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Olympia School District elections (2017)
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Three of the five seats on the Olympia School District school board in Washington were up for at-large election on November 7, 2017. Two seats were up for regular election and one seat (District 4) was up for a special election for a two-year unexpired term. A primary election for District 5 was held on August 1, 2017, showing that board member Mark Campeau and Scott Clifthorne could defeat Rebecca Cornelius. Clifthorne went on to oust Campeau from his seat in the general.
Newcomer Leslie Huff defeated fellow newcomer Katie Bridges for the open District 3 seat. In District 4, Hilary Seidel defeated Ann Heitkemper.[1]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Olympia school board consists of five members elected at large to four-year terms. Although elected at large, candidates must live in the district for which they are running in order to ensure equal geographic representation. Each member can be compensated $50 per day for district matters with maximum compensation of $4,800 per year.
In order to run for a school board in Washington, candidates must be U.S. citizens, legal residents of Washington, at least 18 years old by the election day, and registered voters of the district in which they run.[2]
Voter registration
To vote in Washington, one must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of Washington, and at least 18 years old.[3] One may register to vote online, by mail, or in person at a county elections department. Registration must be completed 29 days prior to an election if done by mail or online and eight days prior to the election if done in person.[4]
Washington is a vote-by-mail only state. Ballots are mailed to voters at least 18 days before an election. Voters must postmark their ballots by election day or return them to a ballot drop box by 8 p.m. on the election day in order for them to count.[5]
- See also: Voting in Washington and Voter identification laws by state
Candidates and results
District 3
Results
| Olympia School District, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Leslie Huff |
69.45% | 10,883 |
| Katie Bridges | 30.55% | 4,787 |
| Total Votes | 15,670 | |
| Source: Thurston County, "November 7, 2017 General Election," accessed November 30, 2017 | ||
This symbol, 
, next to a candidate's name indicates his or her participation in Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey. Click the image to jump to their candidate page detailing their responses.
Candidates
| Katie Bridges | Leslie Huff 
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District 4
Results
| Olympia School District, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Hilary Seidel |
51.95% | 8,368 |
| Ann Heitkemper | 48.05% | 7,741 |
| Total Votes | 16,109 | |
| Source: Thurston County, "November 7, 2017 General Election," accessed November 30, 2017 | ||
Candidates
This symbol, , next to a candidate's name indicates his or her participation in Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey. Click the image to jump to their candidate page detailing their responses.
| Ann Heitkemper | Hilary Seidel
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District 5
General results
| Olympia School District, District 5 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Scott Clifthorne |
53.75% | 8,919 |
| Mark Campeau Incumbent | 46.25% | 7,675 |
| Total Votes | 16,594 | |
| Source: Thurston County, "November 7, 2017 General Election," accessed November 30, 2017 | ||
Primary results
| Olympia School District, District 5 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Scott Clifthorne |
47.50% | 5,419 |
| Mark Campeau Incumbent |
38.85% | 4,432 |
| Rebecca Cornelius | 13.65% | 1,557 |
| Total Votes | 11,408 | |
| Source: Thurston County, "August 1, 2017 Primary," accessed August 15, 2017 | ||
Candidates
This symbol, , next to a candidate's name indicates his or her participation in Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey. Click the image to jump to their candidate page detailing their responses.
| Mark Campeau | Scott Clifthorne
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Defeated in primary
| Rebecca Cornelius
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Washington elections, 2017
This Washington school board election in 2017 shared the primary ballot with elections for:[1]
- City council
The school board election shared the general ballot with elections for:
- City council
- Municipal court judge
- Fire district
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for this Washington school board election in 2017:
Endorsements
Leslie Huff, Hilary Seidel, and Mark Campeau received official endorsements from The Olympian and the Washington Education Association.[6][7]
Seidel also received endorsements from State Sen. Sam Hunt (D), State Rep. Beth Doglio (D), State Rep. Laurie Dolan (D), Mayor Cheryl Selby, Equal Rights Washington, The National Women's Political Caucus of Washington, and the Thurston County Democrats.[8]
Scott Clifthorne received endorsements from Sen. Sam Hunt, Rep. Beth Doglio, the Thurston County Democrats and Thurston County Young Democrats, the Washington State Labor Council, Fuse Washington, and Equal Rights Washington.[9]
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
Reports
All candidates in this race except for Scott Clifthorne opted for mini reporting, according to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission. Clifthorne reported $8,223.71 in contributions and $4,812.05 in expenditures, leaving his campaign with $3,411.66 on hand as of October 12, 2017.[10]
General guidelines
Washington school board candidates must file a statement of organization within two weeks of filing for office. A statement of organization establishes a candidate's committee, treasurer, and bank the committee will use for its transactions.[11]
Candidates who raise and spend no more than $5,000 in aggregate and who do not receive more than $500 from any one contributor, including themselves, can participate in mini reporting. These candidates must keep a record of their contributors and expenditures but they are not required to report them unless they exceed the stated thresholds. In those cases, they must switch their filing status from mini to full reporting.[12]
The table below details campaign finance deadlines for 2017 Washington school board candidates:
Past elections
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2015
District 1
District 2
District 4
2013
District 3
District 5
2011District 1
District 2
District 4
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What was at stake?
Education budget adds $7.3 billion to public school funding
Washington added $7.3 billion over four years to public school funding with the budget signed by Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on June 30, 2017. The funding was passed to comply with the 2012 McLeary v. State of Washington decision which ruled that the state was violating its state constitutional duty to fund K-12 education.[13]
Under the plan, property taxes were raised in areas with high property values, while taxes in other areas were decreased. These raises accounted for approximately $4 billion of the total $7.3 billion. According to state Sen. Kevin Ranker (D), the property tax increases would add approximately $400 a year to the average Washington household's taxes.[14]
Budget details
Washington teachers can receive two salaries: one from the state government and one from their school district. The new budget provisions included a minimum starting state salary for teachers of $40,000 (with adjustment for inflation and regional discrepancies), which was a 17 percent increase. The average minimum salary for instructional staff was $64,000 under the plan. School districts could also issue a salary over the previous maximum of $90,000 by up to 10 percent for educational staff associates or instructors who teach science, technology, engineering, and math, or in bilingual or special education programs. Below are a few other details of the new measure, according to Q13 Fox:
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Reactions
“It’s absolutely helping the middle class and 73% of Washington,” state Sen. John Braun (R) said about the budget. He also said that it found a solution to comply with the McLeary ruling fairly. State Sen. Reuven Carlyle (D) disagreed. “It’s a stressful situation; it looks like property taxes are a major component of this and I think it’s safe to say it’s a Democratic budget with a Republican tax plan,” Carlyle said. He called the budget “the good, bad and the ugly.”[15]
McLeary v. State of Washington
The 2017 budget was passed in light of the McLeary ruling. When the decision was made in 2012, the Washington Supreme Court ordered the state to fully fund K-12 education by 2018. In September 2014, the Court held Washington in contempt for not making adequate progress. After the state still did not make adequate progress and produce a plan to comply with the Court's orders in 2015, the Supreme Court fined the state $100,000 a day until it complied.[13] Those fines totaled $80.3 million as of October 24, 2017.[17]
The State Supreme Court heard oral arguments on that day to determine whether or not the additional funding was enough for the state to be in full compliance with the court's ruling. An attorney for the state argued that the newest education budget was enough to pay for what the state's constitution calls for: a basic education for each child in Washington. The plaintiffs' lawyer argued that the Legislature was still far removed from reaching that goal. As of October 26, 2017, the court had not made a final decision.[18]
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
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About the district
- See also: Olympia School District, Washington
Olympia School District is located in Thurston County in western Washington. The seat of county government is Olympia. Thurston County was home to an estimated 275,222 residents between 2010 and 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[19] The district was the 32nd-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 9,756 students.[20]
Demographics
Thurston County outperformed Washington as a whole in terms of higher education attainment from 2011 to 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 33.4 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had obtained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 32.9 percent of state residents. The median household income in the county was $61,677, while it was $61,062 for the entire state. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 12.2 percent, while that rate was also 12.2 percent for all state residents.[19]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[19] | ||
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| Race | Thurston County (%) | Washington (%) |
| White | 82.4 | 80.3 |
| Black or African American | 3.5 | 4.1 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.7 | 1.9 |
| Asian | 6.0 | 8.4 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 1.1 | 0.7 |
| Two or More Races | 5.3 | 4.6 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 8.6 | 12.4 |
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.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Olympia School District Washington election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Olympia School District | Washington | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Thurston County, "Candidates Who Filed," accessed May 25, 2017
- ↑ Washington State School Directors' Association, "Running for school board," accessed June 5, 2017
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Voter Eligibility," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Voters," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Frequently Asked Questions on Voting by Mail," accessed June 5, 2017
- ↑ The Olympian, "Seidel, Huff and Campeau best for Olympia schools," October 20, 2017
- ↑ Washington Education Association, "2017 WEA-PAC Election Endorsements," accessed November 6, 2017
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email exchange with Hilary Seidel," November 3, 2017
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email exchange with Scott Clifthorne," November 2, 2017]
- ↑ Washington Public Disclosure Commission, "Local Candidates," accessed October 12, 2017
- ↑ Washington Election Code, "Chapter 42.17A.205," accessed March 10, 2014
- ↑ Washington State Public Disclosure Commission, "New Candidates," accessed June 22, 2017
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Network for Excellence in Washington Schools, "‘The State has consistently failed to provide adequate funding’," accessed July 3, 2017
- ↑ Seattle Times, "New Washington state budget would provide $7.3B more to public schools over four years," June 29, 2017
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Q13 Fox, "Budget: Biggest education reform in state history will rely heavily on property taxes," June 29, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Seattle Times, "Live updates from Washington State Supreme Court hearing on $7.3 billion education budget," October 24, 2017
- ↑ Union-Bulletin, "Wash. Supreme Court justices appear frustrated at McCleary hearing," accessed October 26, 2017
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 United States Census Bureau, "Quick Facts: Thurston County," accessed June 9, 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
| Olympia School District elections in 2017 | |
| Thurston County, Washington | |
| Election date: | Primary: August 1, 2017 General: November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | District 3: Katie Bridges • Leslie Huff District 4: Ann Heitkemper • Hilary Seidel |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
