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Norristown Area School District, Pennsylvania, elections

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Norristown Area School District
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District details
School board members: 9
Students: 7,805 (2022-2023)
Schools: 12 (2022-2023)
Website: Link

Norristown Area School District is a school district in Pennsylvania (Montgomery County). During the 2023 school year, 7,805 students attended one of the district's 12 schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Elections

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Norristown Area School District, At-large

General election

General election for Norristown Area School District, At-large

Tessi F. Ruiz ran in the general election for Norristown Area School District, At-large on November 7, 2023.

Candidate
Tessi F. Ruiz (D / R)

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Election rules

 

Election dates and frequency

School board primary elections in Pennsylvania are held on the third Tuesday of May every two years in odd-numbered years.

School board general elections in Pennsylvania are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: State Statute 1937 Act 320

Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts in the state except the Philadelphia School District

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts in the state except the Philadelphia School District. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.

  • Filing deadline date: March 10, 2027
  • Primary election date: May 18, 2027
  • General election date: November 8, 2027

Election system

Elected school board members in Pennsylvania are elected through a system of a partisan primary election and a partisan general election. As of 2022, all school boards except the board of the Philadelphia School District had elected school board members. The nine members of the Philadelphia School District Board of Education are appointed by the Philadelphia Mayor and confirmed by the city council.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: State Statute 1937 Act 320

Party labels on the ballot

School board elections in Pennsylvania are partisan, which means political party labels do appear on the ballot for school board candidates. School board candidates are nominated in closed partisan primary elections to appear on the general election ballot. Pennsylvania has closed primaries, which means that voters have to be affiliated with a political party in order to participate in primary elections. State statute allows school board candidates, among candidates for other offices, to file for nomination by multiple political parties. This practice, which is known as cross-filing, allows candidates to appear on both the Democratic primary election ballot and the Republican primary election ballot.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: State Statute 1937 Act 320

Winning an election

The school board candidate that receives the largest number of votes in the general election is elected to office.

The school board candidate that receives the largest number of votes in a closed party primary is the nominee for that party and advances to the general election ballot.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Pennsylvania Statute 1937 Act 320 and Pennsylvania Statute 1937 Act 320

Term length and staggering

Elected school board members in Pennsylvania have four-year terms. State law provides for six-year terms for the members of a reorganized First Class A district containing former districts of lower classes. As of 2022, all school districts in the state had board members with four-year terms.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III

As close to half of school board members as possible are elected every two years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III

Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

School board members are elected at large, by sub-district, or through a combination of the two, depending on the class of the district and whether or not a district has established a plan to elect board members from regions (sub-districts).

School districts classified as school districts of the second, third, or fourth classes can elect their school board members at large, by sub-district, or a combination of both.

Schools districts classified as First Class and First Class A School Districts must elect their school board members by sub-district.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III, Section 303
and Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III, Section 303(b)
and Pennsylvania Public School Code of 1949, Article III, Section 303(a)

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

The deadline for independent and minor party candidates to file nomination papers to qualify for the general election ballot is August 1. Although Pennsylvania Statute states that independent and minor party candidates must file nomination papers on or before the second Friday after the primary election, the state moved the filing deadline to August 1 each year following two consent decrees in Hall v. Davis and Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania v. Davis.

Candidates running in the primary must file nomination petitions by the tenth Tuesday before the primary election held on the third Tuesday in May in odd-numbered years. This filing deadline is in early March.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Pennsylvania Bureau of Elections CalendarNomination Paper Instruction SheetHall v. Davis, 84-cv-1057 (E.D. Pa.); and Libertarian Party of Pennsylvania v. Davis, 84-cv-0262 (M.D. Pa.) and Pennsylvania Election Code, Act No. 320 of 1937, Article IX

Newly elected school board members officially take office on the first Monday in December according to state law.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Pennsylvania Election Code, Act No. 320 of 1937, Article IX

 


About the district

School board

The Norristown Area School District consists of nine members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Phillip Daniels2027
Sharon Mauch2027
Ingrid Parker2027
Mao Howell20232027
Christopher Jaramillo2026
Cynthia Wirth2026
Xaras Collins2025
Melissa Novoa20242025
Tessi Ruiz20232025

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District map

Overlapping state house districts

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2020-2021
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $15,690,000 $2,061 9%
Local: $117,923,000 $15,494 68%
State: $40,574,000 $5,331 23%
Total: $174,187,000 $22,886
Expenditures, 2020-2021
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $155,395,000 $20,417
Total Current Expenditures: $128,503,000 $16,883
Instructional Expenditures: $79,852,000 $10,491 51%
Student and Staff Support: $11,330,000 $1,488 7%
Administration: $15,713,000 $2,064 10%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $21,608,000 $2,839 14%
Total Capital Outlay: $1,721,000 $226
Construction: $0 $0
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $873,000 $114
Interest on Debt: $4,367,000 $573

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 18 40-59 12 14 PS 20-24 37
2018-2019 29 70-79 22 26 29 49
2017-2018 32 65-69 25 29 PS 31 54
2016-2017 34 70-74 27 31 PS 32 52
2015-2016 35 65-69 29 30 PS 30-34 55
2014-2015 31 65-69 25 25 PS 30-34 53
2013-2014 66 90-94 59 65 PS 70-74 77
2012-2013 65 85-89 59 62 PS 70-74 79
2011-2012 67 80-84 61 63 PS 75-79 79
2010-2011 68 80-84 63 65 PS 70-74 79

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 31 60-79 26 25 30-34 50-54
2018-2019 45 80-89 41 40 46 65
2017-2018 46 70-74 41 41 PS 48 65
2016-2017 45 70-74 42 38 PS 49 65
2015-2016 47 75-79 45 40 PS 45-49 65
2014-2015 46 70-74 41 38 PS 45-49 67
2013-2014 54 75-79 49 47 PS 50-54 70
2012-2013 53 75-79 48 44 PS 55-59 70
2011-2012 55 75-79 49 45 PS 65-69 73
2010-2011 58 75-79 54 47 PS 65-69 75

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 76 >=50 70-74 75-79 60-79 80-84
2018-2019 78 >=50 75-79 75-79 60-79 80-84
2017-2018 80 >=50 80-84 65-69 >=50 90-94
2016-2017 79 >=50 75-79 75-79 PS >=50 85-89
2015-2016 80 >=50 80-84 65-69 >=50 90-94
2014-2015 79 >=50 75-79 75-79 PS 85-89
2013-2014 80 >=50 80-84 75-79 >=50 80-84
2012-2013 78 >=50 70-74 65-69 PS PS 85-89
2011-2012 79 >=50 75-79 75-79 >=50 85-89
2010-2011 85 >=50 80-84 70-79 PS >=95

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2022-2023 7,805 0.4
2021-2022 7,771 2.1
2020-2021 7,611 0.4
2019-2020 7,580 1.2
2018-2019 7,491 0.3
2017-2018 7,468 0.9
2016-2017 7,399 4.1
2015-2016 7,096 0.1
2014-2015 7,089 -0.3
2013-2014 7,109 0.7
2012-2013 7,060 1.2
2011-2012 6,972 2.2
2010-2011 6,821 1.5
2009-2010 6,717 -0.1
2008-2009 6,727 1.0
2007-2008 6,661 -0.4
2006-2007 6,689 -2.0
2005-2006 6,824 -0.2
2004-2005 6,835 -1.7
2003-2004 6,950 1.5
2002-2003 6,846 4.5
2001-2002 6,536 0.9
2000-2001 6,476 0.3
1999-2000 6,457 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2022-2023
RACE Norristown Area School District (%) Pennsylvania K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.1 0.2
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 1.1 4.5
Black 30.2 14.5
Hispanic 49.0 14.3
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.0 0.1
Two or More Races 8.4 5.1
White 11.1 61.4

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.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2022-2023 school year, Norristown Area School District had 507.60 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 15.38.

Teachers, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 0.00
Kindergarten: 24.00
Elementary: 198.60
Secondary: 181.00
Total: 507.60

Norristown Area School District employed 7.00 district administrators and 20.00 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.

Administrators, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 7.00
District Administrative Support: 27.00
School Administrators: 20.00
School Administrative Support: 24.00
Other staff, 2022-2023 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 58.00
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 10.00
Total Guidance Counselors: 19.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 0.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 6.00
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 24.50
Other Support Services: 124.00

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

The Norristown Area School District operates 12 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Cole Manor El Sch386KG-4
East Norriton Ms8645-8
Eisenhower Ms8125-8
Gotwals El Sch3771-4
Hancock El Sch3321-4
Marshall Street El Sch581KG-4
Norristown Area Hs2,3099-12
Paul V Fly El Sch452KG-4
Ray S. Musselman Learning Center247KG-KG
Roosevelt Campus Of The Norristown Area1419-12
Stewart Ms7985-8
Whitehall El Sch486KG-4

About school boards

Education legislation in Pennsylvania

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics Pennsylvania
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External links

  • Office website
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  • Footnotes