Fall River Public Schools elections (2015)
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Six seats on the Fall River School Committee in Massachusetts were up for general election on November 3, 2015. A primary election would have taken place on September 22, 2015, if more than two candidates filed for an at-large seat.
Incumbents Joseph Martins, Melissa Karam Panchley, Mark Costa and Gabriel Andrade won re-election, while Paul Coogan and Edward Costar joined the board. All of the six incumbents on the board — Andrade, Costa, Martins, Panchley, Paul Hart and Robert Maynard — sought re-election. Hart, Maynard and challenger Sean Connell lost in the election. The seventh seat on the board is held by Mayor Samuel Sutter.[1]
One of the nine candidates in this election participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 school board candidate survey. Check out the "What was at stake?" section to see survey answers.
About the district
- See also: Fall River Public Schools, Massachusetts
Fall River Public Schools is located in southeast Massachusetts in Bristol County. The county seat is Taunton. This county was home to 552,780 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[2] In the 2011-2012 school year, Fall River Public Schools was the 10th-largest school district in Massachusetts and served 9,834 students.[3]
Demographics
Bristol County underperformed compared to the rest of Massachusetts in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 25.3 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 39.4 percent for Massachusetts as a whole. The median household income in Bristol County was $55,298, compared to $66,866 for the state of Massachusetts. The poverty rate was 12.4 percent, compared to 11.4 percent for the entire state.[2]
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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 Fall River School Committee consists of seven members, six of whom are elected to two-year terms. The seventh member and chair of the board is Fall River's mayor. The other six members of the board are elected at large. All six seats were on the ballot in 2015. There was a primary election scheduled for September 22, 2015, but the primary became unnecessary with less than two candidates per seat on the ballot. The general election was scheduled for November 3, 2015.[5]
The filing deadline for the 2015 general election was August 4. Each candidate had to file a notarized candidate affidavit and nomination petitions with at least 50 valid signatures.[6]
Elections
2015
Candidates
At-large
Gabriel Andrade 
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Mark Costa
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Paul Hart | |||
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| Joseph Martins
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Robert Maynard | Melissa Karam Panchley
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| Sean Connell | Paul Coogan
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Edward Costar
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Election results
| Fall River School Committee, At-large, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Paul Coogan |
14.0% | 7,474 |
| Joseph Martins Incumbent |
12.7% | 6,770 |
| Melissa Karam Panchley Incumbent |
12.4% | 6,618 |
| Mark Costa Incumbent |
12.3% | 6,556 |
| Edward Costar |
12.0% | 6,442 |
| Gabriel Andrade Incumbent |
10.7% | 5,727 |
| Paul Hart Incumbent | 10.4% | 5,558 |
| Robert Maynard Incumbent | 8.4% | 4,477 |
| Sean Connell | 7.1% | 3,815 |
| Write-in votes | 0.07% | 35 |
| Total Votes | 53,472 | |
| Source: Nick Katers, "Email exchange with Fall River Board of Elections Chair Elizabeth Camara," January 5, 2016 | ||
Endorsements
Sean Connell received the official endorsement of the Green-Rainbow Party.[7]
Campaign finance
The Fall River City Clerk does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
One candidate out of nine total candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following section displays the responses to the survey questions from at-large incumbent Melissa Karam Panchley.
Top priorities
When asked what her top priorities would be if elected, Panchley stated:
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My top priority is reducing elementary classroom size and adding pre--school slots. If we can give our students a stronger foundation at a young age, the rest will follow.[8] |
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| —Melissa Karam Panchley, (2015), [9] | ||
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:
| Education policy |
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Click here to learn more about education policy in Massachusetts. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
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| Issue | Panchley |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
Positions on the issues
The candidates were asked to answer 10 multiple and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to the candidates' responses can be found below.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Fall River Public Schools election in 2015:[6]
| Deadline | Event |
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| May 5, 2015 | First day for candidates to pick up nomination documents |
| July 31, 2015 | Last day for candidates to pick up nomination documents |
| August 4, 2015 | Last day for candidates to file nomination documents with the election commissioners for signature certification |
| August 18, 2015 | Last day for candidates to file nomination documents with the election commissioners |
| August 20, 2015 | Last day for candidates to withdraw or for objections to nominations |
| September 2, 2015 | Last day to register to vote in the primary election |
| September 14, 2015 | Last day to file first campaign finance report |
| September 22, 2015 | Primary election day |
| October 14, 2015 | Last day to register to vote in the general election |
| October 26, 2015 | Last day to file second campaign finance report |
| November 3, 2015 | Election Day |
| January 20, 2016 | Last day to file final campaign finance report |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Massachusetts elections, 2015
This election shared the ballot with races for Fall River's mayor and city council.[10]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Fall River Public Schools Massachusetts. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Fall River Public Schools | Massachusetts | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Herald News, "Tuesday is final day for Fall River candidates to file certified nomination papers," August 17, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 United States Census Bureau, "Bristol County, Massachusetts," accessed January 26, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "Enrollment Breakdown as of 2/15/2012," accessed November 18, 2013
- ↑ Fall River Public Schools, "FRPS Policy Manual," accessed November 18, 2013
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Herald News, "3 more candidates pull papers for Fall River election," May 8, 2015
- ↑ Green-Rainbow Party, "Up for Election: Green in 2015!" accessed October 19, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Melissa Karam Panchley's responses," October 1, 2015
- ↑ City of Fall River, Massachusetts, "Elections," accessed September 18, 2015
| 2015 Fall River Public Schools Elections | |
| Bristol County, Massachusetts | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Gabriel Andrade • Incumbent, Mark Costa • Incumbent, Paul Hart • Incumbent, Joseph Martins • Incumbent, Robert Maynard • Incumbent, Melissa Karam Panchley • Sean Connell • Paul Coogan • Edward Costar |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
