Brentwood Union Free School District elections (2017)
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Three of the seven seats on the Brentwood Union Free School District school board in New York were up for by-district general election on May 16, 2017. No incumbents filed for re-election, leaving all three seats open to newcomers. In the race for District 1, newcomer Marie Gonzalez-Prescod defeated Bryan Greaves. Simone Holder-Daniel defeated fellow newcomers Andrew Como and Joseph Fritz in District 2. Newcomer Julia Burgos won the District 5 seat after defeating Robert Mickens and Joseph Walsh.[1][2]
Greaves, Fritz, and Mickens ran as members of a slate called "Team SELFIE."[3]
Note: The seat numbers used in the election results on the district's page do not match Ballotpedia's naming of the seats on the board. This is because the district assigns arbitrary seat numbers for the ballot that do not match the names Ballotpedia chose.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Brentwood Union Free School District is overseen by a seven-member board elected to three-year terms by specific geographic districts that are aligned with the district's elementary school attendance areas. These seats do not have titles, but they are considered distinct from one another. Ballotpedia has assigned generic titles to all seven seats on the board to prevent confusion. These seat titles are arbitrary and do not reflect the status or seniority of the board members holding them.
In order to run for a school board in New York, candidates had to be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old, qualified voters in the school district, and able to read and write. Most school districts required that they be residents of their districts continuously for one year, although that residency requirement can vary from 30 days to three years. Candidates had to submit nominating petitions to their district clerk. Petitions had to be signed by at least 25 qualified district voters or two percent of the number of voters in the previous annual election, whichever number was greater.[4]
In order to vote in this school board election in 2017, voters had to be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old by the election day, and have lived at their current address for at least 30 days prior to the election. Voters in New York were not required to present identification at the polls.[5]
- See also: Voting in New York and Voter identification laws by state
Candidates and results
District 1
Results
| Brentwood Union Free School District, District 1 General Election, 3-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Marie Gonzalez-Prescod |
67.86% | 967 |
| Bryan Greaves | 32.14% | 458 |
| Total Votes | 1,425 | |
| Source: Brentwood Union Free School District, "Board of Education Business Meeting: May 18, 2017," accessed September 5, 2017 | ||
Candidates
Marie Gonzalez-Prescod 
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Bryan Greaves | ||
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District 2
Results
| Brentwood Union Free School District, District 2 General Election, 3-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Simone Holder-Daniel |
54.39% | 805 |
| Joseph Fritz | 27.50% | 407 |
| Andrew Como | 18.11% | 268 |
| Total Votes | 1,480 | |
| Source: Brentwood Union Free School District, "Board of Education Business Meeting: May 18, 2017," accessed September 5, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Andrew Como | Joseph Fritz | Simone Holder-Daniel
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District 5
Results
| Brentwood Union Free School District, District 5 General Election, 3-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Julia Burgos |
62.96% | 918 |
| Robert Mickens | 23.32% | 340 |
| Joseph Walsh | 13.72% | 200 |
| Total Votes | 1,458 | |
| Source: Brentwood Union Free School District, "Board of Education Business Meeting: May 18, 2017," accessed September 5, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Julia Burgos
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Robert Mickens | Joseph Walsh | |||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: New York elections, 2017
This 2017 school board election in New York shared the ballot with the district's annual school budget vote.[6]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for New York school board elections in 2017:[7][8]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| April 17, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline |
| April 17, 2017 | Candidate filing deadline for central, union free, and common school districts |
| April 26, 2017 | Candidate filing deadline for small city school districts |
| May 11, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline |
| May 16, 2017 | Election day |
| June 5, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline |
Endorsements
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
| 2017 Campaign Finance Deadlines in New York[8] | |
|---|---|
| Date | Deadline |
| April 17, 2017 | First report due (pre-general) |
| May 11, 2017 | Second report due (pre-general) |
| June 5, 2017 | Third report due (post-general) |
All school board candidates in New York who raise or spend more than $50 are required to file campaign finance reports. If candidates raise or spend less than $1,000 they are required to file with their city or county's board of elections. If they raise or spend over $1,000, they must file with the New York State Board of Elections. Candidates who raise or spend less than $50 (including their own personal funds) do not have to file any reports. If this occurs, candidates are required to file an exemption statement with the appropriate board of elections.[9]
Past elections
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2016Seat 3 (Feliciano seat)
Seat 4 (Moore seat)
2015Seat 5 (Kirkham seat)
Seat 6 (Allison seat)
Seat 7 (Martinez seat)
2014
2013
2012
2011
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What was at stake?
2017
Issues in the election
Team SELFIE slate
Three candidates in the 2017 Brentwood school board race ran as part of a candidate slate called "Team SELFIE:" Bryan Greaves, Joseph Fritz, and Robert Mickens. Each candidate ran to be elected to a separate district; one for each seat up for election in 2017. According to the slate, "SELFIE" stands for Safety, Education, Leadership, Funding, Integrity, and Empowerment.[3]
Issues in the district
Father of a murdered district student files for board
District 5 candidate Robert Mickens, whose 15-year-old daughter and her best friend were found beaten to death in October 2016, ran for the Brentwood school board. Authorities investigating the killings tied them to Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, a gang labeled as a "transnational criminal organization" by the U.S. government. Thirteen alleged gang members were arrested in March 2017, with a group of them charged with the murder of the two girls.[10][11][12]
"You hear from students and parents, they have concerns over about what is going down at the school," Mickens said. "Me being a father who lost his daughter, I think I could probably help other kids and make a difference."[11]
MS-13 began in Los Angeles in the 1980's by immigrants from El Salvador who were escaping the civil war. Authorities said the gang has been in Suffolk County, New York, since around 1998. During the 2016-2017 school year, the gang is said to have claimed 11 lives of students in the district.[11][12] The gang has caused parents to be fearful of sending their children to Brentwood high schools and students to be scared that any slight to the gang could cost them their lives. At a vigil held for the two murdered girls, some students gathered holding signs reading “Help Us!” “Stop the Violence!” "We’re the ones out here, dealing with it all," said a 16-year-old boy who would not give his name to the New York Times. "They think they can do something, but they’re just fooling. They can’t do nothing."[12]
MS-13 has become the subject of national attention since the bodies of 11 victims were found during the 2016-2017 school year in Brentwood. President Donald Trump spoke up about the gang in a tweet: "The weak illegal immigration policies of the Obama Admin. allowed bad MS 13 gangs to form in cities across U.S. We are removing them fast!" he said on April 18, 2017. Attorney General Jeff Sessions also spoke in Long Island, New York on April 28, 2017, to raise awareness of the gang, calling it "one of the gravest threats to American public safety."[13]
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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About the district
Brentwood Union Free School District is located in southern New York in Suffolk County. The seat of county government is Riverhead. Suffolk County was home to an estimated 1,492,583 residents between 2010 and 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau. The district was the sixth-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 18,648 students.[14][15]
Demographics
Suffolk County underperformed in comparison to New York as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2011 to 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 34.0 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 34.2 percent of state residents. The median household income in the county was $88,663, compared to $59,269 statewide. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 7.8 percent, while that rate was 15.4 percent for state residents.[15]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[16] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Suffolk County (%) | New York (%) |
| White | 84.9 | 70.1 |
| Black or African American | 8.4 | 17.6 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6 | 1.0 |
| Asian | 4.2 | 8.8 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 1.8 | 2.4 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 18.6 | 18.8 |
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 Brentwood Union Free School District New York election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Brentwood Union Free School District | New York | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email exchange with Kathleen Hoey, District clerk," April 25, 2017 and May 8, 2017
- ↑ Brentwood Union Free School District, "May 16, 2017, Budget and Candidate Vote," accessed May 17, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Facebook, "Bryan Greaves Mobile Uploads," accessed May 9, 2017
- ↑ New York State School Boards Association, "Running for the School Board," accessed May 5, 2017
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Register to Vote," accessed May 5, 2017
- ↑ Brentwood Union Free School District, "Board of Education," accessed April 28, 2017
- ↑ New York State School Boards Association, "Running for the School Board," accessed April 18, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 New York Education Law, "New York Education Section 1529 - Times For Filing Statements," accessed May 5, 2017
- ↑ New York Board of Elections, "Campaign Finance Handbook," accessed May 8, 2017
- ↑ CBS News, "Feds: MS-13 gang members arrested in slayings of NY teen girls," March 2, 2017
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Pix 11, "Grieving dad of teen killed by MS-13 runs for school board in Brentwood," May 7, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 The New York Times, "‘They Keep Finding Bodies’: Gang Violence in Long Island Town Fuels Immigration Debate," October 2, 2016
- ↑ CNN, "MS-13 is Trump's public enemy No.1, but should it be?" April 29, 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
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 United States Census Bureau, "Suffolk County, New York," accessed April 24, 2017
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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| Brentwood Union Free School District elections in 2017 | |
| Suffolk County, New York | |
| Election date: | May 16, 2017 |
| Candidates: | District 1: Marie Gonzalez-Prescod • Bryan Greaves District 2: Andrew Como • Joseph Fritz • Simone Holder-Daniel |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
