New Hanover County Schools elections (2014)
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Four seats on the New Hanover County Board of Education were up for general election on November 4, 2014. There was a Republican primary election on May 6, 2014, to select four candidates for the general election. Republican incumbents Janice Cavenaugh, Don Hayes and Ed Higgins and challenger Bruce Shell defeated newcomer Jim Brumit in the primary. Incumbent Derrick Hickey did not run for re-election and sought a position on the New Hanover County Commission, instead. The winners of the May 6, 2014, primary faced Democratic candidates Tom Gale, Chris Meek and Emma Saunders. The Democratic candidates ran as the Elect Red4Ed slate in the general election. Republican candidates Cavenaugh, Hayes, Higgins and Shell defeated the Democratic candidates in the general election.
The election was colored by an August 2014 board decision resolution to the state superintendent and the state board of education asking for the College Board to delay the implementation of its new Advanced Placement U.S. history curriculum. Board members expressed concern that the new course did not meet the requirements of a 2011 state law requiring high school American history to cover "founding principals and documents." Additionally, concerns were expressed over the course's exclusion of "the U.S. military (no battles, commanders, or heroes)," the omission of "many other individuals, groups, and events that greatly shaped our nation's history" and "a biased and inaccurate view of many important events in American history, including the motivations and actions of 17th--19th century settlers, American involvement in World War II, and the development of and victory in the Cold War."[1]
Meeks attacked the board's criticisms of the curriculum in a campaign statement, saying that it demonstrated a "lack of trust in the teachers, the experts in the subject, to present a balanced curriculum to the students. Even with suggestions of prerequisites or local additions to the curriculum, the current board questioned the integrity of the teachers who teach the course."[2]
About the district
New Hanover County Schools is located in Wilmington, the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina. New Hanover County is home to 213,267 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau.[3] New Hanover County Schools was the 12th-largest school district in North Carolina, serving 25,131 students during the 2011-2012 school year.[4]
Demographics
New Hanover County outperformed the rest of North Carolina in terms of higher education achievement in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 36.6 percent of New Hanover County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 26.8 percent for North Carolina as a whole. The median household income in New Hanover County was $50,420 compared to $46,450 for the state of North Carolina. The poverty rate in New Hanover County was 16.0 percent compared to 16.8 percent for the entire state.[3]
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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.
Voter and candidate information
The New Hanover County Board of Education consists of seven members elected at-large to four-year terms. There was a primary election on May 6, 2014, and the general election was held on November 4, 2014.
The filing deadline for board candidates in New Hanover County was February 28, 2014. Each candidate submitted a notice of candidacy and a $108 filing fee to the county elections board. Candidates were required to be registered members of a party for at least 90 days prior to filing for a party's primary election.[6]
Voters in Hanover County were able to request absentee ballots for the primary election by April 29, 2014. The absentee ballot application deadline for the general election was October 28, 2014. The New Hanover County Board of Elections also hosted One-Stop Absentee voting from October 23, 2014, to November 1, 2014. This initiative allowed residents to vote early at locations throughout the county prior to the general election.[7]
Elections
2014
Candidates
At-large
- Incumbent
- Graduate, UNC-Wilmington
- Real estate appraiser
- Incumbent
- Graduate, UNC-Wilmington
- Sales representative
- Former district teacher
- Veteran, U.S. Navy
- Incumbent
- Graduate, Catawba College, UNC-Wilmington and Wake Forest University
- Law instructor, Cape Fear Community College
- Graduate, UNC-Wilmington
- Real estate agent, Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage
- Graduate, University of Stony Brook
- District teacher
- Graduate, Florida A&M University and Fayetteville State University
- Retired teacher
- Retired county finance officer, internal auditor and manager
Candidates defeated in the primary
- Owner, tax preparation business
- Retired, U.S. Army Reserve
Election results
General
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Janice Cavenaugh Incumbent |
16.1% | 34,666 | |
| Republican | Bruce Shell |
15.4% | 33,275 | |
| Republican | Don Hayes Incumbent |
14.6% | 31,540 | |
| Republican | Ed Higgins Incumbent |
14.2% | 30,700 | |
| Democratic | Emma Saunders | 13.9% | 30,101 | |
| Democratic | Tom Gale | 13% | 28,159 | |
| Democratic | Chris Meek | 12.7% | 27,524 | |
| Total Votes | 215,965 | |||
| Source: North Carolina Board of Elections, "2014 General Election Results," accessed December 30, 2014 | ||||
Primary
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Don Hayes Incumbent |
22.4% | 8,177 | |
| Republican | Bruce Shell |
21.6% | 7,874 | |
| Republican | Ed Higgins Incumbent |
20% | 7,314 | |
| Republican | Janice Cavenaugh Incumbent |
19.6% | 7,147 | |
| Republican | Jim Brumit | 16.4% | 5,970 | |
| Total Votes | 36,482 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, " 05/06/2014 OFFICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION RESULTS - NEW HANOVER," May 13, 2014 | ||||
Endorsements
Tom Gale (D), Janice Cavenaugh (R) and Bruce Shell (R) were endorsed by the Wilmington Regional Association of Realtors.[8]
Campaign finance
No candidate had filed a campaign finance report with the North Carolina State Board of Elections as of October 23, 2014.[9]
The last campaign finance deadline prior to the election was due October 27, 2014. Contributions, loans or transfers of $1,000.00 or more between October 19, 2014, and November 4, 2014, were required to be reported within 48 hours of their receipt. The year end report for 2014 was due January 30, 2015.[10] Candidates who received less than $1,000.00 in cumulative contributions did not have to report them but were required to maintain internal records of all contributions.[11]
Past elections
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What was at stake?
Issues in the election
AP U.S. History course
In August 19, 2014, the New Hanover County Board of Education passed a resolution requesting that the State Superintendent, June Atkinson, and the North Carolina State Board of Education ask the College Board delay the implementation of its new Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. history course. It also called for the North Carolina Legislature to investigate the changes made to the curriculum of the course citing concerns that the updated course would fail to meet state standards for U.S. history education.[1]
Board members opposed the new AP curriculum saying that it failed to meet the requirements of a state law regarding history education. North Carolina requires high school students to take a semester of American history focused on "founding principles." This requirement was established by Session Law 273 in 2011. The law requires the course to include at least the following:
| “ |
a. The Creator-endowed inalienable rights of the people. |
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| —North Carolina Session Law 2011-273, (2011) | ||
Don Hayes (R) stated that the new course had a "bizarre focus" on America's foundation. He stated, "I just think it's not a fair view of American history, the history of this country, and other board member share that same sentiment." He went on, saying, "I think that unfortunately you have in this country people who are not proud of the history of this country. They want to turn things around, and to me it’s very concerning. That's why we as a board have taken the steps we're taking."[14]
Lindalyn Kakadelis, director of education outreach for the John Locke Foundation, was outspoken on the issue in the district. He criticized the College Board's power to affect course curriculum saying, "Do we want an outside force we can’t control? Is that the direction the state wants to go?"[14] The John Locke Foundation is a member of the State Policy Network.[15]
The board followed up the resolution by sending letters to the parents of students who had enrolled in the course to inform them of their concerns and allowed those students the option to transfer to another course. As of October 4, 2014, only eight students had dropped the course. The district does not keep records of why students drop courses, so it is unclear if any of the decisions were influenced by the letter.[14][16]
Candidate Chris Meek (D) provided the following statement criticizing the board discussion of the issue on his campaign website:
| “ | At a recent board meeting, the US History AP course was debated. Locally taught Advanced Placement (AP) courses are elective courses. Most students who take AP courses are usually advanced learners who can discern fact from opinion. How do we encourage active participation in our society if we do not give our students the trust to make value judgments in the safety of a classroom where their mistakes will not adversely effect their future. Remember, while the course may culminate in an optional test, the course itself is weighted and students who choose to opt out of the test, as my daughter had done in other AP courses, they will still get the earned grade which counts towards their GPA.
The most disturbing part of the debate was the lack of trust in the teachers, the experts in the subject, to present a balanced curriculum to the students. Even with suggestions of prerequisites or local additions to the curriculum, the current board questioned the integrity of the teachers who teach the course. Current policy requires teachers to give both sides to a controversial topic, it does not restrict them from teaching them. Teachers should be given some latitude in choosing appropriate material and when issues arise deal with them on an individual basis rather than condemn the whole as incapable of appropriately practicing their profession. A historian once said “History is a dirty subject. We don’t always like what we have to teach, but to teach it accurately, we have to include the ugly with the glory as well.” I interpreted this as we have to present all sides of a story to get an accurate portrayal of what really happened in our past. When we take academic freedom out of the classroom, when we direct a curriculum be taught in a specific manner, we are doing exactly what NHCS Board Policy 7180 Directive 3 intends to avoid. We are indoctrinating and not educating. Teaching critical thinking skills in a historical context directly contradicts the idea of indoctrination in the classroom. We need this to continue to be free democratic society. This is what the US History AP Course should do if taught by the experts who understand the material and how to present it.[13] |
” |
| —Chris Meek's campaign website (2014)[2] | ||
April 17 candidate forum
All five candidates in the Republican primary participated in an April 17, 2014, forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Lower Cape Fear. The candidates reached consensus on several issues including the need to reverse a 2013 state budget provision that eliminated starting pay increases of 10 percent for new teachers with master's degrees. Jim Brumit supported repeal of the provision but stated that the pay increase should be smaller. There was also unanimous support for allowing greater school choice for parents but opposition to publicly funded vouchers for students at charters and private schools in New Hanover County was also voiced. Don Hayes expressed concerns about the lack of accountability for charter schools as well as the negative effects of preferential treatment for charters.[17]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the New Hanover County Schools election in 2014:[7]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| February 28, 2014 | Filing deadline for board candidates |
| April 11, 2014 | Deadline for voter registration for the primary election |
| April 29, 2014 | Last day to request absentee ballot by mail |
| May 6, 2014 | Primary election day |
| October 10, 2014 | Deadline for voter registration for the general election |
| October 23, 2014 | First day for One-Stop Absentee voting |
| November 1, 2014 | Last day for One-Stop Absentee voting |
| November 4, 2014 | General election day |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: North Carolina elections, 2014
The school board race shared the primary ballot with races for seats in the U.S. Senate, U.S. House of Representatives and North Carolina State Senate. Hanover County residents also selected candidates for county sheriff, county commission and the North Carolina Supreme Court.[18]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "New + Hanover + County + Schools + North + Carolina"
See also
- North Carolina
- New Hanover County Schools, North Carolina
- North Carolina school board elections, 2014
- List of school board elections in 2014
- School board elections, 2014
- New Hanover County, North Carolina ballot measures
- Local ballot measures, North Carolina
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 New Hanover County Schools, "Resolution Requesting the NC State Board of Education Demand a Delay, and Rewrite, of the Advanced Placement U.S. History Curriculum Framework," accessed October 23, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Elect Chris Meek: New Hanover County Board of Education, "What is Advanced Placement and Why We Teach It," August 20, 2014
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 United States Census Bureau, "New Hanover County, North Carolina," accessed April 29, 2014
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 29, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Election Results," accessed April 29, 2014
- ↑ New Hanover County Board of Elections, "Filing for Office," accessed April 29, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 New Hanover County Board of Elections, "Absentee Voting," accessed April 29, 2014
- ↑ Bruce Shell for New Hanover County School Board, "Endorsements," accessed October 23, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "NC Campaign Report Search By Entity," accessed October 23, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Reporting Schedules," accessed October 23, 2014
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2014 Campaign Finance Manual," accessed October 23, 2014
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "Session 2011: Session Law 2011-273, House Bill 588," June 23, 2011
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Elephant Strong, "New Hanover County School board raises concerns over liberal revisionist AP History course," August 26, 2014
- ↑ State Policy Network, "Directory: North Carolina," accessed October 23, 2014
- ↑ School Board's letter regarding AP History makes little impact," October 4, 2014
- ↑ Lumina News, "Candidates weigh in on county issues," April 23, 2014
- ↑ New Hanover County Board of Elections, "Sample Ballots," accessed April 29, 2014
| 2014 New Hanover County Schools Elections | |
| Wilmington, North Carolina | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Janice Cavenaugh • Tom Gale • Don Hayes • Ed Higgins • Chris Meek • Emma Saunders • Bruce Shell Candidates defeated in primary: • Jim Brumit |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
