North Syracuse Central School District elections (2015)
|
← 2014
|
 |
Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links |
North Syracuse Central School District Onondaga County, New York ballot measures Local ballot measures, New York |
 |
Four seats on the North Syracuse Central 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]
Incumbent Michael Donofrio lost his seat on the board. The top three vote recipients, incumbent George Harrington, Paul Farfaglia and Michael Leone, won three-year terms while fourth place finisher Michael Shusda won a special one-year term.
Three full-term seats, held by incumbents Robert Crabtree, Michael Donofrio and George Harrington, were on the ballot.[3] A fourth, one-year term seat was also on the ballot due to the death of a board member.[4]
Crabtree did not file for re-election, ensuring at least two newcomers joined the board. Donofrio and Harrington faced three challengers, Paul Farfaglia, Michael Leone and Michael Shusda, in their bids for re-election. The three candidates who received the most votes in the election were elected to three-year terms, and the candidate with the fourth-most votes was elected to a one-year term.[4]
About the district
North Syracuse Central School District is located in Onondaga County in central New York. The county seat is Syracuse. Onondaga County was home to 468,387 residents in 2013, according to the United States Census Bureau.[5] During the 2012-2013 school year, North Syracuse Central was the 19th-largest school district in New York and served 9,239 students.[6]
Demographics
Onondaga County outperformed the rest of New York in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 33.1 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 Onondaga County was $54,242, compared to $58,003 for the entire state. The poverty rate was 14.8 percent, compared to 15.3 percent statewide.[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.
Voter and candidate information
The North Syracuse Central Board of Education consists of nine members elected at large to three-year terms on a staggered basis. Three seats are elected each May on a joint ballot. Voters may vote for up to three candidates in the race, and the three highest vote recipients are elected to the board.[8] There was no primary election, and the general election was held on May 19, 2015.[1]
School board candidates must be at least 18 years old, qualified voters of the district and have lived in the district for at least one uninterrupted year prior to the election. They must also be able to read and write. School board candidates cannot reside in the same household of a current board member, hold another, incompatible office or have been removed from another school board office within a year of the election. To get on the ballot, candidates had to file nominating petitions containing a number of signatures equal to two percent of the total number of voters in the last election with the district clerk by May 5, 2015.[9][8]
Elections
2015
Candidates
At-large
| Michael Donofrio | George Harrington  Three-year term
| ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| ||
| Paul Farfaglia Three-year term
|
Michael Leone Three-year term
|
Michael Shusda One-year term
| |||
|
|
|
|
|
|
Election results
| North Syracuse Central School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  George Harrington Incumbent |
21.9% | 2,053 | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Leone |
21.2% | 1,987 | |
| Nonpartisan | Paul Farfaglia |
20.7% | 1,941 | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Shusda 1-year term |
18.9% | 1,770 | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Donofrio Incumbent | 17.2% | 1,608 | |
| Total Votes | 9,359 | |||
| Source: North Syracuse Central School District, "Voters approve proposed budget," accessed May 19, 2015 and Margaret Koenig, "Phone call with North Syracuse Central School District," May 20, 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.[10][11]
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2014
2013
2012
2011
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What was at stake?
2015
Issues in the district
Opt outs increase in state tests
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. This was true in the North Syracuse Central School District, where Superintendent Annette Speach said there were more opt outs than in previous years.[12]
As many as 67,000 students opted out of math testing in 2014 statewide, and approximately 49,000 students opted out of English language testing. Though final numbers could not be confirmed as of April 24, 2015, many estimated the number of opt outs would be much larger in 2015.[12]
Speach expressed concern over the opt outs because she said they could help measure if a student needs additional help. "If they don't take the test than we don't have that assessment," said Speach.[12]
The opt outs were a cause for concern for school district administrators in other ways as well. Districts could be penalized at both the state and federal level if less than 95 percent of students participated in testing.[12][13]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the North Syracuse Central School District election in 2015:[1][9]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| April 20, 2015 | First campaign finance statement due |
| May 5, 2015 | Last day to file candidate nominating petitions |
| 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 | Final 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.[1] Voters approved a $150,862,724 budget for the 2015-2016 school year, which increased the district tax levy and tax rate by an estimated 2.03 percent.[2][14]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms North Syracuse Central School District New York. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| North Syracuse Central School District | New York | School Boards |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 New York State School Boards Association, "Timeline - 2015 Annual Budget Vote & School Board Election," accessed April 13, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 North Syracuse Central School District, "Voters approve proposed budget," accessed May 19, 2015
- ↑ North Syracuse Central School District, "Current Board Members," accessed January 23, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 North Syracuse Central School District, "Board of Education Candidates - May 19, 2015 Vote," accessed May 7, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 United States Census Bureau, "Onondaga 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
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 North Syracuse Central School District, "Qualifications and Election to the Board of Education," accessed April 24, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Abbey Smith, "Email communication with Connie A. Gibson, District clerk of the North Syracuse Central School District," April 30, 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
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 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
- ↑ North Syracuse Central School District, "School budget vote set for May 19 - Community comes together to reduce GEA, improve budget," accessed April 30, 2015
| 2015 North Syracuse Central School District Elections | |
| Onondaga County, New York | |
| Election date: | May 19, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Michael Donofrio • Incumbent, George Harrington • Paul Farfaglia • Michael Leone • Michael Shusda |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
