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Polk County Public Schools elections (2016)
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Two of the seven seats on the Polk County Public Schools school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. District 1 incumbent Hunt Berryman faced challengers Billy Townsend and Ed Shoemaker in the primary election on August 30, 2016. Since no candidate won more than 50 percent of the primary vote, the top two vote-getters—Townsend and Berryman—advanced to the general election, with Townsend winning the seat. The open District 4 seat attracted candidates four candidates in the primary: Becky Troutman, Ed Smith, Rebekah Ricks, and Sara Reynolds. Troutman and Reynolds advanced to the general, and Reynolds emerged victorious. The District 2 seat was also on the primary ballot, and incumbent Lori Cunningham was successful in her bid for re-election against Kevin Kitto, Ronnie Clark, and Tim James.[1][2]
Florida school board elections function differently than elections of this kind in most states. Primary elections for Florida school boards were held on August 30, 2016, though primaries are functionally general elections. A general election was held on November 8, 2016, between the top two vote recipients in any race where no candidate receives the majority of votes. Unopposed elections were canceled and did not appear on the ballot. Special elections were held in conjunction with some general elections to fill vacancies.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Polk County Public Schools school board consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. There was a primary election on August 30, 2016, and a general election was scheduled for November 8, 2016.
The filing deadline for school board candidates was June 24, 2016. The county's elections office hosted early voting for the primary election at various locations from August 20, 2016, to August 27, 2016. The early voting window for the general election ran from October 29, 2016, to November 5, 2016. Voters had to register by August 1, 2016, to vote in the primary election and by October 11, 2016, to vote in the general election.[3]
Candidates and results
District 1
General results
| Polk County Public Schools, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Billy Townsend |
60.30% | 139,446 |
| Hunt Berryman Incumbent | 39.70% | 91,821 |
| Total Votes (100) | 231,267 | |
| Source: 'Elisabeth Moore, "Email correspondence with Rachel Harris," December 1, 2016 | ||
Primary results
| Polk County Public Schools, District 1 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Billy Townsend |
42.65% | 27,996 |
| Hunt Berryman Incumbent |
32.76% | 21,508 |
| Ed Shoemaker | 24.59% | 16,144 |
| Total Votes | 65,648 | |
| Source: Polk County Supervisor of Elections, "2016 Primary Election Official Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Hunt Berryman | Billy Townsend 
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*Incumbent |
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Defeated in primary
| Ed Shoemaker | |
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District 2
Results
| Polk County Public Schools, District 2 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Lori Cunningham Incumbent |
51.99% | 33,410 |
| Ronnie Clark | 26.79% | 17,213 |
| Kevin Kitto | 10.90% | 7,002 |
| Tim James | 10.33% | 6,635 |
| Total Votes | 64,260 | |
| Source: Polk County Supervisor of Elections, "2016 Primary Election Official Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Lori Cunningham 
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Kevin Kitto | ||
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*Incumbent |
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| Ronnie Clark | Tim James | ||
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District 4
General results
| Polk County Public Schools, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Sara Reynolds |
50.12% | 115,967 |
| Becky Troutman | 49.88% | 115,408 |
| Total Votes (100) | 231,375 | |
| Source: 'Elisabeth Moore, "Email correspondence with Rachel Harris," December 1, 2016 | ||
Primary results
| Polk County Public Schools, District 4 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Becky Troutman |
38.26% | 25,114 |
| Sara Reynolds |
25.10% | 16,478 |
| Ed Smith | 24.51% | 16,092 |
| Rebekah Ricks | 12.13% | 7,963 |
| Total Votes | 65,647 | |
| Source: Polk County Supervisor of Elections, "2016 Primary Election Official Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Becky Troutman | Sara Reynolds
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Defeated in primary
| Ed Smith | Rebekah Ricks | ||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Florida elections, 2016
The following federal and state offices shared the primary, general, or both election dates with school board elections:
- President
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. House
- State Senate
- State House
- State Attorney
- Public Defender
- State Supreme Court
- District Court of Appeal
One state ballot measure appeared on the primary ballot.
The following local offices shared primary, general, or both election dates with school board elections:
- Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller
- County Commission
- County Judge
- Soil & Water Conservation District
- Property Appraiser
- Sheriff
- Supervisor of Elections
- Tax Collector
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for this Florida election in 2016:[4]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| June 24, 2016 | Last day to file nominating petitions |
| August 1, 2016 | Primary election voter registration deadline |
| August 20-27, 2016 | Primary election early voting period |
| August 30, 2016 | Primary election day |
| October 11, 2016 | General election voter registration deadline |
| October 29-November 5, 2016 | General election early voting period |
| November 8, 2016 | 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
Reports
- Note: Primary candidate campaign finance reports were accessed on August 26, 2016, and general candidate reports were updated on October 10, 2016.
District 1 general candidates
General candidates received a total of $128,234.76 and spent a total of $104,264.70 as of October 10, 2016, according to the Polk County Supervisor of Elections.[1]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunt Berryman | $72,098.00 | $61,743.52 | $10,354.48 |
| Billy Townsend | $56,136.76 | $42,521.18 | $13,615.58 |
District 1 candidates defeated in primary
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ed Shoemaker | $3,024.00 | $3,003.90 | $20.10 |
District 2
Candidates received a total of $50,594.43 and spent a total of $36,122.45 as of August 26, 2016, according to the Polk County Supervisor of Elections.[1]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ronnie Clark | $22,904.43 | $17,263.21 | $5,641.22 |
| Lori Cunningham | $18,515.00 | $13,219.80 | $5,295.20 |
| Tim James | $2,870.00 | $2,313.45 | $556.55 |
| Kevin Kitto | $6,305.00 | $3,325.99 | $2,979.01 |
District 4 general candidates
General candidates received a total of $81,952.98 and spent a total of $64,908.20 as of October 10, 2016, according to the Polk County Supervisor of Elections.[1]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sara Reynolds | $8,680.00 | $7,564.27 | $1,115.73 |
| Becky Troutman | $73,272.98 | $57,343.93 | $15,929.05 |
District 4 candidates defeated in primary
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rebekah Ricks | $2,870.00 | $2,854.97 | $15.03 |
| Ed Smith | $58,235.00 | $38,294.48 | $19,940.52 |
Past elections
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2014
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.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7]
2004Runoff election
General election
2002Runoff election
General election
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What was at stake?
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About the district
- See also: Polk County Public Schools, Florida
Polk County Public Schools serves the county of the same name in central Florida. The city of Bartow is the county seat. The county was home to an estimated 650,092 residents between 2010 and 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[8] The district was the eighth-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 97,953 students.[9]
Demographics
Polk County underperformed compared to Florida as a whole in terms of higher education attainment from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 18.6 percent of county residents aged 25 and older had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 26.8 percent statewide. The median household income for the county was $43,063 compared to $47,212 for the state. County residents lived below poverty level at a rate of 18.1 percent, compared to 16.5 percent for state residents.[8]
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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 'Polk County Public Schools' 'Florida'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Polk County Public Schools | Florida | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Polk County Election Supervisor, "Candidates," accessed August 26, 2016, and October 10, 2016
- ↑ Polk County Supervisor of Elections, "2016 General Election," accessed November 16, 2016
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Election Dates," accessed June 21, 2016
- ↑ Florida Division of Elections, "Election Dates," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 United States Census Bureau, "State & County QuickFacts: Polk County, Florida," August 2, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Florida Department of State, "Division of Elections: Election results," accessed September 14, 2015
| 2016 Polk County Public Schools Elections | |
| Polk County, Florida | |
| Election date: | Primary: August 30, 2016 General: November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 1: Incumbent, Hunt Berryman • Billy Townsend • Ed Shoemaker District 2: Incumbent, Lori Cunningham • Kevin Kitto • Ronnie Clark • Tim James District 4: Becky Troutman • Ed Smith • Rebekah Ricks • Sara Reynolds |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
