the school district, including some from Hennepin County, Minnesota.[1] The county seat of Anoka County is Anoka. According to the United States Census, Anoka County is home to 336,414 residents.[2] Anoka-Hennepin is the largest school district in Minnesota, serving 39,106 students during the 2010-11 school year.[3]
Budget
Anoka-Hennepin School District's total budget for the 2013-14 school year was $493.8 million. This was the second-largest budget of any Minnesota school district that year, following after Minneapolis Public Schools' budget of $524.9 million.[4] The district spent 79.5% of its budget on staff expenses, 11.8% on operational expenses and 4.6% on servicing its debt. The remaining 4.1% of the budget went to student services and miscellaneous expenditures.[5] According to the United States Census Bureau, Anoka-Hennepin spent $9,862 per-pupil during the 2010-11 school year. That was the twelfth-largest amount out of the 18 Minnesota school districts counted among the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment.[6]
Academic performance
According to the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment standardized test, Anoka-Hennepin's high school students outperformed statewide average scores in reading, mathematics and science. During the 2012-13 school year, 65% of the district's high school students compared to 62% of Minnesota high school students scored as proficient in reading. The percentages in mathematics and science were 55% compared to 52% and 62% compared to 53%, respectively.[7][8] Out of the 18 Minnesota school districts counted among the largest school districts in the United States by enrollment, Anoka-Hennepin ranked eighth in both reading and mathematics.[9]
Demographics
Anoka County underperformed in comparison to the rest of Minnesota in terms of higher education achievement in 2011. The United States Census Bureau found that 25.8% of Anoka County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 31.8% for Minnesota as a whole. The median household income in Anoka County was $69,139 compared to $58,476 for the state of Minnesota. The poverty rate in Anoka County was 6.6% compared to 11.0% for the entire state.[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 Anoka-Hennepin school board consists of six members elected to four-year terms by geographic electoral districts. There was no primary election and the general election was held on November 5, 2013. The District 3, 4 and 6 seats were on the ballot in 2013.[11] District 3 includes the communities of Champlin, Dayton and portions of Coon Rapids; District 4 includes the communities of Ham Lake, Nowthen, Oak Grove and portions of Andover and Ramsey; and District 6 includes portions of the communities of Andover and Coon Rapids.[12]
Candidates began to file affidavits of candidacy on July 30, 2013. The filing deadline for school board candidates to get on the ballot in the general election was August 13, 2013 and the deadline to withdraw from the race was August 15, 2013. The deadline for residents to register to vote in the general election was October 15, 2013.[13]
Elections
2013
Candidates
District 3
- Bill Harvey
- Incumbent
- Graduate, Minnesota State University, Mankato
- Sales project director, Anton Group
- Grace Baltich
- Graduate, University of Minnesota
- Social worker
District 4
- William Fields
- Graduate, United States Air Force Academy
- Instructor, Air National Guard
- Janelle Kirkeide
- Graduate, St. Mary’s University
- Educator, St. Anthony-New Brighton School District
- Paul Meunier
- Director of services, Minnesota Youth Intervention Programs Association
District 6
- Jeff Simon
- Incumbent
- Graduate, University of Wisconsin, River Falls
- Vice president of sales, Hollander Home Fashions
Election results
| Anoka-Hennepin School District, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Bill Harvey Incumbent |
60.8% | 1,275 | |
| Nonpartisan | Grace Baltich | 38.5% | 808 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.6% | 13 | |
| Total Votes | 2,096 | |||
| Source: Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Results for Selected Contests in School District No. 11 - Anoka-Hennepin," accessed December 17, 2013 | ||||
| Anoka-Hennepin School District, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | William Fields |
53.2% | 820 | |
| Nonpartisan | Paul Meunier | 36.3% | 559 | |
| Nonpartisan | Janelle Kirkeide | 10.3% | 159 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.3% | 4 | |
| Total Votes | 1,542 | |||
| Source: Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Results for Selected Contests in School District No. 11 - Anoka-Hennepin," accessed December 17, 2013 | ||||
| Anoka-Hennepin School District, District 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Jeff Simon Incumbent |
92% | 1,787 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 8% | 155 | |
| Total Votes | 1,942 | |||
| Source: Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Results for Selected Contests in School District No. 11 - Anoka-Hennepin," accessed December 17, 2013 | ||||
Endorsements
Grace Baltich received an endorsement for her campaign from the Anoka-Hennepin Education Minnesota teachers union, but it was withdrawn on October 21, 2013 due to allegations that Baltich plagiarized parts of her campaign website.[14][15] No other candidates received official endorsements in this election.
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $15,410.35 and spent a total of $14,792.58 during the election, according to the Anoka County Office of Elections & Voter Registration. Janelle Kirkeide was not required to submit a campaign finance report since she raised and spent less than $750 in 2013.[16] These numbers therefore do not include any contributions to or expenditures by Kirkeide.
In the District 3 race, candidates received a total of $9,042.83 and spent a total of $8,085.60. Bill Harvey did not receive any contributions in excess of $100 during the campaign, other than a $500 loan he made to his own campaign committee. Grace Baltich's campaign committee received $2,300 in contributions from several local and state labor unions.[17]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bill Harvey | $3,013.35 | $2,695.78 | $232.58 |
| Grace Baltich | $6,029.48 | $5,389.82 | $321.43 |
In the District 4 race, candidates received a total of $6,367.52 and spent a total of $5,711.88.[17]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| William Fields | $1,882.52 | $1,882.52 | $0.00 |
| Janelle Kirkeide | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Paul Meunier | $4,485.00 | $3,829.36 | $655.64 |
In the District 6 race, Jeff Simon received no contributions and spent a total of $995.10.[17]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Simon | $0.00 | $995.10 | -$995.10 |
Past elections
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What was at stake?
Three seats on the school board were up for election on November 5, 2013.[18] Two incumbents, Bill Harvey in District 3 and Jeff Simon in District 6, sought and won re-election, while District 4 incumbent Michael Sullivan did not file for re-election. Harvey faced one challenger in Grace Baltich, but Simon ran unopposed. The vacant District 4 seat drew three competing newcomers in William Fields, Janelle Kirkeide and Paul Meunier. Neither the Chair nor the Vice Chair of the school board were up for re-election in 2013.
Issues in the election
Campaign website plagiarism allegations
On October 15, 2013 Grace Baltich removed posts from her campaign's Facebook page that contained material from other sources without attribution. Baltich released a statement following the incident, stating "Yesterday, it was brought to my attention that my campaign’s Facebook page had several postings that were not properly attributed to the original authors of the content. I would first like to apologize on behalf of my campaign for these unfortunate errors."[19] She said she had no knowledge of the plagiarism prior to the content's removal, but accepted responsibility for the error.[19] The plagiarism allegations were sent to district parents via an e-mail chain, and local reporter Sarah Horner noted that several of the passages originated from the National Education Association and the Ohio Department of Education websites.[14] Following the incident, the Anoka-Hennepin Education Minnesota teachers union rescinded its endorsement of Baltich on October 21, 2013.[15]
Issues in the district
Book banning debate
In 2013, Anoka-Hennepin officials selected Eleanor & Park for their "Rock the Book" summer reading program for district high school students. In August 2013, the Parents Action League filed a complaint with the school district regarding what is described as profanity and sexually explicit situations in the book, and asked for the district to remove the book from its libraries.[20] School board Chair Tom Heidemann stated that the district was mistaken to include the book in the summer reading program without consulting parents first, but did not state whether the district would ban the book.[21] The American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota issued a statement asking the school district to keep Eleanor & Park available to students, with its Executive Director Charles Samuelson saying, "We are greatly concerned by removing books like this from the school libraries because they deal frankly and honestly with problems that teens face."[22] A book review committee chaired by Anoka High Principal Mike Farley announced on November 22, 2013 that the book would not be removed from district libraries.[23]
New school security measures
In response to the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting in 2012, Anoka-Hennepin School District implemented several new security measures for the 2013-14 school year. These measures included locking all entrances to district school buildings, constructing vestibule entrances requiring visitors to identify themselves before a staff member inside the building grants them access and the issuance of key fobs to after-school program participants to allow and to monitor entry into buildings. These initial modifications were made to the district's 24 elementary schools, two early childhood centers and one special education center, and the district went on to consider new security measures for its middle and high schools. District Chief Operations Officer Chuck Holden stated that this could turn these schools into "hard targets."[24]
Student bullying and mental health
During the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years, a total of seven district students committed suicide. In July 2011, a group of students sued the school district, alleging that four of the suicides were due to anti-homosexual bullying and that the district did not adequately protect students from this form of harassment. The district settled the lawsuit in 2012 but denied these claims, stating that the cause behind the suicides was mental health issues. Beginning in the 2013-14 school year, the district expanded its mental health offerings by contracting with an outside agency to provide 14 mental health professionals to students at a cost of approximately $2.4 million over four years. Superintendent Dennis Carlson commented on the change, stating, "I'm just thrilled we are finally in a position to offer this kind of support on site... I saw students who needed help and needed it now."[25]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Anoka-Hennepin School District election in 2013:[13]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| July 30, 2013 | First day to file affidavits of candidacy |
| August 13, 2013 | Last day to file affidavits of candidacy |
| August 15, 2013 | Last day to file affidavits of withdrawal |
| October 15, 2013 | Last day to register to vote in the general election |
| November 5, 2013 | Election day |
Additional elections on the ballot
This election shared the ballot with other municipal elections, which varied depending on the location of residents in the school district. Some residents cast ballots in mayoral and city council races in Circle Pines and Lino Lakes, while others in Coon Rapids voted in a bond referendum special election intendend to upgrade the city's parks and trails system.[26][27] Voters approved the $17.4 million referendum with 51.43% of the vote.[28]
See also
- 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
- Minnesota
- Anoka-Hennepin School District, Minnesota
- List of school board elections in 2013
- Anoka County, Minnesota ballot measures
- Local ballot measures, Minnesota
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Anoka-Hennepin School District, "General Information," accessed October 14, 2013
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 United States Census Bureau, "Anoka County, Minnesota," accessed October 14, 2013
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed December 26, 2013
- ↑ Minneapolis Public Schools, "Budget Documents," accessed December 3, 2013
- ↑ Anoka-Hennepin School District, "District Revenues and Expenditures," accessed December 4, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Public Elementary–Secondary Education Finance Data," accessed December 26, 2013
- ↑ Pioneer Press, "Statewide: All public schools," accessed December 26, 2013
- ↑ Pioneer Press, "Anoka-Hennepin," accessed December 26, 2013
- ↑ Star Tribune, "Metro," accessed December 26, 2013
- ↑ Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Election Results and Statistics," accessed October 14, 2013
- ↑ Anoka-Hennepin School District, "School Board Policies - 200 School Board," accessed October 14, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ Anoka-Hennepin School District, "School Board Members," accessed December 17, 2013
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Anoka County, Minnesota, "Anoka County Elections 2013 Election Calendar," October 14, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Sarah Horner, Pioneer Press, "Anoka-Hennepin school board candidate accused of plagiarism online," October 18, 2013
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Sarah Horner, Pioneer Press, "Anoka-Hennepin teacher's union withdraws school board candidate's endorsement," October 22, 2013
- ↑ Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, "Political Committee and Political Fund Handbook," accessed December 17, 2013
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Anoka County, Minnesota, "Campaign Finance Search," accessed December 17, 2013
- ↑ Sue Austreng, ABC Newspapers, "Six file for three seats on Anoka-Hennepin School Board," August 15, 2013
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Grace Baltich for All Kids - Anoka-Hennepin Dist. 11 School Board, "Parents Deserve to Know…," October 16, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ Aaron Rupar, CityPages, "Parents Action League wants 'Eleanor & Park' removed from Anoka-Hennepin libraries," October 2, 2013
- ↑ Minnesota Public Radio, "Using 'R rated' book without asking parents was wrong, school chair says," September 25, 2013
- ↑ American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, "ACLU urges Anoka-Hennepin School District to keep Eleanor & Park on the shelves," September 26, 2013
- ↑ Shannon Prather, Star Tribune, "Challenged book to stay on Anoka High library shelves," November 22, 2013
- ↑ Olivia Koester, ABC Newspapers, "New school safety measures in place in District 11," September 5, 2013
- ↑ Sarah Horner, Pioneer Press, "Anoka-Hennepin schools to expand mental health offerings for students," July 16, 2013
- ↑ Anoka County, Minnesota, "What is on the ballot?" accessed December 17, 2013
- ↑ Coon Rapids, Minnesota, "The City of Coon Rapids Park Bond Referendum," accessed December 17, 2013
- ↑ Peter Bodley, ABC Newspapers, "Coon Rapids voters approve park bond referendum," November 6, 2013
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