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Clarksville-Montgomery County School System elections (2016)
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Three of the seven seats on the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System Board of Education were up for by-district general election on August 4, 2016.[1] The District 2 and 6 seats were left open for newcomers when incumbents Stephanie Lobdell and Eula Gardner Dowdy decided not to run for re-election. Jodi Lloyd and Margaret Pace ran for District 2, and Pace won the seat. Charlie Patterson ran unopposed and won the District 6 seat. In District 4, incumbent Anne Murtha also ran unopposed and won re-election.[2][3][4]
With two open seats, voters in the district were guaranteed to elect more new members to the board than they did in 2014. To see how this race compared to past elections in both the district and the state, check out the "Election trends" section below.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Clarksville-Montgomery County Board of Education consists of seven members elected by district to four-year terms. Elections are held on a staggered basis every August of even-numbered years. The District 1, 3, 5, and 7 seats were up for election on August 7, 2014, and the District 2, 4, and 6 seats were up for general election on August 4, 2016. There was no primary election.[3][5]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file their qualifying documents by April 7, 2016. The deadline to withdraw from the election was April 14, 2016.[1]
To vote in this election, residents of the district had to register by July 5, 2016.[1] Photo identification was required to vote in this election.[6]
Candidates and results
District 2
Results
| Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, District 2 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Margaret Pace |
74.26% | 808 |
| Jodi Lloyd | 25.64% | 279 |
| Write-in votes | 0.09% | 1 |
| Total Votes | 1,088 | |
| Source: Montgomery County Election Commission, "Election Summary Report," accessed September 8, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Jodi Lloyd | Margaret Pace 
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District 4
Results
| Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, District 4 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Anne Murtha Incumbent (unopposed) |
99.46% | 735 |
| Write-in votes | 0.54% | 4 |
| Total Votes | 739 | |
| Source: Montgomery County Election Commission, "Election Summary Report," accessed September 8, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Anne Murtha
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District 6
Results
| Clarksville-Montgomery County School System, District 6 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Charlie Patterson (unopposed) |
99.11% | 1,557 |
| Write-in votes | 0.89% | 14 |
| Total Votes | 1,571 | |
| Source: Montgomery County Election Commission, "Election Summary Report," accessed September 8, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Charlie Patterson
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Tennessee elections, 2016
The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System election shared the ballot with primary elections for the 7th Congressional District seat on the U.S. House of Representatives, the District 22 seat on the Tennessee State Senate, and the District 67, 68, and 74 seats on the Tennessee House of Representatives. It also shared the ballot with general elections for Parts III and IV on the 19th Circuit Court, Montgomery County Assessor of Property, and Montgomery County Highway Supervisor.[2]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Tennessee school board elections in 2016:[1]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| April 7, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| April 11, 2016 | 1st quarter campaign finance report due |
| April 14, 2016 | Candidate withdrawal deadline |
| July 5, 2016 | Voter registration deadline |
| July 11, 2016 | 2nd quarter campaign finance report due |
| July 15, 2016 - July 30, 2016 | Early voting period |
| July 28, 2016 | Pre-election campaign finance report due |
| August 4, 2016 | Election day |
| October 11, 2016 | 3rd quarter campaign finance report due |
| January 25, 2017 | 4th quarter campaign finance report due |
Endorsements
District 2 challenger Margaret Pace was endorsed by the Clarksville Montgomery Co. Education Association.[7]
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
The pre-general campaign financial disclosure report for this election was due July 28, 2016. Candidates were also required to file quarterly reports for the 2016 election year. Those reports were due on April 11, 2016; July 11, 2016; October 11, 2016; and January 25, 2017.[1]
The Montgomery County Election Commission did not publish school board campaign finance reports online for this election. Ballotpedia staff directly requested this information, but the county did not provide it.
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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What was at stake?
2016
Election trends
- See also: School board elections, 2014
With no incumbents running for two out of the three seats up for election on the Clarksville-Montgomery County Board of Education in 2016, two new members were guaranteed to join the board. This 66.67 percent newcomer election rate was higher than the 25 percent of seats newcomers won in the district in 2014. Overall in 2014, 45.98 percent of seats were won by newcomers in school board elections in Tennessee's largest school districts.
Incumbents did not fare poorly in 2016. The one who ran to retain her seat ran unopposed, guaranteeing she kept her seat on the board. Incumbents in the district's 2014 race also had a 100 percent success rate. Three incumbents ran for re-election, and all three won. Two ran unopposed, and one defeated a challenger. Overall in 2014, incumbents in the state's largest districts saw a 75.41 percent re-election rate.
The Clarksville-Montgomery County School System's 2016 election attracted fewer candidates per seat than the district's 2010 and 2012 elections, but more than the 2014 school board election. In 2016, four candidates ran for three seats, which equaled an average of 1.33 candidates per seat. An average of 1.25 candidates ran per seat in 2014, 1.67 ran per seat in 2012, and 1.75 ran per seat in 2010. Statewide in 2014, school board elections in the largest districts attracted an average of 1.94 candidates per seat.
The district had a high percentage of unopposed seats nearly every election year since 2010. In 2016, two-thirds of the seats had no opposition. In both 2014 and 2010, three-quarters of the seats were unopposed. The district's 2012 election was the exception; that year, one-third of the seats were unopposed. A total of 36.78 percent of school board seats on the ballot were unopposed statewide in 2014.
Issues in the state
Transgender bathroom bill withdrawn
State Rep. Susan Lynn (R-57) proposed legislation in January 2016 that would require public school students in kindergarten through college to use the bathroom and locker room that corresponded with the sex listed on their birth certificates. Four months later, she withdrew the bill. "I am still absolutely 100 percent in support of maintaining the privacy of all students. But I'm going to roll the bill over until next year so we can work on those issues," Lynn said.[8][9]
House Bill 2414 drew criticism from local media and some companies threatened to withhold business from the state if the bill were passed. Lynn said that was not why she withdrew the bill; instead, she put it on hold in order to further study the issue. She said school districts in Tennessee were "largely following what the bill says."[8][10]
While HB 2414 was still in committee, Gov. Bill Haslam (R) expressed concern about the bill. “I’m hearing that our school boards have figured out how to adjust to each situation that arises, and to date, I’m not hearing parents say we have [a] problem in our schools today,” said Haslam.[11]
State Reps. Mike Stewart (D-52) and Harry Brooks (R-19) asked for an opinion on the issue from Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery (R). Slatery responded by warning that the state could lose federal Title IX funding if the bill were passed.[12]
| “ | As things currently stand, we must, as a practical matter, assume that H.B. 2414 would violate Title IX, because the enforcer of Title IX has clearly interpreted — and enforced — Title IX to prohibit as 'discriminatory on the basis of sex' what H.B. 2414 is designed to accomplish.[13] | ” |
| —Attorney General Herbert Slatery (April 2016)[12] | ||
Stewart said Slatery's opinion was the "final nail in the coffin" for the bill. He and State Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-55) said the bill could also hinder the state's goal of creating a business-friendly climate.[12] Executives of dozens of companies had signed a letter to state lawmakers asking them to reject the bill on the grounds that it was discriminatory.[14]
David Fowler, former state senator and president of the Family Action Council of Tennessee, objected to Slatery's opinion. He said the attorney general had used settlement agreements rather than court decisions to warn the state legislature away from passing the bill. "Settlement agreements have no persuasive value as a matter of law, unlike the court decisions that have actually ruled in favor of sex-designated bathrooms," Fowler said.[12]
After the bill was withdrawn, Fowler issued a statement:
| “ | But we join the thousands of parents across the state who are profoundly disappointed that at this point in the process Rep. Lynn has decided not to proceed with a bill that would have simply protected the privacy of the children they have entrusted to our public schools.[13] | ” |
| —David Fowler (April 2016)[8] | ||
In addition to receiving support from the Family Action Council of Tennessee, the bill was backed by approximately 30 pastors from the Tennessee Pastors Network. At least 67,000 state citizens opposed the bill, as two transgender high school students turned in that many signatures to the governor's office. They were joined by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, the Tennessee Equality Project, the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, and the Human Rights Campaign.[8]
Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
About the district
Clarksville-Montgomery County School System is located in Montgomery County in northern Tennessee. The county seat is Clarksville. Montgomery County was home to 193,479 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[15] The district was the seventh-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 31,271 students.[16]
Demographics
Montgomery County underperformed compared to Tennessee as a whole in terms of education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 24.0 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 24.4 percent of state residents. The median household income for Montgomery County was $50,693, compared to $44,621 for the entire state. The percentage of people below the poverty level was 13.9 percent, while it was 18.3 percent statewide.[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 'Clarksville-Montgomery County School System' 'Tennessee'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Clarksville-Montgomery County School System | Tennessee | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Tennessee Secretary of State, "Election Calendar 2016," accessed March 30, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Montgomery County Election Commission, "Qualified Candidates: August 4, 2016 State Primary & County General," accessed April 8, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Clarksville-Montgomery County Schools, "Clarksville-Montgomery County," accessed March 30, 2016
- ↑ Montgomery County Election Commission, "Election Summary Report," accessed August 4, 2016
- ↑ Montgomery County, Tennessee, "Election Summary Report," accessed February 23, 2015
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "What ID is required when voting?" accessed March 30, 2016
- ↑ Clarksville Montgomery Co. Education Association, "Good morning CMCEA members," June 17, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 The Tennesseean, "Transgender bathroom bill dead for year," April 18, 2016
- ↑ Open States, "HB 2414," accessed April 19, 2016
- ↑ Knoxville News Sentinel, "Tennessee lawmakers should stay out of students’ restrooms," April 3, 2016
- ↑ Huffington Post, "Tennessee Governor Skeptical Of Anti-Transgender Bathroom Bill," April 13, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 The Tennesseean, "Attorney general: Tennessee bathroom bill threatens Title IX funds," April 11, 2016
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ CBS News, "Tennessee lawmakers under fire over transgender bathroom bill," April 13, 2016
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 United States Census Bureau, "Montgomery County, Tennessee," accessed April 7, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Election Results," accessed June 25, 2014
| 2016 Clarksville-Montgomery County School System Elections | |
| Montgomery County, Tennessee | |
| Election date: | August 4, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 2: • Jodi Lloyd • Margaret Pace District 4: • Incumbent, Anne Murtha District 6: • Charlie Patterson |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
