Henderson County Schools elections (2016)

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← 2014
Henderson County Schools Elections
General election date:
November 8, 2016
Enrollment (13–14):
13,489 students

Four of the seven seats on the Henderson County Schools school board were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. The seats of Ervin Bazzle, Mary Louise Corn, Joshua Houston, and Rick Wood were up for election. All four incumbents filed for re-election and were joined by four other candidates in the race: Michael Absher, Jared Bellmund, Blair Craven, and Burt Harris. Corn, Wood, Craven, and Absher won the election. There was no primary.

Elections

Voter and candidate information

The Henderson County Schools school board consists of seven members elected at large to four-year terms. Candidates had to file nominating petitions by December 21, 2015, to get on the ballot. There was a general election on November 8, 2016.

At-Large

Results

Henderson County Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Mary Louise Corn Incumbent	15.41%	26,280
Rick Wood Incumbent	14.75%	25,161
Blair Craven	14.46%	24,656
Michael Absher	14.04%	23,939
Joshua Houston Incumbent	13.42%	22,886
Burt Harris	11.57%	19,739
Ervin Bazzle Incumbent	11.42%	19,477
Jared Bellmund	4.66%	7,941
Write-in votes	0.27%	468
Total Votes (100)		170,547
Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official General Election Results-Henderson," accessed December 5, 2016

Candidates

Ervin Bazzle		Mary Louise Corn		Joshua Houston		Rick Wood
	Incumbent		Incumbent		Incumbent		Incumbent
Michael Absher		Jared Bellmund		Blair Craven		Burt Harris

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: North Carolina elections, 2016

The following offices shared primary, general or both election dates with the school board elections in Gaston County:

• President
• U.S. Senate
• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor
• Attorney General
• Secretary of State
• State Treasurer
• State Auditor
• State Superintendent of Schools
• Agriculture Commissioner
• Labor Commissioner
• Insurance Commissioner
• State Senate
• State House of Representatives
• North Carolina Court of Appeals
• Judicial District Court
• Board of County Commissioners

Note: The date for North Carolina's congressional primary was June 7, 2016. This primary was originally scheduled for March 15, 2016.

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for this North Carolina school board election:

Deadline	Event
December 21, 2015	Candidate filing deadline
February 29, 2016	First quarter campaign finance deadline
July 12, 2016	Second quarter campaign finance deadline
October 31, 2016	Third quarter campaign finance deadline
November 8, 2016	General Election Day
January 11, 2017	Fourth quarter 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

The Henderson County Board of Elections did not publish campaign finance reports on its website as of November 3, 2016.

See also: List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2016

School board candidates in North Carolina were required to file campaign finance reports to their county's board of elections unless the candidate:

(1) Did not receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in contributions, and

(2) Did not receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in loans, and

(3) Did not spend more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).

The third quarter campaign finance deadline was October 31, 2016, and the fourth quarter deadline was January 11, 2017.

Past elections

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

2014 Henderson County Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2014 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Lisa Edwards Incumbent 25.4% 16,830      Nonpartisan Amy Lynn Holt Incumbent 22.6% 14,961      Nonpartisan Colby Coren 22% 14,534      Nonpartisan Sonia Rollins Gironda 15.7% 10,411      Nonpartisan Michael Absher 13.9% 9,178      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.4% 259 Total Votes 66,173 Source: North Carolina Board of Elections, "2014 General Election Results," accessed December 30, 2014 2012 Henderson County Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2012 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Mary Louise Corn 18.8% 24,095      Nonpartisan Ervin W. Bazzle 13.8% 17,648      Nonpartisan Josh Houston 13.7% 17,504      Nonpartisan Rick Wood 13.4% 17,082      Nonpartisan Debbie Reemes Ford 12.5% 16,026      Nonpartisan Charles E. Thomas 10.4% 13,337      Nonpartisan Sonia Gironda 8.6% 11,050      Nonpartisan Michael Absher 8.4% 10,758      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.3% 361 Total Votes 127,861 Source: Henderson County Board of Elections, "Election Results 2012," accessed August 15, 2014 2010 Henderson County Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2010 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Lisa Edwards 22.4% 17,287      Nonpartisan Amy Lynn Holt 19.9% 15,363      Nonpartisan Melissa Maurer 18.2% 14,089      Nonpartisan Michael Absher 20.1% 15,576      Nonpartisan Jane Orwoll 14.5% 11,230      Nonpartisan Joslyn Bleick 4.7% 3,610      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.2% 179 Total Votes 77,334 Source: Henderson County Board of Elections, "Election Results 2010," accessed August 15, 2014

What was at stake?

2016

Issues in the election

Candidates answer questions during forum

A candidate forum hosted by the Henderson County Retired School Personnel was held on October 4, 2016. Each candidate had a minute and a half to answer the questions posed to them. The following are answers to some of the questions asked of the candidates, listed in the order they were asked during the forum.

Do you believe the School Board should be partisan or non-partisan?

Jared Bellmund: I believe it needs to be nonpartisan. Public education is not a partisan value, it's an American value. Our school board should not be a voice for party politics. If you need a letter at the end of my name to know what my ideas are, then I'm doing a very horrible job of communicating those ideas to you. I want to be a voice for the students, teachers, our staffs, and most importantly our community, not a political party.

Mary Louise Corn: I believe school boards should continue to be nonpartisan. There's just not a bone in my body that makes me think any part of education is partisan. We look at every case individually - we look at the students, their parents, the communities they come from, what the individual need is. We have enough partisanship already and I certainly would not want it to be a part of the school board. Partisanship is a divider and not a builder.

Blair Craven: I agree that school boards should be nonpartisan. But it's impossible to be nonpartisan - people want to know generally where you stand on certain issues. But once we walk through those doors it's all about the kids; I think partisan politics stays there, it stays here during the election cycle, but when we are talking about our kids and the kids of Henderson County, I think that all gets thrown out the door.

Burt Harris: There's no such thing as a Republican school or a Democratic school, and the campaign for the school board should be a campaign of ideas, not a campaign for the political parties. Personally, I don't feel like I'm running against anyone, I feel that I'm running for the school board. But 24 counties in North Carolina have elected to have partisan school board elections. I think we need to study why.

Joshua Houston: I would love to agree that it needs to be nonpartisan; unfortunately it's not. There's multiple things from being on the board that I've seen (that are) very partisan. I'm all for it; like everyone says, it would be fine if it was, it's all about the students in Henderson County, we just see things in different ways sometimes. There's just so many issues that I see that I would disagree with, from the North Carolina Association of School Boards (sending) resolutions that are very partisan hid under their nonpartisan banner, your tax dollars going to pay part of their legal fund. We have teachers using our email system to send out endorsed ballots from the North Carolina Association of educators, your tax-paid email system.

Rick Wood: I strongly believe that school board elections should continue to be nonpartisan. The education of our students should not be a partisan issue. Our focus as a school board should be on providing the best education possible for the students in our school system and not on partisan politics. I believe the majority of voters wanted to see school board candidates and elected school board members do their jobs and run their campaigns in a nonpartisan manner.

Michael Absher: I strongly believe that the school board is nonpartisan, but I also have to agree in the past few election cycles, the elections have started becoming partisan. And just to let you know, I was a Republican in those times and I did get passed up both times (in the last two school board elections). Ultimately, when it comes down to the school issues, a lot of people know I have conservative views, but when it comes down to kids, sometimes there's going to have some liberal views with that. School board candidates have to keep in mind that we're elected by the people and for the people and we have to keep that totally nonpartisan.

Ervin Bazzle: I strongly believe that it should be nonpartisan elections. In no way does a national political affiliation has any effect upon the consideration and decision making in that regard. If that's the sole criteria, then it should be nonpartisan. The legislators, Burt, are the ones that changed those counties' affiliations, it wasn't the counties voting. The most recent one was in Transylvania, where (Rep.) Chris (Whitmire) decided it was going to be partisan after it had been nonpartisan forever.

What do you believe are the most pressing construction needs for Henderson County Public Schools?

Craven: No. 1: Edneyville (Elementary). I was actually out at Edneyville today ... it needs to be replaced and it needs to be replaced as soon as possible. But one that's on everyone's radar that's a little bit more complicated is Hendersonville High School. I am whole-heartedly for renovating Hendersonville High School; it is my alma mater.

Harris: I do hope that the voters of Henderson County pay a good deal of attention to the construction needs, because there's about $100 million in costs coming up in the next few years and hopefully the school board will have a great deal to say about how that gets spent. Edneyville Elementary ought to be condemned. That's the first priority. What I see in most of the schools that I visit is years and years and years of deferred maintenance and need. Edneyville, maintenance, Hendersonville High.

Houston: Edneyville's No. 1; it's just not acceptable the condition it's in. It was No. 1 two years ago, it's number one today. Something I've learned being on the school board is this: there's always something. We need to continue to stay close with our county commissioners and look at these capital needs. In the future, focus on security, capacity, I know in the next five to seven years, it looks like we're looking at enclosing West Henderson High for single entry. We need to look at capacity, whether that's up or down. It's just a lot of different needs that we need to be focusing on.

Wood: I also believe the most pressing need that we have is Edneyville Elementary, and the biggest reason why I think that should be first is safety, because the layout of the school, safety is a very important issue there. The second most pressing need is the Hendersonville High project ... coming up with a good plan that addresses as many of the concerns as possible will be one of our school board's major responsibilities in the next few months; we must get it right.

Absher: Edneyville Elementary is of course the number one priority, safety, I agree with Rick Wood on that 100-percent. With what's happened recently around the United States, we do need to make sure our elementary schools are single-entry for sure, and that's a huge concern of mine. Hendersonville High School, the recommendation set forth from the school board to county commissioners should be honored, whether we agree with what the county commissioners do, they ultimately hold the money. We also have to look at the capacity and size and will it maintain for years and years to come. I'm also very concerned about some of the renovations that need to happen at some of our schools, East Henderson, it's outgrowing its cafeteria, we still have mobile units being used at a lot of schools, we really need to look at all of that.

Bazzle: I feel like we've answered this the last four years the same way; not many people listen, certainly the ones in control of the money. As we've said, when we sent the recommendations to the county commissioners there were two No. 1 priorities. We broke ground on one this past week, the other equal in priority was Edneyville. Hendersonville we knew would take longer. We told them it would take longer, we fought and came to a decision, with a split board on what that recommendation would be. The recommendation we made was based on boxes on the ground, not even knowing what they would look like or what they would house.

Bellmund: I fully support the current board's longtime decision that Edneyville Elementary needs to be replaced. I also agree that the capital repairs ad mobile buildings need to be fixed, so I'm going to take my time to talk about the future. It's time to start planning for the next big step, and that next big step I truly believe for the 21st century is a STEM school in Henderson County. I want our kids to grow up here and be able to be competitive in the 21st and soon-to-be 22nd century by staying in Henderson County.

Corn: I'm on record as thinking that Edneyville should be built first; we have the property, we have the plan. The one that's sucking up all the energy is Hendersonville High and because I think several have said, we have to get it right. Mixed in there is this maintenance. We get $1 million every single year ... to upkeep these 23 schools and it's not getting cheaper to put new roofs and HVAC and carpet and paint, so that is right up there with construction. That capital that we call it in the budget is for maintenance. That is right up there with the priority of building new schools.

If a parent calls you, as a school board member, with a complaint, what would you do with that information?

Houston: It happens a lot. I'm very thankful that I was able to present a motion to publish our phone numbers and our email addresses that were not on our website before. I think that's a part of the role , to be accessible. I've been walking into my place of employment and received a phone call about why a make-up day was not showing from Saturday school. You refer that person, you ask if they spoke to the teacher, the principal — it really should be teacher, principal, superintendent's office and then the school board. First it goes through all three steps and it's now been resolved in their favor, that's what we're for. I want to make sure I respond privately to them at first and then of course make the superintendent aware.

Wood: We need to be open and accessible; that's very important. My telephone number has always been in the public phone book, every year — 40 years that I've taught and as a school board member — so I've been accessible. I think how we handle it is important. It's important to encourage them to go through the chain of command, but we need to remember ... we can't take action as individual school board members. We have to act as a board; we can't make promises to the public. You listen, you ask them, have they gone through the chain of command, give them some suggestions of people to talk to, but you don't ever tell the public, "I'll do something about that," because you can't.

Absher: How I would do it is I actually would do sort of vice-versa of Rick Wood. If that parent is concerned about an issue, I would approach that principal, even the superintendent, and ask them why something hasn't been done, and then I would also notify all the other board members and say "Hey, this issue's going on." I think as being an elected official, we need to do everything in our power and capability to make sure that everybody feels comfortable to communicate with us. I think we all have an obligation to reach out and try to find out what that issue is, because sometimes if you just wait for it to go through the channels, sometimes you'll never hear about it and I think we all need to hear about every issue that comes about if possible.

Bazzle: It depends, as John said, on the issue that's brought to me and where it's coming from and the location it is and what level it has gone through to that point. In the end, we're the arbitrator of issues that are not decided within the system. You have to be very careful that you don't put yourself in a position of not being able to make that decision. You have to be responsive to the question. You have to be responsive to the individual, you have to tell them what you're going to do; if it means referring it back to the principal or referring it back to the superintendent, that's what you do. I agree with the fact that we act as a board. Most of the time when I've had situations like this, it's been resolved by the superintendent or the teacher involved, and that's where it should be.

Bellmund: I think we have a strong accountability to parents. We have to trust in our principals, our administrators, our supervisors who handle these situations. We do have to act as a board, but I do believe that most of these things, they just need an advocate. A parent needs to know what the next right step is and I think that's our responsibility, to lead them down the path of what the right next step is, calm down the situation and let it be addressed correctly.

Corn: Generally, I just listen first, so that I can sort of gauge at what level it is — have they already spoken with the teacher, the principal? Usually I get that information from them and depending on where they are in that, that would be my advice: "Well, I'd recommend that you talk to the principal about this," or maybe if they have, then: "Here's the phone number of the person at the central office you need to speak to." But it is better if you start with the teacher and the principal and you work your way up. We have had to have hearings and you don't want to get too involved in the situation or you might have to recuse yourself from the hearing. After I have given a parent the direction that I think they should go, generally I call — it might not always be the superintendent, but it could be one of the associates depending on what the issue is — and say, "Here's the call I got, you need to be aware of it," and very few times is it not resolved either at the local school or with that associate or superintendent.

Craven: I think we are elected to be the voice of parents, of teachers, of students of Henderson County. We are going to be sounding boards for a lot of parents on a lot of different issues. You do need to make sure that the proper chain of command is followed. I know that that might not suit some parents; it's a really pressing need. We need to make sure that we can handle it from a teacher's perspective; if that's not going to work, from a principal's perspective, so on and so forth. If it needs to be handled as a board, then I think take it on then. I think if you're chasing every email, every phone call, every disgruntled whatever, I think you'll end up chasing your tail and not getting much done, and so the proper channels have to be met, but we are that sounding board.

Harris: As an elected official, I would listen carefully and I would thank the parent for letting me know about the problem. I would also remind myself that I'm hearing one side of the story and I would further remind myself that the schools are operated by professional educators, not by members of the school board. I would refer the complaint to the appropriate assistant superintendent and senior director and I believe that the proper function of the school board is what I call "noses in and fingers out." Whoever I referred the problem to, I would ask them to please notify me what the resolution was. The last step would be that I would call the parent who initially contacted me and ask them if they were satisfied with the resolution.

Issues in the district

Transgender bathroom law

North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory (R)

North Carolina passed the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act (HB2) stating that individuals in government-operated facilities must use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender stated on their birth certificate on March 23, 2016. The law was passed by the legislature in a one-day specially-called session, and was signed into law that night by Governor Pat McCrory (R). The bill reversed an earlier ruling that allowed transgender individuals to use the restroom of their preference, and it offset local ordinances in the state that let transgender citizens do so.

HB2's effect on NC school districts

Since HB2 was signed into law, many school districts in the state have struggled to formulate a response. Not only does Title IX prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, but the state law's validity is being disputed in court. North Carolina school districts are unsure of how to balance these two laws. In the Wake County Public School System, Wake County sheriff Donnie Harrison said he would consider pulling deputies out of schools if the district does not decide on a consistent transgender bathroom policy. Harrison said the district did not have a uniform policy on the use of bathrooms by transgender students, which was causing confusion and unease among parents.

According to Lisa Luten, a Wake County Public School System spokesperson, transgender student issues with bathrooms and locker rooms are handled on a case-by-case basis. "No child has ever been at risk based on how we have handled this issue,” Luten said. “Because this issue is still being debated in federal courts, the school system is unable to create a formal policy.” The district's superintendent James Merrill said that transgender bathroom questions ought to be addressed by administrators rather than student resource officers. According to Nathan Smith, the director of public policy for the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, the consequence is that many schools decide their transgender bathroom policies on a case-by-case basis, leading to conflicting messages.

Lawsuits filed

On May 9, 2016, Gov. McCrory and the Justice Department filed opposing lawsuits, the former in support of the law and the latter against it. On one side, the U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights office said that the law is discriminatory and infringes on civil rights. “This action is about a great deal more than just bathrooms,” said Attorney General Loretta Lynch. “This is about the dignity and respect we accord our fellow citizens and the laws that we, as a people and as a country, have enacted to protect them.” Gov. McCrory's lawsuit was against the Justice Department, charging the federal government with “baseless and blatant overreach.” McCrory defended the necessity of the law as a response to a nondiscrimination ordinance in Charlotte.

The ACLU and the Justice Department asked a judge to hold off on HB2 while the lawsuit is being decided. According to federal documents, the trial could take place as early as October or November 2016. The Charlotte Observer stated that it would "not be unreasonable to expect Schroeder's ruling by the summer of 2017, perhaps before."

Backlash

On July 21, 2016, the NBA announced it planned to move its All-Star Game from Charlotte, North Carolina, which was scheduled to be held there in 2017. According to the Charlotte Observer, this decision will cost the city approximately $100 million. On September 12, 2016, the NCAA ousted seven championships that were scheduled to be held in the state during the 2016-2017 school year. Two days later, the Atlantic Coast Conference made a similar decision, revealing it planned to move the men's football championship game scheduled for December 2016 from Charlotte.

Want to see how this election related to state and national trends on this topic? Ballotpedia tracked this issue in the 2016 election cycle so you can see the connections and impact on this race in context.

Click here for The Bite on this topic.

About the district

See also: Henderson County Schools, North Carolina

Henderson County Public Schools is located in Henderson County, North Carolina.

Henderson County Public Schools is located in the county of the same name in North Carolina. The county seat is Hendersonville. Henderson County was home to 112,655 residents between 2010 and 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau. The district was the 27th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 13,489 students.

Demographics

Henderson County outperformed North Carolina as a whole in terms of higher education attainment in from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 28.3 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 27.8 percent for the state. The median household income in the county was $46,257, compared to $46,693 for the state. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 12.9 percent, while state residents did so at a rate of 17.2 percent.

Racial Demographics, 2015
Race	Henderson County (%)	North Carolina (%)
White	92.7	71.2
Black or African American	3.5	22.1
American Indian and Alaska Native	0.7	1.6
Asian	1.1	2.8
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.2	0.1
Two or More Races	1.8	2.1
Hispanic or Latino	10.0	9.1

Henderson County Party Affiliation, 2014
Party	Registered Voters	% of Total
Republican	30,590	39.5
Democratic	18,301	23.6
Libertarian	284	0.4
Unaffiliated	28,260	36.5

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 'Henderson County Schools' 'North Carolina'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Henderson County Schools elections (2016) - Google News

See also

Henderson County Schools	North Carolina	School Boards
Henderson County Schools elections (2014) List of school districts in North Carolina	North Carolina school board elections, 2016 Public education in North Carolina Local ballot measures, North Carolina	School board elections, 2016 School board elections, 2015 School board election data analysis, 2016 School board election data analysis, 2015

External links

• Henderson County Public Schools
• Henderson County Board of Elections