Poudre School District elections (2017)
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Three of the seven seats on the Poudre School District Board of Education in Colorado were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. In their bids for re-election, incumbents Christophe Febvre and Carolyn Reed ran unopposed for the District D and E seats, respectively. Kristen Draper defeated John Clarke in the race for the open District C seat.[1][2]
With two unopposed seats and an open seat, the 2017 election was guaranteed to elect a mix of newcomers and incumbents, which followed a district trend. For information on election trends in the district, click here.
Clarke and Draper participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates. Click here to read their responses.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Poudre Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. Elections are held on a staggered basis so that three or four seats are up for election every odd-numbered year in November. Though members run for seats in specific geographic districts, elections are held at large.[3][4]
To qualify to run for school board, candidates had to be residents of the school district and registered voters for a minimum of 12 consecutive months before the election. They also could not have been convicted of a sexual offense against a child. To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file nomination petitions containing 50 signatures of eligible voters in the school district by September 1, 2017.[3]
Colorado voters were allowed to register to vote through election day.[5] Photo identification was not required to vote in Colorado.[6]
Candidates and results
District C
Results
| Poudre School District, District C General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kristen Draper |
65.29% | 27,831 |
| John Clarke | 34.71% | 14,796 |
| Total Votes | 42,627 | |
| Source: Larimer County Clerk, "Election Summary Report: 2017 Larimer County Coordinated Election," accessed November 27, 2017 | ||
Candidates
 John Clarke
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Kristen Draper 
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District D
Results
| Poudre School District, District D General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Christophe Febvre Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 28,037 |
| Total Votes | 28,037 | |
| Source: Larimer County Clerk, "Election Summary Report: 2017 Larimer County Coordinated Election," accessed November 27, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Christophe Febvre
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|---|---|
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District E
Results
| Poudre School District, District E General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Carolyn Reed Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 28,680 |
| Total Votes | 28,680 | |
| Source: Larimer County Clerk, "Election Summary Report: 2017 Larimer County Coordinated Election," accessed November 27, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Carolyn Reed
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|---|---|
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Colorado elections, 2017
The Poudre School District election shared the ballot with two resolutions for Larimer County.[7][8]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the 2017 Colorado school board elections.[9][10]
Endorsements
The Coloradoan Editorial Board and Fort Collins City Council member Ray Martinez endorsed John Clarke for the District C seat.[11][12] District C candidate Kristen Draper was endorsed by the following organizations and elected officials:[13][14][15]
- Poudre Education Association
- State Sen. John Kefalas (D-14)
- State Rep. Joann Ginal (D-52)
- Poudre Board of Education District A representative Cathy Kipp
- Poudre Board of Education District B representative Nate Donovan
- Poudre Board of Education District C representative David Trask
- Poudre Board of Education District G representative Susan Gutowsky
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
Candidates received a total of $36,272.85 and spent a total of $36,220.20 in the election, according to the Colorado Secretary of State.[16]
| Candidate | Balance prior to election | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District C | ||||
| John Clarke | $0.00 | $9,965.00 | $9,965.00 | $0.00 |
| Kristen Draper | $0.00 | $26,307.85 | $24,616.04 | $1,691.81 |
| District D | ||||
| Christophe Febvre | $190.31 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $190.31 |
| District E | ||||
| Carolyn Reed | $1,639.16 | $0.00 | $1,639.16 | $0.00 |
Reporting requirements
School board candidates in Colorado were required to file three campaign finance reports. The reports were due on October 17, 2017, November 3, 2017, and December 7, 2017.[10]
Past elections
To see results from past elections in the Poudre School District, click here.
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
Ballotpedia researches issues in school board elections across the United States, but information availability is a challenge for us in many school districts. Please contact us about the issues that impact your local school district. Note that not all submissions may meet Ballotpedia's coverage requirements for inclusion.
Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
Survey responses
Two candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from District C candidates John Clarke and Kristen Draper.
Hope to achieve
When asked what he hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Clarke stated:
| “ | Educating children is an honorable thing to do. I owe a debt of gratitude to the Poudre School District for providing a good education for my 5 children and 6 of my grandchildren (K-12). My 5 kids all have a masters degree or better and were well prepared by the Poudre School District for higher education. I currently have 3 grandchildren in the system and two sons who teach in PSD. I have gained a lot of experience in making public policy as a member of the Fort Collins City Council and as a Larimer County Commissioner. I want to use that expertise to help keep our school district great and to show my appreciation for the education my family has received from the excellent teachers who have taught my kids and grand kids. Very simply put, I hope to achieve the same education my family received for other parents who look to the Poudre School District to educate their children.[17] | ” |
| —John Clarke (September 26, 2017)[18] | ||
When asked what she hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Draper stated:
| “ | I am running for the Board of Education because I know I can be a strong leader and advocate for education in our community. As a member of the School Board, I have 3 main issues that I intend to address with responsible and practical solutions. First, I want to promote clear avenues of communication between the Board of Education and students, parents, and community members. As a digital literacy librarian and working mom, I know first-hand the benefits of increased digital access and a strong social media presence. By making the Board of Education more accessible to parents outside of regular Board meetings, we will increase the Board’s overall transparency and provide more opportunities for community input. Second, I will fight for better funding for our schools. As an LGBTQ rights advocate, I have successfully worked with the current state legislators to secure funding for a variety of projects. Budget and funding issues are, of course, complicated, and my experience as a librarian and teacher means that I know how to educate our community members about the complexity of and necessity for state funding of education. I will ensure that the funding PSD does have is distributed responsibly, and I will bring our community together to work for local solutions to PSD’s funding needs. Finally, I will work with Board of Education, teachers, families, and community members to continue to close the opportunity gap facing some of the students in our district. We know that PSD has an excellent testing and graduation rate - we exceed the state level. However, when we break down these rates along racial or socio-economic factors, we find that students of color and low-income students have significantly lower tests scores and rates of graduation than their peers. We need to address this issue on multiple fronts, and one of the most effective actions we can take is to hire more diverse teachers to better serve our students as mentors and role models. Furthermore, I will ensure that PSD continues to fund and develop initiative that serve all of our students, regardless of background, identity, or learning style.[17] | ” |
| —Kristen Draper (October 6, 2017)[19] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidates were asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays their rankings:
| Issue importance ranking | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issue | Clarke's ranking | Draper's ranking | ||
| Expanding arts education | ||||
| Improving relations with teachers | ||||
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | ||||
| Improving post-secondary readiness | ||||
| Closing the achievement gap | ||||
| Improving education for special needs students | ||||
| Expanding school choice options | ||||
Positions on the issues
The candidates were asked to answer nine multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to their responses can be found below.
Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
With two unopposed seats and one open seat, the 2017 Poudre Board of Education election was guaranteed to elect one newcomer and to re-elect two incumbents. Newcomers also won open seats in the district's previous two elections, and every incumbent who ran for re-election 2013 and 2015 won additional terms.
| School board election trends | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Poudre School District | ||||||
| 2017 | 1.33 | 66.67% | 66.67% | 100.00% | 33.33% | |
| 2015 | 1.40 | 60.00% | 60.00% | 100.00% | 40.00% | |
| 2013 | 1.33 | 66.67% | 33.33% | 100.00% | 66.67% | |
| Colorado | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.77 | 30.77% | 55.38% | 83.33% | 53.85% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
About the district
- See also: Poudre School District, Colorado
The Poudre School District is based in north-central Colorado in Larimer County. Larimer County was home to an estimated 339,993 residents in 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[20] The district was the ninth-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 29,053 students.[21]
Demographics
Larimer County outperformed Colorado as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 44.3 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older earned a bachelor's degree, compared to 38.1 percent of state residents. During the same time period, the average household income in Larimer County was $59,805, compared to $60,629 for the entire state. The county poverty rate was 12.2 percent, and the statewide poverty rate was 11.5 percent.[20]
| Racial Demographics, 2016[20] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Larimer County (%) | Colorado (%) |
| White | 92.9 | 87.5 |
| Black or African American | 1.1 | 4.5 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.0 | 1.6 |
| Asian | 2.3 | 3.3 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Two or More Races | 2.5 | 3.0 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 11.2 | 21.3 |
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 Poudre School District Colorado election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Poudre School District | Colorado | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Poudre School District, "Board of Education Election," accessed September 2, 2017
- ↑ 2017 Larimer County Election Results, "Final Unofficial Results," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Colorado Association of School Boards, "2017 Elections School Board Candidate Guide," accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ Poudre School District, "School Board Directors," accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Voter Registration FAQs," accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Acceptable Forms of Identification," accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ Larimer County Clerk, "Larimer County Resolution 09052017003 - Larimer County Fairgrounds-The Ranch," accessed September 8, 2017
- ↑ Larimer County Clerk, "Larimer County Resolution 09052017004 - Term Limits," accessed September 8, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed August 28, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "2017 Biennial School Election Calendar," accessed August 28, 2017
- ↑ Coloradoan, "Endorsement: John Clarke an intriguing choice for Poudre School District," November 2, 2017
- ↑ Coloradoan, "Letter: Clarke will make a difference on PSD board," October 15, 2017
- ↑ Coloradoan, "Letter: Draper is right for PSD board, PEA says," October 1, 2017
- ↑ Coloradoan, "Letter: Draper has range of relevant experiences for PSD board," September 10, 2017
- ↑ Kristen Draper for Poudre School Board, "Home: What Others Are Saying," accessed November 2, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "TRACER: Candidate Search," accessed December 18, 2017
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "John Clarke responses," September 26, 2017
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Kristen Draper responses," October 6, 2017
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: Larimer County, Colorado; Colorado," accessed August 31, 2017
- ↑ 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
| Poudre School District elections in 2017 | |
| Larimer County, Colorado | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | District C: • John Clarke • Kristen Draper District D: • Incumbent, Christophe Febvre District E: • Incumbent, Carolyn Reed |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
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