Little Rock School District elections (2013)

2014 →
2013 Little Rock School District Elections
General Election date:
September 17, 2013
Table of Contents
About the district Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links
See also
Arkansas Little Rock School District Pulaski County, Arkansas ballot measures Local ballot measures, Arkansas

Three seats on the school board for Little Rock School District were up for district wide elections held on September 17, 2013. Seats up for election covered Zone 2 and Zone 4.

About the district

Little Rock School District is located in central Arkansas in Pulaski County. It is the county seat and capital of the state of Arkansas. As of the 2010 Census, the county was home to 193,524 residents.

Racial Demographics, 2012
Race	Fort Smith (%)	Arkansas (%)
White	48.9	80.0
Black or African American	42.3	15.6
American Indian and Alaska Native	0.4	0.9
Asian	2.7	1.4
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.1	0.3
Two or More Races	1.7	1.8
Hispanic or Latino	6.8	6.8

Demographics

As of 2013, the median household income in Little Rock was $44,392 compared to $40,149 for the state of Arkansas. 38.2% of Little Rock residents aged 25 years and older attained a bachelor's degree compared to a 19.6% in Arkansas. The US Census also showed the poverty rate in Little Rock was 17.8%% compared to 18.4% for the entire state. The US Census also found that 89.2% of Little Rock residents aged 25 years and older attained a high school degree compared to a 82.7% in Arkansas.

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.

Method of board member selection

The Little Rock School District School Board consists of seven members, all of whom are elected to three year terms. All board members represent a specific geographical area or zone. Board member terms are staggered so that at least two members, but no more than three are to be elected each year on the third Tuesday in September. There are no primary elections. Zone 2, Zone 4 and Zone 6 seats were up for election in 2013. Zone 1 and Zone 5 seats are up for election in 2014. Zone 3 and Zone 7 seats are up for election in 2015.

Election history

2013

Little Rock School District Board of Directors Zone 2, September 17, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Charlie C.E. McAdoo	82.9%	383
	Nonpartisan	Kenneth A. Davis	17.1%	79
Total Votes				462
Source: Pulaski County Election Commission These results are unofficial.

Greg Adams won an unopposed election for the Zone 4 seat on the Little Rock School District Board of Directors.

Little Rock School District Board of Directors Zone 6, September 17, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Florene Armstrong	34%	157
	Nonpartisan	Tommy Branch Jr.	24.5%	113
	Nonpartisan	Tara Shephard	41.6%	192
Total Votes				462
Source: Pulaski County Election Commission These results are unofficial.

A runoff election took place on October 8, 2013 between Florene Armstrong and Tara Shephard.

Funding

As of September 18, 2013 no candidates disclosed any campaign finance expenditures or contributions.

2011

Little Rock School District Board of Directors, Zone 1 General Election, 2011, 2011
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Norma J. Johnson	61.1%	254
	Nonpartisan	Write In	38.9%	162
Total Votes				416
Source: Vote Pulaski, "SUMMARY REPT-GROUP DETAIL Pulaski County, Arkansas OFFICIAL RESULTS 2011 Annual School Election" accessed September 16, 2013

What was at stake?

Three seats in Zone 2, Zone 4 and Zone 6 were up for election on September 17, 2013. Current Zone 4 member and Vice President Greg Adams was unopposed and will serve his second term.

Arming employees

In early 2013, the Little Rock School District School Board addressed the issue of hiring armed security guards at district buildings. School board Vice President Greg Adams, urged further consideration of the issue. "“It concerns me that if we focus on something that is so unusual and so rare that we may take our eyes off of other areas,” he said, adding that students are more likely to die from suicide or drowning than from a school shooting." The Arkansas Attorney General condemned the practice of arming teachers in order to improve school safety.

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Little Rock School District election in 2013.

Deadline	Event
August 18, 2013	Out of State and New Voter Registration Deadline
September 10, 2013	Early voting period begins.
September 13, 2013	Registration deadline for Transfer within State
September 16, 2013	Early voting period closes
September 17, 2013	Election Day

Additional elections on ballot

Also on the ballot was a millage proposal, "The total tax levy proposed includes 32.0 mills for the maintenance and operation of schools, 12.4 mills for debt service previously voted as a continuing levy pledged for the retirement of existing bonded indebtedness, and 2.0 mills for current expenditures/dedicated maintenance and operation expenditures. Surplus revenues produced each year by debt service millage may be used by the District for other purposes. The total proposed rate includes the uniform rate of tax to be collected on all taxable property in the State and remitted to the State Treasurer pursuant to Amendment No. 74 to the Arkansas Constitution to be used solely for maintenance and operation of schools in this District. The proposed rate includes no increases." The millage proposal was passed.

See also

• Arkansas school board elections to address school safety, choice
• Arkansas
• Little Rock School District, Arkansas
• List of school board elections in 2013
• Pulaski County, Arkansas ballot measures
• Local ballot measures, Arkansas

External links

• District page
• Little Rock City Clerk