Newton Public Schools elections (2017)
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Eight seats on the Newton Public Schools School Committee were up for general election on November 7, 2017. All nine seats on the school committee were up for election. The ninth seat was held by the mayor of Newton, but was not covered as the city fell outside of Ballotpedia's municipal elections coverage.[1][2]
In the race for the open Ward 1 seat, Bridget Ray-Canada defeated Kathleen Marchi. In Ward 2, incumbent Margaret Albright won re-election, defeating former candidate Cyrus Karl, whom she had previously defeated in 2015. Anping Shen won the race for the open Ward 3 seat, defeating Eileen Sandberg. Incumbents Diana Fisher Gomberg, Steven Siegel, and Ruth Goldman ran unopposed and won re-election to the Ward 4, 5, and 6 seats, respectively, and newcomer Kathleen Shields ran unopposed and won the open Ward 7 seat. The race for the open Ward 8 seat was won by Matthew Miller. He defeated Gail Spector.[3][4]
The 2017 election had a lower percentage of unopposed seats on the ballot compared to the district's three previous elections. For information on election trends in the district, click here.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Newton School Committee consists of nine members, including the mayor of Newton who has voting power but serves as an ex-officio member. The other eight school committee members are elected at large to two-year terms from the school district's eight wards.[2][5]
To get on the ballot, school committee candidates had to file nomination papers with 150 signatures from registered voters in the city of Newton. The nomination papers had to be filed with the Newton City Clerk by July 25, 2017.[6]
To vote in this election, citizens of the school district had to register by October 18, 2017.[1] Photo identification was not required to vote in Massachusetts.[7]
Candidates and results
Ward 1
Results
| Newton Public Schools, Ward 1 General Election, 2-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Bridget Ray-Canada |
52.71% | 7,516 |
| Kathleen Marchi | 47.06% | 6,710 |
| Write-in votes | 0.23% | 33 |
| Total Votes | 14,259 | |
| Source: City of Newton, "11/07/17 Local Election Official Results," accessed December 8, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Kathleen Marchi | Bridget Ray-Canada 
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Ward 2
Results
| Newton Public Schools, Ward 2 General Election, 2-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Margaret Albright Incumbent |
83.71% | 12,103 |
| Cyrus Vaghar | 16.12% | 2,331 |
| Write-in votes | 0.17% | 24 |
| Total Votes | 14,458 | |
| Source: City of Newton, "11/07/17 Local Election Official Results," accessed December 8, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Margaret Albright
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Cyrus Karl | ||
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Ward 3
Results
| Newton Public Schools, Ward 3 General Election, 2-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Anping Shen |
54.20% | 8,168 |
| Eileen Sandberg | 45.60% | 6,873 |
| Write-in votes | 0.2% | 30 |
| Total Votes | 15,071 | |
| Source: City of Newton, "11/07/17 Local Election Official Results," accessed December 8, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Eileen Sandberg | Anping Shen
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Ward 4
Results
| Newton Public Schools, Ward 4 General Election, 2-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Diana Fisher Gomberg Incumbent (unopposed) |
98.47% | 10,474 |
| Write-in votes | 1.53% | 163 |
| Total Votes | 10,637 | |
| Source: City of Newton, "11/07/17 Local Election Official Results," accessed December 8, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Diana Fisher Gomberg
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Ward 5
Results
| Newton Public Schools, Ward 5 General Election, 2-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Steven Siegel Incumbent (unopposed) |
99.38% | 10,313 |
| Write-in votes | 0.62% | 64 |
| Total Votes | 10,377 | |
| Source: City of Newton, "11/07/17 Local Election Official Results," accessed December 8, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Steven Siegel
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Ward 6
Results
| Newton Public Schools, Ward 6 General Election, 2-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Ruth Goldman Incumbent (unopposed) |
99.41% | 10,144 |
| Write-in votes | 0.59% | 60 |
| Total Votes | 10,204 | |
| Source: City of Newton, "11/07/17 Local Election Official Results," accessed December 8, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Ruth Goldman
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Ward 7
Results
| Newton Public Schools, Ward 7 General Election, 2-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Kathleen Shields (unopposed) |
99.48% | 9,380 |
| Write-in votes | 0.52% | 49 |
| Total Votes | 9,429 | |
| Source: City of Newton, "11/07/17 Local Election Official Results," accessed December 8, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Kathleen Shields
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Ward 8
Results
| Newton Public Schools, Ward 8 General Election, 2-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Matthew Miller |
55.37% | 8,862 |
| Gail Spector | 44.48% | 7,119 |
| Write-in votes | 0.14% | 23 |
| Total Votes | 16,004 | |
| Source: City of Newton, "11/07/17 Local Election Official Results," accessed December 8, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Matthew Miller
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Gail Spector | ||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Massachusetts elections, 2017
The Newton School Committee election shared the ballot with elections for Newton City Council and for Newton mayor.[3]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Newton School Committee election.[6]
Endorsements
For a list of official endorsements made by political parties, education organizations, and elected officials in the Newton Public Schools elections, click here.
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 received a total of $60,342.05 and spent a total of $42,611.18 in the election, according to the Newton Elections Office.[8]
| Candidate | Balance prior to election | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward 1 | ||||
| Kathleen Marchi | $0.00 | $6,154.84 | $1,025.10 | $5,129.74 |
| Bridget Ray-Canada | $0.00 | $4,450.00 | $1,975.53 | $2,474.47 |
| Ward 2 | ||||
| Margaret Albright | $2,084.54 | $350.00 | $93.77 | $2,340.77 |
| Cyrus Karl | $0.00 | $1,081.34 | $1,008.14 | $73.20 |
| Ward 3 | ||||
| Eileen Sandberg | $0.00 | $7,200.00 | $8,199.62 | ($1,000.32) |
| Anping Shen | $0.00 | $12,180.00 | $3,780.46 | $8,399.54 |
| Ward 4 | ||||
| Diana Fisher Gomberg | $1,035.63 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $1,035.63 |
| Ward 5 | ||||
| Steven Siegel | $245.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $245.00 |
| Ward 6 | ||||
| Ruth Goldman | $818.95 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $818.95 |
| Ward 7 | ||||
| Kathleen Shields | $0.00 | $1,420.00 | $931.21 | $488.79 |
| Ward 8 | ||||
| Matthew Miller | $923.24 | $16,905.15 | $16,666.33 | $1,162.06 |
| Gail Spector | $0.00 | $10,600.72 | $8,931.02 | $1,669.70 |
Reporting requirements
Newton School Committee candidates had to file two campaign finance reports. The first report was due October 30, 2017, and the second report was due January 22, 2018.[9]
Past elections
- See also: Past elections in Newton Public Schools
To see results from past elections in Newton Public Schools, click here.
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
Ballotpedia researches issues in school board elections across the United States, but information availability is a challenge for us in many school districts. Please contact us about the issues that impact your local school district. Note that not all submissions may meet Ballotpedia's coverage requirements for inclusion.
Candidate survey
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Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
The 2017 Newton School Committee election had the lowest percentage of unopposed seats out of four consecutive election cycles in the district. Half of the seats on the ballot in 2017 were unopposed, while 75 percent, 87.5 percent, and 62.5 percent of the seats were unopposed in the district's 2015, 2013, and 2011 elections, respectively.
The 2017 election added more newcomers to the board than the district's three previous elections added. Four newcomers were guaranteed to win four open seats in 2017. Three newcomers were elected to open seats on the board in 2011 and 2013, but no newcomers were elected in 2015 as incumbents swept the ballot that year.
| School board election trends | ||||||
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| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Newton Public Schools | ||||||
| 2017 | 1.50 | 50.00% | 50.00% | 100.00% | 50.00% | |
| 2015 | 1.25 | 75.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| 2013 | 1.13 | 87.50% | 62.50% | 100.00% | 37.50% | |
| 2011 | 1.38 | 62.50% | 62.50% | 100.00% | 37.50% | |
| Massachusetts | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.49 | 25.49% | 68.63% | 85.71% | 33.33% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
About the district
- See also: Newton Public Schools, Massachusetts
The Newton school district is located in northeast Massachusetts in Middlesex County. The county seats are Newton and Cambridge. The county was home to an estimated 1,589,774 residents in 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[10] The district was the eighth-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 12,674 students.[11]
Demographics
Middlesex County outperformed Massachusetts as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 52 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 40.5 percent of state residents. During the same time period, the median household income in Middlesex County was $85,118, compared to $68,563 for the entire state. The poverty rate in the county was 7.6 percent, while it was 11.5 percent statewide.[10]
| Racial Demographics, 2016[10] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Middlesex County (%) | Massachusetts (%) |
| White | 79.8 | 81.8 |
| Black or African American | 5.7 | 8.6 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3 | 0.5 |
| Asian | 11.9 | 6.7 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 2.3 | 2.3 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 7.9 | 11.5 |
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 Newton Public Schools Massachusetts election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Newton Public Schools | Massachusetts | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 City of Newton, "2017 Municipal Election Calendar," accessed February 2, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Newton Public Schools, "About School Committee," accessed July 24, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 City of Newton, "Elections: Local Election - November 7, 2017," accessed July 26, 2017
- ↑ City of Newton, "Unofficial Results November 7, 2017," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ New Public Schools, "School Committee Members," accessed July 24, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 City of Newton, "Candidate Guide," accessed July 24, 2017
- ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Identification Requirements," accessed May 16, 2017
- ↑ Newton Elections Office, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed January 23, 2018
- ↑ Office of Campaign and Political Finance Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Campaign Finance Guide Candidates for Municipal Office (Non-Depository)," accessed September 11, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: Middlesex County, Massachusetts; Massachusetts," accessed July 24, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
| Newton Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Middlesex County, Massachusetts | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | Ward 1: • Kathleen Marchi • Bridget Ray-Canada Ward 2: • Incumbent, Margaret Albright • Cyrus Karl Ward 3: • Eileen Sandberg • Anping Shen Ward 4: • Incumbent, Diana Fisher Gomberg Ward 5: • Incumbent, Steven Siegel Ward 6: • Incumbent, Ruth Goldman Ward 7: • Kathleen Shields Ward 8: • Matthew Miller • Gail Spector |
| Important information: | What's at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
