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Champaign Community Unit School District 4 elections (2015)
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Five seats on the Champaign Community Unit School District 4 Board of Education were up for general election on April 7, 2015. Four seats were up for election to four-year terms, and one seat was up for election to an unexpired two-year term.[1]
Only two incumbents, Kerris Lee and Jamar Brown, ran for re-election. They faced six challengers, Amy Armstrong, Azark David Cobbs, Christopher James Kloeppel, Kathy Richards, Kathy Shannon and Alissia Young.[2] Both incumbents lost their seats. Challengers Armstrong, Kloeppel, Richards and Shannon were elected the board.[3] Candidate Jonathan Westfield ran unopposed and won the unexpired two-year term.
Challenger Kathy Shannon participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. To read her responses, check out the "Ballotpedia survey responses" section.
Prior to the election, all nine candidates discussed some of the issues facing the district and their plans for the future. In a series of candidate forums in March 2015, the candidates shared why they decided to run for school board, where they think the district's new high school should be located if the plans to build it pass a referendum on April 7, 2015, and what they thought about the district's school resource officer program.
- See also: Issues in the election
About the district
Champaign Community Unit School District 4 is located in Champaign County in central Illinois. The county seat of Champaign County is Urbana. Champaign County was home to 204,897 residents in 2013, according to the United States Census Bureau.[4] During the 2011-2012 school year, Champaign Community Unit School District 4 was the 24th-largest school district by enrollment in Illinois and served 9,492 students.[5]
Demographics
Champaign County outperformed the rest of Illinois in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 42.4 percent of Champaign County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 31.4 percent for Illinois as a whole. The median household income for Champaign County was $45,808, while it was $56,797 for the entire state. The poverty rate in Champaign County was 22.3 percent compared to 14.1 percent statewide.[4]
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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.
Voter and candidate information
The Champaign Board of Education consists of seven members elected at-large to four-year terms on a staggered basis every odd-numbered year.[7] A general election was held on April 7, 2015. Three full-term seats and two short-term seats were up for election in 2013, and four seats were up for election in 2015. An additional two-year term seat was also up for election in 2015 due to a vacancy on the board.[1][8]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file a notarized statement of candidacy and notarized nominating petitions with the Champaign County Clerk's Office during the filing period. The filing period began December 15, 2014, and ended December 22, 2014. Candidates could also file an optional loyalty oath at that time. A statement of economic interests also had to be filed by December 22, 2014, but candidates could file that prior to the start of the filing period. The nominating petitions had to include the signatures of 50 voters residing in the school district and could not be circulated until September 23, 2014.[1]
To vote in this election, voters had to reside in the school district for at least 30 days before the election. They also had to register to vote with the Champaign County Clerk's Office by March 10, 2015. To register, voters had to show two forms of identification, with at least one including the voter's current address. Early voting was available for registered voters starting March 23, 2015, and ending April 4, 2015.[9][10]
Elections
2015
Candidates
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At-large four-year term
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At-large two-year term |
Election results
Four-year term
| Champaign Community Unit School District 4, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Amy Armstrong |
19.3% | 8,315 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kathy Richards |
16.9% | 7,259 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kathy Shannon |
16.4% | 7,083 | |
| Nonpartisan | Christopher James Kloeppel |
13% | 5,579 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jamar Brown Incumbent | 12.1% | 5,214 | |
| Nonpartisan | Alissia Young | 9.6% | 4,145 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kerris Lee Incumbent | 9% | 3,855 | |
| Nonpartisan | Azark David Cobbs | 3.8% | 1,621 | |
| Total Votes | 43,071 | |||
| Source: Champaign County Clerk, "Consolidated General April 7, 2015: Official Results," accessed April 22, 2015 | ||||
Two-year term
| Champaign Community Unit School District 4, At-Large Special Election, 2-year term, 2015 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Jonathan Westfield |
100% | 10,705 | |
| Total Votes | 10,705 | |||
| Source: Champaign County Clerk, "Consolidated General April 7, 2015: Official Results," accessed April 22, 2015 | ||||
Endorsements
The Champaign Federation of Teachers endorsed challengers Christopher James Kloeppel, Kathy Richards, Kathy Shannon and Alissia Young for the four four-year terms up for election, and unopposed candidate Jonathan Westfield for the open two-year term.[11] The Champaign County AFL-CIO Central Labor Council also endorsed Kloeppel.[12]
The Champaign County Young Democrats endorsed incumbents Jamar Brown and Kerris Lee and challengers Kloeppel and Young.[13] The Champaign County Business Empowered PAC also endorsed Lee and Kloeppel, as well as Shannon and fellow challenger Amy Armstrong.[14]
Campaign finance
School board candidates in Illinois are only required to file campaign finance reports if they accept contributions or make expenditures in excess of $5,000 in a 12-month period.[15]
No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.[16]
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2015
Issues in the election
March candidate forums
Prior to the general election on April 7, 2015, multiple candidate forums were held for the Champaign Community Unit School District 4 Board of Education candidates. All nine candidates discussed a range of topics, including why they decided to run, where they think the district's new Central High School should be built if the referendum to build it passes on April 7, 2015, and whether or not they supported having school resource officers.[17][18]
Why they are running
When asked why she wanted to be on the school board, challenger Alissia Young said she is a native to Champaign-Urbana and has lived there all her life. She said that now that she has the time to give back to her community, she is seeking to serve the school district. She said her focus will be on the families and children of the district.[17]
"We tend to leave out the voices of the children. I want to be a voice for children who are not able to speak for themselves," said Young.[17]
Jonathan Westfield, the only candidate running for the open two-year term on the board, said he is running for the teachers.[17]
"From their hard work and effort through my life, I feel obligated to return that debt to them," said Westfield. He also said he would also like to provide a safe learning environment for teachers and students and bring back families that have left the district.[17]
Challenger Kathy Shannon said she would like to "restore some public trust, transparency and civil discourse to the school board." She said she would also like the board to talk directly with at-risk students to find out the best ways to help them.[17]
Challenger Kathy Richards said the district's most recent referendum got her interested in running for school board. She said there was a disconnect between parents and the board in that process, and instead of complaining, she decided to become more engaged.[17]
Incumbent Kerris Lee said he is running for re-election to further work on the board's interaction with the district community. He said he would like to implement coffee hours for board members to meet with community members and look for more opportunities to work with groups like the PTA.[17]
Challenger Christopher James Kloeppel said the district needs to assess all the diverse needs of its students and adapt what it can offer to fulfill those needs.[17]
"We can be a real game changer in this community," said Kloeppel.[17]
Challenger Azark David Cobbs said he would make sure everyone is accountable and on the same page. One item he would like to target is raising graduation rates, especially for minority students.[17]
Incumbent Jamar Brown said he is running again "because this is the best thing I never wanted to do." He said he originally ran to ensure his son had the best school experience. Brown said he would like to continue his work building more collaboration with the community, creating a culture of expected success and developing a more in-depth advocacy program for families in the district.[17]
Challenger Amy Armstrong said she would work to "rebuild trust, enhance transparency and increase communication between the board and the community.”[17]
Location of new high school
On the subject of building a new high school in the district due to future overcrowding, many candidates mourned the loss of a former site option at Dodds Park. After they lost Dodds Park as an option, board members Brown and Lee voted to use a site on Interstate Drive, which is outside of the city's center. They also voted to put the proposal for the new high school on the general election ballot on April 7, 2015.[18]
Brown said he voted for the Interstate Drive site because that was the only other option. He said he would be open to other viable options if they would be available in the same time frame. Lee said he was sad to see the Dodds Park site go, but that the community needed to make the best decision for its kids. He said to do nothing would be irresponsible.[18]
Challengers Cobbs and Young said they were both in favor of the Interstate Drive site, saying the district should go with the plan in place. Challengers Armstrong, Richards and Shannon were not in favor of building on Interstate Drive. They all favored a more centralized location, suggested building onto the high school or using the Spalding site, which was one of the original options.[18]
"I feel that moving a community institution out of the heart of the city that it serves is shortsighted. I feel that the money that we save now we will be spending year after year in transportation costs and time spent by students and parents traveling to and from that site," said Richards.[18]
Kloeppel said that regardless of whether the referendum passes, the board has to further analyze all its options.[18]
"I firmly want the high school at the best possible location," he said.[18]
School resource officers
The Champaign Community Unit School District 4 started a school resource officer (SRO) program in 2006 in partnership with the City of Champaign Police Department. As part of this program, the police department assigned school resource officers to the district.[19] In a candidate forum on March 11, 2015, the nine candidates running for a seat on the board of education shared their opinions about the program.[17]
Challenger Young and incumbent Lee were not in favor of the SRO program. Young said she would like the district to focus more on behavior modification, as she thinks some students are punished more severely than they need to be when the city's police officers are involved.[17]
Lee said he voted no for the SRO program because it changes the level of accountability. Because the program was approved by the board as a whole, Lee said he worked hard to make it accountable.[17]
Challengers Westfield, Shannon, Richards, Cobbs and Armstrong said they were in favor of the program.[17]
Challenger Kloeppel said the board has done a good job of setting up checks and balances, collecting data from the program and then having conversations about that data. He said he supports continuing that process.[17]
Incumbent Brown said he has gone back and forth in his support for the SRO program.[17]
"I do support having the SRO officers in schools because there are things that happen in schools where they are necessary. However, I want our principals to make sure they take ownership in their buildings,” he said.[17]
$144 million school referendum
- See also: Additional elections on the ballot
A $144 million school referendum was on the ballot on April 7, 2015. Citizens of the district voted against the bill 10,945 to 4,652.[20] The referendum sought funding to build a new high school and a new elementary school and to expand and renovate the district's existing high schools.[21]
The school board unanimously voted to put the proposal to voters on January 12, 2015. The estimated annual cost to homeowners with property valued at $100,000 was $117.53. The monthly cost for the same property value was $9.79.[21]
Ballotpedia survey responses
Challenger Kathy Shannon participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display Shannon's responses.
Top priorities
When asked what her top priorities would be if elected, Shannon stated:
| “ | My three top priorities are as follows:
• Restore public trust, transparency, and civil discourse; change the current leadership. |
” |
| —Kathy Shannon (2015)[23] | ||
Ranking the issues
Shannon was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays the candidate's rankings:
| Issue importance ranking | ||
|---|---|---|
| Issue | Shannon's ranking | |
| Expanding arts education | ||
| Expanding career-technical education | ||
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | ||
| Improving college readiness | ||
| Closing the achievement gap | ||
| Improving education for special needs students | ||
| Expanding school choice options | ||
Positions on the issues
Shannon was asked to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to her responses can be found below.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Champaign Community Unit School District 4 election in 2015:[1][10]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| September 23, 2014 | First day to circulate petitions |
| December 15, 2014 | First day to file nominating papers |
| December 22, 2014 | Last day to file nominating papers |
| December 30, 2014 | Last day to file objections to nominating petitions |
| January 15, 2015 | First campaign finance report due |
| January 29, 2015 | Last day to withdraw as a candidate |
| February 5, 2015 | Last day to file as a write-in candidate |
| March 10, 2015 | Last day to register to vote |
| March 23, 2015 | First day early that voting is available |
| April 4, 2015 | Last day early that voting is available |
| April 6, 2015 | Pre-election campaign finance report due |
| April 7, 2015 | General Election Day |
| July 15, 2015 | Last campaign finance report due |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Illinois elections, 2015
The Champaign Board of Education election shared the ballot with Champaign County municipal elections, including mayor of Champaign, three Champaign City Council seats, a number of village trustee seats, park commissioners, library trustees and other school board seats.[24] A school referendum for the district was also on the ballot on April 7, 2015. The referendum asked for $144 million for new school facilities.[21]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Champaign Community Unit School District 4 Illinois. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Champaign Community Unit School District 4 | Illinois | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Champaign County Clerk, "What is required to file your nomination papers to run for office?" accessed January 19, 2015
- ↑ Champaign County Clerk, "2015 School Board Filings," accessed January 19, 2015
- ↑ News-Gazette, "LIVE: Election Day April 7, 2015," April 7, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 United States Census Bureau, "Champaign County, Illinois," accessed February 18, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ Champaign County Clerk, "Election History," accessed February 18, 2015
- ↑ Champaign Community Unit School District 4, "Board of Education: Welcome," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ Champaign County Clerk, "Official Results: Consolidated General Election, April 9, 2013," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ Champaign County Clerk, "Voter Registration Information," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election and Campaign Finance Calendar, 2015," accessed January 19, 2015
- ↑ Champaign Federation of Teachers Facebook, "Timeline post from March 18, 2015," accessed March 20, 2015
- ↑ News-Gazette, "ALF-CIO endorses Gerard for Champaign mayor," March 5, 2015
- ↑ Champaign County Young Democrats Facebook, "PRESS RELEASE FROM CC YOUNG DEMOCRATS," March 8, 2015
- ↑ News-Gazette, "Business group backs Feinen," March 2, 2015
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "A Guide to Campaign Disclosure," accessed March 31, 2015
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate Disclosure Search," accessed April 3, 2015
- ↑ 17.00 17.01 17.02 17.03 17.04 17.05 17.06 17.07 17.08 17.09 17.10 17.11 17.12 17.13 17.14 17.15 17.16 17.17 17.18 17.19 News-Gazette, "What Champaign school board candidates had to say at Wednesday's forum," March 11, 2015
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 18.5 18.6 News-Gazette, "Unit 4 candidates offer views on Central High School site," March 13, 2015
- ↑ Champaign Community Unit School District 4, "Memorandum of Understanding Between Champaign Community Unit School District #4 and the Champaign Police Department," accessed March 20, 2015
- ↑ News-Gazette, "LIVE: Election Day April 7, 2015," April 7, 2015
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 4 Future Facilities, "Champaign Schools Future Facilities," accessed March 20, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Kathy Shannon responses," March 24, 2015
- ↑ Champaign County Clerk, "Candidates Consolidated General," accessed March 11, 2015
