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Chippewa Falls Area School District elections (2018)

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2019
2017
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Chippewa Falls Area School District elections

General election date
April 3, 2018
Enrollment ('15-'16)
5,070 students

Two of the seven seats on the Chippewa Falls Area School District Board of Education in Wisconsin were up for at-large general election on April 3, 2018. Incumbent Staish Buchner did not file for re-election, leaving one open seat. Newcomers Sharon McIlquham and Steven Olson defeated incumbent Pat Allen and candidate Ross Spitz.[1][2]

Elections

Voter and candidate information

Chippewa Falls Area School District seal.jpg

The Chippewa Falls Area Board of Education consists of seven members elected to three-year terms on a staggered basis. All members are elected at large, and elections are held every year.[3][4]

School board candidates in Wisconsin had to be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old, and residents of the school district for a minimum of 28 consecutive days before filing as a candidate. They also could not be disqualified from voting under Wisconsin law.[5]

To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file nomination papers with the school district clerk by January 2, 2018. If incumbents whose terms were up for re-election did not file to run in the race and did not file written notification that they would not be running, the candidate filing deadline could have been extended until January 5, 2018. The terms of candidates elected in the race started on April 23, 2018.[5]

Voter registration

See also: Voting in Wisconsin and Voter identification laws by state

To vote in Wisconsin, one must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the state for at least 10 days prior to the election. A voter must be at least 18 years old.[6][7][8] One can register to vote by mail, online, or in person. For voters registering to vote in this 2018 school board election by mail, the application had to be postmarked by March 14, 2018. The online voter registration deadline was March 30, 2018, and the in-person deadline was April 3, 2018.

Candidates and results

At-Large

General election

General election for Chippewa Falls Area School District Board of Education At-large (2 seats)

Steven Olson and Sharon McIlquham defeated incumbent Pat Allen and Ross Spitz in the general election for Chippewa Falls Area School District Board of Education At-large on April 3, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Steven Olson
Steven Olson (Nonpartisan)
 
31.5
 
3,086
Image of Sharon McIlquham
Sharon McIlquham (Nonpartisan)
 
29.4
 
2,883
Image of Pat Allen
Pat Allen (Nonpartisan)
 
20.8
 
2,044
Image of Ross Spitz
Ross Spitz (Nonpartisan)
 
18.3
 
1,794

Total votes: 9,807
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Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Wisconsin elections, 2018


Key deadlines

Endorsements

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Past elections

See also: Past elections in the Chippewa Falls Area School District

To see results from past elections in the Chippewa Falls Area School District, click here.

What was at stake?

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Candidate survey

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Issues in the election

$65 million referendum to build new school, update two others

The Chippewa Falls Area Board of Education decided in December 2017 to place a $65 million referendum question on the spring election ballot. The decision was made following the results of a 2015 facilities audit that found that recommended updates and repairs would cost as much as $180 million. The district prioritized three projects: constructing a new Stillson Elementary School, adding to and repairing the Chippewa Falls Middle School, and building an addition on to the Chippewa Falls Senior High School. The $65 million referendum would increase property taxes by $1.25 per $1,000 of the property's value.[9]

Two Chippewa Falls Area School District referenda were rejected in 2016, together totaling roughly $159 million. One referendum asked for approximately $61 million and was defeated with 46 percent approval, with funds designated to building a new Stillson Elementary School and updating Halmstad and Jim Falls elementary schools. The other referendum totaled $98 million and would have been used to build a new high school. It failed with 38 percent of the vote.[10]

The 2018 referendum passed on April 3, with 3,244 out of 6,094 total votes (53.23 percent) in favor of the property tax increase.[11]

Election trends

See also: School board elections, 2018
School Board Election Trends Banner.jpg

The 2018 school board election for the Chippewa Falls Area School District attracted the highest average number of candidates per seat compared to the five previous election cycles with an average of 2 candidates per seat. One incumbent and three challengers ran for the two seats on the ballot in 2018.

The percentage of unopposed seats in 2016, 2017, and 2018—0 percent—was lower than the state average of 32 percent.

School board election trends
Year Candidates per seat Unopposed seats Incumbent success rate Seats won by newcomers
Chippewa Falls Area School District
2018 2.00 0.00% 0.00% 100.00%
2017 1.50 0.00% 100.00% 0.00%
2016 1.30 0.00% 50.00% 66.67%
2015 1.00 100.00% 100.00% 0.00%
2014 1.00 100.00% 100.00% 0.00%
2013 1.00 100.00% 100.00% 0.00%
Wisconsin
2015 1.38 32.00% 84.00% 35.29%
United States
2015 1.72 35.95% 82.66% 40.81%

About the district

See also: Chippewa Falls Area School District, Wisconsin
The Chippewa Falls School District is located in Chippewa County, Wisconsin.

The Chippewa Falls School District is located in Chippewa County in central Wisconsin. The county seat is Chippewa Falls. The county was home to 63,531 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[12] The district served 5,070 students during the 2015-2016 school year.[13]

Demographics

Higher education achievement

Chippewa County residents underperformed compared to Wisconsin as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2011-2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 19.2 percent of county residents aged 25 years or older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 27.8 percent for the state as a whole.[12]

Median household income

The median household income for Chippewa County between 2011 and 2015 was $52.109. During that same time period, the median household income for Wisconsin was $53,357, and it was $53,889 for the entire United States.[12][14]

Poverty rate

From 2011 to 2015, the poverty rate in Chippewa County was 10.8 percent, while it was 12.1 percent statewide.[12] During that same time period, the poverty rate for the country as a whole was 13.5 percent.[14]

Racial Demographics, 2015[12]
Race Chippewa County (%) Wisconsin (%)
White 95.2 87.6
Black or African American 1.6 6.6
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6 1.1
Asian 1.4 2.8
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1
Two or more races 1.1 1.8
Hispanic or Latino 1.6 6.6

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.


Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Twenty-three of 72 Wisconsin counties—32 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Adams County, Wisconsin 21.92% 8.73% 18.35%
Buffalo County, Wisconsin 21.82% 2.93% 14.66%
Columbia County, Wisconsin 2.14% 13.58% 15.26%
Crawford County, Wisconsin 5.40% 19.98% 27.03%
Door County, Wisconsin 3.22% 6.99% 17.33%
Dunn County, Wisconsin 11.09% 4.97% 14.95%
Forest County, Wisconsin 26.58% 5.44% 15.16%
Grant County, Wisconsin 9.43% 13.77% 23.88%
Jackson County, Wisconsin 11.74% 15.01% 21.84%
Juneau County, Wisconsin 26.05% 7.03% 9.00%
Kenosha County, Wisconsin 0.31% 12.23% 18.06%
Lafayette County, Wisconsin 8.99% 15.37% 22.32%
Lincoln County, Wisconsin 20.60% 0.71% 12.48%
Marquette County, Wisconsin 24.09% 0.27% 5.28%
Pepin County, Wisconsin 23.08% 2.22% 12.89%
Price County, Wisconsin 25.00% 0.04% 13.40%
Racine County, Wisconsin 4.28% 3.54% 7.41%
Richland County, Wisconsin 5.50% 16.13% 20.63%
Sauk County, Wisconsin 0.35% 18.47% 23.04%
Sawyer County, Wisconsin 18.41% 0.49% 6.23%
Trempealeau County, Wisconsin 12.64% 14.08% 26.39%
Vernon County, Wisconsin 4.43% 14.73% 22.00%
Winnebago County, Wisconsin 7.34% 3.73% 11.66%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Wisconsin with 47.2 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 46.5 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Wisconsin cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 76.7 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Wisconsin supported Republicans slightly more than Democratic candidates, 50.0 to 46.7 percent. The state, however, favored Democrats in every presidential election from 2000 to 2012 before voting for Trump in 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state Assembly districts in Wisconsin. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[15][16]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 43 out of 99 state Assembly districts in Wisconsin with an average margin of victory of 34.1 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 36 out of 99 state Assembly districts in Wisconsin with an average margin of victory of 34.6 points. Clinton won three districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 56 out of 99 state Assembly districts in Wisconsin with an average margin of victory of 12.1 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 63 out of 99 state Assembly districts in Wisconsin with an average margin of victory of 19.4 points. Trump won two districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


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 election. 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

  1. Leader-Telegram, "7 candidates seek 4 EC school board seats," January 2, 2018
  2. Chippewa Falls Elections, "Preliminary Election Results," accessed April 3, 2018
  3. Chippewa Falls Area School District, "Board of Education," accessed December 27, 2016
  4. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named method
  5. 5.0 5.1 Wisconsin Association of School Boards, "Guide for Candidates," accessed November 26, 2017
  6. DMV.org, "Voter Registration in Wisconsin," accessed January 22, 2015
  7. State statutes stipulate that an individual must have resided in Wisconsin for at least 28 days prior to the election in order to register to vote in that election. However, the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin ruled that "the increase of the durational residency requirement from 10 days to 28 days is unconstitutional." Consequently, the earlier 10-day requirement took effect once again. An appeal of the district court's decision was pending as of September 20, 2016.
  8. Wisconsin Statutes, "Section 6.10," accessed November 7, 2016
  9. Chippewa Falls Area Unified School District, "Referendum Information," accessed April 12, 2018
  10. Leader-Telegram, "Chippewa Falls schools bring $65 million request to ballot," March 20, 2018
  11. The Chippewa Herald, "$65 million school district referendum passes by 394 votes," April 4, 2018
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 United States Census Bureau, "Chippewa Falls County, Wisconsin," accessed December 13, 2016
  13. National Center for Education Statistics, "Local Education Agency (School District) Universe Survey Data," accessed January 29, 2018
  14. 14.0 14.1 United States Census Bureau, "State & County QuickFacts: USA," accessed July 6, 2015
  15. Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  16. Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017