Brandywine School District elections (2017)
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One of the seven seats on the Brandywine School District Board of Education in Delaware was up for at-large election on May 9, 2017. Two newcomers filed in the race for the District D seat after the incumbent did not file for re-election. Candidate John Skrobot III defeated Alma Melina Gillis in the race to fill the open seat.[1]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Brandywine Board of Education consists of seven members elected at large to five-year terms. While elected at large, candidates must live within the nominating district of the seat for which they are running. Candidates filed to run for the seat in their nominating districts, but all voters in the school district were eligible to vote for the seat up for election. The District D member took office in July. A president and vice president was elected once the new members took office.[2] Candidates had to file for the election by March 3, 2017.
Voters were required to register to vote at least 24 days prior to the election. The deadline to register in this election was April 15, 2017. All voters were required to provide identification at the polls. Valid identification included a photo ID, utility bill, paycheck or any other government document featuring the voter's name and address.[3]
Candidates and results
District D
Results
| Brandywine School District, District D General Election, 5-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 John Skrobot III |
54.77% | 402 |
| Alma Melina Gillis | 45.23% | 332 |
| Total Votes | 734 | |
| Source: Department of Elections–New Castle County Office, "Brandywine School District May 9, 2017 School Board Election," accessed June 5, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Alma Melina Gillis | John Skrobot III 
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Additional elections on the ballot
The district's board elections did not share the ballot with other local, state, or federal elections.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Delaware school board elections in 2017:[4]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| March 3, 2017 | Candidate filing deadline |
| April 15, 2017 | Deadline to register to vote in the general election |
| May 5, 2017 | Deadline for absentee ballot requests |
| May 9, 2017 | Election day |
| May 11, 2017 | Certification of election results |
Endorsements
No official endorsements were made in this election.
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
There were three campaign finance deadlines for Delaware in 2017:[5]
- The 30-Day Election Report was due on April 9, 2017,
- The Eight-Day Election Report was due May 1, 2017, and
- The Annual Report was due December 31, 2017.
School board candidates in Delaware were not required to file campaign finance reports so long as they certified that they did not expect to receive or spend more than $2000 from the date of their first contribution until the end of the 2017 election year. If they received or spent more than $2000, candidates had to notify the Delaware Office of the State Election Commissioner within seven days and file all otherwise required candidate reports.[6]
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2016The election was canceled due to a lack of opposition for incumbent John Skrobot. 2015District B
District E
2014Incumbent Cheryl Siskin ran unopposed and won the Nominating District G seat by default without an election. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What was at stake?
Issues in the district
Policy update
The Brandywine School District announced a change in its student search and seizure policy in May 2017. The revised policy went into effect at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year.[7]
This policy change came after a lawsuit was settled between the school district and a district parent on January 30, 2016. The lawsuit stated that in 2015 a high school student was mistaken for another student and his backpack searched without explanation. When a credit card knife—a knife that folds into itself to become roughly the shape and size of a credit card—was discovered, the student was automatically suspended under the district's zero tolerance policy on weapons. The lawsuit argued that searching the student's backpack without providing a reason was unconstitutional.[8]
The amended rules gave students the right to know why a search was conducted and required parent or guardian authorization to perform searches and seizures. They also extended the amount of time students and parents had to submit a grievance, from a 24-hour window to a 72-hour window, and broadened the definition of a grievance. For example, an email from students or parents would be considered a grievance. Brandywine School District administrators, teachers, and employees were trained on the new policy over the 2017 summer break.[8][9]
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
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About the district
- See also: Brandywine School District, Delaware
The Brandywine School District is located in New Castle County, Delaware. The county seat is Wilmington. New Castle County was home to 556,987 residents in 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[10] The district was the third-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 10,739 students.[11]
Demographics
New Castle County outperformed the entirety of Delaware in terms of higher education achievement from 2011 to 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 35 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 30 percent of state residents. The median household income in the county was $65,476, compared to $60,509 for the state. The poverty rate in the county was 12.1 percent, compared to 12.4 percent for the entire state.[10]
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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.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Brandywine School District Delaware election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Brandywine School District | Delaware | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ New Castle County Department of Elections, "May 9, 2017 School Board Candidates & Filing Dates," accessed March 6, 2017
- ↑ Brandywine School District, "School Board," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ The State of Delaware, "Frequently asked questions on voting," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ State of Delaware, "2017 School Election Calendar," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ Delaware Code Online, "Title 15, Chapter 80, Subchapter IV, Section 8030," accessed June 1, 2017
- ↑ Delaware Code Online, "Title 15, Chapter 80, Subchapter I, Section 8004," accessed June 1, 2017
- ↑ Education Week, "Delaware school district changes policy after search lawsuit," May 4, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 WDEL, "Brandywine School District changes policy after alleged unconstitutional search of student results in lawsuit," May 1, 2017
- ↑ Legal Reader, "Delaware School District Changes Search Policy After Parent’s Lawsuit Over Suspension," May 3, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 United States Census Bureau, "Quickfacts:New Castle County, Delaware," accessed April 17, 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
- ↑ State of Delaware, "Election Results Archive," accessed April 1, 2016
| Brandywine School District elections in 2017 | |
| New Castle County, Delaware | |
| Election date: | May 9, 2017 |
| Candidates: | District D: • Alma Melina Gillis • John Skrobot III |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
