Franklin Public School District elections (2017)
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Two seats on the Franklin Public School District Board of Education were up for at-large general election on April 4, 2017. In their bids for re-election to the board, incumbents Tim Nielson and Linda Witkowski defeated challenger Adam P.K. Scanlan.[1][2]
The 2017 board of education election attracted more competition than the district's 2016 election attracted. Click to find out how else this race compared to past elections in the district and the state.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Franklin Board of Education consists of seven members elected to three-year terms. Elections are held at large on a staggered basis every year in April. Three seats were up for election on April 5, 2016, and two seats were up for election on April 4, 2017. A primary election could have been held on February 21, 2017, if more than four candidates had filed to run in the race.[3][4]
School board candidates had to be at least 18 years old, U.S. citizens, and residents of the school district for a minimum of 28 consecutive days before filing as a candidate. They also could not be disqualified from voting under Wisconsin law.[5]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file nomination papers with the school district clerk by January 3, 2017. If incumbents whose terms were up for re-election did not file to run in the race and did not file written notification that they would not be running, the candidate filing deadline could have been extended until January 6, 2017. The terms of candidates elected in the race started on April 24, 2017.[5]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Franklin Public School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Linda Witkowski Incumbent |
40.13% | 2,544 |
| Tim Nielson Incumbent |
37.03% | 2,348 |
| Adam P.K. Scanlan | 22.19% | 1,407 |
| Write-in votes | 0.65% | 41 |
| Total Votes | 6,340 | |
| Source: Franklin City Clerk, "Spring Election - April 4, 2017," accessed May 2, 2017 | ||
Candidates
Tim Nielson 
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Linda Witkowski
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Adam P.K. Scanlan | |||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Wisconsin elections, 2017
The Franklin Board of Education election shared the ballot with elections for the office of Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction and one seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.[6]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Wisconsin school board elections in 2017:[7][8]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| January 3, 2017 | Candidate filing deadline |
| January 16, 2017 | Campaign finance deadline for candidates registered before January 1 |
| February 13, 2017 | Campaign finance deadline for districts holding primary elections |
| March 27, 2017 | Campaign finance deadline for general election |
| April 4, 2017 | Election Day |
| April 24, 2017 | Board members take office |
| July 15, 2017 | Post-election campaign finance deadline |
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
All school board candidates in Wisconsin were required to file a campaign registration statement with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission after qualifying as candidates. This statement declares their candidacy to the county clerk's office and allows them to claim exemption from reporting campaign contributions and expenditures. Candidates were only required to report campaign contributions and expenditures if they did one or both of the following:[9]
- Accepted contributions, made disbursements, or incurred debt in excess of $2,000 during the calendar year
- Accepted more than $100 from a single source during the calendar year, barring contributions made by candidates to their own campaigns
There were three campaign finance report deadlines in 2017:
- The pre-primary report was due February 13, 2017,
- The pre-election report was due March 27, 2017, and
- The post-election report was due July 15, 2017.[10]
Candidates who filed before January 1, 2017, also had to file a continuing campaign finance report on January 16, 2017.[8]
Reports
All three candidates in this race filed exemption statements detailing they would not spend or receive more than $2,000 toward their campaigns. Because of this, they did not have to file additional campaign finance reports.[11]
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2016
2015
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What was at stake?
2017
Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
The 2017 Franklin Board of Education election attracted more competition than the 2016 election. Three candidates ran for two seats on April 4, 2017, while in 2016, every seat was unopposed as three candidates ran for three seats.
Two incumbents ran to retain their seats against one challenger in 2017, and they both won re-election. In 2016, two incumbents ran for re-election and won, and a newcomer won an open seat.
| School board election trends | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Franklin Public School District | ||||||
| 2017 | 1.5 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| 2016 | 1.00 | 100.00% | 66.67% | 100.00% | 33.33% | |
| Wisconsin | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.38 | 38.24% | 73.53% | 84.00% | 35.29% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
Issues in the district
Board vacancy
The Franklin Board of Education announced in January 2017 that it had a vacancy due to the resignation of board member Meenakshi (Sonali) Ghosh. Ghosh had been elected to the board in the general election on April 5, 2016, leaving more than two years left on her term. The board asked interested parties to file a Declaration of Interest with Superintendent Steve Patz by January 26, 2017.[12]
The board appointed Larry Gamble as Ghosh's replacement in February 2017. Gamble's term was up for election in April 2018.[13]
Candidate survey
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About the district
The Franklin Public School District is located in Milwaukee County in southeastern Wisconsin. The county seat is Milwaukee. Milwaukee County was home to an estimated 957,735 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[14] The district was the 39th-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 4,396 students.[15]
Demographics
Higher education achievement
Milwaukee County outperformed Wisconsin as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 29.1 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 27.8 percent of state residents.[14]
Median household income
From 2011 to 2015, the median household income for Milwaukee County was $43,873. During that same period, the median household income for Wisconsin was $53,357. For the United States, it was $53,889.[14]
Poverty rate
The poverty rate in Milwaukee County was 22 percent between 2011 and 2015. During that same period, the poverty rate for the entire state was 12.1 percent, and for the entire country it was 13.5 percent.[14]
Racial demographics
| Racial Demographics, 2015[14] | |||
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| Race | Milwaukee County (%) | Wisconsin (%) | |
| White | 65.1 | 87.6 | |
| Black or African American | 27.1 | 6.6 | |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.0 | 1.1 | |
| Asian | 4.2 | 2.8 | |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0.0 | 0.1 | |
| Two or more races | 2.7 | 1.8 | |
| Hispanic or Latino | 14.5 | 6.6 | |
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.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Franklin Public School District Wisconsin election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Franklin Public School District | Wisconsin | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ South Now, "A matter of choices: Enough candidates file to prompt races for spring elections," January 3, 2017
- ↑ Milwaukee County Election Commission, "Summary Report: Unofficial Results," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Franklin Public School District, "Board of Education," accessed January 3, 2017
- ↑ Franklin Public School District, "Board Election Information," accessed January 3, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wisconsin Association of School Boards, "Guide for Candidates: 2017 Spring Election Edition," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Election Commission, "Spring 2017 Election," accessed January 3, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Guided for Candidates," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Wisconsin Ethics Commission, "Campaign Finance Checklist," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "11.0104 Reporting exemptions: limited activity," accessed December 15, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Ethics Commission, "Filing Deadlines and Reporting Periods," accessed December 15, 2016
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Meghan Dade, Franklin Public School District," March 28, 2017
- ↑ Franklin Public School District, "Notice of School Board Vacancy," January 12, 2017
- ↑ Franklin Public School District, "Our Board Members," accessed February 14, 2017
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 United States Census Bureau, "Milwaukee County, Wisconsin," accessed December 19, 2016
- ↑ 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
| Franklin Public School District elections in 2017 | |
| Milwaukee County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 4, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Tim Nielson • Incumbent, Linda Witkowski • Adam P.K. Scanlan |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
