Lincoln Public Schools elections (2015)

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2015 Lincoln Public Schools Elections
Primary Election date:
April 7, 2015
General Election date:
May 5, 2015
Table of Contents
About the district
Method of election
Elections
What was at stake?
Key deadlines
Additional elections
External links
See also
Nebraska
Lincoln Public Schools
Lancaster County, Nebraska ballot measures
Local ballot measures, Nebraska
Flag of Nebraska.png

Three seats on the Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education were up for primary election on April 7, 2015, and the general election was held on May 5, 2015.

The seats of District 2 incumbent Richard Meginnis, District 4 incumbent Ed Zimmer and District 6 incumbent Katie McLeese Stephenson were up for election.[1] Newcomers Connie Duncan and Rachel Terry competed for the District 2 seat, while John Cartier and Annie Mumgaard campaigned for the District 4 seat. Challenger Matt Schulte faced Stephenson for her District 6 seat.[2] Duncan, Mumgaard and Schulte won the three seats.

The top two vote recipients in each district in the primary election proceeded to the general election.[3] District 2 candidate Norman Dority and District 4 candidate Jesse Wyrrick were eliminated from contention in the primary election.

Challenger Rachel Terry participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. To read her responses, check out the "Ballotpedia survey responses" section.

About the district

See also: Lincoln Public Schools, Nebraska
Lincoln Public Schools is located in Lancaster County, Neb.

Lincoln Public Schools is located in southeast Nebraska in Lancaster County. The county seat is Lincoln. This county is home to 297,036 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau.[4] In the 2011-2012 school year, Lincoln Public Schools was the second-largest school district in Nebraska and served 36,528 students.[5]

Demographics

Lancaster County outperformed the rest of Nebraska in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 36.1 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 28.5 percent for Nebraska as a whole. The median household income in Lancaster County was $51,574 compared to $51,672 for the state of Nebraska. The poverty rate was 15.2 percent compared to 12.8 percent for the entire state.[4]

Racial Demographics, 2013[4]
Race Lancaster County (%) Nebraska (%)
White 88.8 89.7
Black or African American 3.8 4.8
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9 1.3
Asian 3.9 2.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1
Two or More Races 2.5 2.0
Hispanic or Latino 6.4 9.9

Presidential Voting Pattern, Lancaster County[6]
Year Republican Vote Democratic Vote
2012 62,434 62,015
2008 59,398 65,734
2004 69,764 52,747
2000 55,493 44,630

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.

Voter and candidate information

The Lincoln Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms by specific geographic district. The primary election was held on April 7, 2015, and the general election was held on May 5, 2015. The top two vote recipients in each district in the primary election proceeded to the general election.[3] Three seats were up for election in 2015.[1]

School board incumbents had to file with their county elections department during the candidate filing period, which began on December 1, 2014, and ended on February 17, 2015. The filing deadline for challengers was on March 2, 2015. The filing deadline for write-in candidates was on April 24, 2015.

To vote in the 2015 primary election, residents had to register by March 27, 2015. To vote in the 2015 general election, residents had to register by April 24, 2015.[7]

Elections

2015

Candidates

District 2

  • Rachel Terry
    • Republican
    • Graduate, Brigham Young University
    • Freelance writer and editor

Defeated in primary

District 4

  • John Cartier
    • Democrat
    • Graduate, Concordia University
    • Law student, the University of Nebraska College of Law
  • Annie Mumgaard Green check mark transparent.png
    • Democrat
    • Graduate, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and Lesley University
    • Long-distance learning coordinator, the University of Nebraska at Lincoln

Defeated in primary

District 6

  • Katie McLeese Stephenson
    • Incumbent
    • Democrat
    • Graduate, Nebraska Wesleyan University and the University of Nebraska at Omaha
    • Social worker
  • Matt Schulte Green check mark transparent.png
    • Republican
    • Graduate, John Brown University and the Spertus Institute for Jewish Learning and Leadership
    • Executive director, the Lincoln chapter of Campus Life
    • Founder, Nonprofit Shared Services

Although the Lincoln Board of Education election was nonpartisan, party affiliations were provided by the Lancaster County Election Commissioner for informational purposes.[3]

Election results

General election

District 2

Lincoln Public Schools,
District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngConnie Duncan 70.1% 5,920
     Nonpartisan Rachel Terry 29.6% 2,501
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.3% 29
Total Votes 8,450
Source: Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Lincoln City General Election Results," accessed June 9, 2015

District 4

Lincoln Public Schools,
District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngAnnie Mumgaard 73.8% 2,081
     Nonpartisan John Cartier 24.8% 698
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 1.4% 39
Total Votes 2,818
Source: Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Lincoln City General Election Results," accessed June 9, 2015

District 6

Lincoln Public Schools,
District 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngMatt Schulte 50.9% 4,713
     Nonpartisan Katie McLeese Stephenson Incumbent 49% 4,541
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.1% 8
Total Votes 9,262
Source: Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Lincoln City General Election Results," accessed June 9, 2015
Primary election

District 2

Lincoln Public Schools, District 2 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngConnie Duncan 70.9% 4,729
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngRachel Terry 20.6% 1,371
     Nonpartisan Norman Dority 8.2% 544
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.4% 27
Total Votes 6,671
Source: Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Lincoln City Primary Results," accessed June 9, 2015

District 4

Lincoln Public Schools, District 4 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngAnnie Mumgaard 64.4% 1,459
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngJohn Cartier 22.1% 500
     Nonpartisan Jesse Wyrrick 12.6% 286
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.9% 20
Total Votes 2,265
Source: Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Lincoln City Primary Results," accessed June 9, 2015

District 6

Lincoln Public Schools, District 6 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngKatie McLeese Stephenson Incumbent 51.2% 3,541
     Nonpartisan Green check mark transparent.pngMatt Schulte 48.4% 3,344
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.4% 28
Total Votes 6,913
Source: Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Lincoln City Primary Results," accessed June 9, 2015

Endorsements

In District 2, Connie Duncan received endorsements from the Lincoln Education Association and the Lincoln Journal Star.[8][9] Norman Dority and Rachel Terry received endorsements from the Nebraska Right to Life PAC.[10]

In District 4, John Cartier and Annie Mumgaard received endorsements from the Lincoln Education Association.[8] Mumgaard also received an endorsement from the Lincoln Journal Star.[9]

In District 6, incumbent Katie McLeese Stephenson received endorsements from the Lincoln Education Association and the Lincoln Journal Star.[8][9] Challenger Matt Schulte received endorsements from the Nebraska Right to Life PAC and the Lincoln Independent Business Association PAC.[10][11]

Additional endorsements:

  • A list of Stephenson's additional endorsements can be found here.
  • A list of Schulte's additional endorsements can be found here.

Campaign finance

Candidates received a total of $24,672.33 and spent a total of $9,795.59 during the election, according to the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission.[12]

In the District 2 race, candidates reported $6,398.00 in contributions and $2,000.00 in expenditures during the election.

Candidate Contributions Expenditures Cash on hand
Norman Dority $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Connie Duncan $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Rachel Terry $6,398.00 $2,000.00 $4,398.00

In the District 4 race, candidates reported no contributions or expenditures during the election.

Candidate Contributions Expenditures Cash on hand
John Cartier $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Annie Mumgaard $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Jesse Wyrrick $0.00 $0.00 $0.00

In the District 6 race, candidates reported $18,274.33 in contributions and $7,795.59 in expenditures during the election.

Candidate Contributions Expenditures Cash on hand
Katie McLeese Stephenson $0.00 $0.00 $0.00
Matt Schulte $18,274.33 $7,795.59 $10,478.74

Past elections

What was at stake?

2015

Ballotpedia survey responses

Clipboard128.png

Challenger Rachel Terry participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display her responses to the survey questions.

Top priorities

When asked what her top priorities would be if elected, Terry stated:

“ I would focus on making sure our tax dollars are spent wisely in keeping with the district's overall mission of academically preparing children for the future and that the emphasis of all decisions is the academic success of students.[13] ”
—Rachel Terry (2015)[14]
Ranking the issues

Terry was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays her rankings:

Issue importance ranking
Issue Terry's responses
Expanding arts education
6
Expanding career-technical education
7
Balancing or maintaining the district's budget
4
Improving college readiness
1
Closing the achievement gap
2
Improving education for special needs students
3
Expanding school choice options
5
Positions on the issues

Terry was asked to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to her responses can be found below.

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Lincoln Public Schools election in 2015:[7]

Deadline Event
December 1, 2014 First day for all candidates to file nomination documents
February 17, 2015 Last day for incumbents to file nomination documents
March 2, 2015 Last day for challengers to file nomination documents and for all candidates to withdraw
March 23, 2015 First day for absentee voting in the primary election
March 27, 2015 Last day to register to vote in the primary election
April 7, 2015 Primary election day
April 20, 2015 First day for absentee voting in the general election
April 24, 2015 Last day to register to vote in the general election and to file as a write-in candidate
May 5, 2015 Election Day

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Nebraska elections, 2015

This election shared the ballot with general elections for other municipal offices, such as mayor, city council and airport authority.[15]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Lincoln Public Schools Nebraska. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Lincoln Public Schools elections (2015) - Google News

See also

Lincoln Public Schools Nebraska School Boards
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Seal of Nebraska.png
School Board badge.png

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lincoln Public Schools, "Lincoln Board of Education," accessed January 22, 2015
  2. ↑ Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Candidates for the April 7, 2015 Primary Election," accessed March 9, 2015
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lincoln Journal Star, "LPS board race falling along ideological more than party lines," February 23, 2015
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 United States Census Bureau, "Lancaster County, Nebraska," accessed December 30, 2014
  5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Lincoln Public Schools," accessed December 28, 2014
  6. ↑ Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Election Results," accessed December 30, 2014
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Official Election Calendar," accessed January 22, 2015
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lincoln Journal Star, "Lincoln teachers union endorses PAC four school board candidates," March 23, 2015
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Lincoln Journal Star, "Editorial, 4/3: School board endorsements," April 2, 2015
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Facebook, "Rachel Terry for LPS School Board," accessed April 2, 2015
  11. ↑ Lincoln Journal Star, "Business group PAC endorses in council, school board race," March 23, 2015
  12. ↑ Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, "Campaign Statements Search," accessed May 4, 2015
  13. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  14. ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Rachel Terry responses," March 30, 2015
  15. ↑ Lancaster County Election Commissioner, "Candidates for the April 7, 2015 Primary Election," accessed February 25, 2015
2015 Lincoln Public Schools Elections
Lancaster County, Nebraska
Election date:Primary election: April 7, 2015
General election: May 5, 2015
Candidates:District 2: • Norman Dority • Connie Duncan • Rachel Terry

District 4: • John Cartier • Annie Mumgaard • Jesse Wyrrick

District 6: • Incumbent, Katie McLeese Stephenson • Matt Schulte
Important information:What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot
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