Polk County Public Schools elections (2014)
2016 →
|
 |
Method of election Elections Key deadlines Additional elections External links |
Polk County Public Schools Polk County, Florida ballot measures Local ballot measures, Florida |
 |
Four seats on the Polk County School Board were up for general election on August 26, 2014. Incumbents Hazel Sellers, Debra Smith Wright and Tim Harris were facing challengers in their re-election bids in Districts 3, 6 and 7, respectively. Both Sellers and Harris won re-election, defeating challengers Randy Wilkinson and Lisa Bone Miller, respectively. Wright was defeated by challenger Lynn Wilson. District 5 incumbent Kay Fields was also up for election. She ran unopposed and won re-election by default.[1]
About the district
- See also: Polk County Public Schools, Florida
Polk County Public Schools is based in Bartow, the county seat of Polk County, Florida. Polk County is home to 623,009 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau.[2] Polk County Public Schools was the eighth-largest school district in Florida, serving 96,070 students during the 2011-2012 school year.[3]
Demographics
Polk County underperformed in comparison to the rest of Florida in terms of higher education achievement in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 18.2 percent of Polk County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 26.2 percent for Florida as a whole. The median household income in Polk County was $43,606 compared to $47,309 for the state of Florida. The poverty rate in Polk County was 17.5 percent compared to 15.6 percent for the entire state.[2]
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Polk County School Board consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. Each member is elected to a specific geographic district. There was a general election on August 26, 2014 and the runoff election took place on November 4, 2014 if no candidate received 50 percent or more of the general election vote.
Candidates for the school board filed for the election by June 20, 2014. The county's elections office hosted early voting for the general election at various locations from August 16, 2014, to August 23, 2014. The early voting window for the runoff election ran from October 25, 2014, to November 1, 2014. The last day to request a mailed absentee ballot in the general election was August 20, 2014.[5]
Elections
2014
Candidates
District 3
- Hazel Sellers
- Incumbent
- Randy Wilkinson
District 5
- Kay Fields
- Incumbent
District 6
- Debra Smith Wright
- Incumbent
- Lynn Wilson
District 7
- Tim Harris
- Incumbent
- Lisa Bone Miller
District map
Election results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Hazel Sellers Incumbent |
56.2% | 30,142 | |
| Nonpartisan | Randy Wilkinson | 43.8% | 23,501 | |
| Total Votes | 53,643 | |||
| Source: Polk County Supervisor of Elections, "8/26/2014 Primary Election," accessed June 10, 2015 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Lynn Wilson |
53.2% | 27,788 | |
| Nonpartisan | Debra Smith Wright Incumbent | 46.8% | 24,409 | |
| Total Votes | 52,197 | |||
| Source: Polk County Supervisor of Elections, "8/26/2014 Primary Election," accessed June 10, 2015 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Tim Harris Incumbent |
53.8% | 27,644 | |
| Nonpartisan | Lisa Bone Miller | 46.2% | 23,740 | |
| Total Votes | 51,384 | |||
| Source: Polk County Supervisor of Elections, "8/26/2014 Primary Election," accessed June 10, 2015 | ||||
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $96,553.00 and spent a total of $58,822.03 during the election, according to the Polk County Supervisor of Elections. The following totals are based on reports available as of August 26, 2014.[6]
District 3
In the District 3 race, candidates received a total of $27,209.00 and spent a total of $21,362.24.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hazel Sellers | $19,015.00 | $14,909.74 | $4,105.26 |
| Randy Wilkinson | $8,194.00 | $6,452.50 | $1,741.50 |
District 5
In the District 5 race, no contributions or expenditures were reported during the election.
District 6
In the District 6 race, candidates received a total of $49,339.00 and spent a total of $24,504.97.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debra Smith Wright | $16,184.00 | $13,121.81 | $3,062.19 |
| Lynn Wilson | $33,155.00 | $24,504.97 | $8,650.03 |
District 7
In the District 7 race, candidates received a total of $20,005.00 and spent a total of $12,954.82.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tim Harris | $8,740.00 | $5,559.57 | $3,180.43 |
| Randy Wilkinson | $11,265.00 | $7,395.25 | $3,869.75 |
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012No school board elections were held in 2012 due to all of the races being unopposed. Hunt Berryman took the District 1 seat following incumbent Frank O'Reilly's decision to withdraw from the race. Incumbents Lori Cunningham and Dick Mullenax retained their District 2 and 4 seats, respectively.[7] 2010Seats for Districts 3, 5, 6 and 7 were up for election in 2010. Tim Harris ran unopposed to retain his seat for a second term. The District 6 race went to a runoff election on November 2, 2010. Runoff election
General election
2008Frank J. O'Reilly and Lori Cunningham were unopposed in their re-election bids for Districts 1 and 2, respectively, in 2008.[8]
2006Only one school board race went to election in 2006 as the other three were unopposed races. Incumbent Hazel Sellers was re-elected to the District 3 seat. Fellow incumbent Margaret Lofton was re-elected to the District 6 seat. Tim Harris was unopposed in his first election to the District 7 seat. Incumbent Kay Fields was challenged by Ricky Shirah, but she retained her seat by defeated him in the general election.[9]
2004Runoff election
General election
2002Runoff election
General election
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the school board election in 2014:[5]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| June 20, 2014 | Last day of candidate filing period |
| August 16, 2014 | First day of early voting in general election |
| August 20, 2014 | Last day to request mailed absentee ballot for general election |
| August 23, 2014 | Last day of early voting in general election |
| August 26, 2014 | General election day |
Additional elections on the ballot
Area residents voted on county and statewide races on November 4, 2014. Residents of Polk County voted on races for the county commission and circuit court seats. Voters decided on a statewide ballot measure to amend the state constitution to allow the use of medical marijuana. The November 4, 2014, ballot included races for state legislature, state executive and U.S. House seats.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Polk + County + Schools + Florida"
See also
- Florida
- Polk County Public Schools, Florida
- Florida school board elections, 2014
- List of school board elections in 2014
- School board elections, 2014
- Polk County, Florida ballot measures
- Local ballot measures, Florida
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Polk County Supervisor of Elections, "2014 Primary Election," accessed August 27, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 United States Census Bureau, "Polk County, Florida," accessed July 7, 2014
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed July 7, 2014
- ↑ Polk County Supervisor of Elections, "Voter Registration Statistics: Registration Data as of: 7/1/2014," accessed July 7, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Florida Division of Elections, "Calendar of Election Dates," accessed June 11, 2014
- ↑ Polk County Supervisor of Elections, "CANDIDATES: GENERAL ELECTION (TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 04, 2014)," accessed August 26, 2014
- ↑ The Ledger, "2012 Election Qualifying Ends With a Few Surprises," June 8, 2012
- ↑ Polk County Supervisor of Elections, "CANDIDATES: GENERAL ELECTION (TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 04, 2008)," accessed August 25, 2014
- ↑ Polk County Supervisor of Elections, "CANDIDATES: GENERAL ELECTION (TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 07, 2006)," accessed August 25, 2014
| 2014 Polk County Public Schools Elections | |
| Polk County, Florida | |
| Election date: | August 26, 2014 |
| Candidates: | District 3: • Hazel Sellers • Randy Wilkinson District 5: • Kay Fields |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
