Omaha Public Schools elections (2013)

2014 →
2013 Omaha Public Schools Board of Education Elections
Primary Election date:
April 2, 2013
General Election date:
May 14, 2013
Table of Contents
About the district • Candidates and results • Newspaper endorsements • Contact information • See also • External links • References
See also
Nebraska • Local ballot measures, Nebraska • Douglas County, Nebraska ballot measures

All nine seats on the Omaha Public Schools Board of Education are up for election in 2013. The primary election for the school board was held on April 2, 2013. The general election is May 14, 2013.

Though candidates are allowed to declare a party affiliation when filing to run, the board itself is nonpartisan, leaving all candidates in a given subdistrict to run in the same primary. The top two finishers in each primary race will advance to the general election.

About the district

Omaha Public Schools oversees about 46,000 students, 7,100 full-time employees, and a $484 million general fund budget.

In February 2013, state lawmakers reduced the school board from 12 members to nine, and imposed a limit of two consecutive terms. Senator Scott Lautenbaugh sponsored the legislation that redrew the boundaries of the subdistricts.

The 2013 subdistrict map can be viewed here.

Subdistrict 1

The candidates on the April 2 ballot were:

Name	Current job	Education	Party	Photo
James M. English	Retired Administrator & Teacher from Omaha Public Schools	Bachelor's degree from the University of Arkansas & Pine Bluff Master's degree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha	Democrat
Yolanda R. Williams	Nonprofit program coordinator, P4K Elementary School Program	A.A.S in Interior Design, Metropolitan Community College (2004) B.A. in Arts Management w/ Minors in Arts History and Studio Art, Bellevue University (2008)	Democrat
Aja Anderson	Douglas County Health Department employee	B.S. in Community Health Education, University of Nebraska at Omaha	Democrat
LeDonna White York	Principal, Beals Elementary School	B.A.S. in Education, M.S. in Educational Administration & Supervision, and a Doctor of Education in Educational Administration & Supervision with an endorsement in Superintendency, all from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.	Democrat
Larry D. Taylor	The Salvation Army employee		Democrat

Omaha Public Schools Board of Education Primary Election, Subdistrict 1, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	James M. English	27.5%	990
	Nonpartisan	Yolanda R. Williams	25.7%	928
	Nonpartisan	LeDonna White York	22.6%	813
	Nonpartisan	Larry D. Taylor	14.2%	511
	Nonpartisan	Aja Anderson	8.9%	320
Total Votes				3,605
Source: Official results from the Douglas County Election Commission released April 12, 2013

Subdistrict 2

The candidates on the April 2 ballot were:

Name	Current job	Education	Party	Photo
Niokia T. Stewart	Region 6 Behavioral Healthcare employee	B.A. in Sociology, Midland Lutheran College	Nonpartisan
Morghan Price	Pre-law student	Metro Community College	Nonpartisan
Marque A. Snow	Youth Program Director at South YMCA	Political Science and History, University of South Dakota and University of Nebraska at Omaha	Democrat

Omaha Public Schools Board of Education Primary Election, Subdistrict 2, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Niokia T. Stewart	35%	825
	Nonpartisan	Marque A. Snow	33.7%	795
	Nonpartisan	Morghan Price	29%	685
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	2.3%	55
Total Votes				2,360
Source: Official results from the Douglas County Election Commission released April 12, 2013

Subdistrict 3

The candidates on the April 2 ballot were:

Name	Current job	Education	Party	Photo
Marian Fey	Omaha Public Schools Board of Education, Subdistrict 9	B.S. in Elementary Education.	Democrat	Marian Fey is the current Subdistrict 9 incumbent.
Bill Hoff	Retired from Custom Food Products	Master's in PE, University of Hong Kong	Republican
Woody Bradford	Attorney, Bradford & Coenen	A.B., Dartmouth College LL.B., University of California at Berkeley	Nonpartisan
Michael R. Warner	Political science student		Democrat
Bambi Bartek	Omaha Public Schools Board of Education, Subdistrict 11		Republican	Bambi Bartek is the current Subdistrict 11 incumbent.

Omaha Public Schools Board of Education Primary Election, Subdistrict 3, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Marian Fey Incumbent	42%	2,431
	Nonpartisan	Woody Bradford	35.9%	2,076
	Nonpartisan	Bambi Bartek Incumbent	8.4%	484
	Nonpartisan	Michael R. Warner	7.6%	438
	Nonpartisan	Bill Hoff	5.4%	314
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.7%	43
Total Votes				5,786
Source: Official results from the Douglas County Election Commission released April 12, 2013

Subdistrict 4

The candidates on the April 2 ballot were:

Name	Current job	Education	Party	Photo
Eric L. Ewing	Doctoral student at Capella University	A.S., Vincennes University B.S in Workforce Education & Development, Southern Illinois University M.A. in Management, Bellevue University Doctorate in Education (in progress), Capella University	Democrat
Justin T. Wayne	Omaha Public Schools Board of Education, Subdistrict 1 Assistant Director in Labor Relations at Union Pacific Railroad	B.S.B.A and J.D., Creighton University	Democrat	Justin Wayne is the current Subdistrict 1 incumbent.
Jill Brown	Assistant Professor of Psychology at Creighton University	Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln	Democrat

Omaha Public Schools Board of Education Primary Election, Subdistrict 4, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Justin T. Wayne Incumbent	41.2%	1,772
	Nonpartisan	Jill Brown	38.5%	1,656
	Nonpartisan	Eric L. Ewing	19.4%	836
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.9%	40
Total Votes				4,304
Source: Official results from the Douglas County Election Commission released April 12, 2013

Subdistrict 5

The candidates on the April 2 ballot were:

Name	Current job	Education	Party	Photo
Jennifer Tompkins Kirshenbaum	Omaha Public Schools Board of Education, Subdistrict 12			Jennifer Tompkins Kirschenbaum is the current Subdistrict 12 incumbent.
Scott Zimmerman	Education administrator and chair of the Douglas County Libertarian Party	B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies, Grand Canyon University M.A. in Education Administration, University of Nebraska - Lincoln	Libertarian
Angel D. Martin	Freelance journalist	B.S. and M.A. degrees	Nonpartisan
Lou Ann Goding	Certified Public Accountant	B.S. in Accounting, Bob Jones University	Republican
Nikki Diamantis	Small business owner (Platinum Builders) and licensed realtor	Registered Nurse, Nebraska Methodist College General Studies, University of Nebraska - Omaha Master's, University of Nebraska - Lincoln	Republican
Jeff Miller	Owner of Speed Binder, Inc.	B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines	Nonpartisan

Omaha Public Schools Board of Education Primary Election, Subdistrict 5, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Jennifer Tompkins Kirshenbaum Incumbent	31.8%	1,182
	Nonpartisan	Lou Ann Goding	29.1%	1,080
	Nonpartisan	Jeff Miller	22.6%	839
	Nonpartisan	Scott Zimmerman	7.5%	277
	Nonpartisan	Nikki Diamantis	5.5%	206
	Nonpartisan	Angel D. Martin	3.1%	117
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.4%	15
Total Votes				3,716
Source: Official results from the Douglas County Election Commission released April 12, 2013

Subdistrict 6

The candidates on the April 2 ballot were:

Name	Current job	Education	Party	Photo
Nancy Kratky	Omaha Public Schools Board of Education, Subdistrict 5 Retired OPS teacher	B.S. and M.S. in Education, University of Omaha	Republican	Nancy Kratky is the current Subdistrict 5 incumbent.
Barbara Daughton	Retired OPS teacher and administrator	B.A. in English, The Benedictine College Master's in Special Education/Educational Administration, University of Nebraska-Omaha	Democrat
Joseph A. Misiunas	Yellow Book employee	B.S., University of Nebraska-Omaha	Democrat
Matt Scanlan	Project Manager, Woerner Wire Works	B.S., United States Naval Academy	Republican

Omaha Public Schools Board of Education Primary Election, Subdistrict 6, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Nancy Kratky Incumbent	37.8%	2,453
	Nonpartisan	Matt Scanlan	35.6%	2,310
	Nonpartisan	Barbara Daughton	22.2%	1,439
	Nonpartisan	Joseph A. Misiunas	3.9%	253
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.6%	39
Total Votes				6,494
Source: Official results from the Douglas County Election Commission released April 12, 2013

Subdistrict 7

The candidates on the April 2 ballot were:

Name	Current job	Education	Party	Photo
Danyelle Baratta	Omaha Public Schools Board of Education, Subdistrict 8 Employed by the University of Nebraska at Omaha	B.S.B.A. in Management, University of Nebraska at Omaha M.B.A. in Sustainability, Marylhurst University	Democrat	Danyelle Baratta is the current Subdistrict 8 incumbent.
Katie Underwood	Civil engineer and project manager at Olsson Associates	B.S. in Civil Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln	Democrat
Andy Allen	Lockheed Martin employee		Republican

Omaha Public Schools Board of Education Primary Election, Subdistrict 7, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Katie Underwood	56.6%	2,590
	Nonpartisan	Andy Allen	21.9%	1,001
	Nonpartisan	Danyelle Baratta Incumbent	20.5%	935
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	1%	46
Total Votes				4,572
Source: Official results from the Douglas County Election Commission released April 12, 2013

Subdistrict 8

The candidates on the April 2 ballot were:

Name	Current job	Education	Party	Photo
Lacey Merica	Claims adjuster at Applied Underwriters	B.S. in Biology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln M.B.A., University of Nebraska-Omaha	Democrat
Meg Cordes	Registered nurse	RN - BSN, Clarkson College of Nursing	Nonpartisan
Juliana V. Garza	Youth Attendance Navigator at the Latino Center of the Midlands	B.A. in Communication/Journalism, University of Texas-Pan American Master's in Public Administration, University of Nebraska at Omaha	Nonpartisan
Eugene Hoffmann		M.S.A., Central Michigan University	Democrat
William Forsee	Retired teacher	A.S., Eastern Iowa Community College B.S. University of Northern Iowa M.S., University of Nebraska-Omaha	Democrat
Mark C. Walenz	Element Omaha employee		Libertarian

Omaha Public Schools Board of Education Primary Election, Subdistrict 8, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Lacey Merica	20.7%	335
	Nonpartisan	William Forsee	18%	292
	Nonpartisan	Meg Cordes	18%	291
	Nonpartisan	Juliana V. Garza	14.8%	240
	Nonpartisan	Eugene Hoffmann	14.8%	239
	Nonpartisan	Mark C. Walenz	12.9%	209
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.8%	13
Total Votes				1,619
Source: Official results from the Douglas County and Sarpy County Election Commissions. The Sarpy County results follow an automatic recount on April 15, 2013.

Subdistrict 9

The candidates on the April 2 ballot were:

Name	Current job	Education	Party	Photo
Sarah Brumfield	Marketing and administrative assistant at Help System Services Omaha Public Schools Board of Education, Subdistrict 4	B.S. in Biology, Minor in Native American Studies, University of Nebraska at Omaha	Republican	Sarah Brumfield is the current Subdistrict 4 incumbent.
Brian Villafuerte	Bellevue Public Schools employee	B.S. in business administration, University of Nebraska Omaha	Democrat
Rebecca Barrientos-Patlan	Child/community advocate	Iowa Western Community College	Nonpartisan
William J. Gaughan	Retired, Omaha Police Division	B.S. in Communications/Journalism, University of Nebraska at Omaha	Republican

Omaha Public Schools Board of Education Primary Election, Subdistrict 9, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Rebecca Barrientos-Patlan	36.6%	797
	Nonpartisan	Sarah Brumfield Incumbent	30.3%	660
	Nonpartisan	William J. Gaughan	21.5%	469
	Nonpartisan	Brian Villafuerte	10.3%	225
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	1.3%	28
Total Votes				2,179
Source: Official results from the Douglas County Election Commission released April 12, 2013

Schools

School	Type	Subdistrict
Adams	Elementary	3
Alfonza Davis	Middle	5
Alice Buffett Magnet	Middle	5
Ashland Park/Robbins	Elementary	8
Bancroft	Elementary	9
Beals	Elementary	7
Belle Ryan	Elementary	7
Belvedere	Elementary	1
Benson West	Elementary	3
Beveridge Middle Magnet	Middle	6
Blackburn	Other	2
Boyd	Elementary	4
Bryan Middle	Middle	8
Castelar	Elementary	9
Catlin Magnet	Elementary	6
Central Park	Elementary	2
Chandler View	Elementary	8
Columbian	Elementary	6
Conestoga Magnet	Elementary	2
Crestridge Magnet	Elementary	6
Dodge	Elementary	3
Druid Hill	Elementary	2
Dundee	Elementary	3
EC (Yates)	Early Childhood	2
EC Center	Early Childhood	8
EC Educare (Indian Hill)	Early Childhood	8
EC Educare (Kellom)	Early Childhood	2
Edison	Elementary	3
Field Club	Elementary	7
Florence	Elementary	1
Fontenelle	Elementary	1
Franklin	Elementary	2
Fullerton Magnet	Elementary	5
Gateway	Elementary	8
Gilder	Elementary	8
Gomez Heritage	Elementary	9
Hale Middle Magnet	Middle	4
Harrison	Elementary	3
Hartman	Elementary	4
Highland	Elementary	8
Indian Hill	Elementary	8
Integrated Learning Center	Elementary	2
J P Lord	Elementary	3
Jackson	Elementary	7
Jefferson	Elementary	9
Joslyn	Elementary	6
Kellom	Elementary	2
Kennedy	Elementary	2
King	Elementary	2
King Science/Tech Magnet	Middle	2
Lewis & Clark Middle	Middle	3
Liberty	Elementary	9
Lothrop Magnet	Elementary	2
Master's	Elementary	4
McMillan Middle Magnet	Middle	1
Miller Park	Elementary	1
Minne Lusa	Elementary	1
Monroe Middle	Middle	1
Morton Middle Magnet	Middle	4
Mount View	Elementary	1
Norris Middle	Middle	7
Oak Valley	Elementary	6
Omaha Benson High Magnet	High	1
Omaha Bryan High	High	8
Omaha Burke High	High	6
Omaha Central High	High	2
Omaha North High Magnet	High	2
Omaha Northwest High	High	4
Omaha South High Magnet	High	9
Parrish	Other	3
Pawnee	Elementary	8
Picotte	Elementary	5
Pinewood	Elementary	4
Ponca	Elementary	4
Prairie Wind	Elementary	4
R M Marrs Magnet	Middle	8
Rose Hill	Elementary	1
Saddlebrook	Elementary	5
Saratoga	Elementary	1
Sherman	Elementary	1
Skinner Magnet	Elementary	2
Spring Lake Magnet	Elementary	9
Springville	Elementary	4
Standing Bear	Elementary	5
Sunny Slope	Elementary	5
Wakonda	Elementary	1
Walnut Hill	Elementary	2
Washington	Elementary	3
Western Hills Magnet	Elementary	3
Wilson Focus School	Elementary	8

Newspaper endorsements

The Omaha World-Herald made the following endorsements prior to the primary election:

• Subdistrict 1: LeDonna White York, Yolanda Williams
• Subdistrict 2: Marque Snow, Morgan Price
• Subdistrict 3: Marian Fey, Woody Bradford
• Subdistrict 4: Justin Wayne, Jill Brown
• Subdistrict 5: Jennifer Tompkins Kirshenbaum, Jeff Miller, Lou Ann Goding
• Subdistrict 6: Matt Scanlan, Barbara Daughton
• Subdistrict 7: Andy Allen, Katie Underwood
• Subdistrict 8: Lacey Merica, Juliana Garza, Meg Cordes
• Subdistrict 9: Sarah Brumfield, Rebecca Barrientos-Patlan

Contact information

Omaha Public Schools
3215 Cuming Street
Omaha, NE 68131
Tel: (402) 557-2222

See also

• Nebraska
• Local ballot measures, Nebraska

External links

• Candidate information from the Douglas County Election Commission
• Voter Information Project, featuring OPS candidate questionnaires
• OPS subdistrict map for 2013
• Omaha Public Schools Board Races at the Omaha World Herald