Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Fort Smith Public Schools elections (2017)
← 2016 |
|---|
 |
|
|
| Enrollment (14-15) |
|
|
Two of the seven seats on the Fort Smith Public Schools Board of Education in Arkansas were up for nonpartisan general election on September 19, 2017. Incumbent Deanie Mehl did not file to run for re-election to the at-large, Position 2 seat, which left it open for a newcomer. Greg Magness was the only candidate to file to run for the seat and was elected to the seat. In her bid for re-election to the Zone III, Position 7 seat, incumbent Jeannie Cole ran unopposed and won another term.[1][2]
The 2017 election was the first time since 2014 that every seat on the ballot was unopposed. To read about election trends in the district, click here.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Fort Smith Board of Education consists of seven members elected to three-year terms. Three seats are elected at large, and four seats are elected by district. Elections are held on a staggered basis so that two or three seats are up for election every year in September.[3][4][5]
School board candidates had to be U.S. citizens and residents of the school district and electoral zone they sought to represent. They could not be employees of the school district or have been convicted of "embezzlement of public money, bribery, forgery, or other infamous crime," according to the Arkansas Constitution. To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file nomination paperwork, which included a petition with signatures from 20 registered voters in the school district, with their county clerk by noon on July 11, 2017.[6][7][8]
To vote in this election, citizens of the school district had to register by August 21, 2017.[8] Photo identification was not required to vote in Arkansas.[9]
Candidates and results
At-large, Position 2
Results
| Fort Smith Public Schools, At-large, Position 2 General Election, 3-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Greg Magness (unopposed) |
100.00% | 168 |
| Total Votes | 168 | |
| Source: Sebastian County Clerk, "Sebastian County Election Results," accessed October 2, 2017 | ||
Candidates
Greg Magness 
| |
|---|---|
|
|
|
Zone III, Position 7
Results
| Fort Smith Public Schools, Zone III, Position 7 General Election, 3-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jeannie Cole Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 53 |
| Total Votes | 53 | |
| Source: Sebastian County Clerk, "Sebastian County Election Results," accessed October 2, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Jeannie Cole
| |
|---|---|
|
|
|
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Arkansas elections, 2017
The Fort Smith Board of Education election shared the ballot with a vote on the renewal of the school tax rate.[10]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Arkansas school board elections in 2017:[8][11]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| July 5, 2017 - July 11, 2017 | Candidate filing period |
| August 21, 2017 | Voter registration deadline for general election |
| September 10, 2017 | Voter registration deadline for runoff election |
| September 12, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline for general election |
| September 12, 2017 - September 18, 2017 | Early voting period for general election |
| September 19, 2017 | General election date |
| October 3, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline for runoff election |
| October 3, 2017 - October 9, 2017 | Early voting period for runoff election |
| October 10, 2017 | Runoff election date (if needed) |
| October 30, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline for general election |
| November 30, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline for runoff election |
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
The Sebastian County 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.
Reporting requirements
School board candidates in Arkansas had to file two campaign finance reports for the general election. The first report was due on September 12, 2017, and the second report was due on October 30, 2017.[11]
If a runoff election was held for any seat, the candidates who ran in that election had to file an additional two reports. The first report for the runoff election was due on October 3, 2017, and the second report for the runoff election was due on November 30, 2017.[11]
Past elections
To see results from past elections in Fort Smith Public Schools, click here.
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
Ballotpedia researches issues in school board elections across the United States, but information availability is a challenge for us in many school districts. Please contact us about the issues that impact your local school district. Note that not all submissions may meet Ballotpedia's coverage requirements for inclusion.
Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
The 2017 election had a 100 percent unopposed rate, like the district's 2014 election. Unlike the 2014 election, however, a newcomer was guaranteed to win one of the two seats up for election. The district's 2016 election also saw a newcomer win one of the two seats on the ballot, and the 2015 election saw two newcomers elected to the board.
| School board election trends | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Fort Smith Public Schools | ||||||
| 2017 | 1.00 | 100.00% | 50.00% | 100.00% | 50.00% | |
| 2016 | 2.50 | 0.00% | 50.00% | 100.00% | 50.00% | |
| 2015 | 1.67 | 33.33% | 100.00% | 33.33% | 66.67% | |
| 2014 | 1.00 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| 2013 | 1.50 | 50.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| Arkansas | ||||||
| 2016 | 1.11 | 31.58% | 36.84% | 85.71% | 68.42% | |
| 2015 | 1.45 | 54.55% | 81.82% | 77.78% | 36.36% | |
| 2014 | 1.45 | 54.55% | 72.73% | 62.50% | 54.55% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2016 | 1.90 | 34.05% | 71.31% | 82.39% | 41.04% | |
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
| 2014 | 1.89 | 32.57% | 75.51% | 81.31% | 38.24% | |
Candidate survey
|
|
Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
About the district
- See also: Fort Smith Public Schools, Arkansas
The Fort Smith school district is located on the western border of Arkansas in Sebastian County. The city of Fort Smith is one of two county seats and is the second-largest city in the state. Sebastian County was home to an estimated 127,793 residents in 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[12] The district was the sixth-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 14,711 students.[13]
Demographics
Sebastian County underperformed compared to Arkansas as a whole in terms of median household income, poverty rate, and higher education achievement between 2011 and 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau. The median household income in the county was $38,575, while the statewide median was $41,371. The county's poverty rate was 22.1 percent, while the statewide poverty rate was 19.1 percent. The United States Census Bureau also found that 19.2 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 21.1 percent of state residents.[12]
| Racial Demographics, 2016[12] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Fort Smith (%) | Arkansas (%) |
| White | 82.6 | 79.4 |
| Black or African American | 6.7 | 15.7 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 2.2 | 1.0 |
| Asian | 4.7 | 1.6 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Two or More Races | 3.5 | 2.0 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 13.9 | 7.3 |
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.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Fort Smith Public Schools Arkansas election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Fort Smith Public Schools | Arkansas | School Boards |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Darlene Neumeier," July 12, 2017
- ↑ Sebastian County Clerk, "Sebastian County Election Results," accessed September 19, 2017
- ↑ Fort Smith Public Schools, "School Board & Superintendent," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ Fort Smith Public Schools, "Board Policies: Section B School Board Governance and Operations," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ For Smith Public Schools, "Fort Smith Public Schools Board of Education," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ Arkansas School Boards Association, "School Board Members: Board Candidates," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ 2015 Arkansas Code, "§ 6-14-111 - Candidate filing procedures," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Arkansas Secretary of State, "2017 Annual September School Board Election Dates," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Voting In Arkansas," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ Fort Smith Public Schools, "Two Board Seats Open For School Election," June 8, 2017
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 2016 Arkansas Code, "§ 7-6-208 (2016)," accessed July 24, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: Sebastian County, Arkansas; Arkansas," accessed July 12, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
| Fort Smith Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Sebastian County, Arkansas | |
| Election date: | September 19, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large, Position 2: • Greg Magness Zone III, Position 7: • Incumbent, Jeannie Cole |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
