Howard-Suamico School District elections (2017)
2018 →
← 2016 |
|---|
 |
|
|
| Enrollment (14-15) |
|
|
Two seats on the Howard-Suamico School District Board of Education were up for general election on April 4, 2017. For the second year in a row, the candidates running for the seats up for election ran unopposed. One new member was guaranteed a spot on the board. Newcomer Garry Sievert won an open seat after incumbent Dan Deppeler decided not to run for re-election. Incumbent Rachelle Paulsen ran unopposed and won re-election to her seat.[1][2]
In 2016, the board changed its residency requirements for school board candidates, eliminating village-specific seats on the school board. Despite the change in residency requirements, both candidates who ran for the two seats up for election in 2017 lived in the designated villages that the seats formerly required.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Howard-Suamico Board of Education consists of seven members elected to three-year terms. All members are elected at large. Prior to 2017, members were require to run for village-specific seats on the board. Four seats were designated for residents of the village of Howard, and three seats were designated for residents of the village of Suamico. The school board approved a policy change that allowed any resident of the school district to run for any seat up for election. The 2017 election was the first election since the elimination of the residency requirement. Elections are held every year. Three seats were up for election in 2016, and two seats were up for election in 2017. The general election was held on April 4, 2017.[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.[4]
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.[4]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Howard-Suamico School District, General Election, 3-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Rachelle Paulsen Incumbent |
48.53% | 3,956 |
| Garry Sievert |
48.34% | 3,940 |
| Write-in votes | 3.13% | 255 |
| Total Votes | 8,151 | |
| Source: Brown County Clerk, "Summary Report: Official Results," accessed May 9, 2017 | ||
Candidates
Rachelle Paulsen 
|
Garry Sievert
| ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Wisconsin elections, 2017
The Howard-Suamico 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. Voters also voted on two referendum questions for the district.[5]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Wisconsin school board elections in 2017:[6][7]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| January 3, 2017 | Candidate filing deadline |
| January 16, 2017 | Campaign finance deadline for candidates registered before January 1 |
| February 13, 2017 | Pre-primary election campaign finance deadline |
| February 21, 2017 | Primary election day |
| March 27, 2017 | Pre-general election campaign finance deadline |
| 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:[8]
- 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.[9]
Candidates who filed before January 1, 2017, also had to file a continuing campaign finance report on January 16, 2017.[10]
Reports
Both 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. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016Howard
Suamico
2015
2014
2013
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What was at stake?
Election trends
- See also: School board elections, 2017
One new member was guaranteed to join the Howard-Suamico School District school board after the 2017 election since only one incumbent filed to run for re-election to the two seats up for election. In the 2016 school board election, all three seats up for election were won by incumbents who ran unopposed. While the district had an average of just one candidate per seat for the last two elections, the 2015 state and national averages of candidates per seat were 1.38 and 1.72, respectively.
| School board election trends | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Howard-Suamico School District | |||||
| 2017 | 1.00 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 50.00% | |
| 2016 | 1.00 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| Wisconsin | |||||
| 2015 | 1.38 | 32.00% | 84.00% | 35.29% | |
| United States | |||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
Issues in the election
Board changes election format
From the founding of the Howard-Suamico School District in 1961 until 2016, the school board had four designated seats for residents of the village of Howard and three designated seats for the residents of the village of Suamico. The district as a whole had voted on all candidates, but board membership was divided between the two villages. In 2016, the school board decided to change the policy. Board President Mark Ashley commented on the change, "We are trying to create unity for the two communities. Now it is equal, we serve both equally." He went on to say,
| “ | The way our ballot is designed, you vote for both seats anyway, no matter where you live. It isn't that Howard residents vote for Howard candidates and Suamico for Suamico candidates. Many people didn't even realize they were split. If they need something, they call any of us, no matter where we live.[12] | ” |
| —Mark Ashley (2016)[13] | ||
The April 2017 election was the first election in which candidates could run for both seats without regard to village residency. Despite the change in residency requirements, both candidates who ran for the two seats up for election in 2017 lived in the designated villages that the seats formerly required. The process took three years to complete. After the April 2019 election, all board members were at-large members.[13]
District puts referendum question on the April ballot
In addition to choosing two school board members on April 4, 2017, citizens of the Howard-Suamico School District voted on a referendum that asked to increase the district's revenue limit. The referendum failed with 70.64 percent of voters casting ballots against it, according to unofficial results.[2]
After surveying the community through an online survey at the end of 2016, the board voted unanimously on January 9, 2016, to include a referendum question seeking a $4 million increase in its revenue limits on the April 2017 ballot. Over 900 people participated in the survey created by the board. The results showed that 84 percent supported the referendum for general improvements in the district. More specifically, 67 percent of respondents supported the money going to academic programs, while 61 percent of respondents supported the money being used to increase teacher compensation.[14]
The referendum question was worded to allow a $4 million increase in the revenue limits each year, indefinitely. The referendum would increase a taxpayer's 2018 bill by $1.19 for every $1,000 of equalized home value. The tax rate would decrease after the initial first-year bump. The average home value in Howard was $208,989 2017, making the annual impact $248.79 for an average homeowner. Likewise, the average home value in Suamico was $239,359 in 2017, making the annual impact $284.84 for an average homeowner.[15]
The school board released a fact sheet laying out how it would spend the money brought in by the approved referendum. Student services, employee compensation, and facilities maintenance were the three spending priorities for the money as identified by the board.[14]
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.
Candidate survey
|
|
Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
About the district
The Howard-Suamico School District is located in Brown County in eastern Wisconsin. The county seat is Green Bay. Brown County was home to 258,718 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[16] The district was the 25th-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 5,996 students.[17]
Demographics
Higher education achievement
Brown County outperformed Wisconsin as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 27.9 percent of Brown County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 27.8 percent of state residents.[16]
Median household income
From 2011 to 2015, the median household income in Brown County was $53,527, compared to $53,357 for the entire state of Wisconsin. During that same time period, the median household income for the entire United States was $53,889.[16]
Poverty rate
The poverty rate in Brown County was 11.1 percent from 2011 to 2015. During that same time period, the poverty rate was 12.1 percent for the entire state, and it was 13.5 percent for the country as a whole.[16]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[16] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Brown County (%) | Wisconsin (%) |
| White | 88.6 | 87.6 |
| Black or African American | 2.7 | 6.6 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 3.2 | 1.1 |
| Asian | 3.3 | 2.8 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 2.2 | 1.8 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 8.3 | 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 Howard-Suamico School District Wisconsin election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Howard-Suamico School District | Wisconsin | School Boards |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Tiffany Rouse, "Email correspondence with Howard-Suamico School District's Executive Secretary to the Superintendent Sharon Rentmeester," January 4, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Brown County Clerk, "Summary Reports Unofficial," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Howard-Suamico School District, "Board of Education," accessed December 26, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Wisconsin Association of School Boards, "Guide for Candidates: 2017 Spring Election Edition," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking by Office: 2017 Spring Election - 4/4/2017," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Guided for Candidates," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Wisconsin Ethics Commission, "Campaign Finance Checklist," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Abbey Smith, "Phone communication with Sharon Rentmeester, Executive Secretary, Howard-Suamico School District," April 3, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Green Bay Press-Gazette, "Howard-Suamico revamps school board elections," August 14, 2016
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Green Bay Gazette, "Howard-Suamico plans schools referendum in April," January 10, 2017
- ↑ Howard-Suamico School District, "Information about the April 4, 2017 Referendum," accessed January 27, 2017
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 United States Census Bureau, "Brown County, Wisconsin," accessed December 13, 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
| Howard-Suamico School District elections in 2017 | |
| Brown County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 4, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Rachelle Paulsen • Garry Sievert |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
