McFarland School District elections (2017)
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One of the five seats on the McFarland School District school board were up for at-large general election on April 4, 2017. Board incumbent Tom Allen was defeated by newcomer Tom Mooney.[1][2][3]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
McFarland School District schools are overseen by a five-member board elected at large to three-year terms. School board members receive compensation for their service as approved by electors during the district's annual meeting. Two seats were up for election on April 5, 2016, and one seat was up for election on April 4, 2017.[4]
School board candidates had to be at least 18 years old, U.S. citizens, and residents of the school district for a minimum of 28 consecutive days before filing as a candidate. They also could not be disqualified from voting under Wisconsin law.[5]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file nomination papers with the school district clerk by January 3, 2017. If incumbents whose terms were up for re-election did not file to run in the race and did not file written notification that they would not be running, the candidate filing deadline could have been extended until January 6, 2017. The terms of candidates elected in the race started on April 24, 2017.[5]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| McFarland School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Tom Mooney |
67.11% | 1,259 |
| Tom Allen Incumbent | 32.62% | 612 |
| Write-in votes | 0.27% | 5 |
| Total Votes | 1,876 | |
| Source: Dane County, "2017 Spring Election Unofficial Canvas," accessed April 4, 2017These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
Candidates
| Tom Allen | Tom Mooney
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Wisconsin elections, 2017
The McFarland School District school board election shared the ballot with elections for the office of Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction and one seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.[6]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Wisconsin school board elections in 2017:[7][8]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| January 3, 2017 | Candidate filing deadline |
| January 16, 2017 | Campaign finance deadline for candidates registered before January 1 |
| February 13, 2017 | Campaign finance deadline for districts holding primary elections |
| March 27, 2017 | Campaign finance deadline for general election |
| April 4, 2017 | Election Day |
| April 24, 2017 | Board members take office |
| July 15, 2017 | Post-election 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 candidate in this race had reported any contributions or expenditures to the McFarland School District as of April 3, 2017.[9]
All school board candidates in Wisconsin were required to file a campaign registration statement with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission after qualifying as candidates. This statement declares their candidacy to the county clerk's office and allows them to claim exemption from reporting campaign contributions and expenditures. Candidates were only required to report campaign contributions and expenditures if they did one or both of the following:[10]
- Accepted contributions, made disbursements, or incurred debt in excess of $2,000 during the calendar year
- Accepted more than $100 from a single source during the calendar year, barring contributions made by candidates to their own campaigns
There were three campaign finance report deadlines in 2017:
- The pre-primary report was due February 13, 2017,
- The pre-election report was due March 27, 2017, and
- The post-election report was due July 15, 2017.[11]
Candidates who filed before January 1, 2017, also had to file a continuing campaign finance report on January 16, 2017.[8]
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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2016
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What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
Candidate forum
Tom Allen and Tom Mooney participated in a candidate Q&A published by the Wisconsin State Journal. The tables below compare their answers to the questions.[12]
| What is the main challenge facing the district and how would you address it? | |
|---|---|
| Tom Allen | Tom Mooney |
| "Although we recently passed borrowing and operational referendums, we did not include any excess funding in the referendums because we must balance the financial needs of the district with the financial impact on taxpayers. Thus, budget issues are still a main challenge. For example, we are continually looking for ways to attract and retain excellent teachers and staff. Although budgetary issues will always be an important issue, one of the other important issues for me is bullying (including cyber-bullying) and other negative behaviors that overwhelm students and distract them from their learning and their success."[12] | "The district enjoys a reputation for optimizing budget dollars to accomplish what has to be done to ensure effective educational practices, programs and experiences for students. However cost controls, Act 10 and the unpredictability of annual state funding are pivotal ongoing challenges that continue to threaten and negatively impact the quality and quantity of educational programs, practices and experiences for students; our ability to retain talented staff and increase salaries comparable to other professions and engaging in realistic long-term strategic planning. Board members must become more engaged in the political realm to regain funding that continues to be diverted away from public schools."[12] |
| In what ways can the district improve, and how would you do that? | |
|---|---|
| Tom Allen | Tom Mooney |
| "One way we improve is by keeping students engaged and performing at their best while still making sure they are enjoying their school experience. This is challenging because we must also gather testing and other data so that we can measure students’ progress. Another way in which we improve is by providing our teachers, administrators and staff members with the resources and support they need to continue to meet the challenges of ever-changing educational requirements, ever-changing state funding levels and a student population with diverse needs. Staying focused on our students gives us a common vision for improvement." | "Allowing teachers and school staff to do what they are hired to do, which is to teach. School staff are expected to do an insurmountable number of extra things in addition to teaching. With the amount of specialists and other school personnel already in the district, we must continually assess the effectiveness of personnel and educational programs/approaches that impact student achievement to better determine if staffing levels should change or shift."[13] |
| Please rate the superintendent’s performance and list any additional performance criteria you’d like to see. | |
|---|---|
| Tom Allen | Tom Mooney |
| "As our superintendent, Andrew Briddell must perform myriad responsibilities, including setting a high bar for our students and schools; representing the values and ideas of our community; demonstrating how our educators are advancing the mission of the schools by serving students well; and performing many more functions on a daily basis. As a board member, I am very pleased and impressed with Briddell’s performance." | "With the district administrator completing his second year in the school district and with me looking in from the outside, it would be premature for me to rate the superintendent’s performance at this time. However, I am pleased to share he led the charge for a successful $65 million school district referendum and is involved in the community and community service organizations. In my interaction with the superintendent he has always been approachable."[13] |
Election trends
- See also: School board elections, 2017
The McFarland School District saw unopposed elections in both 2016 and 2017. In 2015, the Wisconsin state average of unopposed seats was 32.00 percent, and the U.S. average was 35.95 percent. During the same year, 35.29 percent of the seats up for election in Wisconsin were filled by newcomers, while newcomers won 40.81 percent of school board seats in the largest school districts across the United States. The state saw a lower rate of seats won by newcomers in 2014 when that rate was 23.33 percent, while it was 38.24 percent in the U.S.
| School board election trends | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| McFarland School District | |||||
| 2017 | 2.00 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% | |
| 2016 | 1.00 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 00.00% | |
| Wisconsin | |||||
| 2015 | 1.38 | 32.00% | 84.00% | 35.29% | |
| 2014 | 1.40 | 46.67% | 88.46% | 23.33% | |
| United States | |||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
| 2014 | 1.89 | 32.59% | 81.31% | 38.24% | |
About the district
- See also: McFarland School District, Wisconsin
The McFarland School District lies in Dane County. The seat of county government is Madison. Located in south-central Wisconsin, the county was home to approximately 523,643 residents between 2010 and 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[14] The district was the 40th-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 4,304 students.[15]
Demographics
Higher education achievement
Dane County outperformed Wisconsin as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 47.9 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 27.8 percent for the state as a whole.[14]
Median household income
From 2011 to 2015, the median household income in the county was $62,865, compared to $53,357 for the state as a whole. During that same period, the median household income for the entire United States was $53,889.[14]
Poverty rate
The poverty rate in Dane County was 11.2 percent from 2011 to 2015. During that same period, the poverty rate was 12.1 percent statewide, and it was 13.5 percent for the country as a whole.[14]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[14] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Dane County (%) | Wisconsin (%) |
| White | 85.8 | 87.6 |
| Black or African American | 5.4 | 6.6 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5 | 1.1 |
| Asian | 5.8 | 2.8 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 2.5 | 1.8 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 6.3 | 6.6 |
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 McFarland School District Wisconsin election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| McFarland School District | Wisconsin | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email exchange with Angie Straub, Administrative assistant to the superintendent," January 6, 2017
- ↑ Dane County, "2017 Spring Election Unofficial Canvas," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ McFarland Thistle, "School Board candidates square off at forum," March 7, 2017
- ↑ School District of McFarland, "Bylaws," accessed February 5, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wisconsin Association of School Boards, "Guide for Candidates: 2017 Spring Election Edition," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Election Commission, "Candidate Tracking by Office: 2017 Spring Election - 4/4/2017," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Guided for Candidates," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Wisconsin Ethics Commission, "Campaign Finance Checklist," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email conversation with Angie Straub," April 3, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "11.0104 Reporting exemptions: limited activity," accessed December 15, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Ethics Commission, "Filing Deadlines and Reporting Periods," accessed December 15, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Wisconsin State Journal, "Candidate Q&A: McFarland School Board," March 18, 2017
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedguide - ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 United States Census Bureau, "Dane County, Wisconsin," accessed January 13, 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
| McFarland School District elections in 2017 | |
| Dane County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 4, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Tom Allen • Tom Mooney |
| Important information: | What's at stake? |
