Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District elections (2016)
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Three of the seven seats on the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District school board were up for general election on October 4, 2016. Incumbents Susan Pougher and Ray Michaelson ran for Seat C. Michaelson narrowly defeated Pougher to win re-election. Incumbent Donna Dearman ran unopposed to win Seat F, and newcomer Yvonne Ruth ran unopposed to win Seat G. [1]
Michaelson was first elected to the Seat G position on the board in 2013. He ran for Seat C against incumbent Pougher.
Pougher participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. Click here to read her responses.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District School Board consists of seven members elected to three-year terms. Each member was elected at-large. Three seats were up for election on October 6, 2015, three seats were up for election in 2016, and two seats were on the ballot in 2017.
School board candidates had to file for this election with the Matanuska-Susitna Borough elections department by August 5, 2016. To vote in the election, residents had to register by September 4, 2016.[2]
Candidates and results
Seat C
Results
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, Seat C General Election, 3-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Ray Michaelson Incumbent |
50.48% | 1,207 |
| Susan Pougher Incumbent | 47.72% | 1,141 |
| Write-in votes | 1.8% | 43 |
| Total Votes | 2,391 | |
| Source: Matanuska Susitna Borough, Alaska, "Regular Borough Election Unofficial Results," accessed August 5, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Susan Pougher | Ray Michaelson
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Seat F
Results
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, Seat F General Election, 3-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Donna Dearman Incumbent (unopposed) |
94.93% | 1,968 |
| Write-in votes | 5.07% | 105 |
| Total Votes | 2,073 | |
| Source: Matanuska Susitna Borough, Alaska, "Regular Borough Election Unofficial Results," accessed August 5, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Donna Dearman
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Seat G
Results
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, Seat G General Election, 3-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Yvonne Ruth (unopposed) |
94.64% | 1,731 |
| Write-in votes | 5.36% | 98 |
| Total Votes | 1,829 | |
| Source: Matanuska Susitna Borough, Alaska, "Regular Borough Election Unofficial Results," accessed August 5, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Yvonne Ruth
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Additional elections
- See also: Alaska elections, 2016
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough school board election shared the ballot with elections for seats on the borough assembly and five borough ordinances.[3]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Fairbanks North Star Borough school board elections in 2016:[4]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| August 5, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| September 4, 2016 | Last day to register to vote |
| September 6, 2016 | First campaign finance deadline |
| September 25, 2016 | Second campaign finance deadline |
| October 4, 2016 | Election Day |
| January 17, 2017 | Final campaign finance deadline |
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
No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election, according to the Alaska Public Office Commission.[5]
What was at stake?
Candidate survey
Survey responses
One candidate in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from Susan Pougher.
Hope to achieve
When asked what she hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Pougher stated:
| “ | Continued improvement in student achievement, learning, and graduation rate. I will seek innovative ways to continue offering choices in learning to students and families with our very limited budget. I will continue to require an open and transparent budget and processes.[6] | ” |
| —Susan Pougher (September 8, 2016)[7] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate 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 | ||||
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| Issue | Pougher'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 candidate was asked to answer nine 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.
About the district
Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District is located in southern Alaska in Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The borough seat is Palmer. The borough was home to 101,095 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[8] The district was the second-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 17,784 students.[9]
Demographics
Matanuska-Susitna Borough underperformed compared to Alaska as a whole in terms of higher education achievement in the years 2010-2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 20.9 percent of borough residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 27.7 percent of state residents. The median household income in the borough was $72,134, compared to $71,829 in the state. The poverty rate in the borough was 10.7 percent, while it was 11.2 percent for the state as a whole.[8]
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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.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District' 'Alaska'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District | Alaska | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska, "Final Slate of Candidates," September 6, 2016
- ↑ Matanuska-Susitna Borough, "Election Calendar," accessed September 6, 2016
- ↑ Matanuska-Susitna Borough,"Notice of Election," accessed September 7, 2016
- ↑ Alaska Public Offices Commission, "2016 Reporting Dates," accessed September 7, 2016
- ↑ Alaska Public Office Commission, "Campaign Disclosure:Forms," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Susan Pougher's responses," September 8, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 United States Census Bureau, "Quickfacts:Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska," accessed September 7, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ State of Alaska Division of Elections, "Number of voters registered by party in precinct," accessed September 7, 2016
