Chippewa Falls Area School District elections (2016)
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Three of the seven seats on the Chippewa Falls Area School District school board were up for at-large general election on April 5, 2016. Incumbents Kathy Strecker and Melanie Schaller both filed for re-election, while fellow board member Jerry Smith opted not to run. The incumbents faced challengers David Czech and Jennifer Heinz. Newcomers Czech and Heinz won seats on the board alongside incumbent Strecker.[1]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Chippewa Falls Area School District Board of Education consists of seven at-large members elected to three-year terms. A primary election would have been held on February 16, 2016, if the number of candidate filings was more than double the number of seats up for election. Because only four candidates filed for the three seats, they all ran in the general election on April 5, 2016.
To be elected to the board, candidates must reside in the boundaries of the school district for 28 days prior to the filing of a "Declaration of Candidacy" form.[2] Candidates must also be 18 years old and citizens of the United States. Unless pardoned, those who have been convicted of a felony are not eligible for election to office in Wisconsin.[3]
Candidates had until January 5, 2016, to collect between 20 and 100 signatures for their nomination papers. The signatures had to come from residents of the district where the candidate sought election, but the petition circulators were not required to reside in the district or municipality. Circulators were required to be U.S. citizens and 18 years or older.[4]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Chippewa Falls Area School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jennifer Heinz |
27.74% | 5,883 |
| David Czech |
25.67% | 5,444 |
| Kathy Strecker Incumbent |
24.37% | 5,168 |
| Melanie Schaller Incumbent | 22.22% | 4,713 |
| Total Votes (100) | 21,208 | |
| Source: Mandy Gillip , "Phone conversation with Lisa Gibson, secretary to the school board, OFFICIAL results," May 4, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Kathy Strecker 
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Melanie Schaller | ||
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| David Czech
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Jennifer Heinz
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Wisconsin elections, 2016
The Chippewa Falls Area School District election ballot also included the state's presidential primary, and races for state and county courts.[5]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Wisconsin school board elections in 2016:[6]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| January 5, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| January 26, 2016 | Referendum submission deadline |
| March 28, 2016 | Pre-general election campaign finance deadline |
| April 5, 2016 | Election Day |
| April 25, 2016 | Board members take office |
| July 15, 2016 | Post-election campaign finance deadline |
Endorsements
Melanie Schaller was endorsed by the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.[7]
Campaign finance
No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election, according to the Chippewa Falls Area School District.[8]
Candidates were only required to file campaign finance reports if they did one of the following:[9][10]
- accepted contributions, made disbursements or incurred obligations in an aggregate amount of more than $2,000 in a calendar year
- accepted more than $100 from a single source in the calendar year, except contributions made by candidates to their own campaigns
What was at stake?
Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
2016
Issues in the district
Board places $61 million bond referendum on November 8 ballot
The Chippewa Falls school board voted 4-3 to place a $61.2 million bond referendum on the November 8, 2016, ballot. Board member David Czech spearheaded the proposal, which asked taxpayers to fund a land purchase, the building of a new elementary school, and district-wide building maintenance and repairs over a ten-year period. Board members David Czech, Pat Allen, Pete Lehmann, and Kathy Strecker supported the resolution while board members Amy Mason, Staish Buchner, and Jennifer Heinz were opposed.[11] A special meeting was held on August 25, 2016, to finalize the measure's wording.
District's financial duties need attention
The Chippewa Falls School District’s 2015 annual financial audit showed that the district needed to address its segregation of duties and financial reporting practices. Auditor Dan Walker said that it is not unusual for districts to have deficiencies on their audits and that the Chippewa Falls audit was otherwise proficient.[12]
Board president Jerry Smith and fellow board member Pete Lehmann noted that these issues must be fixed. Smith said that it was especially important to remove these issues from the district’s audit after the Eau Claire County treasurer and his aid pled no contest to the embezzlement of nearly $1.4 million over a decade. Smith reported that the reason the issue had not been addressed in the past was a lack of personnel, but he vowed to bring the topic to the forefront at a future board meeting.[12]
About the district
The Chippewa Falls School District is located in Chippewa County in central Wisconsin. The county seat is Chippewa Falls. The county was home to 63,460 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[13] The district was the 32nd-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 5,081 students.[14]
Demographics
Chippewa County residents underperformed in terms of higher education achievement, compared to Wisconsin as a whole. In 2013, the United States Census Bureau found that 18.6 percent of county residents aged 25 years or older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 26.8 percent of state residents. The median household income for Chippewa County was $50,551 in 2013, compared to $52,413 for Wisconsin as a whole. During that same time period, the median household income for the entire United States was $53,046. The poverty rates in the county and state were 11.1 percent and 13.0 percent, respectively, while the national rate was 15.4 percent.[13][15]
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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 'Chippewa Falls Area School District' 'Wisconsin'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Chippewa Falls Area School District | Wisconsin | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia,"Email communication with Lisa Gibson, executive assistant to the Chippewa Falls Board of Education," January 12, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Wisconsin Candidate Eligibility," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates: Getting on the Ballot," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "State Statutes: CHAPTER 8," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2016 Spring Election and Presidential Preference Vote," accessed January 12, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Campaign Finance Report Dates 2016, 2017 and 2018," accessed January 25, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, "2016 Spring Election Candidate Endorsements," March 3, 2016
- ↑ Mandy Gillip,"Phone conversation with district secretary to the superintendent, March 31, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Campaign Finance Overview: State Candidates," May 2010
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "11.0104 Reporting exemptions: limited activity," accessed January 26, 2016
- ↑ The Chippewa Herald, "Chippewa Falls School Board passes $61 million resolution," August 18, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Chippewa Herald, "School board to look at splitting financial duties", December 20, 2015
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 United States Census Bureau, "Chippewa County, Wisconsin," accessed January 14, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ United States Census Bureau,"State&County QuickFacts:USA," accessed January 15, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Wisconsin Election Results," accessed July 30, 2015
| 2016 Chippewa Falls Area School District Elections | |
| Chippewa County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 5, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Kathy Strecker • Incumbent, Melanie Schaller • David Czech • Jennifer Heinz |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
