New Hanover County Schools elections (2016)
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Three of the seven seats on the New Hanover County Schools school board were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. All seats saw Republican and Democratic primaries on March 15, 2016.
The seats of Tammy Covil, Lisa Estep, and Jeanette Nichols were up for election. Four Republicans, two of whom are incumbents, filed for the primary election: Nichols, Estep, Frank Meares and David Wortman. Five Democrats, all newcomers, also filed: James Jamison, Jr., Sandra Leigh, Chris Meek, Emma Saunders, and Kevin Spears. Three Republicans and three Democrats advanced to the general. Lisa Estep, David Wortman, and Jeanette Nichols composed the Republican winners, and Emma Saunders, Sandra Leigh, and Kevin Spears made up the Democratic victorious. All three Republicans won the general election: Estep, Wortman, and Nichols.[1][2]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
Members of the Hanover County Schools school board are elected at large to four-year terms. Each election is held biannually in November. There was a primary election on March 15, 2016, and a general election was held on November 8, 2016.
Candidates began to file affidavits of candidacy on December 1, 2015. The filing deadline for school board candidates to get on the ballot in the general election was December 21, 2015.[3] Candidates had to pay a $118 filing fee to run in the election.[4]
Candidates and results
At-Large general election
Results
| New Hanover County Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Lisa Estep Incumbent |
19.41% | 55,861 | |
| Republican | David Wortman |
17.07% | 49,132 | |
| Republican | Jeanette Nichols Incumbent |
16.90% | 48,640 | |
| Democrat | Sandra Leigh | 16.00% | 46,059 | |
| Democrat | Emma Saunders | 15.42% | 44,372 | |
| Democrat | Kevin Spears | 15.20% | 43,754 | |
| Total Votes (100) | 287,818 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official General Election Results-New Hanover," accessed December 5, 2016 | ||||
Candidates
 Lisa Estep 
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Jeanette Nichols
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David Wortman
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 Sandra Leigh
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Emma Saunders
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Kevin Spears
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At-Large primary Democratic election
Results
| New Hanover County Schools, At-Large Primary Democratic Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democrat | Emma Saunders |
26.31% | 13,487 | |
| Democrat | Sandra Leigh |
24.52% | 12,569 | |
| Democrat | Kevin Spears |
19.53% | 10,013 | |
| Democrat | James Jamison, Jr. | 14.96% | 7,666 | |
| Democrat | Chris Meek | 14.68% | 7,523 | |
| Total Votes (100) | 51,258 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "03/15/2016 Official Primary Election Results," accessed September 2, 2016 | ||||
Candidates defeated in the primary
| Chris Meek
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James Jamison, Jr.
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At-Large primary Republican election
Results
| New Hanover County Schools, At-Large Primary Republican Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Lisa Estep Incumbent |
30.07% | 16,168 | |
| Republican | David Wortman |
25.33% | 13,615 | |
| Republican | Jeanette Nichols Incumbent |
25.04% | 13,461 | |
| Republican | Frank Meares | 19.56% | 10,517 | |
| Total Votes (100) | 53,761 | |||
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "03/15/2016 Official Primary Election Results," accessed September 2, 2016 | ||||
Candidates defeated in the primary
| Frank Meares
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: North Carolina elections, 2016
The following offices shared primary, general or both election dates with the school board elections in New Hanover County:
The North Carolina Connect NC Public Improvement Bond question was also on the March ballot statewide.
Note: The date for North Carolina's congressional primary was June 7, 2016. This primary was originally scheduled for March 15, 2016.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for North Carolina school board general elections held on November 8, 2016:[5]
| Deadline | Event |
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| December 1, 2015 | Candidate filing begins |
| December 21, 2015 | Candidate filing ends |
| March 7, 2016 | First quarter campaign finance deadline |
| March 15, 2016 | Primary Election Day, if necessary |
| November 8, 2016 | General Election Day |
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
Candidates raised a total of $27,926.46 and spent a total of $11,553.59 in this election as of November 4, 2016, according to the New Hanover County Board of Elections.[6]
School board candidates in North Carolina were required to file campaign finance reports to their county's board of elections unless the candidate:
(1) Did not receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in contributions, and
(2) Did not receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in loans, and
(3) Did not spend more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).[7]
The third quarter campaign finance deadline was October 31, 2016, and the fourth quarter deadline was January 11, 2017.[8]
Past elections
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2014At-large
Primary election
2012At-large
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What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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2016
Issues in the district
Transgender bathroom law
North Carolina passed the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act (HB 2) which stated that individuals in government-operated facilities had to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender stated on their birth certificate on March 23, 2016. The law was passed by the legislature in a one-day special session and was signed into law that night by Governor Pat McCrory (R). The bill reversed an earlier ruling that allowed transgender individuals to use the restroom of their preference, and it offset local ordinances in the state that let transgender citizens do so.[9]
On March 30, 2017, the North Carolina State Legislature approved and Gov. Roy Cooper (D) signed a repeal of HB 2. HB 142 repealed HB 2 but created a three-year moratorium on local anti-discrimination ordinances and prohibited local ordinances related to bathroom access.[10] The state house approved HB 142 by a 70-48 vote and the state senate voted 32-16 to pass the measure.[11]
HB 2's effect on NC school districts
When HB 2 was signed into law, many school districts in the state struggled to formulate a response, especially since Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. North Carolina school districts were unsure of how to balance these two laws. In the Wake County Public School System, Wake County sheriff Donnie Harrison said he would consider pulling deputies out of schools if the district did not decide on a consistent transgender bathroom policy. Harrison said the district did not have a uniform policy on the use of bathrooms by transgender students, which was causing confusion and unease among parents.[12][13]
According to Lisa Luten, a Wake County Public School System spokesperson, transgender student issues with bathrooms and locker rooms were handled on a case-by-case basis. "No child has ever been at risk based on how we have handled this issue,” Luten said. “Because this issue is still being debated in federal courts, the school system is unable to create a formal policy.”[12] (Note: The court ruling on HB 2 was made on March 30, 2017.) The district's superintendent James Merrill said that transgender bathroom questions ought to be addressed by administrators rather than student resource officers. According to Nathan Smith, the director of public policy for the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, the consequence is that many schools decide their transgender bathroom policies on a case-by-case basis, leading to conflicting rules between school campuses.[12][14]
Backlash
On July 21, 2016, the NBA announced it planned to move its All-Star Game from Charlotte, North Carolina, which was scheduled to be held there in 2017. According to the Charlotte Observer, this decision would cost the city approximately $100 million. On September 12, 2016, the NCAA moved seven championships that were scheduled to be held in the state during the 2016-2017 school year. Two days later, the Atlantic Coast Conference made a similar decision, revealing it planned to move the men's football championship game scheduled for December 2016 from Charlotte.
Want to see how this election related to state and national trends on this topic? Ballotpedia tracked this issue in the 2016 election cycle so you can see the connections and impact on this race in context.
About the district
New Hanover County Schools is located in Wilmington, the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina. New Hanover County was home to 216,298 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[15] The district was the 12th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 25,398 students.[16]
Demographics
New Hanover County outperformed North Carolina as a whole in terms of higher education attainment from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 37.2 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. The median household income in the county was $49,582, compared to $46,693 for the state. The poverty rate in the county was 18.0 percent, compared to 17.2 percent for the state.[15]
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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 'New Hanover County Schools' 'North Carolina'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| New Hanover County Schools | North Carolina | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ New Hanover County Board of Elections, "Candidate List Grouped by Contest," accessed January 22, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial General Election Results-New Hanover," accessed November 8, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "2016 Candidate Filing," accessed January 20, 2016
- ↑ New Hanover County Board of Elections, "Filing for Office," accessed March 7, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Reporting Schedules," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ New Hanover County, "Committee Reports," accessed November 4, 2016
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "Chapter 163: Elections And Election Laws, Article 22A - Regulating Contributions and Expenditures in Political Campaigns," accessed February 11, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Reporting Schedules," accessed October 11, 2016
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Understanding HB2: North Carolina’s newest law solidifies state’s role in defining discrimination," March 26, 2016
- ↑ ABC 11, "GOV. COOPER SIGNS NORTH CAROLINA'S HB2 COMPROMISE BILL," March 30, 2017
- ↑ NBC News, "HB2 Repeal: North Carolina Legislature Votes to Overturn Controversial ‘Bathroom Bill’," March 30, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Daily Tarheel, "Wake County sheriff calls for consistent transgender bathroom policy," September 29, 2016
- ↑ CBS North Carolina, "Wake sheriff threatens to pull deputies over transgender bathroom policy," September 27, 2016
- ↑ The News & Observer, "Four things to remember about House Bill 2," September 13, 2016
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 United States Census Bureau, "New Hanover County, North Carolina," accessed March 7, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Election Results," accessed April 29, 2014
| 2016 New Hanover County Schools Elections | |
| Election date: | Primary: March 15, 2016 General: November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Lisa Estep (R) • Incumbent, Jeanette Nichols (R) • Frank Meares (R) • David Wortman (R) • James Jamison, Jr. (D) • Sandra Leigh (D) • Chris Meek (D) • Emma Saunders (D) • Kevin Spears (D) |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
