Fargo Public Schools elections (2014)

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2014 Fargo Public Schools Elections
General Election date:
June 10, 2014
Table of Contents
About the district Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links
See also
North Dakota Fargo Public Schools Cass County, North Dakota ballot measures Local ballot measures, North Dakota

Five seats on the Fargo Board of Education were up for general election on June 10, 2014.

Incumbents Dinah Goldenberg and Linda Boyd and challengers Rebecca Knutson, Jennifer Benson, and David Paulson defeated six other candidates. Board members Rusty Papacheck, Rick Steen, and Kris Wallman did not file for re-election.

About the district

See also: Fargo Public Schools, North Dakota

Fargo Public Schools is located in Cass County, North Dakota

Fargo Public Schools is located in Fargo, North Dakota, the county seat of Cass County. Fargo had a population of 109,779 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau in 2014. Fargo Public Schools was the second-largest school district in North Dakota, serving 10,755 students during the 2011-2012 school year.

Demographics

Fargo outperformed the rest of North Dakota in terms of higher education achievement in 2010. The United States Census Bureau found that 39.0 percent of Fargo residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 27.1 percent for North Dakota as a whole. The median household income in Fargo was $44,304 compared to $51,641 for the state of North Dakota. The poverty rate in Fargo was 16.0 percent compared to 12.1 percent for the entire state.

Racial Demographics, 2010
Race	Fargo (%)	North Dakota (%)
White	90.2	90.0
Black or African American	2.7	1.2
American Indian and Alaska Native	1.4	5.4
Asian	3.0	1.0
Two or More Races	2.1	1.8
Hispanic or Latino	2.2	2.0

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

As of the 2014 election, the Fargo Board of Education consisted of nine members elected at-large to four-year terms. There was no primary election and the general election was held on June 10, 2014.

Board candidates filed statements of intent as well as a statement of financial interests with the school board secretary by April 7, 2014. State law does not require board candidates to file campaign finance reports. Write-in candidates are not required by state law to register before the general election.

Elections

2014

Candidates

At-large

• Teri-Lee C. James d
  • Graduate, University of Tennessee
  • Veterinarian
• Jennifer Benson
  • Graduate, Minnesota State University-Moorhead
  • Senior business specialist, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
• David Paulson
  • Retired teacher
• Scott Dahms d
  • Graduate, North Dakota State University
  • Owner, Dahms Design
• Rebecca Knutson
  • Graduate, North Dakota State University
  • Owner, Rebecca Knutson Consulting
• Dinah Goldenberg
  • Incumbent
  • Community volunteer
• Linda Boyd
  • Incumbent
  • Graduate, Minnesota State University-Moorhead
  • Executive director, Fargo-Moorhead Symphony Orchestra
• Ahmed Kamel d
  • Graduate, Cairo University and Michigan State University
  • Associate professor of computer science, Concordia College
• Marty Livingood d
  • Graduate, Mayville State University and the University of North Dakota
  • Former high school teacher
• Brian Martin d
  • Principal partner, Martin Mechanical Design Inc.
• Tyler Jon Anderson d
  • Graduate, North Dakota State University
  • Project manager, Eide Bailly
  • Veteran, U.S. Army

Election results

Fargo Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Rebecca Knutson	13.2%	5,874
	Nonpartisan	Linda Boyd Incumbent	12.2%	5,427
	Nonpartisan	Jennifer Benson	11.5%	5,142
	Nonpartisan	Dinah Goldenberg Incumbent	9.9%	4,426
	Nonpartisan	David Paulson	9.7%	4,324
	Nonpartisan	Brian Martin	9.2%	4,115
	Nonpartisan	Scott Dahms	8.5%	3,769
	Nonpartisan	Marty Livingood	7.3%	3,260
	Nonpartisan	Tyler Jon Anderson	7.1%	3,143
	Nonpartisan	Ahmed Kamel	6%	2,671
	Nonpartisan	Teri-Lee C. James	5.1%	2,284
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.3%	138
Total Votes				44,573
Source: North Dakota Secretary of State, "Fargo School District Election Results," June 25, 2014

Campaign finance

No candidates filed a campaign finance report with the district office. Candidates are not required by state law to file campaign finance reports.

Past elections

Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right.

2012 Fargo Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, June 12, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan John Strand 15.6% 8,250      Nonpartisan Robin Nelson 15% 7,954      Nonpartisan Paul Meyers 12.4% 6,579      Nonpartisan Jim Johnson 11.2% 5,918      Nonpartisan James "Jim" Ebsen 7.9% 4,156      Nonpartisan David Gibb III 7.7% 4,045      Nonpartisan Lillian Jones 7.4% 3,929      Nonpartisan Marty Livingood 6.8% 3,613      Nonpartisan Brandi Malarkey 6.4% 3,387      Nonpartisan Jordan Franzen 5.6% 2,974      Nonpartisan J.J. Gordon 3.7% 1,976      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.2% 93 Total Votes 52,874 Source: North Dakota Secretary of State, "Official Results Primary Election - June 12, 2012," accessed April 11, 2014

What was at stake?

Issues in the district

Board priorities in 2015

The Fargo Board of Education approved a memorandum on May 13, 2014, related to the district's priorities during the North Dakota Legislature's 2015 session. This memo detailed seven areas of discussion for the 2014-2015 school year, including increased funding for English Language Learners (ELL) and advocacy for state aid adjustments that use fall enrollments rather than enrollment figures from the previous year. The memorandum also indicated consensus among board members to oppose efforts on private school vouchers and levy restrictions on the building fund. Board members also agreed to oppose any efforts to eliminate Common Core standards in the upcoming legislative session. State Representative Mark Dosch (R) was a proponent of a school choice bill during the 2013 legislative session. He expressed disappointment in the board's memo in an interview with Watchdog.org, arguing that the board was more concerned about state aid rather than school quality.

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Fargo Public Schools election in 2014:

Deadline	Event
April 7, 2014	Filing deadline for candidates
May 1, 2014	Earliest date for absentee ballot access
June 10, 2014	Election day
June 20, 2014	Certification of results by county auditor

Additional elections on the ballot

The school board election shared the ballot with county races for commission, auditor, sheriff, treasurer, and state's attorney. Voters chose between The Forum of Fargo-Moorehead and the Cass County Reporter for the county's official newspaper. The ballot also included primary races for state legislative, U.S. House, and U.S. Senate seats.

See also

• North Dakota
• Fargo Public Schools, North Dakota
• North Dakota school board elections, 2014
• List of school board elections in 2014
• School board elections, 2014
• Cass County, North Dakota ballot measures
• Local ballot measures, North Dakota

External links

Suggest a link

• Fargo Public Schools
• City of Fargo
• Cass County Auditor