Des Moines Public Schools elections (2015)
2017 →
← 2013
|
 |
Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links |
Des Moines Public Schools Polk County, Iowa ballot measures Local ballot measures, Iowa |
 |
Four seats on the Des Moines Public Schools Board of Education were up for general election on September 8, 2015.
Incumbent Cindy Elsbernd defeated Royce Turner for the at-large seat. Newcomers Heather Anderson and Shane Schulte ran for the one available seat in District 1. Anderson defeated Schulte. Dionna Langford defeated challengers Ed Linebach and Edgar Ortiz for the two-year term seat in District 2. In District 3, Rocio Hermosillo lost to Natasha Newcomb. Incumbents Nathan Blake, Bill Howard and Pat Sweeney did not run for re-election.[1][2][3]
Prior to 2013, all representatives on the school board represented the district at-large. Voters approved a proposal to incorporate four district representatives on the school board in 2011. In 2013, residents voted for representatives in District 2 and District 4. In 2015, residents voted for a representative in District 1 and District 3. Toussaint Cheatom won the election for the District 2 seat in 2013, but he resigned due to health concerns. Nathan Blake was appointed to the open seat. The District 2 seat was open in 2015 for a two-year term.[4]
Two of the ten candidates in this election participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 school board candidate survey. Check out the "Ballotpedia survey responses" section to see the candidates' answers.
The district settled with former superintendent Nancy Sebring in an ongoing lawsuit involving the release of emails in her district account.[5]
About the district
- See also: Des Moines Public Schools, Iowa
The Des Moines school district is located in central Iowa in Polk County. The county seat is Des Moines. According to the United States Census Bureau, Polk County was home to 459,862 residents in 2014.[6] In the 2012-2013 school year, the Des Moines school district was the largest school district in Iowa and served 34,092 students.[7]
Demographics
Polk County outperformed the rest of Iowa in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found 34.9 percent of Polk County residents aged 25 years and older attained a bachelor's degree compared to 25.7 percent of state residents. The median household income in the county was $59,018 compared to $51,843 for the state of Iowa. The poverty rate in the county was 11.8 percent compared to 12.4 percent for the entire state.[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.
Voter and candidate information
The Des Moines school board consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. Prior to 2013, all members on the school board represented the district at-large. Voters approved a proposal to incorporate four district representatives on the school board in 2011. In 2013, residents voted for candidates for District 2 and District 4, as well as two at-large members. The District 2 seat had to be filled by an appointment after the elected member resigned.
Four seats were up for election in 2015. There was no primary election, and the general election was held on September 8, 2015. District 1 and District 3 each had one seat open for a four-year term. There was one at-large seat open, and District 2 had one open seat for a two-year term.[2]
School board candidates had to file for this election with Polk County by July 30, 2015. To vote in the election, residents had to register by August 28, 2015.[9]
Elections
2015
Candidates
At-large (four-year term)
Cindy Elsbernd 
|
Royce Turner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
District 1 (four-year term)
| Heather Anderson
|
Shane Schulte | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
District 2 (two-year term)
| Dionna Langford
|
Ed Linebach | Edgar Ortiz | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
District 3 (four-year term)
| Rocio Hermosillo | Natasha Newcomb
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
Election results
This election was held September 8, 2015.
| Des Moines Public Schools, At-Large, 4-Year Term, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Cindy Elsbernd Incumbent |
67.7% | 3,202 |
| Royce Turner | 32.3% | 1,527 |
| Total Votes | 4,729 | |
| Source: Polk County Auditor's Office, "Regular School Election," accessed November 12, 2015 | ||
This election was held September 8, 2015.
| Des Moines Public Schools, District 1, 4-Year Term, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Heather Anderson |
50.9% | 1,286 |
| Shane Schulte | 49.1% | 1,240 |
| Total Votes | 2,526 | |
| Source: Polk County Auditor's Office, "Regular School Election," accessed November 12, 2015 | ||
This election was held September 8, 2015.
| Des Moines Public Schools, District 2, 2-Year Term, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Dionna Langford |
43.0% | 511 |
| Edgar Ortiz | 39.1% | 465 |
| Ed Linebach | 17.9% | 213 |
| Total Votes | 1,189 | |
| Source: Polk County Auditor's Office, "Regular School Election," accessed November 12, 2015 | ||
This election was held September 8, 2015.
| Des Moines Public Schools, District 3, 4-Year Term, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Natasha Newcomb |
62.1% | 357 |
| Rocio Hermosillo | 37.9% | 218 |
| Total Votes | 575 | |
| Source: Polk County Auditor's Office, "Regular School Election," accessed November 12, 2015 | ||
Endorsements
The Des Moines Education Association and the South Central Iowa Federation of Labor endorsed Turner, Anderson, Ortiz and Newcomb.[10][11]
Newcomb also received endorsements from the IBEW Local Union #347 and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Iowa Council #61.[12]
Langford and Turner received endorsements from Iowa State Reps. Ako Abdul-Samad (D-35) and Ruth Ann Gaines (D-32).[13]
Anderson also received an endorsement from the Central Iowa Building and Trades Council.[14]
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $24,730.58 and spent a total of $23,974.29 in the election, according to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.[15] 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.[16]
Past elections
To see results from past elections in Des Moines Public Schools, click here.
What was at stake?
2015
Three of the four seats up for election were replaced with newcomers. The only incumbent running for re-election was District 1 incumbent, Cindy Elsbernd. She defeated challenger Royce Turner. The school board is now separated into designated districts through a process that started in 2013. The election in 2015 completed the transition from an at-large board.
The district settled a lawsuit brought on by former superintendent Nancy Sebring regarding private emails that were released to the public.[5]
Issues in the district
Settlement reached with former superintendent
The district's former superintendent, Nancy Sebring, dropped a lawsuit against the school involving her personal privacy. Sebring served as the district's superintendent until 2012. She announced that she was set to become the superintendent of Omaha Public Schools, and then abruptly resigned in May 2012.
Local media uncovered sexually explicit emails in Seibring's district email account through an open records request. Sebring claims that a board member tipped the media off to the existence of these emails leading them to expand their open records request. She sued the district naming school board member Teree Caldwell-Johnson, director of communications Phil Roeder and district lawyer Patricia Lantz in the suit.
The district's insurance company settled with Sebring in August 2015. She and her lawyers received $350,000, and the district was not required to admit any wrongdoing. The settlement payment did not come out of the district's budget, since the board did have an insurance policy to protect the district from lawsuits. The district did pay a $50,000 deductible to the insurance company.[17][5]
Ballotpedia survey responses
Two of the ten 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 Cindy Elsbernd and Shane Schulte.
Top priorities
When asked what her top priorities would be if elected, Elsbernd stated:
| “ | My top priority is ensuring support of continued student growth and closure of achievement and opportunity gaps, but this cannot happen without continued advocacy for adequate state funding and sound state education policy, including parent and community engagement around these efforts, as well as ensuring continued fiscal and operational practices that support students and generate efficiency and stability.[18] | ” |
| —Cindy Elsbernd (2015)[19] | ||
When asked what his top priorities would be if elected, Schulte stated:
| “ | Asking the Superintendent for a strategic plan so the broader community can buy into our vision and journey for the future.[18] | ” |
| —Shane Schulte (2015)[20] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidates were 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 candidates' rankings from most to least important:
| Issue | Elsbernd's Ranking | Schulte's Ranking | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 candidates were asked to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. Links to the candidates' responses can be found below.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Des Moines Public Schools election in 2015:[9]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| 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 the Des Moines Area Community College board.[9]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Des Moines Public Schools Iowa. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Des Moines Public Schools | Iowa | School Boards |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Des Moines Public Schools, "2015 School Board Candidates," accessed August 3, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Office of the Polk County Auditor, "Candidate Guide," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ Polk County Auditor's Office, "Regular School Election," accessed September 8, 2015
- ↑ Des Moines Public School, "School Board Election Information," accessed March 27, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 WHO 13, "Insurance Company for Des Moines Public Schools Settles Nancy Sebring Lawsuit," August 10, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 United States Census Bureau, "Polk County, Iowa," accessed March 27, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "District Directory Information," accessed March 11, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, “Voter Registration Totals by County,” accessed July 29, 2013
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Iowa Secretary of State, "Auditor's Calendar of School Elections," accessed March 6, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Labor News, "South Central Iowa Federation of Labor makes election endorsements," August 13, 2015
- ↑ Facebook, "Des Moines Education Association," August 14, 2015
- ↑ Facebook, "Natasha Newcomb for Des Moines School Board, District 3," accessed August 18, 2015
- ↑ Langford for School Board, "Endorsements," accessed August 18, 2015
- ↑ Facebook, "Heather Anderson," Septembe 3, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Boad, "IECDB State/Local Campaign Disclosure Reports," accessed February 2, 2016
- ↑ Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, "Reporting Dates," accessed August 13, 2015
- ↑ The Des Moines Register, "Des Moines Schools’ insurer settles Sebring lawsuit," August 10, 2015
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Cindy Elsbernd's responses," August 24, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Shane Schulte's responses," August 25, 2015
| 2015 Des Moines Public Schools Elections | |
| Polk County, Iowa | |
| Election date: | September 8, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Cindy Elsbernd • Royce Turner District 1: Heather Anderson • Shane Schulte |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
.jpg){kind=link}