Pocono Mountain School District elections (2017)
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Five of the nine seats on the Pocono Mountain School District school board were up for by-district general election on November 7, 2017. Two Region 1 seats, two Region 2 seats, and one Region 3 seat were on the ballot. A partisan primary election was held on May 16, 2017. All primary candidates cross-filed to appear on both the Democratic and Republican ballots.
Incumbent Annabella Lastowski and challenger Edward Watto defeated James Gamble in the primary elections to advance to the general election for the two Region 1 seats, where they won without opposition. In Region 2, incumbent John Coyle and newcomer Frank Pecci both won in the primaries and the general election. Region 3 saw incumbent Michael Stern file for another term on the board. He ran unopposed in the primaries and the general election.[1][2][3]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Pocono Mountain school board is composed of nine members elected by district to four-year, staggered terms. Four seats were up for election on November 3, 2015, and five seats were up for election on November 7, 2017.
Cross-filing
Pennsylvania permits school board candidates to cross-file in primary elections. This means that a candidate may file to run in the primary election for both the Democratic and Republican parties. A cross-filed candidate can advance to the general election by winning one or both of the partisan primaries. This maximizes a candidate’s chances of advancing to the general as they have two ways to win in the primary round. If the candidate wins only one, they face the winner of the other primary in the general election. Cross-filers who win both primaries may still face independent candidates in the general election.
General candidate requirements
To run for a school board in Pennsylvania, one must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, and a resident of the school district for at least one year before the election date. To run in this 2017 school board election, partisan candidates had to file for office by March 7, 2017, and independent candidates had to file by August 1, 2017.[4][5]
Voter requirements
To vote in Pennsylvania, a resident must be a U.S. citizen for at least one month and a resident of the district in which he or she is registering for at least 30 days before the election. A voter must be at least 18 years of age by the next election date. The deadline to register to vote before the primary election was April 17, 2017, and the deadline to register to vote before the general election was October 10, 2017.[6]
- See also: Voting in Pennsylvania and Voter identification laws by state
Candidates and results
Region 1 general
Results
| Pocono Mountain School District, Region 1 General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic/Republican |  Annabella Lastowski Incumbent |
52.88% | 2,710 | |
| Democratic/Republican | Edward Watto |
47.12% | 2,415 | |
| Total Votes | 5,125 | |||
| Source: Monroe County, "Monroe County Election Results 2017 - Municipal Election Unofficial Results," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||||
Candidates
 Annabella Lastowski 
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Edward Watto
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Region 1 primary
Democratic results
| Pocono Mountain School District, Region 1 Democratic Primary Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Annabella Lastowski Incumbent |
43.10% | 500 | |
| Democratic | Edward Watto |
32.76% | 380 | |
| Democratic | James Gamble | 24.14% | 280 | |
| Total Votes | 1,160 | |||
| Source: Monroe County Board of Elections, "2017 Municipal Primary Official Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Republican results
| Pocono Mountain School District, Region 1 Republican Primary Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Annabella Lastowski Incumbent |
36.31% | 553 | |
| Republican | Edward Watto |
34.73% | 529 | |
| Republican | James Gamble | 28.96% | 441 | |
| Total Votes | 1,523 | |||
| Source: Monroe County Board of Elections, "2017 Municipal Primary Official Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Candidates
| Annabella Lastowski
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James Gamble
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Edward Watto
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Region 2 general
Results
| Pocono Mountain School District, Region 2 General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic/Republican | John Coyle Incumbent |
50.46% | 2,384 | |
| Democratic/Republican | Frank Pecci |
49.54% | 2,341 | |
| Total Votes | 4,725 | |||
| Source: Monroe County, "Monroe County Election Results 2017 - Municipal Election Unofficial Results," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||||
Candidates
| John Coyle
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Frank Pecci
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Region 2 primary
Democratic results
| Pocono Mountain School District, Region 2 Democratic Primary Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | John Coyle Incumbent |
54.65% | 335 | |
| Democratic | Frank Pecci |
45.35% | 278 | |
| Total Votes | 613 | |||
| Source: Monroe County Board of Elections, "2017 Municipal Primary Official Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Republican results
| Pocono Mountain School District, Region 2 Republican Primary Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | John Coyle Incumbent |
51.13% | 522 | |
| Republican | Frank Pecci |
48.87% | 499 | |
| Total Votes | 1,021 | |||
| Source: Monroe County Board of Elections, "2017 Municipal Primary Official Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Candidates
| John Coyle
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Frank Pecci
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Region 3 general
Results
| Pocono Mountain School District, Region 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic/Republican | Michael Stern Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 1,813 | |
| Total Votes | 1,813 | |||
| Source: Monroe County, "Monroe County Election Results 2017 - Municipal Election Unofficial Results," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||||
Candidates
| Michael Stern
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Region 3 primary
Democratic results
| Pocono Mountain School District, Region 3 Democratic Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Michael Stern Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 477 | |
| Total Votes | 477 | |||
| Source: Monroe County Board of Elections, "2017 Municipal Primary Official Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Republican results
| Pocono Mountain School District, Region 3 Republican Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Michael Stern Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 315 | |
| Total Votes | 315 | |||
| Source: Monroe County Board of Elections, "2017 Municipal Primary Official Results," accessed June 21, 2017 | ||||
Candidates
| Michael Stern
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Pennsylvania elections, 2017
The Pocono Mountain School District general election shared the ballot with elections for:[7]
- State judges
- Local trial court judges
- Treasurer
- Coroner
- City commissioner
The Pocono Mountain School District primary election shared the ballot with primary elections for state judges and county judges, treasurer, and coroner.[1]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for this Pennsylvania school board election in 2017:[8]
| Deadline | Event |
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| March 7, 2017 | Partisan candidate filing deadline |
| April 17, 2017 | Deadline to register to vote before the primary election |
| May 16, 2017 | Primary election day |
| August 1, 2017 | Independent candidate filing deadline |
| October 10, 2017 | Deadline to register to vote before the general election |
| November 7, 2017 | General election day |
Endorsements
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
| 2017 Campaign Finance Deadlines in Pennsylvania[9] | |
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| Date | Deadline |
| May 5, 2017 | 2nd Friday Pre-Primary report due |
| June 15, 2017 | 30-Day Post-Primary report due |
| October 27, 2017 | 2nd Friday Pre-Election report due |
| December 7, 2017 | 30-Day Post-Election report due |
School board candidates in Pennsylvania were required to report their campaign finance activity. Those who spent or received more than $250 in a reporting period had to file full reports. Those below the threshold had to file forms to declare they were exempt from reporting. Candidates could have, but were not required to, form committees to handle campaign finance transactions. They were not required to have separate bank accounts for campaign purposes.[10]
The table to the left details the four campaign finance deadlines in 2017.[9]
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2015Region 1
Region 2
Region 3
2013This race had a primary election. In the state of Pennsylvania, candidates can cross-file as a Democrat and a Republican. This allows them to run in both parties' primary elections.
2011This race had a primary election. In the state of Pennsylvania, candidates can cross-file as a Democrat and a Republican. This allows them to run in both parties' primary elections.
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What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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About the district
The Pocono Mountain School District is located in Monroe County in eastern Pennsylvania. The seat of county government is Stroudsburg. Monroe County was home to an estimated 166,098 residents between 2010 and 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau. The district was the 19th-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 9,293 students.[11][12]
Demographics
Monroe County underperformed in comparison to Pennsylvania as a whole in terms of higher education attainment from 2011 to 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 23.0 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 28.6 percent for all state residents. The median household income in the county was $57,365, compared to $53,599 for the state as a whole. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 12.7 percent, while that rate was 13.2 percent for the entire state.[12]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[12] | ||
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| Race | Monroe County (%) | Pennsylvania (%) |
| White | 79.1 | 82.6 |
| Black or African American | 15.3 | 11.7 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Asian | 2.4 | 3.4 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 2.6 | 1.9 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 14.9 | 6.8 |
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 Pocono Mountain School District Pennsylvania election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Pocono Mountain School District | Pennsylvania | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Monroe County, "May 16, 2017 Candidate Listing," accessed March 9, 2017
- ↑ Monroe County Board of Elections, "Monroe County Election Results 2017 Municipal Primary Unofficial Results," accessed May 16, 2017
- ↑ Monroe County, "Monroe County Election Results 2017 - Municipal Election Unofficial Results," accessed November 8, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania School Boards Association, "How to Run for School Board," accessed March 21, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed March 21, 2017
- ↑ VotesPA, "How to Register," accessed June 10, 2014
- ↑ Monroe County, "2017 Referendum & Candidates Listing," accessed November 1, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed March 30, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed April 19, 2017
- ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Campaign Finance Reporting Law," accessed January 15, 2014
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 United States Census Bureau, "Monroe County, Pennsylvania," accessed March 28, 2017
| Pocono Mountain School District elections in 2017 | |
| Monroe County, Pennsylvania | |
| Election date: | Primary: May 16, 2017 General: November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | Region 1: Incumbent, Annabella Lastowski (D)(R) • James Gamble (D)(R) • Edward Watto (D)(R) Region 2: Incumbent, John Coyle (D)(R) • Frank Pecci (D)(R) |
| Important information: | What's at stake? |
