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Green Bay Area Public School District elections (2016)
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Three of the seven seats on the Green Bay Area Public School District school board were up for general election on April 5, 2016. The three incumbents -Celestine Jeffreys, Brenda Warren and Chris Wagner- ran for re-election to their seats. They faced challenger Julie Jansch in the general election. Jansch, Warren, and Wagner won election to the three seats that were up for election.[1]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Green Bay Area Public School District Board of Education consists of seven at-large members elected to three-year terms. There was no primary election, and the general election was held on April 5, 2016. The board members elect a president, vice president, clerk and treasurer during an organizational meeting within 30 days of the fourth Monday in April.[2]
To be elected to the board, candidates must reside in the boundaries of the school district for 28 days prior to the filing of a "Declaration of Candidacy" form. Furthermore, at the time of taking office, each candidate must be a resident of the apportioned area he or she is elected to represent.[3] Candidates must also be 18 years old and citizens of the United States. Unless pardoned, those who have been convicted of a felony are not eligible for election to office in Wisconsin.[4]
Candidates had until January 5, 2016, to collect between 100 and 200 signatures for their nomination papers. The signatures had to come from residents of the district where the candidate sought election, but the petition circulators were not required to reside in the district or municipality. Circulators were required to be U.S. citizens and 18 years or older.[5]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Green Bay Area Public School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Brenda Warren Incumbent |
27.66% | 17,547 |
| Chris Wagner |
25.82% | 16,380 |
| Julie Jansch |
23.67% | 15,014 |
| Celestine Jeffreys Incumbent | 22.13% | 14,039 |
| Write-in votes | 0.73% | 463 |
| Total Votes (100) | 63,443 | |
| Source: Brown County, "Summary Report Brown County Official Results," accessed May 18, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Julie Jansch | Celestine Jeffreys | ||
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| Chris Wagner | Brenda Warren | ||
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Additional elections
- See also: Wisconsin elections, 2016
The Green Bay Area School District election shared the ballot with the state's presidential preference vote. There were also elections for a supreme court justice, a District 3 court of appeals judge, Brown County supervisors, and city alderpersons for the city of Green Bay.[6]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Wisconsin school board elections in 2016:[7]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| January 5, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| January 26, 2016 | Referendum submission deadline |
| March 28, 2016 | Pre-general election campaign finance deadline |
| April 5, 2016 | Election Day |
| April 25, 2016 | Board members take office |
| July 15, 2016 | Post-election campaign finance deadline |
District map
Endorsements
Jansch received an official endorsement from the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.[8]
Campaign finance
No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election, according to the city of Green Bay. Any candidate spending or receiving less than $2,000 was not required to file a campaign finance report.[9][10]
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2016
Election trends
The Green Bay school board is made up of seven members and has two or three seats up for election each year. In 2016, the district had three incumbents, along with one challenger, running for the three seats up for election. In 2015, 40.45 percent of school board candidates in America's largest school districts by enrollment were unopposed incumbents. Approximately 17 percent of candidates in Wisconsin's largest school districts were unopposed incumbents in 2015.
In the 2015 election, Green Bay Area Public School District had two unopposed candidates up for re-election. The 2014 election also had two unopposed incumbents running for three seats. This gives the district a three-year average of 1 candidate per seat.
Issues in the district
Changes in voucher law could mean loss in revenue in Green Bay Public School District
The Green Bay Public School District could lose approximately $1 million in revenue if a new amendment passes through the state legislature. Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-63) has introduced an amendment to the school voucher law that would limit a school district's ability to raise taxes based on the cost of education. The original law included a loophole allowing districts to raise more money through taxes than what they were paying into the voucher program.
After the law allowing students to enter into the voucher program passed, districts were required to pay into the voucher program if students from their district participated. The districts were allowed to raise money through increasing taxes. The formula used to determine how much a district could raise in taxes was based on the cost of education as determined by the state. This amount is higher than the amount a district pays into the voucher program for participating students, which is how districts were able to raise more money than they lost through the voucher program.
The Green Bay Gazette laid out how the proposed amendment could affect the Green Bay Public School District.
| “ | In Green Bay, for example, the 150 students who received vouchers this year cost the district nearly $1.1 million in state aid. But, the district was allowed to raise $1.4 million in taxes based on its state-set revenue limit of roughly $9,400 per student. This resulted in about $300,000 of additional revenue from local property taxes.[11] | ” |
| —Green Bay Gazette (2016)[12] | ||
Throughout the state, 106 districts raised $3.7 million through the loophole in the voucher law. The new calculation for the districts' ability to raise taxes would be based on enrollment as opposed to the cost of education. Within five years the districts would recoup the money lost based on the proposed amendment.
While there is speculation about the proposed amendment's ability to pass through the legislature, vice chairman of the Assembly Education Committee Joel Kitchens (R- 1) stated that it "does address a real issue."
Opponents of the amendment were worried about the loss in revenue since the amount the district can recoup for voucher students doesn't include the cost of transportation or special education services. Green Bay Area Public School District superintendent Michelle Lagenfield spoke out against the amendment, "Where does this fit with the vision of public education in the future? There are significant fiscal ramifications for classrooms in the future."[13]
Co-founder of Green Bay Advocates for Public Education Kathryn Carley opposed the amendment and showed concern for the public's perception of public schools.
| “ | The proponents of private school vouchers and privatization of public schools have … created a false myth that public schools are failing, and now they’re falsely saying public schools are ripping off taxpayers. False. False. False.[11] | ” |
| —Kathryn Carley (2016)[14] | ||
The amendment was voted on by members of the Wisconsin State Assembly on in February 2016. It was approved with a vote of 56-37. Two Republicans voted with Democrats on the amendment. The amendment was scheduled to go to a vote in the Wisconsin State Senate in March 2016.[15][16]
About the district
The Green Bay Area Public School District is located in Brown County in eastern Wisconsin. The county seat is Green Bay. Brown County was home to 256,670 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[17] The district was the fourth-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 21,006 students.[18]
Demographics
Higher education achievement
Brown County performed the same as Wisconsin as a whole in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 26.8 percent of Brown County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, which was the same percentage for the entire state.[17]
Median household income
From 2009 to 2013, the median household income in Brown County was $53,119, compared to $52,413 for the state of Wisconsin.[17] During that same time period, the median household income for the entire United States was $53,046.[19]
Poverty rate
The poverty rate in Brown County was 11.5 percent from 2009 to 2013. During that same time period, the poverty rate was 13.0 percent for the entire state, and it was 15.4 percent for the country as a whole.[17][19]
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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.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Green Bay Area Public School District' 'Wisconsin'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Green Bay Area Public School District | Wisconsin | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Green Bay, Wisconsin, "Candidates 2016," accessed January 12, 2016
- ↑ Green Bay Area Public School District, "School Board Operations Policies," accessed January 12, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Wisconsin Candidate Eligibility," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates: Getting on the Ballot," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "State Statutes: CHAPTER 8," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ Brown County, Wisconsin, "Notice of April 5, 2016 Election," accessed January 27, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Campaign Finance Report Dates 2016, 2017 and 2018," accessed January 25, 2016
- ↑ WI AFL-CIO, "2016 Spring Election Candidate Endorsements," March 10, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "Campaign Financing," accessed January 25, 2016
- ↑ Tiffany Rouse, "Email correspondence with Green Bay City Clerk Kris Teske," March 29, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Green Bay Gazette, "Voucher change could cost Green Bay $1 million," February 8, 2016
- ↑ Green Bay Gazette, "Voucher change could cost Green Bay $1 million," February 8, 2016
- ↑ Green Bay Gazette, "Voucher change could cost Green Bay $1 million," February 8, 2016
- ↑ WORT, "Dems Call ‘Bait-And-Switch’ Over Special Needs Voucher Amendmen," February 22, 2016
- ↑ Fox 6 Now, "State Assembly to vote on bill limiting school revenue Thursday," February 16, 2016
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 United States Census Bureau, "Brown County, Wisconsin," accessed July 6, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 United States Census Bureau, "State & County QuickFacts: USA," accessed July 6, 2015
- ↑ Brown County Clerk, "Election Results," accessed February 5, 2014
| 2016 Green Bay Area Public School District Elections | |
| Brown County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 5, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large:Incumbent, Celestine Jeffreys • Incumbent, Chris Wagner • Incumbent, Brenda Warren • Julie Jansch |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional measures on the ballot |
