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Davenport Community Schools elections (2015)
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Davenport Community School District Scott County, Iowa ballot measures Local ballot measures, Iowa |
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Four seats on the Davenport Community Schools Board of Education were up for general election on September 8, 2015.
Incumbent Ralph Johanson, incumbent Linda Hayes and challenger Daniel Gosa filed to run for the four seats by the filing deadline and, therefore, won three of the four seats. Incumbents Nikki DeFauw and Ken Krumwiede did not run for re-election.[1][2]
Only three candidates ran for four seats. Julie DeSalvo had the most write-in votes, thereby winning the fourth seat.[3][4]
The board members continued work on the district's 10-year master plan. Members voted in August 2015 to officially consider closing an elementary school to save money in the future.[5]
One of the three candidates in this election participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 school board candidate survey. Check out the "Ballotpedia survey responses" section to see Ralph Johanson's answers.
About the district
- See also: Davenport Community Schools, Iowa
The Davenport school district is located in east-central Iowa in Scott County. The city of Davenport is the county seat. Scott County was home to 171,387 in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[6] The Davenport school district was the third-largest school district in Iowa, serving 16,766 students during the 2012-2013 school year.[7]
Demographics
Scott County outperformed the rest of Iowa in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found 31.6 percent of Scott County residents over 25 years old held bachelor's degrees compared to 25.7 percent of state residents. The county had a median income of $52,735 compared to $51,843 for Iowa. The poverty rate for the county was 13.1 percent in 2013, compared to 12.4 percent for the rest of the state.[6]
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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 Davenport Board of Education consists of seven members elected at-large to four-year terms. There was no primary election, and the general election was held September 8, 2015. Four seats were up for election in 2015.[1]
The filing deadline for school board candidates to get on the ballot in the general election was July 30, 2015. To vote in the election, residents had to register by August 28, 2015.[9]
Elections
2015
Candidates
Linda Hayes 
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Ralph Johanson
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| Daniel Gosa
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Julie DeSalvo
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Election results
This election was held September 8, 2015.
| Davenport Community Schools, At-Large, 4-Year Term, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Linda Hayes Incumbent |
29.4% | 873 |
| Daniel Gosa |
27.1% | 804 |
| Ralph Johanson Incumbent |
27.0% | 801 |
| Julie DeSalvo |
16.1% | 478 |
| Write-in votes | 0.4% | 12 |
| Total Votes | 2,968 | |
| Source: Scott County, Iowa, "Election Summary Report, Official Results," accessed September 14, 2015 | ||
Endorsements
Gosa and Hayes received official endorsements from the South Central Iowa Federation of Labor.[10]
DeSalvo received an official endorsement from the Davenport Teacher's Association.[4]
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $6,755.00 and spent a total of $6,755.00 during the election, according to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.[11] Any candidate spending, receiving or incurring debt in the amount of $1,000 or less was not required to file the disclosure form for campaign finances.[12][13]
Past elections
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2013
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What was at stake?
2015
Four seats were up for election, but only three candidates ran. A write-in candidate won the fourth seat. Two incumbents won re-election, and two newcomers joined the board in the election.[3][4]
As of August 2015, the board continued to deal with budget shortfalls due to cuts in state funding, especially as it pertained to the creation of the district's 10-year master plan. Funding shortfalls led the board to officially consider closing an elementary school.[5]
Board preparing for budget deficits
In August 2015, Iowa schools were faced with cuts in funding leading to budget deficits. The Davenport Community Schools Board of Education considered plans that prepared them for future budget deficits. As members of the board worked on the district's 10-year master plan, they realized the need for major cuts. The district's superintendent, Dr. Arthur Tate, presented the board with multiple solutions, but the board felt that the closing of a local elementary school was worth considering.
J.B. Young Elementary School served 308 students in the 2014-2015 school year. The students used approximately 34 percent of the building, and enrollment was at 57 percent capacity. Closing the school would save the district $11 million on the repairs that would be required to bring the building up to the standards set in the district's master plan. The board voted in August 2015 to officially consider the closing of the school.[5]
As for more short-term solutions to budget problems, Tate announced his plan to tap into the district's reserve funds by the 2016-2017 school year. School districts are not allowed to do this without permission from the state, but Tate said he was willing to do it.[14]
| “ | The year after is when we have no more authority from the state to spend, and that’s when I would be breaking the state statute. I’m just willing to do it. I mean, I’m not afraid. I’ve got a lot of options in my life. Someone’s got to put a stake in the ground and be willing to do this.[15] | ” |
| —Dr. Arthur Tate, Davenport Community Schools Superintendent, [14] | ||
The board held one community meeting in August 2015 regarding the closing of the elementary school.[5]
Ballotpedia survey responses
One of the three candidates in this election participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates as of August 25, 2015. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from Ralph Johanson.
Top priorities
When asked what his top priorities would be if elected, Johanson stated:
| “ | Reading proficiency, especially at 3rd grade[15] | ” |
| —Ralph Johanson, (2015), [16] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate 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 from most to least important:
| Issue | Johanson's Ranking | |||
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| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | ||||
| Closing the achievement gap | ||||
| Expanding arts education | ||||
| Expanding career-technical education | ||||
| Expanding school choice options | ||||
| Improving college readiness | ||||
| Improving education for special needs students | ||||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. Links to the candidate's responses can be found below.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Davenport Community Schools election in 2015:[9]
| Deadline | Event |
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| July 6, 2015 | First day for candidates to file |
| July 30, 2015 | Candidate filing deadline |
| August 4, 2015 | Candidate withdrawal deadline |
| August 28, 2015 | Last day to register to vote in the election |
| September 8, 2015 | Election Day |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Iowa elections, 2015
This election shared the ballot with elections for the board of directors at Eastern Iowa Community College.[2]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Davenport Community Schools' Iowa. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Davenport Community Schools | Iowa | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Davenport Community Schools, "School Board Members," accessed March 10, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Scott County, Iowa, "Candidate List," accessed August 3, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Tiffany Rouse, Email correspondence with Scott County Iowa Election Supervisor Richard Bauer," August 4, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Quad City Times, "Voters elect write-in candidate to Davenport School Board," September 9, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 KWQC, "Davenport school leaders to consider closing JB Young," August 24, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 United States Census Bureau, "Quick Facts: Scott County," accessed March 16, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Davenport Community Schools," accessed March 10, 2015
- ↑ Scott County Auditor, "Election Results," accessed July 29, 2013
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Iowa Secretary of State, "Auditor's Calendar of School Elections," accessed March 6, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Labor News, "Iowa Labor Endorsements for current elections," August 25, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, "IECDB State/Local Campaign Disclosure Reports," accessed February 2, 2016
- ↑ Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, "Reporting Dates," accessed August 13, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, "State/Local Campaign Disclosure Forms," accessed September 4, 2015
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 KWQC, "Davenport community schools continue to plan for budget short falls," August 5, 2015
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Ralph Johanson's responses," August 24, 2015
| 2015 Davenport Community Schools Elections | |
| Scott County, Iowa | |
| Election date: | September 8, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Linda Hayes • Incumbent, Ralph Johanson • Julie DeSalvo • Daniel Gosa |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
