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Indianapolis Public Schools elections (2016)
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Four of the seven seats on the Indianapolis Public Schools school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. Three of the seats were up for by-district election and one was up for at-large election. In District 1, board incumbent Michael O'Connor defeated challenger Christine Prince. District 2 incumbent Gayle Cosby did not file for re-election, and three newcomers vied for the open spot on the board: Venita Moore, Nanci Lacy, and Ramon Batts, with Moore emerging victorious. In District 4, incumbent Diane Arnold successfully defended her seat against Larry Vaughn. For the at-large seat, incumbent Sam Odle filed for re-election and competed with challengers Elizabeth Gore and James Grim. Gore succeeded in ousting the incumbent. There was no primary.[1][2][3]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
Indianapolis Public schools are overseen by a seven-member board elected either at large or by district to four-year terms. School board members receive an annual compensation as authorized by law. There was no primary election, and a general election was held November 8, 2016.
In order to run in this school board race, candidates had to reside in the school district for at least one year before the election, be registered to vote in the district he or she sought to represent, and be at least 21 years of age. Additionally, no teacher or non-certified employee of a school district was permitted to be a member of its school board.
To appear on the ballot, candidates had to file a statement of economic interest and a petition of nomination by August 26, 2016. In a metropolitan school district, the petition had to be signed by ten registered voters residing in the same board member district as the nominee, whereas in a community school corporation, the petition had to be signed by ten registered voters residing within the boundaries of the school corporation.[4]
Candidates and results
District 1
Results
| Indianapolis Public Schools, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Michael O'Connor Incumbent |
54.21% | 7,085 |
| Christine Prince | 45.79% | 5,984 |
| Total Votes (100) | 13,069 | |
| Source: Indianapolis, "2016 General Election Results for Marion County, Certified Results," accessed November 29, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Michael O'Connor 
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Christine Prince | ||
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District 2
Results
| Indianapolis Public Schools, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Venita Moore |
51.14% | 6,831 |
| Ramon Batts | 28.87% | 3,856 |
| Nanci Lacy | 19.99% | 2,670 |
| Total Votes (100) | 13,357 | |
| Source: Indianapolis, "2016 General Election Results for Marion County, Certified Results," accessed November 29, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Venita Moore
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Nanci Lacy | Ramon Batts | |||
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District 4
Results
| Indianapolis Public Schools, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Diane Arnold Incumbent |
71.67% | 6,627 |
| Larry Vaughn | 28.33% | 2,619 |
| Total Votes (100) | 9,246 | |
| Source: Indianapolis, "2016 General Election Results for Marion County, Certified Results," accessed November 29, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Diane Arnold
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Larry Vaughn | ||
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At-Large
Results
| Indianapolis Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Elizabeth Gore |
42.86% | 29,377 |
| Sam Odle Incumbent | 34.17% | 23,426 |
| James Grim | 22.97% | 15,745 |
| Total Votes (100) | 68,548 | |
| Source: Indianapolis, "2016 General Election Results for Marion County, Certified Results," accessed November 29, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Sam Odle | Elizabeth Gore
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James Grim | |||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Indiana elections, 2016
The following offices shared the general election date with this Indiana school board election:
One state ballot measure was also scheduled to appear on the general election ballot: the Indiana Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for this Indiana school board election in 2016:[5]
| Deadline | Event |
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| July 27, 2016 | First day to file nominating petitions |
| August 26, 2016 | Last day to file nominating petitions |
| October 11, 2016 | Deadline to register to vote in the general election |
| October 21, 2016 | Deadline to file pre-general election campaign finance reports |
| November 8, 2016 | General election day |
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.
Sam Odle, Michael O'Connor, Venita Moore, and Diane Arnold were each endorsed by Stand for Children Indiana.[6]
Ramon Batts was endorsed by AFSCME 962/Local 3395/Indy Library Workers, Concerned Clergy of Greater Indianapolis, the Indianapolis Education Association, Our IPS, and Dr. Michael Brown's "The People's Voice."[7]
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $104,885.47 in contributions and spent a total of $48,567.55 in this election as of October 24, 2016, according to the Marion County Board of Elections.[8]
School board candidates in Indiana who received more than $500 in contributions or made more than $500 in expenditures had to have a principal committee. A principal committee is authorized by the candidate it represents to accept contributions and make expenditures on his or her behalf. The committee also helps to promote the candidate in the election. Each committee was required to have a chairperson and a treasurer. Any expenditures made by the committee had to be authorized by one of these two members.
Once the $500 threshold was reached, the candidate had to also file a Statement of Organization form no later than noon, 10 days after the candidate exceeded the limit. The requirement to form a principal committee and file a statement of organization was lifted for candidates who did not meet the $500 threshold requirement. The pre-election report was due October 21, 2016, and the annual report was due January 18, 2017.[9]
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.
Candidate survey
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About the district
- See also: Indianapolis Public Schools, Indiana
Indianapolis Public Schools is located in central Indiana in Marion County. The county seat is Indianapolis. Marion County was home to 939,020 residents between 2010 and 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[10] The district was the largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 30,813 students.[11]
Demographics
Marion County outperformed Indiana as a whole in terms of higher education attainment between 2010 and 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 27.7 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 23.6 percent of state residents. The median household income for the county was $42,378, compared to $48,737 for the state. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 21.3 percent, while that rate was 14.5 percent for state residents.[10]
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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 'Indianapolis Public Schools' 'Indiana'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Indianapolis Public Schools | Indiana | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Indianapolis, "Candidate Filings," accessed August 29, 2016
- ↑ Indianapolis Public Schools, "Your Commissioners," accessed August 29, 2016
- ↑ Indianapolis, "2016 General Election Results for Marion County," accessed November 10, 2016
- ↑ Indiana Election Division, "2016 Candidate Guide," accessed September 23, 2016
- ↑ Indiana Election Division, "Calendar," accessed September 1, 2016
- ↑ Stand for Children Indiana, "Endorsements for IPS School Board," accessed October 24, 2016
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email conversation with Dountonia S. Batts," October 25, 2016
- ↑ Marion County Board of Elections, "IPS School Board," accessed October 24, 2016
- ↑ Indiana Election Division, "2016 Indiana Campaign Finance Manual," accessed October 7, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 United States Census Bureau, "Marion County, Indiana," accessed September 26, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Indiana Election Division, "Election Results," accessed September 3, 2014
| 2016 Indianapolis Public Schools Elections | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 1: Incumbent, Michael O'Connor • Christine Prince District 2: Venita Moore • Nanci Lacy • Ramon Batts |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
