Lowell Public Schools elections (2017)
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Six seats on the Lowell Public Schools School Committee in Massachusetts were up for general election on November 7, 2017.[1] In their bids for re-election, incumbents Andre Descoteaux, Jackie Doherty, Robert J. Hoey Jr., and Connie A. Martin faced former candidates Dominik Hok Y Lay and Dennis R. Mercier and newcomers Timothy Blake, Noelle Creegan, Gerard Nutter, and Daniel J. Shanahan IV.[2] All four incumbents won re-election, and Hok Y Lay and Nutter won the other two seats on the ballot.[3]
All seven seats on the school committee were up for election. The seventh seat was held by the mayor of Lowell, but was not covered by Ballotpedia as the city fell outside of municipal elections coverage.[4][5]
Blake and Nutter participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates. Click here to read their responses.
The 2017 election had the second-highest average number of candidates per seat out of five consecutive election cycles in the district. For information on election trends in the district, click here.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Lowell School Committee consists of seven members, one of whom is the mayor of Lowell. The six regular school committee members are elected at large to two-year terms. General elections are held in November of odd-numbered years, and, if needed, primary elections are held in September of odd-numbered years to narrow the field of candidates to two per seat.[1][2][4]
To get on the ballot, school committee candidates had to file with the city of Lowell between June 1, 2017, and August 8, 2017. The deadline to withdraw from the election was August 24, 2017.[1]
To vote in the election, citizens of the school district had to register by October 18, 2017.[6] Photo identification was not required to vote in Massachusetts.[7]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Lowell Public Schools, At-large General Election, 2-year terms, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jacqueline Doherty Incumbent |
12.19% | 6,385 |
| Robert J. Hoey Jr. Incumbent |
11.55% | 6,054 |
| Connie A. Martin Incumbent |
11.54% | 6,047 |
| Dominik Hok Y Lay |
10.61% | 5,558 |
| Andre Descoteaux Incumbent |
9.77% | 5,117 |
| Gerard Nutter |
9.19% | 4,817 |
| Dennis R. Mercier | 9.02% | 4,727 |
| Noelle Creegan | 8.94% | 4,684 |
| Timothy Blake | 8.63% | 4,520 |
| Daniel J. Shanahan IV | 8.39% | 4,396 |
| Write-in votes | 0.17% | 88 |
| Total Votes | 52,393 | |
| Source: City of Lowell, "Election Summary Report: Official Results," accessed November 28, 2017 | ||
Candidates
Andre Descoteaux 
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Jackie Doherty
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Robert J. Hoey Jr.
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Connie A. Martin
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 Timothy Blake
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| Noelle Creegan | Dominik Hok Y Lay
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Dennis R. Mercier | Gerard Nutter
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Daniel J. Shanahan IV |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Massachusetts elections, 2017
The Lowell School Committee election shared the ballot with elections for all nine seats on Lowell City Council, which included the position of mayor.[5]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the 2017 Lowell School Committee election.[1][6]
Endorsements
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 Lowell Election & Census Office does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Reporting requirements
Lowell School Committee candidates had to file two campaign finance reports. The first report was due October 30, 2017, and the second report was due January 22, 2018.[8]
Past elections
- See also: Past elections in Lowell Public Schools
To see results from past elections in Lowell Public Schools, click here.
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
Ballotpedia researches issues in school board elections across the United States, but information availability is a challenge for us in many school districts. Please contact us about the issues that impact your local school district. Note that not all submissions may meet Ballotpedia's coverage requirements for inclusion.
Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
Survey responses
Two candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from Timothy Blake and Gerard Nutter.
Hope to achieve
When asked what he hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Blake stated:
| “ | Neighborhood schooling, increased busing for students, and uniting the school committee and city council are different things we hope to achieve.[9] | ” |
| —Timothy Blake (September 24, 2017)[10] | ||
When asked what he hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Nutter stated:
| “ | To bring fiscal clarity and fairness forward, to develop a citywide maintenance program and to try to encourage more parental involvement in the schools and School Site Councils[9] | ” |
| —Gerard Nutter (September 21, 2017)[11] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidates were 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 their rankings:
| Issue importance ranking | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issue | Blake's ranking | Nutter's ranking | ||
| Expanding arts education | ||||
| Improving relations with teachers | ||||
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | ||||
| Improving post-secondary readiness | ||||
| Closing the achievement gap | ||||
| Improving education for special needs students | ||||
| Expanding school choice options | ||||
Positions on the issues
The candidates were asked to answer nine multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to their responses can be found below.
Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
The 2017 Lowell School Committee election attracted the second-highest average number of candidates per seat out of five district election cycles. Ten candidates ran for six seats in 2017 for an average of 1.67 candidates per seat. The district's 2015 election had the highest average with two candidates running per seat, but the 2009, 2011, and 2013 elections had lower averages.
The 2017 election was guaranteed to elect two newcomers due to open seats. At least one newcomer was elected to the school committee in the district's four previous elections. Over half of the incumbents who ran to retain their seats were also re-elected each year.
| School board election trends | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Lowell Public Schools | ||||||
| 2017 | 1.67 | 0.00% | 66.67% | 100.00% | 33.33% | |
| 2015 | 2.00 | 0.00% | 33.33% | 100.00% | 66.67% | |
| 2013 | 1.17 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 83.33% | 16.67% | |
| 2011 | 1.33 | 0.00% | 83.33% | 60.00% | 50.00% | |
| 2009 | 1.17 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 83.33% | 16.67% | |
| Massachusetts | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.49 | 25.49% | 68.63% | 85.71% | 33.33% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
About the district
- See also: Lowell Public Schools, Massachusetts
The Lowell school district is located in northeast Massachusetts in Middlesex County. The county seats are Lowell and Cambridge. The county was home to an estimated 1,589,774 residents in 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[12] The district was the sixth-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 14,075 students.[13]
Demographics
Middlesex County outperformed Massachusetts as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 52 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 40.5 percent of state residents. During the same time period, the median household income in Middlesex County was $85,118, compared to $68,563 for the entire state. The poverty rate in the county was 7.6 percent, while it was 11.5 percent statewide.[12]
| Racial Demographics, 2016[12] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Middlesex County (%) | Massachusetts (%) |
| White | 79.8 | 81.8 |
| Black or African American | 5.7 | 8.6 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| Asian | 11.9 | 6.7 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 2.3 | 2.3 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 7.9 | 11.5 |
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 Lowell Public Schools Massachusetts election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Lowell Public Schools | Massachusetts | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Eda Jane Matchak, City of Lowell," January 31, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lowell Sun, "City Council field set for preliminary," August 10, 2017
- ↑ City of Lowell Election & Census, "Election Results," accessed November 8, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lowell Public Schools, "2016-2017 School Committee," accessed August 9, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lowell Sun, "Preliminary city election set as 23 candidates qualify for council race," August 9, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Registering to Vote," accessed August 9, 2017
- ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth, "Identification Requirements," accessed June 28, 2017
- ↑ Office of Campaign and Political Finance Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Campaign Finance Guide Candidates for Municipal Office (Non-Depository)," accessed September 11, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Timothy Blake responses," September 24, 2017
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Gerard Nutter responses," September 21, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: Middlesex County, Massachusetts; Massachusetts," accessed July 24, 2017
- ↑ 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
