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New Rochelle School District elections (2015)
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Two seats on the New Rochelle School District Board of Education were up for general election on May 19, 2015. The election shared the ballot with the school district's annual budget vote, which was passed by voters.[1][2]
The race featured one incumbent, Lianne Merchant, and two challengers, Maddali Paci Atallah and Vincent J. Malfetano.[3] Merchant retained her seat, while Atallah won the other open position.[2]
The school district was scheduled to hold Common Core-aligned state testing in April 2015. Amidst a large movement of parents opting their children out of testing across the state, New Rochelle Superintendent Dr. Brian Osborne sent a letter to staff members instructing them that they had to remain neutral on the issue while on school grounds.
- See also: Issues in the district
About the district
- See also: New Rochelle School District, New York
New Rochelle School District is located in Westchester County in southeastern New York. The county seat is White Plains. Westchester County was home to 968,802 residents in 2013, according to the United States Census Bureau.[4] During the 2012-2013 school year, New Rochelle was the 11th-largest school district in New York and served 10,907 students.[5]
Demographics
Westchester County outperformed the rest of New York in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 45.4 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 33.2 percent for New York as a whole. The median household income in Westchester County was $81,946, compared to $58,003 for the entire state. The poverty rate was 9.5 percent, compared to 15.3 percent statewide.[4]
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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 Rochelle Board of Education consists of nine at-large members elected to staggered five-year terms. One or two seats are up for regular election each May. One seat was up for election in 2013, and two seats were up for election in 2014 and 2015. Voters could vote for both seats in the election. The two candidates who received the most votes were considered elected to the board. There was no primary election, and the general election was held on May 19, 2015.[7][8]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file nominating petitions containing 100 signatures from qualified voters in the district to the clerk of the school district by April 29, 2015. To vote in this election, residents had to be at least 18 years old, U.S. citizens, have lived in the district for a minimum of 30 days before the election and have registered with the clerk of the school district.[8]
Elections
2015
Candidates
At-large
- Lianne Merchant
- Incumbent, first elected in 2010
- Graduate, Brown University and Columbia University
- Managing partner, Cortlandt Partners, Ltd.
- Maddali Paci Atallah
- Vincent J. Malfetano
- Teacher and attorney
Election results
| New Rochelle School District, At-Large General Election, 5-year term, 2015 |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Lianne Merchant Incumbent |
38.2% | 1,566 | |
| Nonpartisan | Maddali Paci Atallah |
33.8% | 1,386 | |
| Nonpartisan | Vincent J. Malfetano | 28% | 1,149 | |
| Total Votes | 4,101 | |||
| Source: New Rochelle School District, "Results of Votes Cast," accessed June 11, 2015 | ||||
Endorsements
No candidate received an official endorsement for this election.
Campaign finance
No contributions or expenditures were reported in the election, according to the New York State Board of Elections.[9][10]
Candidates had to file finance statements if they spent more than $1,000 on their campaign. The statements had to be filed with the clerk of the school district as well as the Commissioner of Education on April 20, 2015, May 14, 2015, and June 8, 2015. Candidates who did not spend more than $500 on their campaign had to file a signed statement to that effect with the clerk of the school district.[11]
Past elections
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2014
2013
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What was at stake?
2015
Issues in the district
Superintendent warns teachers not to encourage testing opt-outs
School districts in New York held Common Core-aligned state testing in April 2015, but a large movement of parents opting their children out of the testing meant many did not take the tests. Before the testing began, New Rochelle Superintendent Dr. Brian Osborne sent a letter to district staff warning them they could not encourage opt-outs.[12]
“In your capacity as a private citizen, you remain entitled to hold and express your opinions about the wisdom of State assessments in any public forum of your choice. However, our communications with parents and students, in our capacities as School District employees, do not constitute speech in a public forum, and there are limits as to the opinions which we may present to them in that context,” Osborne said in the letter.[12]
According to Osborne, both staff members and the district at large were liable to face consequences if staff members did not remain neutral about test refusals while at work.[12]
New Rochelle Federation of United School Employees (FUSE) President Martin Daly said the superintendent's letter seemed to be attempting to suppress union members' free speech rights due to the timing of its release. While Daly agreed with Osborne that state law prohibits staff members from speaking in favor of opting out, he stressed that this did not include their free time or their time off school grounds. “Do not be coerced into silence,” said Daly.[12]
School districts across the state saw a rise in the number of students opting out of testing in 2015 compared to 2014. In some districts, over 50 percent of students opted out, with the greatest number of opt-outs occurring in the regions of Long Island, Westchester, and Buffalo. Some school district officials voiced concern over the opt-outs, as districts could be penalized at both the state and federal level if less than 95 percent of students participated in testing. New York State United Teachers started a robocall campaign a few days before the test began to remind members they could opt out their children. The New York Department of Education said standardized testing helps ensure the state's most vulnerable students do not get ignored.[13][14]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the New Rochelle School District election in 2015:[1][11]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| April 20, 2015 | First campaign finance statement due |
| April 29, 2015 | Last day to file candidate nominating petitions |
| May 5, 2015 | Last day to register to vote in this election |
| May 14, 2015 | Second campaign finance statement due |
| May 19, 2015 | Election Day |
| June 8, 2015 | Third campaign finance statement due |
| July 1, 2015 | First day of term for newly elected board members |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: New York elections, 2015
This election shared the ballot with the school district's annual budget vote, which was passed by voters.[2] It also shared the ballot with the New Rochelle Public Library budget vote and election for three library trustees.[8]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms New Rochelle School District New York. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| New Rochelle School District | New York | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 New York State School Boards Association, "Timeline - 2015 Annual Budget Vote & School Board Election," accessed April 13, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Facebook, "The City School District of New Rochelle: Wall Post," May 19, 2015
- ↑ Abbey Smith, "Email communication with Jeanine Genauer from the New Rochelle School District," April 30, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 United States Census Bureau, "Westchester County, New York," accessed January 23, 2015
- ↑ National Central for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 29, 2015
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "NYS Voter Enrollment by County, Party Affiliation and Status - Voters Registered as of November 01, 2013," accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑ New Rochelle School District, "Board of Education Members," accessed April 23, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 New Rochelle School District, "Legal Notice for Budget Vote and School Election," accessed April 23, 2015
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Campaign Financial Disclosure: Expenditure Search Page," accessed July 8, 2015
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Campaign Financial Disclosure: Contribution Search Page," accessed July 8, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 New Rochelle School District, "Calendar of Events - BOE," accessed April 23, 2015
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 New Rochelle Talk, "New Rochelle Superintendent Warns of Consequences for School Employees Encouraging Common Core Test Refusal," April 10, 2015
- ↑ Syracuse.com, "NYS opt-out movement grows; tens of thousands - maybe more - expected to skip tests," April 14, 2015
- ↑ Business Insider, "Over 50% of students in some New York school districts are boycotting Common Core tests," April 15, 2015
| 2015 New Rochelle School District Elections | |
| Westchester County, New York | |
| Election date: | May 19, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Lianne Merchant • Maddali Paci Atallah • Vincent J. Malfetano |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
