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Norfolk Public Schools elections (2016)
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Norfolk Public Schools held elections for its school board for the first time on May 3, 2016. A referendum in 2014 called for an elected board to replace the city council-appointed school board that led the district for over 60 years.[1] Two of the seven seats on the school board were up for general election in 2016. Incumbent Noelle Gabriel defeated Carter Smith for the Superward 6 seat. Incumbent Rodney Jordan ran unopposed to win the seat in Superward 7.[2]
The intersection of power between the city council and school board was a key issue in the 2016 elections—especially because the city transitioned back to an elected school board after over 60 years of having the board appointed by the city council. Disputes over the election style drew candidates into 2016's races, and the city's education reputation was a talking point as well.
Click here to learn more about Norfolk's return to an elected school board, the debate around the election style, the relationship between city council and school board power, and more.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Norfolk School Board previously consisted of seven members appointed by the city council to three-year terms. After a referendum in 2014 demanding an elected school board, the city council devised a plan to transition the board from an appointed board to an elected board. The plan calls for the members to be elected by-district to four-year terms. Two seats were up for election in 2016. There was no primary election. The general election was held on May 3, 2016. The board members elect a chairman and vice chairman in an annual organizational meeting.[3][4]
To be elected to the board, candidates must reside in the boundaries of the city of Chesapeake. If a board member moves from the city limits, their seat will be considered vacant. Candidates must also be a citizen of the United States, be at least 18 years old and be a resident of Virginia for at least one year.[3][5]
Candidates had until March 1, 2016, to collect 125 signatures for their nomination papers. The signatures had to come from residents of the district where the candidate sought election. Candidates could not begin circulating petitions until January 1, 2016.[5]
Candidates and results
Superward 6
Results
| Norfolk Public Schools, Superward 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Noelle Gabriel |
54.21% | 9,345 |
| Carter Smith | 45.42% | 7,831 |
| Write-in votes | 0.37% | 64 |
| Total Votes | 17,240 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2016 May City General Official Results," accessed June 23, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Noelle Gabriel 
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Carter Smith | ||
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Superward 7
Results
| Norfolk Public Schools, Superward 7 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Rodney Jordan (unopposed) |
97.97% | 10,121 |
| Write-in votes | 2.03% | 210 |
| Total Votes | 10,331 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2016 May City General Official Results," accessed June 23, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Rodney Jordan
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Additional elections
The Norfolk school board election shared the ballot with elections for mayor and two seats on the city council.[6]
Key deadlines
The following dates are key deadlines for the Norfolk school board elections in 2016:[7]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| March 1, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| April 11, 2016 | Last day to register to vote in the general election |
| April 15, 2016 | First campaign finance deadline |
| April 25, 2016 | Second compaign finance deadline |
| May 3, 2016 | Election Day |
| June 15, 2016 | Final campaign finance deadline |
District map
Endorsements
Gabriel and Jordan received an official endorsement from the Norfolk Federation of Teachers. Gabriel also received an official endorsement from the Education Association of Teachers.[8][9][10]
Smith received an official endorsement from The Virginian-Pilot.[11]
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $79,329.37 and spent a total of $75,196.54 during the election, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.[12]
| Candidate | Amount left over from previous campaign |
Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Superward 6 | ||||
| Noelle Gabriel | $0 | $24,159.15 | $21,356.55 | $2,832.60 |
| Carter Smith | $0 | $49,670.22 | $49,325.41 | $344.81 |
| Superward 7 | ||||
| Rodney Jordan | $1,963.83 | $5,500.00 | $4,514.58 | $2,949.25 |
What was at stake?
2016
Issues in the election
Candidate forum
In a candidate forum held on March 12, 2016, the three candidates up for election to the Norfolk School Board discussed their opinions on past decisions of the board as well as their plans for the future. The forum was organized by the Proudly Diverse Caucus. The organization was founded by a group of Norfolk residents, including Superward 7 candidate Rodney Jordan, in 2014 to promote diversity in the community. Jordan was not involved in the planning of the candidate forum. The event planner for the forum was Norfolk resident and parent Vikki Grecco who has publicly endorsed Superward 6 candidate Noelle Gabriel. Gabriel's opposition Carter Smith spoke out against possible partiality at the forum due to Grecco's involvement.[13]
| “ | It certainly makes it implausible to call this an impartial candidate forum, but I am attending because I’m committed to engaging candidly on the issues facing our schools, even with those who are working hard to protect the status quo.[14] | ” |
| —Carter Smith (2016)[15] | ||
In an effort to remove the appearance of partiality, the Proudly Diverse Caucus decided to scrap the questions that caucus members created for the candidates in favor of questions from audience members. It also designated a group of students from within the school district to help facilitate the forum.[16]
At the forum, all of the candidates supported the new equity policy adopted by the board in January 2016. They also all mentioned declining enrollment and strained relations with the city council as problems in the district.
Candidates shared their opinions on the top education issue in Norfolk. Jordan called for more support for teachers. Gabriel felt that the emphasis placed on standardized testing was leading to overworked teachers, and Smith mentioned poverty and the need for leadership support in his response.
Smith focused on transparency throughout the forum, citing the closed search for the superintendent and the budget proposal as evidence of a lack of transparency from the board. Gabriel continued the call for less emphasis on standardized testing and more focus on teacher support. Jordan also mentioned the need for improved technology.[17]
Community members object to new board format
After a 2014 referendum approved by 85 percent of voters, Norfolk residents won the right to elect the members of the school board for the first time in over 60 years. Before the referendum, the city council appointed school board members to three-year terms. As part of the transition to a fully elected board, two seats were up for election in 2016, and the remaining five seats were up for election in 2018. In accordance with electoral laws in the state of Virginia, the city council held a drawing to determine which two current board members' seats would be up for election. Board members Noelle Gabriel and Rodney Jordan were selected to end their terms early with the option to run for election to their seats.[18]
While the residents of Norfolk won the right to elect their school board members, the city council was in charge of deciding the format of the election and the makeup of the board. Formerly the board was appointed at-large. The city council decided in a 5-3 vote to change the makeup of the board to a ward-based group and have residents vote by district with each of the seven seats representing a different ward. Council members Andrew Protogyrou, Tommy Smigiel, and Theresa Whibley voted against the change. Proponents of the ward system felt that it would ensure diversity on the board, while opponents mentioned divisiveness and lack of city-wide accountability as problems with the system.[19]
A local advocacy group, Better Together Norfolk, began circulating petitions in an effort to convince the city council to repeal the ward-based system and use a hybrid system in its place. The hybrid system would include candidates that resided in specific geographic districts within the school district, but would be voted on by all the residents of the district. By the date of the election, the city council had maintained its stance on the ward based system for the school board.[20]
Issues in the district
Board approves budget proposal
After adjustments to the superintendent's original proposed budget, the school board approved a 2016-2017 budget that included a $10 million deficit. The original budget proposal came from newly hired superintendent Melinda Boone. Her version of the budget proposal included a two percent raise for all full-time staff and cut some instructional positions in reading and math as well as clerical positions in the central office. Boone's proposed budget included approximately $11 million more in spending and only $3 million more in revenue than the previous year's budget, leaving an $8.6 million deficit.[21]
Parents and staff got the opportunity to share their thoughts on the proposed budget at a public hearing on March 9, 2016. More than a dozen people spoke at the hearing. The biggest concerns were staff raises and equitable funding for academic programs. Most critics of the proposed budget felt that the two percent staff raise was not enough to battle teacher attrition. There were also suggestions to increase funding for gifted education in the district.[22]
After reviewing Boone's proposed budget and listening to comments at the public hearing, the school board unanimously approved a revised proposed budget on March 23, 2016. The revised version of the budget proposal increased the staff raise to three percent and maintained the math and reading instructional positions that were cut in the first budget proposal. The board's proposed budget included a $10 million deficit. The budget was passed to the city council for approval.[23]
About the district
- See also: Norfolk Public Schools, Virginia
Norfolk Public Schools is located in southeastern Virginia in Norfolk. Norfolk is an independent city and therefore, does not belong to a county. This city was home to 245,428 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[24] The district was the seventh-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 39,737 students.[25]
Demographics
Norfolk underperformed compared to Virginia as a whole in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 25.6 percent of city residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 35.8 percent of state residents. The median household income in Norfolk was $44,150, compared to $64,792 for the state of Virginia. The poverty rate was 20.5 percent for the city, compared to 11.8 percent for the entire state.[24]
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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 'Norfolk Public Schools' 'Virginia'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Norfolk Public Schools | Virginia | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Virginian Pilot, "Effort asks Norfolk to reconsider School Board wards," February 11, 2015
- ↑ Norfolk, Virginia, "List of Qualified Candidates for May 3, 2016 Election," accessed March 2, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Norfolk Public Schools, "Board Docs," accessed March 3, 2016
- ↑ The Virginian Pilot, "Two dozen candidates file for offices in Norfolk, Chesapeake," March 1, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Virginia Department of Elections, "Candidacy Requirements For City and Town Offices," accessed March 3, 2016
- ↑ Norfolk, Virginia, "http://www.norfolk.gov/DocumentCenter/View/13874," March 3, 2016
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "2016 Candidate Reporting Deadlines," accessed March 3, 2016
- ↑ Facebook, "Noelle Gabriel for Norfolk School Board 2016," March 23, 2016
- ↑ Facebook, "Noelle Gabriel for Norfolk School Board 2016," April 25, 2016
- ↑ The Virginian-Pilot, "Unopposed, Norfolk School Board's Rodney Jordan still seeks to prove himself to voters," April 17, 2016
- ↑ The Virginian-Pilot, "Virginian-Pilot editorial: In Norfolk's superwards," April 18, 2016
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed July 2, 2016
- ↑ Facebook, "Proudly Diverse Caucus," accessed March 28, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Virginian Pilot, "Norfolk School Board candidate raises concerns about upcoming election forum," March 11, 2016
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedparital - ↑ The Virginian Pilot, "Norfolk School Board candidates share ideas at first forum," March 12, 2016
- ↑ WAVY, "Norfolk holds drawing for school board member seats," July 22, 2015
- ↑ The Virginian Pilot, "Effort asks Norfolk to reconsider School Board wards," February 11, 2015
- ↑ Better Together Norfolk, "Home," accessed March 28, 2016
- ↑ The Virginian Pilot, "Norfolk schools budget proposal gives raises, cuts teacher positions," March 2, 2016
- ↑ The Virginian Pilot, "Parents, staff criticize Norfolk schools budget proposal," March 9, 2016
- ↑ The Virginian Pilot, "Norfolk School Board OKs $327 million budget for next year," March 23, 2016
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 United States Census Bureau, "Quickfacts:Norfolk, Virginia," accessed March 3, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Election Results," accessed September 9, 2015
| 2016 Norfolk Public Schools Elections | |
| Election date: | May 3, 2016 |
| Candidates: | Superward 6: Noelle Gabriel • Carter Smith Superward 7: Rodney Jordan |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
