Pittsburgh Public Schools elections (2013)

2015 →
2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools Elections
General Election date:
November 5, 2013
Table of Contents
About the district Method of election Candidates What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections Contact information External links References
See also
Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Public Schools

Five seats on the Pittsburgh School Board were up for election on November 5, 2013. The candidate field was narrowed in a primary election held on May 21, 2013.

Sylvia Wilson, Thomas Sumpter, Terry Kennedy, Cynthia Falls and Carolyn Klug ran unopposed and won the District 1, District 3, District 5, District 7 and District 9 seats.

About the district

See also: Pittsburgh Public Schools, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh Public Schools is located in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh Public Schools is located in Allegheny County in western Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh has a population of 306,211.

Demographics

The city outperforms the state in education and underperforms in median household income. According to the 2010 Census, the percentage of residents in Pittsburgh with a high school degree (88.8%) is higher than the state of Pennsylvania (87.9%) and the percentage of residents over 25 with a bachelor's degree or higher is higher in Pittsburgh (34.4%) compared to the state overall (26.7%). The median household income in Pittsburgh is $37,161 compared to Pennsylvania's statewide median of $51,651.

Racial Demographics, 2012
Race	Bucks County (%)	Pennsylvania (%)
White	66.0	83.5
Black or African American	26.1	11.4
American Indian and Alaska Native	0.2	0.3
Asian	4.4	2.7
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	Z	0.1
Two or More Races	2.5	1.7
Hispanic or Latino	2.3	6.1

Presidential Voting Pattern
Year	Democratic Vote (%)	Republican Vote (%)
2012	56.6	42.2
2008	57.0	42.2
2004	57.2	42.1
2000	40.4

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.

Method of board member selection

The Pittsburgh Public School Board consists of nine members elected to four-year terms. The members of the board are elected by voters in nine districts. The primary election for the Pittsburgh School Board was held on May 21, 2013 and the general election was on November 5, 2013. Five seats were up for election on November 5, 2013 and the remaining four seats are up for election in November 3, 2015.

Elections

Candidates

The following candidates were on the ballot on November 5, 2013. The field was narrowed in a May 21 primary.

District 1

• Sylvia Wilson

District 3

• Thomas Sumpter

District 5

• Terry Kennedy

District 7

• Cynthia Falls

District 9

• Carolyn Klug

Election results

Pittsburgh Public Schools, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Cross filed	Sylvia Wilson	99.4%	3,876
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.6%	22
Total Votes				3,898
Source: Allegheny County

Pittsburgh Public Schools, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democrat	Thomas Sumpter Incumbent	99.1%	3,728
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.9%	35
Total Votes				3,763
Source: Allegheny County

Pittsburgh Public Schools, District 5 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Cross filed	Terry Kennedy	99.2%	3,830
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.8%	32
Total Votes				3,862
Source: Allegheny County

Pittsburgh Public Schools, District 7 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Cross filed	Cynthia Falls	99.2%	3,386
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.8%	26
Total Votes				3,412
Source: Allegheny County

Pittsburgh Public Schools, District 9 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Cross filed	Carolyn Klug	99.2%	4,047
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.8%	31
Total Votes				4,078
Source: Allegheny County

Endorsements

Terry Kennedy was endorsed by the Allegheny County Democratic Committee and the Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers. Carolyn Klug was endorsed by The Allegheny County Labor Council, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local #5, The Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Progressive Majority, Darlene Harris (Pittsburgh City Council District 1, City Council President) and Theresa Kail-Smith (Pittsburgh City Council District 2).

Campaign finance

Candidates received a total of $10,163.46 and spent a total of $4,499.55 during the election, according to the Allgheny County Election Division.

In the District 1 race, candidates received a total of $3,138.51 and spent a total of $1,106.55.

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Sylvia Wilson	$3,138.51	$1,106.55	$2,031.96

In the District 3 race, candidates received a total of $3,560.10.

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Thomas Sumpter	$3,560.10	$0.00	$3,560.10

In the District 5 race, no contributions or expenditures were reported during the election.

In the District 7 race, no contributions or expenditures were reported during the election.

In the District 9 race, candidates received a total of $3,464.85 and spent a total of $2,293.00.

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Carolyn Klug	$3,464.85	$2,293.00	$71.85

Past elections

Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right.

2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 1 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Sylvia Wilson 97% 129      Republican Write-In 3% 4 Total Votes 133 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results, "2013 Primary Results," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 1 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democrat Sylvia Wilson 82.1% 2,492      Democrat Lucille Prater-Holiday 17.4% 529      Democrat Write-In 0.5% 15 Total Votes 3,036 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results, "2013 Primary Results," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 3 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democrat Thomas Sumpter 98.3% 3,106      Democrat Write-In 1.7% 53 Total Votes 3,159 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results, "2013 Primary Results," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 5 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Terry Kennedy 97.2% 244      Republican Write-In 2.8% 7 Total Votes 251 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results, "2013 Primary Results," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 5 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democrat Terry Kennedy 78.3% 2,999      Democrat Stephen DeFlitch 21.3% 814      Democrat Write-In 0.4% 16 Total Votes 3,829 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results, "2013 Primary Results," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 7 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Cynthia Falls 98.7% 293      Republican Write-In 1.3% 4 Total Votes 297 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results, "2013 Primary Results," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 7 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democrat Cynthia Falls 99.5% 3,255      Democrat Write-In 0.5% 15 Total Votes 3,270 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results, "2013 Primary Results," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 9 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Republican Carolyn Klug 96.8% 299      Republican Write-In 3.2% 10 Total Votes 309 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results, "2013 Primary Results," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 9 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democrat Carolyn Klug 39.1% 1,605      Democrat Lorraine Burton Eberhardt 29.9% 1,227      Democrat David Schullenburg 30.5% 1,252      Democrat Write-In 0.5% 21 Total Votes 4,105 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results, "2013 Primary Results," accessed September 30, 2013 2011 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democrat Regina B. Holley 75.1% 4,824      Republican Dara Ware Allen 24.6% 1,581      No party Write-In 0.2% 15 Total Votes 6,420 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results," "2011 General Election," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Cross listed Bill Isler 99.5% 5,818      No party Write-In 0.5% 32 Total Votes 5,850 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results," "2011 General Election," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democrat Sherry Hazuda 61.9% 4,107      Republican Lisa Jones 38% 2,523      No party Write-In 0.1% 7 Total Votes 6,637 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results," "2011 General Election," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 8 General Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Cross listed Mark A Brentley, Sr. 60.3% 2,303      Independent Rosemary Moriarty 39.5% 1,507      No party Write-In 0.2% 7 Total Votes 3,817 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results," "2011 General Election," accessed September 30, 2013 2009 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2009 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Cross listed Sharene Shealey 99.5% 4,176      No party Write-In 0.5% 22 Total Votes 4,198 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results," "2009 General Election," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2009 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democrat Thomas Sumpter 99% 3,718      No party Write-In 1% 39 Total Votes 3,757 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results," "2009 General Election," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 5 General Election, 4-year term, 2009 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Cross listed Theresa Calaizzi 98.8% 4,617      No party Write-In 1.2% 55 Total Votes 4,672 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results," "2009 General Election," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 7 General Election, 4-year term, 2009 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Cross listed Jean Fink 99.3% 4,262      No party Write-In 0.7% 32 Total Votes 4,294 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results," "2009 General Election," accessed September 30, 2013 Pittsburgh Public Schools District 9 General Election, 4-year term, 2009 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Cross listed Floyd McCrea 99.3% 4,391      No party Write-In 0.7% 33 Total Votes 4,424 Source: "Allegheny County Election Results," "2009 General Election," accessed September 30, 2013

What was at stake?

Five seats on the Pittsburgh Public School Board were at stake in the 2013 election. The only incumbent running for re-election was Thomas Sumpter, making this the largest turnover Pittsburgh Public Schools had experienced in many years.

Key deadlines

The following were key deadlines for the Pittsburg Public School Board election.

Deadline	Event
February 19, 2013	First day for filing nominating petitions
March 12, 2013	Last day to file nominating petitions
March 27, 2013	Last day to withdraw from ballot
May 21, 2013	Primary Election Day
August 1, 2013	Last day to circulate and file nomination papers nominating independent candidates
August 8, 2013	Last day for candidates who have filed nomination papers to withdraw
August 12, 2013	Last day for candidates nominated at the Primary to withdraw
August 22, 2013	Last day to file substituted nominations
September 16, 2013	First day to receive Official Absentee Ballot Applications
October 7, 2013	Last day an elector may register to vote or make change to their voting record to be eligible for the General Election
November 1, 2013	Last day to receive Official Absentee Ballots in County Board of Elections by 5:00 PM
November 5, 2013	Election day

Additional elections on the ballot

In addition to the school board race, residents of Pittsburgh Public Schools had statewide, countywide, and local items on the ballot. They voted on a Judge of the Superior Court in a statewide race. Additionally, they voted for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Jury Commissioner, and various Magisterial District Judges. There was also mayoral, council, auditor, finance council, supervisor, township commissioner and tax collector races in various townships and boroughs.

See also

• Pittsburgh Public Schools, Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania school districts
• List of school districts in Pennsylvania
• Allegheny County, Pennsylvania ballot measures
• Local ballot measures, Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania
• Financial policies, education standards at stake in November school board elections
• School board election wrap-up: Incumbents re-elected overwhelmingly in November 5 elections
• School board elections review: Voters opt for experience over new blood in nation's largest school districts
• Pennsylvania school boards to see large turnover

External links

Suggest a link

• Pittsburgh Public Schools
• Allegheny County
• Pennsylvania Department of Education