Medford School District, Oregon, elections

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Medford School District
District details
School board members: 7
Students: 13,866 (2022-2023)
Schools: 25 (2022-2023)
Website: Link

Medford School District is a school district in Oregon (Jackson County). During the 2023 school year, 13,866 students attended one of the district's 25 schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Jump to a section:

Elections School board Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

Elections

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• 2017
• 2015

Medford School District school board, Position 1

General election

General election for Medford School District school board, Position 1

Incumbent Jeffrey Kinsella won election in the general election for Medford School District school board, Position 1 on May 16, 2017.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	Jeffrey Kinsella (Nonpartisan)

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Medford School District school board, Position 2

General election

General election for Medford School District school board, Position 2

Incumbent Suzanne Messer won election in the general election for Medford School District school board, Position 2 on May 16, 2017.

		Candidate
✔		Suzanne Messer (Nonpartisan)

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Medford School District school board, Position 3

General election

General election for Medford School District school board, Position 3

Incumbent Cynthia Wright won election in the general election for Medford School District school board, Position 3 on May 16, 2017.

		Candidate
✔		Cynthia Wright (Nonpartisan)

---

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Medford School District school board, Position 6

General election

General election for Medford School District school board, Position 6

Incumbent James Horner won election in the general election for Medford School District school board, Position 6 on May 16, 2017.

		Candidate
✔	Submit photo	James Horner (Nonpartisan)

---

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Medford School District school board, Position 5

General election

General election for Medford School District school board, Position 5

Incumbent Michael Campbell won election in the general election for Medford School District school board, Position 5 on May 19, 2015.

		Candidate
✔		Michael Campbell (Nonpartisan)

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
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Medford School District school board, Position 6

General election

General election for Medford School District school board, Position 6

Incumbent Janet Lightheart won election in the general election for Medford School District school board, Position 6 on May 19, 2015.

		Candidate
✔		Janet Lightheart (Nonpartisan)

---

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Medford School District school board, Position 7

General election

General election for Medford School District school board, Position 7

Incumbent Lilia Caballero won election in the general election for Medford School District school board, Position 7 on May 19, 2015.

		Candidate
✔		Lilia Caballero (Nonpartisan)

---

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Election rules

View election rules

 

Election dates and frequency

See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing

School board general elections in Oregon are held on the Third Tuesday in May every two years in odd-numbered years.

See law: Oregon Statutes Chapters 255 and 332

Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts in the state

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts in the state. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.

• Filing deadline date: March 18, 2027
• General election date: May 18, 2027

Election system

School board members in Oregon are elected through nonpartisan general elections without primaries.

See law: Oregon Statutes Section 255.335

Party labels on the ballot

See also: Rules governing party labels in school board elections

School board elections in Oregon are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Statute governing nonpartisan elections governs the election procedures for school district board member elections and prohibits the inclusion of any information or designations on the ballot other than the names of the candidates.

See law: Oregon Statutes Section 255.335

Winning an election

The school board candidates that receive the largest number of votes in the nonpartisan general election are elected to office.

See law: Oregon Statutes Section 332.124

Term length and staggering

School board members in Oregon have four-year terms.

See law: Oregon Statutes Section 332.018

Oregon Statute states that each district must hold a school board election every two years to elect board members to four-year terms. Most districts elect as close to half of their board members as possible every two years.

See law: Oregon Statute Section 255.335

Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

School board members in Oregon are elected by voters at large, by voters from zones (sub-districts), or through a combination of the two. Nominating petitions for school board candidates can also contain signatures from the district at large, from voters within sub-districts, or through a combination of the two. School board seats can be nominated from zones but elected at large. School board members are nominated and elected according to position numbers for both at-large seats and by-sub-district seats. School board members are elected at large by default. Zones (sub-districts) for nominating petitions can be established through school board resolution or petition and voter approval processes. Once sub-districts for nominating petitions are established, the school board can also vote to establish that positions nominated by voters from sub-districts must also be elected by voters from those sub-districts.

See law: Oregon Statutes Chapter 332

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

The deadline for school board candidates to file nominating petitions and declarations of candidacy is 61 days before the May general election in odd-numbered years. This means the school board candidate filing deadline is in mid-March in odd-numbered years. The filing window is 40 days long.

See law: Oregon Statutes Section 255.235 

School board candidates cannot file nominating petitions and declarations of candidacy until 40 days before the filing deadline. The filing deadline is 61 days before the May general election, which means the window for candidates to file opens 101 days before the May general election in early February in odd-numbered years.

See law: Oregon Statutes Section 255.235

The term of school board members officially expires on June 30 following the election of their replacements, which means the term of newly elected school board members officially begins on July 1 following their election to office.

See law: Oregon Statutes Section 332.138

 

About the district

School board

The Medford School District consists of seven members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members

Name	Seat	Year assumed office	Year term ends
Michelle Atkinson	Position 5	2023	2027
Kendell Ferguson	Position 4	2023	2027
Michael Williams	Position 6	2023	2027
Lilia Caballero	Position 7	2015	2027
Jeffrey Kinsella	Position 1	2017	2025
Suzanne Messer	Position 2	2017	2025
Cynthia Wright	Position 3	2017	2025

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Medford School District

Office Name	Current Officeholder	Party	% School District Covered	% Other District Covered
Oregon House of Representatives District 5	Pam Marsh	Democratic Party	78%	30%
Oregon House of Representatives District 4	Alek Skarlatos	Republican Party	11%	2%
Oregon House of Representatives District 6	Kim Wallan	Republican Party	6%	98%
Oregon House of Representatives District 56	Emily McIntire	Republican Party	4%	1%

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.

• Revenue
• Expenditures

Revenue, 2020-2021

SOURCE	AMOUNT	AMOUNT PER STUDENT	PERCENT
Federal:	$18,079,000	$1,295	9%
Local:	$61,764,000	$4,424	31%
State:	$119,545,000	$8,562	60%
Total:	$199,388,000	$14,281

Expenditures, 2020-2021

TYPE	AMOUNT	AMOUNT PER STUDENT	PERCENT
Total Expenditures:	$182,656,000	$13,082
Total Current Expenditures:	$152,109,000	$10,894
Instructional Expenditures:	$97,751,000	$7,001	54%
Student and Staff Support:	$11,314,000	$810	6%
Administration:	$24,196,000	$1,732	13%
Operations, Food Service, Other:	$18,848,000	$1,349	10%
Total Capital Outlay:	$6,684,000	$478
Construction:	$6,325,000	$453
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other:	$12,000	$0
Interest on Debt:	$7,033,000	$503

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."

• Mathematics
• Reading/language arts
• Graduation rates

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year	All (%)	Asian/Pacific Islander (%)	Black (%)	Hispanic (%)	Native American (%)	Two or More Races (%)	White (%)
2020-2021	26	30-39	<50	15	<50	25-29	31
2018-2019	41	55-59	20-29	30	30-39	40	46
2017-2018	44	50-54	20-29	31	40-49	42	49
2016-2017	43	45-49	11-19	30	30-39	44	48
2015-2016	41	50-54	15-19	28	20-29	40-44	46
2014-2015	39	50-54	10-14	27	20-29	35-39	43
2013-2014	59	65-69	35-39	46	50-54	50-54	63
2012-2013	57	65-69	40-44	43	45-49	55-59	62
2011-2012	58	65-69	40-44	44	40-44	50-54	63
2010-2011	56	55-59	45-49	37	45-49	55-59	61

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year	All (%)	Asian/Pacific Islander (%)	Black (%)	Hispanic (%)	Native American (%)	Two or More Races (%)	White (%)
2020-2021	41	50-59	<=20	26	21-39	45-49	47
2018-2019	57	65-69	40-49	48	50-59	56	61
2017-2018	59	60-64	40-49	49	60-69	58	63
2016-2017	57	50-54	40-49	46	40-49	58	61
2015-2016	58	65-69	45-49	44	40-49	60-64	63
2014-2015	53	65-69	35-39	41	40-49	50-54	58
2013-2014	73	70-74	60-64	60	55-59	70-74	78
2012-2013	74	75-79	65-69	58	60-64	70-74	78
2011-2012	73	65-69	60-64	57	60-64	70-74	78
2010-2011	80	70-74	70-74	65	65-69	80-84	84

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year	All (%)	Asian/Pacific Islander (%)	Black (%)	Hispanic (%)	Native American (%)	Two or More Races (%)	White (%)
2019-2020	83	>=80	60-79	80-84	>=50	80-89	84
2018-2019	80	>=80	>=50	75-79	<50	70-79	81
2017-2018	81	>=80	>=50	70-74	>=50	70-79	83
2016-2017	78	>=80	>=50	65-69	>=50	70-79	81
2015-2016	77	>=80	>=50	65-69	>=50	70-79	79
2014-2015	75	>=80	40-59	65-69	>=50	60-79	78
2013-2014	65	60-79	60-79	50-54	>=50	50-59	69
2012-2013	67	70-79	60-79	60-64	<50	60-79	69
2011-2012	64	60-79	40-59	55-59	40-59	40-59	67
2010-2011	64	60-79	40-59	50-54	21-39	40-59	68

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.

• Enrollment
• Demographics

Year	Enrollment	Year-to-year change (%)
2022-2023	13,866	-2.1
2021-2022	14,158	1.4
2020-2021	13,962	-3.8
2019-2020	14,498	0.2
2018-2019	14,467	1.2
2017-2018	14,299	1.4
2016-2017	14,105	1.7
2015-2016	13,872	0.8
2014-2015	13,756	0.4
2013-2014	13,699	2.2
2012-2013	13,394	2.7
2011-2012	13,034	2.7
2010-2011	12,682	4.1
2009-2010	12,164	-0.7
2008-2009	12,252	-1.1
2007-2008	12,391	-0.6
2006-2007	12,465	2.0
2005-2006	12,216	-4.1
2004-2005	12,719	-1.1
2003-2004	12,853	-1.3
2002-2003	13,014	0.7
2001-2002	12,924	1.9
2000-2001	12,678	0.3
1999-2000	12,636	0.0

Racial Demographics, 2022-2023

RACE	Medford School District (%)	Oregon K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native	0.6	1.2
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander	1.2	4.0
Black	0.9	2.3
Hispanic	27.7	25.3
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	0.6	0.8
Two or More Races	5.3	7.2
White	63.5	58.7

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.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.

• Teachers
• Administrators
• Other staff

As of the 2022-2023 school year, Medford School District had 728.49 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 19.03.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten:	0.00
Kindergarten:	62.60
Elementary:	466.67
Secondary:	199.22
Total:	728.49

Medford School District employed 14.88 district administrators and 56.62 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators:	14.88
District Administrative Support:	42.59
School Administrators:	56.62
School Administrative Support:	93.95

Other staff, 2022-2023 school year

TYPE	NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides:	268.61
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors:	8.28
Total Guidance Counselors:	27.40
Elementary Guidance Counselors:	0.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors:	0.00
Librarians/Media Specialists:	0.00
Library/Media Support:	17.46
Student Support Services:	33.34
Other Support Services:	279.70

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.

The Medford School District operates 25 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.

List of schools

SCHOOL NAME	NUMBER OF STUDENTS	GRADES
5-6 School At Oakdale	0	5-6
Abraham Lincoln Elementary	469	KG-6
Central Medford High School	336	9-12
Griffin Creek Elementary School	573	KG-6
Hedrick Middle School	996	6-8
Hoover Elementary School	647	KG-6
Howard Elementary School	354	KG-6
Jackson Elementary School	322	KG-6
Jacksonville Elementary School	388	KG-6
Jefferson Elementary School	439	KG-6
Kennedy Elementary School	446	KG-6
Kids Unlimited Academy	513	PK-8
Logos Charter School	1,146	KG-12
Lone Pine Elementary School	513	KG-6
Madrone Trail Public Charter School	238	KG-8
Mcloughlin Middle School	915	6-8
Medford Online Academy	121	KG-8
North Medford High School	1,701	9-12
Oak Grove Elementary School	416	KG-6
Roosevelt Elementary School	370	KG-6
Ruch Outdoor Community School	234	KG-8
South Medford High School	1,870	9-12
The Valley School Of Southern Oregon	120	6-8
Washington Elementary School	298	KG-6
Wilson Elementary School	387	KG-6

About school boards

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See also

School Boards	Education Policy	Local Politics	Oregon
List of school districts in Oregon Oregon school board elections, 2025 School board elections, 2025 School board recalls School board authority in Oregon	Oregon Department of Education Public education in Oregon	Municipal government Local courts Local ballot measures Recalls	Oregon Oregon elections, 2025 Oregon State Legislature Oregon state executive offices

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