Jackson-Madison County School System elections (2016)
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Four of the nine seats on the Jackson-Madison County School System Board of Education were up for by-district general election on August 4, 2016.[1] Kevin Alexander and Bryan Barry ran to fill the District 2 seat that was left open by incumbent Jeffery Head. Alexander won the seat. The District 3 seat was also left open when incumbent Truman Murray did not file to run for re-election. Wayne Arnold and Sam Turner Jr. ran for that seat, and Arnold won the election. The District 5, Position 1 race featured incumbent James Campbell III. He ran unopposed and won after challengers Stephanie Phillips, Jana Soriano, and Jeff Wall withdrew from the race. Incumbent Janice Hampton defeated challenger Tracy Boyd Jr. for the District 6, Position 1 seat.[2][3][4]
To see how this race compared to past elections in both the district and the state, check out the "Election trends" section below.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Jackson-Madison County Board of Education consists of nine members elected by district to four-year terms. Elections are held on a staggered basis every August of even-numbered years. Five seats were up for election on August 7, 2014, and four seats were up for general election on August 4, 2016. There was no primary election.[5][6]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file their qualifying documents by April 7, 2016. The deadline to withdraw from the election was April 14, 2016.[1]
To vote in this election, residents of the district had to register by July 5, 2016.[1] Photo identification was required to vote in this election.[7]
Candidates and results
District 2
Results
| Jackson-Madison County School System, District 2 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kevin Alexander |
62.51% | 847 |
| Bryan Barry | 37.49% | 508 |
| Total Votes | 1,355 | |
| Source: Madison County Election Commission, "2016 August State Primary and County General Results," accessed September 1, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Kevin Alexander 
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Bryan Barry | ||
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District 3
Results
| Jackson-Madison County School System, District 3 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Wayne Arnold |
71.79% | 977 |
| Sam Turner Jr. | 28.21% | 384 |
| Total Votes | 1,361 | |
| Source: Madison County Election Commission, "2016 August State Primary and County General Results," accessed September 1, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Wayne Arnold
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Sam Turner Jr. | ||
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District 5, Position 1
Results
| Jackson-Madison County School System, District 5, Position 1 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| James Campbell III Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 2,466 |
| Total Votes | 2,466 | |
| Source: Madison County Election Commission, "2016 August State Primary and County General Results," accessed September 1, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| James Campbell III
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District 6, Position 1
Results
| Jackson-Madison County School System, District 6, Position 1 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Janice Hampton Incumbent |
99.94% | 1,709 |
| Tracy Boyd Jr. | 0.06% | 1 |
| Total Votes | 1,710 | |
| Source: Madison County Election Commission, "2016 August State Primary and County General Results," accessed September 1, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Janice Hampton
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Tracy Boyd Jr. | ||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Tennessee elections, 2016
The Madison County School System election shared the ballot with primary elections for the District 73 and 80 seats on the Tennessee House of Representatives.[2]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Tennessee school board elections in 2016:[1]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| April 7, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| April 11, 2016 | 1st quarter campaign finance report due |
| April 14, 2016 | Candidate withdrawal deadline |
| July 5, 2016 | Voter registration deadline |
| July 11, 2016 | 2nd quarter campaign finance report due |
| July 15, 2016 - July 30, 2016 | Early voting period |
| July 28, 2016 | Pre-election campaign finance report due |
| August 4, 2016 | Election day |
| October 11, 2016 | 3rd quarter campaign finance report due |
| January 25, 2017 | 4th quarter campaign finance report due |
Endorsements
No candidates received official endorsements in the election.
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 pre-general campaign financial disclosure report for this election was due July 28, 2016. Candidates were also required to file quarterly reports for the 2016 election year. Those reports were due on April 11, 2016; July 11, 2016; October 11, 2016; and January 25, 2017.[1]
The Madison County Election Commission did not publish school board campaign finance reports online for this election. Ballotpedia staff directly requested this information, but the county did not provide it.
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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What was at stake?
2016
Election trends
- See also: School board elections, 2014
The number of candidates who ran in the 2016 Jackson-Madison County Board of Education election followed a district trend. The past three election cycles saw an average of less than two candidates run per seat up for election, and the 2016 race attracted an average of 1.75 candidates per seat. An average of 1.94 candidates ran per school board seat on the ballot in Tennessee's largest school districts in 2014.
The district's 2016 election also followed a trend by having one unopposed seat. The district's 2010, 2012, and 2014 elections also had at least one unopposed seat. The highest percentage of unopposed seats occurred in 2012 when two-thirds of the seats on the ballot saw no opposition, and the lowest percentage occurred in 2010, when 16.67 percent of the seats were unopposed. Statewide in 2014, 36.78 percent of school board seats were unopposed.
With two open seats on the ballot, a minimum of two new members were elected to the Jackson-Madison County Board of Education in 2016. There was the chance for one more to join, but that challenger was defeated by the incumbent he ran against. In the district's 2014 election, no new members were elected. All five incumbents ran for re-election that year, and all five won additional terms. Overall in 2014, newcomers took 45.98 percent of the school board seats up for election statewide, and 75.41 percent of incumbents won re-election.
Issues in the state
Transgender bathroom bill withdrawn
State Rep. Susan Lynn (R-57) proposed legislation in January 2016 that would require public school students in kindergarten through college to use the bathroom and locker room that corresponded with the sex listed on their birth certificates. Four months later, she withdrew the bill. "I am still absolutely 100 percent in support of maintaining the privacy of all students. But I'm going to roll the bill over until next year so we can work on those issues," Lynn said.[8][9]
House Bill 2414 drew criticism from local media and some companies threatened to withhold business from the state if the bill were passed. Lynn said that was not why she withdrew the bill; instead, she put it on hold in order to further study the issue. She said school districts in Tennessee were "largely following what the bill says."[8][10]
While HB 2414 was still in committee, Gov. Bill Haslam (R) expressed concern about the bill. “I’m hearing that our school boards have figured out how to adjust to each situation that arises, and to date, I’m not hearing parents say we have [a] problem in our schools today,” said Haslam.[11]
State Reps. Mike Stewart (D-52) and Harry Brooks (R-19) asked for an opinion on the issue from Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery (R). Slatery responded by warning that the state could lose federal Title IX funding if the bill were passed.[12]
| “ | As things currently stand, we must, as a practical matter, assume that H.B. 2414 would violate Title IX, because the enforcer of Title IX has clearly interpreted — and enforced — Title IX to prohibit as 'discriminatory on the basis of sex' what H.B. 2414 is designed to accomplish.[13] | ” |
| —Attorney General Herbert Slatery (April 2016)[12] | ||
Stewart said Slatery's opinion was the "final nail in the coffin" for the bill. He and State Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-55) said the bill could also hinder the state's goal of creating a business-friendly climate.[12] Executives of dozens of companies had signed a letter to state lawmakers asking them to reject the bill on the grounds that it was discriminatory.[14]
David Fowler, former state senator and president of the Family Action Council of Tennessee, objected to Slatery's opinion. He said the attorney general had used settlement agreements rather than court decisions to warn the state legislature away from passing the bill. "Settlement agreements have no persuasive value as a matter of law, unlike the court decisions that have actually ruled in favor of sex-designated bathrooms," Fowler said.[12]
After the bill was withdrawn, Fowler issued a statement:
| “ | But we join the thousands of parents across the state who are profoundly disappointed that at this point in the process Rep. Lynn has decided not to proceed with a bill that would have simply protected the privacy of the children they have entrusted to our public schools.[13] | ” |
| —David Fowler (April 2016)[8] | ||
In addition to receiving support from the Family Action Council of Tennessee, the bill was backed by approximately 30 pastors from the Tennessee Pastors Network. At least 67,000 state citizens opposed the bill, as two transgender high school students turned in that many signatures to the governor's office. They were joined by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, the Tennessee Equality Project, the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, and the Human Rights Campaign.[8]
Candidate survey
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About the district
The Jackson-Madison County School System is located in Madison County in western Tennessee. The county seat is Jackson. Madison County was home to 97,610 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[15] The district was the 11th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 13,093 students.[16]
Demographics
Madison County outperformed Tennessee as a whole in terms of education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 25.1 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 24.4 percent of state residents. The median household income for Madison County was $42,069, compared to $44,621 for the entire state. The percentage of people below poverty level was 20.9 percent, while it was 18.3 percent statewide.[15]
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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 'Jackson-Madison County School System' 'Tennessee'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Jackson-Madison County School System | Tennessee | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Tennessee Secretary of State, "Election Calendar 2016," accessed March 30, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Madison County Election Commission, "August 4, 2016: State Primary and County General Election," accessed April 8, 2016
- ↑ Jackson-Madison County School System, "Schools in Board Members Zone," accessed April 8, 2016
- ↑ Madison County Election Commission, "Cumulative Report - Unofficial August 4, 2016," accessed August 4, 2016
- ↑ Madison County, Tennessee, "Cumulative Report — Official," accessed February 23, 2015
- ↑ Jackson-Madison County School System, "About the School Board," accessed March 30, 2016
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "What ID is required when voting?" accessed March 30, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 The Tennesseean, "Transgender bathroom bill dead for year," April 18, 2016
- ↑ Open States, "HB 2414," accessed April 19, 2016
- ↑ Knoxville News Sentinel, "Tennessee lawmakers should stay out of students’ restrooms," April 3, 2016
- ↑ Huffington Post, "Tennessee Governor Skeptical Of Anti-Transgender Bathroom Bill," April 13, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 The Tennesseean, "Attorney general: Tennessee bathroom bill threatens Title IX funds," April 11, 2016
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ CBS News, "Tennessee lawmakers under fire over transgender bathroom bill," April 13, 2016
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 United States Census Bureau, "Madison County, Tennessee," accessed April 7, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Election Results," accessed June 25, 2014
| 2016 Jackson-Madison County School System Elections | |
| Madison County, Tennessee | |
| Election date: | August 4, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 2: • Kevin Alexander • Bryan Barry District 3: • Wayne Arnold • Sam Turner Jr. District 5, Position 1: • Incumbent, James Campbell III District 6, Position 1: • Incumbent, Janice Hampton • Tracy Boyd Jr. |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
