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Aurora Public Schools elections (2017)
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Four of the seven seats on the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education in Colorado were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. The race included incumbent Barbara Yamrick and challengers Kyla Armstrong-Romero, Jane Barber, Kevin Cox, Debra Gerkin, Marques Ivey, Miguel In Suk Lovato, Gail Pough, and Lea Steed. Armstrong-Romero, Cox, Gerkin, and Ivey ran as a slate and won the spots on the board.[1]
The four election winners ran as a slate called Aurora's A Team.[2]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Aurora Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. The at-large elections are held on a staggered basis so that three or four members are up for election every odd-numbered year in November.[3] Board members are term-limited, meaning they cannot serve more than two consecutive terms on the board. Previously term-limited board members may be re-elected after four years.[4]
To qualify to run for school board, candidates had to be residents of the school district and registered voters for a minimum of 12 consecutive months before the election. They also could not have been convicted of a sexual offense against a child. To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file nomination petitions containing 50 signatures of eligible voters in the school district by September 1, 2017.[5]
Colorado voters were allowed to register to vote through election day.[6] Photo identification was not required to vote in Colorado.[7]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Aurora Public Schools, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kevin Cox |
16.58% | 12,636 |
| Debra Gerkin |
16.26% | 12,391 |
| Kyla Armstrong-Romero |
15.13% | 11,527 |
| Marques Ivey |
12.9% | 9,830 |
| Gail Pough | 9.76% | 7,441 |
| Miguel In Suk Lovato | 8.91% | 6,793 |
| Jane Barber | 7.15% | 5,447 |
| Barbara Yamrick Incumbent | 7.07% | 5,385 |
| Lea Steed | 6.25% | 4,760 |
| Total Votes | 76,210 | |
| Source: Arapahoe County, Official Results," accessed August 28, 2023 and Adams County Elections Office, "Official Results," accessed August 28, 2023 | ||
Candidates
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| Barbara Yamrick | Kyla Armstrong-Romero 
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Jane Barber | |||
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| Kevin Cox
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Debra Gerkin
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Marques Ivey
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| Miguel In Suk Lovato | Gail Pough | Lea Steed | |||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Colorado elections, 2017
The Aurora Public Schools election shared the ballot with elections for Aurora City Council.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the 2017 Colorado school board elections.[8][9]
Endorsements
The Aurora Education Association, the Aurora Sentinel, and Our Revolution Metro Denver gave their official endorsements to Kyla Armstrong-Romero, Debra Gerkin, Kevin Cox, and Marques Ivey for the four at-large seats.[10][11][12] Cox and Gerkin were also endorsed by the Denver Area Labor Federation (a local labor council of the AFL-CIO).[13]
The BlueFlower Fund endorsed Gail Pough, Lea Steed, and Armstrong-Romero for the four at-large seats.[14] Colorado Senator Rhonda Fields (D) endorsed Miguel In Suk Lovato, Pough, and Steed.[15]
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $53,478.51 and spent a total of $48,724.59 as of December 8, 2017, according to the Colorado Secretary of State.[16]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbara Yamrick | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Kyla Armstrong-Romero | $7,418.83 | $3,606.12 | $0.00 |
| Jane Barber | $1,510.32 | $1,510.32 | $0.00 |
| Kevin Cox | $2,785.54 | $2,993.07 | -$38.22 |
| Debra Gerkin | $4,690.00 | $4,516.21 | $173.79 |
| Marques Ivey | $5,496.50 | $5,638.57 | $1,028.56 |
| Miguel In Suk Lovato | $16,856.00 | $16,735.33 | $120.67 |
| Gail Pough | $12,756.32 | $12,328.81 | $427.51 |
| Lea Steed | $1,965.00 | $1,396.16 | $568.84 |
Reporting requirements
School board candidates in Colorado were required to file three campaign finance reports. The reports were due on October 17, 2017, November 3, 2017, and December 7, 2017.[9]
Past elections
- See also: Past elections in Aurora Public Schools
To see results from past elections in Aurora Public Schools, click here.
What was at stake?
Issues in the election
Board of education approves charter schools
During a meeting held on June 20, 2017, the Aurora Board of Education approved an application for the Denver School of Science and Technology (DSST)—a charter school network based in Denver—allowing DSST to operate two campuses comprising four schools in Aurora. Board members Eric Nelson and Barbara Yamrick were the two dissenting votes. The first DSST school was slated to open in the fall of 2019.
Early in 2017, district Superintendent Rico Munn invited the charter school to apply via written proposal.[17] The district offered to provide half of the funding for the new buildings needed for DSST through money from a bond approved by voters in November 2016. The bond totaled $300 million earmarked to fund improvements at every school in the district.[18] In a board resolution passed in early June 2017, a March 30, 2018, deadline was set for finding the additional funding needed to construct DSST schools in Aurora. The total amount was not provided in the proposal, but the district estimated the costs to be between $15 million and $23 million.[17]
Charter network CEO Bill Kurtz said he wanted to make it clear the district would be responsible for paying for the construction of the building. "Aurora Public Schools will own the building," Kurtz said. “Because they own the building, they own the responsibility. We are happy to assist and support that effort but ultimately that is their responsibility.”[19]
Although the charter application was approved, the school board planned to hold a final vote in the fall of 2017 to finalize specific requirements around enrollment and performance.[19] With a school board election set on November 7, 2017, the timing of the final vote meant the outgoing school board had the final say on the charter network's requirements. According to Chalkbeat, the next school board would have a chance to vote later on a contract for a second DSST campus that would open in 2021.[18] According to Chalkbeat, at least five of the eight 2017 challengers cited opposition to charter schools.[19]
Report a story for this election
Ballotpedia researches issues in school board elections across the United States, but information availability is a challenge for us in many school districts. Please contact us about the issues that impact your local school district. Note that not all submissions may meet Ballotpedia's coverage requirements for inclusion.
Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
Collectively, only five incumbents filed for re-election within the four election cycles held from 2011 to 2017. In that time, 14 total seats were on the ballot. From 2011 to 2015, every incumbent who ran for re-election successfully retained their seat.
The Aurora Public Schools Board of Education had not had an uncontested seat since 2013. In 2011, the election was canceled due to lack of opposition.
| School board election trends | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Aurora Public Schools | ||||||
| 2017 | 2.25 | 0.00% | 25.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% | |
| 2015 | 2.33 | 0.00% | 66.67% | 100.00% | 33.33% | |
| 2013 | 1.25 | 0.00% | 25.00% | 100.00% | 75.00% | |
| 2011 | 1.00 | 100.00% | 33.33% | 100.00% | 66.67% | |
| Colorado | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.77 | 30.77% | 55.38% | 83.33% | 53.85% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
About the district
- See also: Aurora Public Schools, Colorado
The Aurora school district is located in Arapahoe County in central Colorado. The county seat is Littleton. Arapahoe County was home to an estimated 637,068 residents in 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[20] The district was the fifth-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 41,729 students.[21]
Demographics
Arapahoe County outperformed Colorado as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 40.1 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 38.1 percent of state residents. The median household income in the county was $63,265, compared to $60,629 statewide. The poverty rate in the county was 9.2 percent, while it was 11.5 percent for the entire state.[20]
| Racial Demographics, 2016[20] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Arapahoe County (%) | Colorado (%) |
| White | 77.6 | 87.5 |
| Black or African American | 11.2 | 4.5 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.1 | 1.6 |
| Asian | 6.0 | 3.3 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.3 | 0.2 |
| Two or More Races | 3.9 | 3.0 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 18.9 | 21.3 |
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.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Aurora Public Schools Colorado election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Aurora Public Schools | Colorado | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Aurora Public Schools, "APS Board of Education Election," accessed September 7, 2017
- ↑ Facebook, "Aurora's A Team," accessed October 19, 2017
- ↑ Aurora Public Schools, "APS Board of Education," accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Constitution, "Article XVIII, Section 11," accessed October 13, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Association of School Boards, "2017 Elections School Board Candidate Guide," accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Voter Registration FAQs," accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Acceptable Forms of Identification," accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed August 28, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "2017 Biennial School Election Calendar," accessed August 28, 2017
- ↑ Aurora Education Association, "2017 Board of Education Endorsements," September 5, 2017
- ↑ Aurora Sentinel, "Endorsements: 2017 Aurora City Council, APS elections promise change — our picks to ensure it," October 12, 2017
- ↑ Facebook, "Our Revolution Metro Denver," accessed October 31, 2017
- ↑ Denver Area Labor Federation, "2017 Municipal Endorsements," June 29, 2017
- ↑ Colorado BlueFlower Fund, "BlueFlower Fund Endorses 33 for November 2017 Candidates," accessed October 31, 2017
- ↑ Facebook, "Rhonda Fields for Colorado," accessed October 31, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance Database: Political Race Search," accessed December 8, 2017
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Chalkbeat, "DSST charter network would open four new schools in Aurora under staff recommendation," June 7, 2017
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Aurora Public Schools, "Bond Program Information," accessed September 7, 2017
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Chalkbeat, "Aurora school board votes to approve DSST charter schools," June 20, 2017
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: Arapahoe County, Colorado; Colorado," accessed August 30, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
| Aurora Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Arapahoe County, Colorado | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Barbara Yamrick • Kyla Armstrong-Romero • Jane Barber • Kevin Cox • Debra Gerkin • Marques Ivey • Miguel In Suk Lovato • Gail Pough • Lea Steed |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
