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Dubuque Community School District elections (2015)
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Four seats on the Dubuque Community School District Board of Education were up for general election on September 8, 2015.
Incumbents Tom Barton, Mike Donohue and Tami Ryan won re-election to their seats. Incumbent Otto Kreuger did not run for re-election. Upon the initial count of the votes, candidates Timothy Pope and Lisa Wittman tied for the open seat left by incumbent Otto Kreuger.[1] After an error was corrected in the original totals and the absentee ballots were counted, Wittman was determined the winner of the open seat.[2] Pope did not ask for a recount. Candidates Bert Ament and R.R.S. Stewart were also defeated in the election.[3][4][5]
Three of the seven 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.
About the district
- See also: Dubuque Community School District, Iowa
The Dubuque Community School District is mainly based in Dubuque, the seat of the county that shares its name in eastern Iowa. The northern tip of Jackson County is also a part of the Dubuque Community School District. According to the United States Census Bureau, Dubuque County was home to 96,370 residents in 2014.[6] In the 2012-2013 school year, the Dubuque Community School District was the seventh-largest school district in Iowa and served 11,275 students.[7]
Demographics
Dubuque County outperformed the rest of Iowa in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found 27.1 percent of 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 $51,475 compared to $51,843 for the state of Iowa. The poverty rate in the county was 10.9 percent compared to 12.4 percent for the entire 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 Dubuque Community School District Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. The school board members are elected by the district at-large. There was no primary election, and the general election was held on September 8, 2015. Four seats were up for election in 2015.[4]
School board candidates had to file for this election with Dubuque County elections department by July 30, 2015. To vote in the election, residents had to register by August 28, 2015.[9]
Elections
2015
Candidates
| Bert Ament | Tom Barton 
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Mike Donohue
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| Timothy Pope | Tami Ryan
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| R.R.S. Stewart | Lisa Wittman
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Election results
This election was held September 8, 2015.
| Dubuque Community School District, At-Large, 4-Year Term, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Tom Barton Incumbent |
22.2% | 2,865 |
| Mike Donohue Incumbent |
20.1% | 2,590 |
| Tami Ryan Incumbent |
19.9% | 2,573 |
| Lisa Wittman |
12.8% | 1,654 |
| Timothy Pope | 12.3% | 1,589 |
| R.R.S. Stewart | 7.4% | 951 |
| Bert Ament | 5.2% | 677 |
| Total Votes | 12,899 | |
| Source: Tiffany Rouse, "Email correspondence with Dubuque County Auditor's Office Jenny Hillary," December 3, 2015 | ||
Endorsements
Ament, Pope and Stewart received official endorsements from the Dubuque Federation of Labor in cooperation with Working Iowa Families (WIN).[10]
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $697.16 and spent a total of $697.16 in 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]
Past elections
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2013
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What was at stake?
2015
Four seats were up for election, and only three incumbents ran. One new member joined the board.
Ballotpedia survey responses
Three of the seven 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 Bert Ament, Timothy Pope and R.R.S. Stewart.
Top priorities
When asked what his top priorities would be if elected, Pope stated:
| “ | Given the success already experienced in other portions of the district strategic plan, my top priority would be working with district leadership to ensure student achievement continues to improve during the transition to the Iowa Core Curriculum, Next Generation Science Standards, and the SMARTER Balanced assessments.[13] | ” |
| —Timothy Pope (2015)[14] | ||
When asked what her top priorities would be if elected, Stewart stated:
| “ | "My reasons for running are:
1. To be a voice for the average person. |
” |
| —R.R.S. Stewart (2015)[15] | ||
When asked what her top priorities would be if elected, Ament stated:
| “ | My top priority as a school board is to develop more programs for the autistic community so they can lead productive lives. We can't put them all on disability so we better figure out how to teach them.[13] | ” |
| —Bert Ament (2015)[16] | ||
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 | Pope's ranking | Stewart's ranking | Ament'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 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 Dubuque Community School District 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 elections for the board of Northeast Iowa Community College.[5]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Dubuque Community School District Iowa. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Dubuque Community School District | Iowa | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Herald Online, "Incumbents re-elected to Dubuque School Board; challengers tie for fourth seat," September 8, 2015
- ↑ The Herald Online, "With corrected vote total, Lisa Wittman easily wins Dubuque school board seat," September 13, 2015
- ↑ Dubuque County, Iowa, "School Board Election Results," accessed September 8, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dubuque Community School District, "School Board," accessed June 23, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tiffany Rouse, "Email correspondence with Dubuque County Auditor's Office Becky Griebel," August 11, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 United States Census Bureau, "Dubuque County, Iowa," accessed June 23, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "District Directory Information," accessed June 23, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Secretary of State, “Monthly Voter Registration Totals,” accessed June 23, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Iowa Secretary of State, "Auditor's Calendar of School Elections," accessed March 6, 2015
- ↑ Dubuque Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, "2015 Elections," accessed September 1, 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
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Timothy Pope's responses," August 24, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "R.R.S. Stewart's responses," August 24, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Bert Ament's responses," September 8, 2015
| 2015 Dubuque Community School District Elections | |
| Dubuque County, Iowa | |
| Election date: | September 8, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Tom Barton • Incumbent, Mike Donohue • Incumbent, Tami Ryan • Bert Ament • Timothy Pope • R.R.S. Stewart • Lisa Wittman |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
