Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Appleton Area School District, Wisconsin, elections
| Appleton Area School District |
|---|
 |
| District details |
| School board members: 7 |
| Students: 15,230 (2023-2024) |
| Schools: 38 (2023-2024) |
| Website: Link |
Appleton Area School District is a school district in Wisconsin (Calumet and Outagamie counties). During the 2024 school year, 15,230 students attended one of the district's 38 schools.
This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.
Elections
Do you know of an individual or group that endorsed a candidate for a position on this board? Click here to let us know.
Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large
General election
General election for Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large (2 seats)
Christy Codner, Pheng Thao, and Oliver Zornow ran in the general election for Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large on April 1, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Christy Codner (Nonpartisan)  | |
| Pheng Thao (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Oliver Zornow (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large
General election
General election for Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large (2 seats)
Kay S. Eggert and Edward A. Ruffolo ran in the general election for Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large on April 2, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| Kay S. Eggert (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Edward A. Ruffolo (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large
General election
General election for Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large
Sam Blackwell, Jason Kolpack, Nick Ross, Kristine Sauter, and Deb Truyman ran in the general election for Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large on April 4, 2023.
Candidate | ||
| Sam Blackwell (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Jason Kolpack (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Nick Ross (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Kristine Sauter (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Deb Truyman (Nonpartisan) | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large
General election
General election for Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large (2 seats)
Incumbent Leah Olson and incumbent Kay Eggert defeated Brian Farmer in the general election for Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large on April 3, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Leah Olson (Nonpartisan) | 41.6 | 7,667 |
| ✔ |  | Kay Eggert (Nonpartisan) | 38.9 | 7,159 |
 | Brian Farmer (Nonpartisan) | 19.0 | 3,495 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 98 | ||
| Total votes: 18,419 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large
General election
General election for Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large
Incumbent Diane Barkmeier, incumbent Alvin Dupree, and incumbent Barry O'Connor won election in the general election for Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large on April 4, 2017.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ |  | Diane Barkmeier (Nonpartisan) |
| ✔ |  | Alvin Dupree (Nonpartisan) |
| ✔ |  | Barry O'Connor (Nonpartisan) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large
General election
General election for Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large
Incumbent James R. Bowman and incumbent Timothy McKeag won election in the general election for Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large on April 5, 2016.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ |  | James R. Bowman (Nonpartisan) |
| ✔ | Timothy McKeag (Nonpartisan) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large
General election
General election for Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large
Incumbent Kay Eggert won election in the general election for Appleton Area School District Board of Education At-large on April 7, 2015.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Kay Eggert (Nonpartisan) |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Election rules
Election dates and frequency
School board general elections in Wisconsin are held on the first Tuesday in April. The one first class city school district in the state, Milwaukee Public Schools, holds school board elections in odd-numbered years. All other school districts hold school board elections every year.
School board nonpartisan primary elections in Wisconsin are held on the third Tuesday in February. The one first class city school district in the state, Milwaukee Public Schools, holds school board elections every two years in odd-numbered years. All other school districts hold school board elections every year. School board primary elections are only held if there are more than two candidates running for any specific single-seat race or if the number of candidates running for multi-seat races is more than twice the number of seats up for election. Otherwise, the primary is canceled and candidates automatically advance to the general election ballot.
See law:
Wisconsin Statute Section 5.02(21) and Wisconsin Statute Section 5.02(22)
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all school districts in the state except first class school districts (Milwaukee Public Schools). There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: January 6, 2026
- Primary election date: February 17, 2026
- General election date: April 7, 2026
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for first class city school districts, which are districts serving cities with a population of more than 150,000 (Milwaukee Public Schools is the only first class city school district). There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: January 5, 2027
- Primary election date: February 16, 2027
- General election date: April 6, 2027
Election system
School board members in Wisconsin are elected through a system of a nonpartisan primary election and a nonpartisan general election. The primary election is only held if a large enough number of candidates run for office.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10(2).a and Wisconsin Statute 120.41(1)
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Wisconsin are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Wisconsin Statute requires school board candidates to file nomination papers before the state's spring primary and for regular school board general elections to occur at the state's April spring election, which features nonpartisan races. Statute defines "spring primary" as "the nonpartisan primary held on the 3rd Tuesday in February to nominate nonpartisan candidates to be voted for at the spring election."
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10(2).a and Wisconsin Statute 120.41(1)
Winning an election
The school board candidate or candidates with the most votes are elected to office in the general election. State law requires a place on the school board general election ballot for write-in candidates.
School board primary elections are only held if (a) for single-seat races, there are more than two candidates for any one seat up for election; or (b) for multi-seat races, if the number of candidates is more than twice the number of seats up for election. If a primary is held, the top two vote getters per seat advance to the general election.
See law: Wisconsin Statute Section 8.10 and Wisconsin Statute Section 120
and Wisconsin Statute Section 8.10 and Wisconsin Statute Section 120
Term length and staggering
School board members for all school districts except first class city school districts are elected to staggered three-year terms.
First class city school district board members are elected to staggered four-year terms. As of 2022, the Milwaukee Public Schools district was the only first class city school district in the state.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10.2
and Wisconsin Statute 119.08(1)(a) and Wisconsin Statute 119.06(3)(a)
School districts other than first class city districts elect as close to equal numbers of board members as possible every year to three-year terms, which means roughly one-third of board members are up for regular election every year.
As close to half of first class city school district board members as possible are elected every two years. As of 2022, the Milwaukee Public Schools district was the only first class city school district in the state and had nine board members, with five elected in the year after each midterm election and four elected in the year after each presidential election.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 120
and Wisconsin Statute 119.08(1)(a) and Wisconsin Statute 119.06(3)(a)
Representation: at large vs. by sub-district
School board members are elected at large by voters from the whole district for all school districts except first class city school districts. By default, board members are elected through multi-seat races. District voters can opt to establish numbered seats with members elected at large in single-seat races, for which candidates must file for specific seat numbers. District voters can also opt to create apportioned areas (sub-districts) and require board members to be elected to represent each sub-district. Under that system, school board candidates must reside within the sub-district for which they are running but are elected at large by all voters in the whole district. Voters in a school district can submit a petition with either 100 or 500 voter signatures, depending on whether the district contains part of a city, to propose electing school board members according to numbered seats or from apportioned residence areas. Upon such a petition the proposal is put before voters at either an annual meeting or election. Once adopted by a majority of voters, the structure can only be changed or reversed by the same petition and voter approval process.
School board members for first class city school districts are elected through a combination of one member elected at-large and eight members elected by voters from sub-districts determined by the school board. State law requires the sub-districts to be substantially equal in population and "reflect a balanced representation of citizens in all areas within the city." As of 2022, the Milwaukee Public Schools district was the only first class city school district in the state.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 120.06
and Wisconsin Statute 119.08(1)(a) and Wisconsin Statute 119.06(3)(a)
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
School board candidates must file by 5:00 pm on the first Tuesday in January before elections, which are held every year.
First class city school district board candidates must file by 5:00 pm on the first Tuesday in January before elections, which are held in each odd-numbered year.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10.2
School board candidates cannot circulate nominating petitions until after December 1 of the year before elections, which are held every year.
First class city school district board candidates cannot circulate nominating petitions until after December 1 of the year before elections, which are held in each odd-numbered year.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10.2
New school board members officially take office on the fourth Monday in April.
See law: Wisconsin Statute 8.10.2
About the district
School board
The Appleton Area School District consists of seven members serving three-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.
| Name | Year assumed office | Year term ends |
|---|---|---|
| Edward Ruffolo | 2027 | |
| Kay Eggert | 2003 | 2027 |
| Kristine Sauter | 2026 | |
| Jason Kolpack | 2023 | 2026 |
| Nick Ross | 2023 | 2026 |
| James Bacon | 2025 | |
| Pheng Thao | 2025 |
Join the conversation about school board politics
Unlock the full dataset for your own use cases — explore subscription options to our comprehensive list of all school board members in the country.
District map
Overlapping state house districts
The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.
Budget
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]
| SOURCE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal: | $28,046,000 | $1,843 | 11% |
| Local: | $97,313,000 | $6,395 | 40% |
| State: | $119,658,000 | $7,863 | 49% |
| Total: | $245,017,000 | $16,102 |
| TYPE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Expenditures: | $224,558,000 | $14,757 | |
| Total Current Expenditures: | $206,117,000 | $13,545 | |
| Instructional Expenditures: | $119,962,000 | $7,883 | 53% |
| Student and Staff Support: | $23,510,000 | $1,544 | 10% |
| Administration: | $29,263,000 | $1,923 | 13% |
| Operations, Food Service, Other: | $33,382,000 | $2,193 | 15% |
| Total Capital Outlay: | $2,105,000 | $138 | |
| Construction: | $1,648,000 | $108 | |
| Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: | $1,701,000 | $111 | |
| Interest on Debt: | $284,000 | $18 |
Academic performance
Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 33 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 11-19 | 24 | 41 |
| 2018-2019 | 39 | 30 | 13 | 22 | 20-29 | 30-34 | 46 |
| 2017-2018 | 42 | 29 | 13 | 23 | 20-29 | 25-29 | 50 |
| 2016-2017 | 42 | 28 | 16 | 23 | 11-19 | 25-29 | 49 |
| 2015-2016 | 46 | 33 | 19 | 25 | 30-39 | 20-29 | 53 |
| 2014-2015 | 48 | 35 | 15 | 27 | 20-29 | 21-39 | 56 |
| 2013-2014 | 50 | 35 | 24 | 29 | 20-24 | 57 | |
| 2012-2013 | 50 | 35 | 26 | 30 | 25-29 | 56 | |
| 2011-2012 | 49 | 35 | 23 | 28 | 20-29 | 55 | |
| 2010-2011 | 78 | 67 | 55 | 59 | 40-49 | 83 |
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 36 | 23 | 14 | 20 | 11-19 | 31 | 43 |
| 2018-2019 | 37 | 25 | 17 | 22 | 20-29 | 30-34 | 44 |
| 2017-2018 | 40 | 26 | 15 | 23 | 20-29 | 25-29 | 48 |
| 2016-2017 | 41 | 25 | 17 | 24 | 20-29 | 30-34 | 49 |
| 2015-2016 | 41 | 26 | 21 | 25 | 20-29 | 20-29 | 47 |
| 2014-2015 | 51 | 35 | 22 | 32 | 30-39 | 21-39 | 58 |
| 2013-2014 | 38 | 20 | 23 | 20 | 15-19 | 45 | |
| 2012-2013 | 39 | 19 | 24 | 18 | 30-34 | 45 | |
| 2011-2012 | 39 | 21 | 25 | 18 | 20-29 | 45 | |
| 2010-2011 | 85 | 72 | 68 | 70 | 70-79 | 89 |
The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-2020 | 87 | 90-94 | 60-69 | 75-79 | >=50 | >=80 | 90 |
| 2018-2019 | 87 | 85-89 | 65-69 | 75-79 | <50 | >=50 | 91 |
| 2017-2018 | 89 | 90-94 | 60-69 | 75-79 | >=50 | >=50 | 92 |
| 2016-2017 | 86 | 90-94 | 60-69 | 75-79 | >=50 | >=50 | 87 |
| 2015-2016 | 81 | 75-79 | 50-59 | 70-74 | >=50 | PS | 84 |
| 2014-2015 | 86 | 90-94 | 70-79 | 80-84 | >=50 | PS | 88 |
| 2013-2014 | 86 | 85-89 | 60-69 | 70-74 | >=50 | 88 | |
| 2012-2013 | 88 | 90-94 | 60-69 | 70-74 | >=80 | 91 | |
| 2011-2012 | 87 | 90-94 | 60-69 | 75-79 | 40-59 | 89 | |
| 2010-2011 | 89 | 90-94 | 40-59 | 75-79 | >=50 | 91 |
Students
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]
| Year | Enrollment | Year-to-year change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-2024 | 15,230 | -0.3 |
| 2022-2023 | 15,270 | 0.3 |
| 2021-2022 | 15,217 | -3.5 |
| 2020-2021 | 15,745 | -2.1 |
| 2019-2020 | 16,081 | -1.3 |
| 2018-2019 | 16,291 | -0.2 |
| 2017-2018 | 16,323 | -0.3 |
| 2016-2017 | 16,366 | 0.2 |
| 2015-2016 | 16,331 | -0.3 |
| 2014-2015 | 16,373 | 0.9 |
| 2013-2014 | 16,224 | 6.1 |
| 2012-2013 | 15,231 | 0.7 |
| 2011-2012 | 15,119 | -0.5 |
| 2010-2011 | 15,194 | 0.7 |
| 2009-2010 | 15,081 | -1.0 |
| 2008-2009 | 15,235 | 0.0 |
| 2007-2008 | 15,233 | -0.1 |
| 2006-2007 | 15,243 | 0.2 |
| 2005-2006 | 15,213 | 1.0 |
| 2004-2005 | 15,060 | -1.4 |
| 2003-2004 | 15,275 | 2.1 |
| 2002-2003 | 14,948 | 1.0 |
| 2001-2002 | 14,800 | 0.0 |
| 2000-2001 | 14,793 | 1.0 |
| 1999-2000 | 14,651 | 0.0 |
| RACE | Appleton Area School District (%) | Wisconsin K-12 STUDENTS (%) |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.7 | 1.0 |
| Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander | 12.5 | 4.3 |
| Black | 5.4 | 8.8 |
| Hispanic | 13.1 | 14.0 |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 6.7 | 5.4 |
| White | 61.5 | 66.5 |
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.
Staff
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]
As of the 2023-2024 school year, Appleton Area School District had 1,057.42 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 14.4.
| TYPE | NUMBER OF TEACHERS |
|---|---|
| Prekindergarten: | 47.10 |
| Kindergarten: | 50.00 |
| Elementary: | 470.83 |
| Secondary: | 486.68 |
| Total: | 1,057.42 |
Appleton Area School District employed 14.90 district administrators and 46.53 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.
| TYPE | NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS |
|---|---|
| District Administrators: | 14.90 |
| District Administrative Support: | 28.39 |
| School Administrators: | 46.53 |
| School Administrative Support: | 65.40 |
| TYPE | NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF |
|---|---|
| Instructional Aides: | 169.09 |
| Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: | 48.10 |
| Total Guidance Counselors: | 34.30 |
| Elementary Guidance Counselors: | 15.70 |
| Secondary Guidance Counselors: | 17.60 |
| Librarians/Media Specialists: | 21.78 |
| Library/Media Support: | 11.60 |
| Student Support Services: | 217.64 |
| Other Support Services: | 260.91 |
Schools
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]
About school boards
Education legislation in Wisconsin
Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.
See also
| School Boards | Education Policy | Local Politics | Wisconsin |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
 |
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
| |||||
