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Little Rock School District elections (2014)
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Two seats on the Little Rock School District School Board were up for general election on September 16, 2014. Incumbents for Zones 1 and 5 seats were up for election.
Zone 1 incumbent Norma Jean Johnson was defeated by challenger Joy C. Springer. Jim Ross unseated two-term incumbent Jody Carreiro as the Zone 5 representative.[1]
About the district
- See also: Little Rock School District, Arkansas
Little Rock School District is located in central Arkansas in Pulaski County. Little Rock is its county seat and the capital of Arkansas, as well as being the largest city in the state. Little Rock is home to 193,524 residents, according to the 2010 Census. In the 2011-2012 school year, Little Rock School District was the largest school district in Arkansas and served 25,537 students.[2]
Demographics
Pulaski County overperformed compared to the rest of Arkansas in terms of higher education achievement in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 31.6 percent of Pulaski County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to only 19.8 percent for Arkansas as a whole. The median household income for the county was $46,102 compared to $40,531 statewide. The poverty rate in Pulaski County was 17.2 percent compared to 18.7 percent for the entire state.[2]
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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.
Voter and candidate information
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 was no primary election, and the general election was held on September 16, 2014.[4]
School board candidates had to file with the Pulaski County Elections Commission during the filing period from July 1, 2014, to July 8, 2014. Voters had to register by August 17, 2014 to vote in the election on September 16, 2014. Voters could apply for absentee voting starting on July 18, 2014. Requests submitted online or by mail had to be received by September 9, 2014, while in-person applications could be made until September 15, 2014. Early voting ran from September 9, 2014, to September 15, 2014.[5]
Elections
2014
Candidates
Zone 1
- Norma Jean Johnson
- Incumbent
- Vice President, Little Rock School Board
- Permit technician at the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department
- Joy C. Springer
- Paralegal and assistant to State Representative John W. Walker (D-34)
Zone 5
- Jody Carreiro
- Incumbent
- Pension actuary and partner in Osborn, Carreiro and Associates
- Jim Ross
- Associate professor of history at University of Arkansas at Little Rock
Election results
Zone 1
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Joy C. Springer |
68% | 485 | |
| Nonpartisan | Norma Jean Johnson Incumbent | 32% | 228 | |
| Total Votes | 713 | |||
| Source: Pulaski County, "2014 Annual School Election Official Results," September 26, 2014 | ||||
Zone 5
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Jim Ross |
63.2% | 379 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jody Carreiro Incumbent | 36.8% | 221 | |
| Total Votes | 600 | |||
| Source: Pulaski County, "2014 Annual School Election Official Results," September 26, 2014 | ||||
Endorsements
Ross received an official endorsement for his campaign from the Little Rock Education Association.[6] None of the other candidates received endorsements as of August 15, 2014.
Campaign finance
No contributions or expenditures for any of the candidates were reported as of September 10, 2014, according to the Arkansas Secretary of State.[7]
Past elections
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2013Runoff election
General election
Greg Adams won an unopposed election for the Zone 4 seat on the Little Rock School School Board.
2011
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What was at stake?
Two of the boards seven seats were at stake in the election. Much of the discourse surrounding the election focused on the upcoming loss of $37 million in special state funding. The funding came from a settlement agreement reached following a desegregation lawsuit in the county which began in 1982.[8]
Issues
Issues in the district
Desegregation settlement
In 1982, Little Rock School District sued Pulaski County Special District, North Little Rock School District and the state to create a countywide school district. The school district, which was primarily African-American, saw the case as a way to end racial segregation between their district and the primarily white districts. The case was resolved by redrawing the Little Rock School District boundary lines to match its city limits, which resulted in a loss of almost 8,000 students and 14 schools from the Pulaski County Special School District. In addition to the boundary changes, a settlement agreement was reached that required the state to pay approximately $129.75 million over 10 years to the three districts.[8]
Despite these events, the controversy was not quickly resolved. A desegregation plan was approved in 1998 which was designed to release the Little Rock district from federal court monitoring in 2001. However, it was not released until 2002, and even then one provision was kept under court monitoring: the effectiveness in raising the achievement levels of African American students. This last piece of monitoring was removed in 2007. While this decision was appealed by Joshua Intervenors, it was ultimately upheld.[8]
In 2011, a court order relived the state of most of its monetary obligation from the earlier settlement agreement. State aid for majority-to-minority inter-district student transfers was still required. The Little Rock district appealed this decision.[8] A decision on January 13, 2014, approved the final phasing out of state payments to the three school districts. The payments ended after the 2017-2018 school year.[9]
The majority of the funds were dedicated to the desegregation projects, but they were also used for teacher retirement and health insurance costs. Both Johnson and Carreiro discussed the impacts this loss of funding will have on the district at a forum held by the Coalition of Greater Little Rock Neighborhoods. Both acknowledged that the district would likely have job losses and that other budgetary changes would have to be made in light of this change.[10]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Little Rock School District election in 2014.[1][5]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| June 8, 2014 | First day for candidates to file to circulate petitions for ballot placement |
| July 1, 2014 | First day for candidates to file a petition of candidacy |
| July 8, 2014 | Deadline for candidates to file a petition of candidacy |
| Deadline for write-in candidate notices of intent | |
| July 14, 2014 | Deadline for candidates to submit a Statement of Financial Interest |
| July 18, 2014 | Applications for absentee ballots available |
| August 17, 2014 | Out of state and new voter registration deadline |
| September 9, 2014 | Deadline for absentee ballot applications by mail or electronic means |
| Early voting begins | |
| September 15, 2014 | Deadline for in-person applications for absentee ballots |
| Early voting ends | |
| September 16, 2014 | Election Day |
Additional elections on the ballot
This election did not share the ballot with other elections.[11]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Little + Rock + School + District + Arkansas"
See also
- Arkansas
- Little Rock School District, Arkansas
- Arkansas school board elections, 2014
- List of school board elections in 2014
- School board elections, 2014
- Little Rock School District elections (2013)
- Pulaski County, Arkansas ballot measures
- Local ballot measures, Arkansas
External links
Additional reading
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Pulaski County Election Commission, "NOTICE OF ELECTION: 2014 Annual School Election Notice - Little Rock School District," accessed August 12, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 United States Census Bureau, "State & County QuickFacts: Pulaski County, Arkansas," accessed August 13, 2014
- ↑ Pulaski County Election Commission, "Election Archives," accessed August 13, 2014
- ↑ Little Rock School District, "Board Policy: BBB" accessed August 16, 2013
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Arkansas Secretary of State, "2014 Election Dates," accessed August 12, 2014
- ↑ Facebook, "Elect Jim Ross, LRSD Board Zone 5," August 13, 2014
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Financial Disclosure Search," accessed September 10, 2014
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 ArkansasOnline, "Desegregation in Pulaski County," accessed August 15, 2014
- ↑ New York Times, "With Ruling, Funds to Aid Desegregation in Arkansas Are Ended," January 13, 2014
- ↑ Facebook, "Middle School Initiative," August 10, 2014
- ↑ Pulaski County Election Commission, "Scheduled Election Dates and Information," accessed August 13, 2014
| 2014 Little Rock School District Elections | |
| Pulaski County, Arkansas | |
| Election date: | September 16, 2014 |
| Candidates: | Zone 1: • Incumbent, Norma Jean Johnson • Joy C. Springer Zone 5: • Incumbent, Jody Carreiro • Jim Ross |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
