Merely 16 candidates for 14 seats in Oklahoma school board elections
February 11, 2015
Over $608 million in bond issues were approved by residents of Oklahoma's largest school districts in elections that featured only one truly contested school board race. Fourteen seats were up for election among Oklahoma's 13 largest school districts on Tuesday; all but two of those elections had been canceled due to a lack of opposed races. Over the past three election cycles, only nine contested elections have been held among these 13 districts.
Voters in Edmond Public Schools had the most to contemplate on their ballots. District 5 incumbent Kemp Cole did not seek re-election. Newcomers John Coburn and Meredith Exline both sought the open seat, which Exline secured with almost 59 percent of the vote in her favor. While the District 5 race was only voted upon by residents of that area, all of the school district's voters saw two propositions regarding bond issues on their ballots. The measures, which were both approved by over 80 percent of voters, will issue a total of $90.66 million in bonds over the next five years.
Moore Public Schools was the only other district to see more than one candidate file for a seat, but a late withdrawal made the race unofficially unopposed. Bryan Kerr initially had filed to challenge incumbent Karen Shuey in her bid for a second consecutive term on the board. On January 25, 2015, Kerr stated that he had "decided not to run," and he officially endorsed Shuey. However, the deadline for candidates to withdraw from the race was December 5, 2014. Kerr's name still appeared on the ballot and votes were cast for him.[1] Ultimately, fewer than 150 votes were cast in the election. The low voter turnout meant that despite Kerr's withdrawal from the race, Shuey retained her seat with a lead of fewer than 30 votes.[2][3][4]
Three other districts had bond issue questions on the ballot, and all of them received voter approval. Residents of Broken Arrow Public Schools approved $370 million, residents of Jenks Public Schools approved $120.4 million and residents of Union Public Schools approved $27 million in bonds.
Spotlight: Low competition status quo remains
| Oklahoma unopposed races | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total seats |
Unopposed seats |
Percent unopposed | |
| 2015 | 14 | 12 | 85.7% | |
| 2014 | 16 | 10 | 62.5% | |
Of the 14 seats up for election in 2015, only two saw more than one candidate file for the election. The 12 uncontested races did not appear on the ballot. As noted above, only the race in Moore Public Schools was truly competitive.
Oklahoma's school board elections have a history of low competition. Of the 13 largest school districts in Oklahoma, only seven held elections in 2014 or 2013. The Owasso Public Schools Board of Education has a particularly long history of unopposed races with the last contested race being held nine years ago in 2006.
In 2014, each seat up for election averaged 1.31 candidates; this year that number was just 1.14. If the late withdrawal of Bryan Kerr is taken into account, that average falls to 1.07. Both years fell below the average of 1.90 candidates per seat up for election in America's 1,000 largest school districts in 2014.
Candidates
Note: An (i) next to a candidate's name indicates incumbent status.
|
Broken Arrow Public Schools Proposition No. 1 Edmond Public Schools Proposition No. 1 Jenks Public Schools Proposition No. 1 |
Lawton Public Schools Midwest City-Del City Schools Moore Public Schools Mustang Public Schools Norman Public Schools |
Oklahoma City Public Schools Owasso Public Schools Putnam City Schools Tulsa Public Schools Union Public Schools Zone 5 Proposition |
See also
- Oklahoma school board elections, 2015
- School board elections, 2015
- Oklahoma school districts
- What's on the ballot today? (February 10, 2015)
Footnotes
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Phone call with the Cleveland County Election Board," January 26, 2015
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Bryan Kerr," January 25, 2015
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Bryan Kerr," January 26, 2015
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Unofficial Results: Multicounty Races Annual School Election — February 10, 2015," accessed February 10, 2015
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