Kenosha Unified School District elections (2017)
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Two seats on the Kenosha Unified School District Board of Education were up for at-large general election on April 4, 2017. In their bids for re-election to the board, incumbents Gary Kunich and Dan Wade defeated challengers Zak Jakobs and Mary Braun Modder.[1][2]
Kunich and Wade were members of the governing majority on the Kenosha Unified Board of Education from 2015 to 2017, according to a Ballotpedia study of the board's voting patterns in meeting minutes. Candidates in this race participated in a candidate forum on March 16, 2017. Click here to watch a video of the forum.
Unlike the 2017 race, the district's 2014, 2015, and 2016 elections had at least one newcomer elected to the board. Incumbents won additional terms on the board in 2015 and 2016, but not in 2014. For more election trends, click here.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Kenosha Unified Board of Education consists of seven members elected to three-year terms. Elections are held at large on a staggered basis every year in April. Two 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. A primary election could have been held on February 21, 2017, if more than four candidates had filed to run for the race.[3]
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
| Kenosha Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Dan Wade Incumbent |
30.24% | 5,674 |
| Gary Kunich Incumbent |
28.83% | 5,409 |
| Mary Braun Modder | 26.71% | 5,012 |
| Zak Jakobs | 13.99% | 2,626 |
| Write-in votes | 0.23% | 43 |
| Total Votes | 18,764 | |
| Source: Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Stacy Busby, Executive Assistant/School Board Secretary, Office of the Superintendent, Kenosha Unified School District," May 4, 2017 | ||
Candidates
Gary Kunich 
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Dan Wade
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| Zak Jakobs | Mary Braun Modder | ||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Wisconsin elections, 2017
The Kenosha Unified 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.[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 | Campaign finance deadline for districts holding primary elections |
| March 27, 2017 | Campaign finance deadline for general election |
| April 4, 2017 | Election Day |
| April 24, 2017 | Board members take office |
| July 15, 2017 | Post-election campaign finance deadline |
Endorsements
The Kenosha Education Association (KEA) endorsed incumbent Dan Wade and challengers Zak Jakobs and Mary Braun Modder.[8] Jakobs was also endorsed by the organization Wisconsin Progress.[9]
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:[10]
- 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.[11]
Candidates who filed before January 1, 2017, also had to file a continuing campaign finance report on January 16, 2017.[7]
Reports
Candidates received a total of $11,630.50 and spent a total of $5,045.90 in the election, according to the Kenosha Unified School District.[12]
| Candidate | Existing balance | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Kunich | $238.06 | $2,900.00 | $1,043.95 | $2,094.11 |
| Dan Wade | $460.24 | $4,955.00 | $1,650.30 | $3,764.94 |
| Zak Jakobs | $0.00 | $582.75 | $532.75 | $50.00 |
| Mary Braun Modder | $528.00 | $3,192.75 | $1,818.90 | $1,901.85 |
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2017
Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
Both incumbents whose terms were up for election in 2017 ran to retain their seats, just as the incumbents whose terms were up for election in 2014 and 2015 did. None of the incumbents won additional terms in 2014, but two of three who ran in 2015 won. In the district's 2016 election, one of the two incumbents up for re-election ran to retain her seat and won another term on the board. Both incumbents won re-election in 2017.
No seats were unopposed in the district's elections from 2014 to 2017. From 2014 to 2016, at least one newcomer was elected to the board.
| School board election trends | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Kenosha Unified School District | ||||||
| 2017 | 2.00 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| 2016 | 3.00 | 0.00% | 50.00% | 100.00% | 50.00% | |
| 2015 | 1.67 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 66.67% | 33.33% | |
| 2014 | 3.00 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% | |
| Wisconsin | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.38 | 38.24% | 73.53% | 84.00% | 35.29% | |
| 2014 | 1.40 | 46.67% | 86.67% | 88.46% | 23.33% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
| 2014 | 1.89 | 32.57% | 75.51% | 81.31% | 38.24% | |
Issues in the election
Candidate forum
The four candidates who ran for board of education seats participated in a candidate forum in March 2017. The forum was hosted by the Pleasant Prairie Woman's Club. A video of the forum can be found below.
Issues in the district
Judge rules transgender student can use bathroom of choice
In September 2016, a federal judge issued a temporary injunction against the Kenosha Unified School District's bathroom policy for a transgender student. The ruling required the district to allow a student to use the restroom corresponding to his gender identity until the case, which was filed in July 2016, finished progressing through the courts. Prior to the injunction, the district offered the student a private bathroom.[13][14]
"There's no question that Ash has already suffered harm and has had physical repercussions from the policy as well as emotional repercussions," said U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper in her decision.[13]
District officials expressed disappointment in the injunction and filed an appeal days after the decision.[14] The district's appeal was denied on October 3, 2016, by the U.S. District Court in Milwaukee. The district also appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago. Oral arguments for the case were heard on March 29, 2017.[15][16]
On May 30, 2017, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed the lower court's ruling, maintaining that the transgender student be allowed to use the restroom corresponding to his gender identity.[17]
Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
About the district
The Kenosha Unified School District is located in Kenosha County in southeastern Wisconsin. The county seat is Kenosha. Kenosha County was home to an estimated 168,437 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[18] The district was the third-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 22,439 students.[19]
Demographics
Higher education achievement
Kenosha County underperformed compared to Wisconsin as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 24.5 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 27.8 percent of state residents.[18]
Median household income
The median household income in Kenosha County was $54,918 from 2011 to 2015, compared to $53,357 for Wisconsin. During that same time period, the median household income for the entire United States was $53,889.[18]
Poverty rate
From 2011 to 2015, the poverty rate in Kenosha County was 12.7 percent. During that same time period, it was 12.1 percent for the entire state, and it was 13.5 percent for the country as a whole.[18]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[18] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Kenosha County (%) | Wisconsin (%) |
| White | 87.5 | 87.6 |
| Black or African American | 7.4 | 6.6 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7 | 1.1 |
| Asian | 1.7 | 2.8 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 2.6 | 1.8 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 12.8 | 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 Kenosha Unified School District Wisconsin election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Kenosha Unified School District | Wisconsin | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Stacy Busby, Kenosha Unified Executive Assistant/School Board Secretary," January 6, 2017
- ↑ Kenosha County Clerk, "Current Election Results: Spring General Election 4/4/2017," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Kenosha Unified School District, "Board Members," accessed January 3, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wisconsin Association of School Boards, "Guide for Candidates: 2017 Spring Election Edition," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Election Commission, "Spring 2017 Election," accessed January 3, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Guided for Candidates," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Wisconsin Ethics Commission, "Campaign Finance Checklist," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Kenosha Education Association, "KEA Endorsements," February 17, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin Progress, "Our Endorsements for Spring 2017," accessed March 30, 2017
- ↑ 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
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Stacy Busby, Executive Assistant/School Board Secretary, Kenosha Unified School District" March 29, 2017
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Judge grants transgender Kenosha student access to bathroom," September 21, 2016
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Fox 6 Now, "Kenosha Unified School District appeals judge’s decision allowing transgender boy to use boy’s restroom," September 26, 2016
- ↑ Kenosha News, "Judge denies motion to stay Whitaker injunction," October 4, 2016
- ↑ Kenosha News, "Five file briefs in support of transgender Kenosha student," February 3, 2017
- ↑ U.S. News & World Report, "U.S. Appeals Court Sides With Transgender Student in Bathroom Case," May 30, 2017
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 United States Census Bureau, "Kenosha County, Wisconsin," accessed December 15, 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
| Kenosha Unified School District elections in 2017 | |
| Kenosha County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 4, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Gary Kunich • Incumbent, Dan Wade • Zak Jakobs • Mary Braun Modder |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
