Putnam County Schools, Tennessee elections (2016)

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2014
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Putnam County Schools Elections

General election date:
August 4, 2016
Enrollment (13–14):
11,141 students

Three of the six seats on the Putnam County Schools Board of Education were up for by-district general election on August 4, 2016.[1] Incumbents Dawn Myers Fry and Kim Cravens ran unopposed and won re-election to their seats in Districts 1 and 3, respectively. Lynn McHenry won the District 5 seat, which was left open when board member Eric Brown did not file to run for re-election. Bill Maynard originally filed to run against her in the race, but he dropped out of the election.[2][3][4]

This race saw less competition compared to the district's 2014 election in which no seats were unopposed. To see how else this race compared to past elections in both the district and the state, check out the "Election trends" section below.

Elections

Voter and candidate information

Putnam County Schools (TN) logo.jpg

The Putnam County Board of Education consists of six members elected by district to four-year terms. Elections are held on a staggered basis every August of even-numbered years. The District 2, 4, and 6 seats were up for election on August 7, 2014, and the District 1, 3, and 5 seats were up for general election on August 4, 2016. There was no primary election.[5][3]

To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file their qualifying documents by April 7, 2016. The deadline to withdraw from the election was April 14, 2016.[1]

To vote in this election, residents of the district had to register by July 5, 2016.[1] Photo identification was required to vote in this election.[6]

Candidates and results

District 1

Results

Putnam County Schools,
District 1 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Dawn Myers Fry Incumbent (unopposed) 99.83% 596
Write-in votes 0.17% 1
Total Votes 597
Source: Putnam County Election Commission, "Putnam County Election Results August 4, 2016," accessed September 1, 2016

Candidates

Dawn Myers Fry Green check mark transparent.png

Placeholder image.png

  • Incumbent
  • Member from 2012-2016
  • Graduate, Tennessee Tech University and The Nashville School of Law
  • Attorney, Qualls and Fry PLLC
  • Professor, Tennessee Tech University

District 3

Results

Putnam County Schools,
District 3 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Kim Cravens Incumbent (unopposed) 99.76% 834
Write-in votes 0.24% 2
Total Votes 836
Source: Putnam County Election Commission, "Putnam County Election Results August 4, 2016," accessed September 1, 2016

Candidates

Kim Cravens Green check mark transparent.png

Placeholder image.png

  • Incumbent
  • Member from 2012-2016

District 5

Results

Putnam County Schools,
District 5 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Lynn McHenry  (unopposed) 99.87% 794
Write-in votes 0.13% 1
Total Votes 795
Source: Putnam County Election Commission, "Putnam County Election Results August 4, 2016," accessed September 1, 2016

Candidates

Lynn McHenry Green check mark transparent.png

Placeholder image.png

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Tennessee elections, 2016

The Putnam County Schools election shared the ballot with primary elections for the Tennessee House of Representatives as well as general elections for city offices.[2]

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for Tennessee school board elections in 2016:[1]

Deadline Event
April 7, 2016 Candidate filing deadline
April 11, 2016 1st quarter campaign finance report due
April 14, 2016 Candidate withdrawal deadline
July 5, 2016 Voter registration deadline
July 11, 2016 2nd quarter campaign finance report due
July 15, 2016 - July 30, 2016 Early voting period
July 28, 2016 Pre-election campaign finance report due
August 4, 2016 Election day
October 11, 2016 3rd quarter campaign finance report due
January 25, 2017 4th quarter campaign finance report due

Endorsements

No candidates received official endorsements in the election.

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

Campaign Finance Ballotpedia.png
See also: List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2016

Every candidate in this race filed financial disclosure statement exemptions detailing they would not raise or spend more than $1,000 on their campaigns. Because of this, they did not have to file any additional campaign finance statements.[7]

The pre-general campaign financial disclosure report for this election was due July 28, 2016. Candidates were also required to file quarterly reports for the 2016 election year. Those reports were due on April 11, 2016; July 11, 2016; October 11, 2016; and January 25, 2017.[1]

Past elections

What was at stake?

2016

Election trends

School Board Election Trends Banner.jpg
See also: School board elections, 2014

Incumbents were guaranteed a 100 percent success rate in the Putnam County Schools Board of Education election in 2016 as they ran unopposed. Incumbents in the district's 2014 race also saw a 100 percent success race with two incumbents defeating challengers to win additional terms. A total of 75.41 percent of incumbents in Tennessee's largest school districts were re-elected that year.

Just as two incumbents were guaranteed to win re-election in the district's 2016 race, one newcomer was guaranteed to be elected to the board. One incumbent whose term was on the ballot did not file to run for re-election, leaving an open seat. Newcomers also took one of three seats in the district's 2014 race. This rate of 33.33 percent of school board seats in the district being won by newcomers was a lower percentage than the 45.98 percent of seats that went to newcomers statewide in 2014.

The 2016 Putnam County school board race had a higher percentage of unopposed seats than the district's race held in 2014. All of the seats on the district's ballot in 2016 were unopposed. The district's 2014 race had no unopposed seats, and it attracted exactly two candidates per seat up for election. Statewide in 2014, 36.78 percent of school board seats saw no opposition, and an average of 1.94 candidates ran per seat.

Issues in the state

Transgender bathroom bill withdrawn
Rep. Susan Lynn (R-57)

State Rep. Susan Lynn (R-57) proposed legislation in January 2016 that would require public school students in kindergarten through college to use the bathroom and locker room that corresponded with the sex listed on their birth certificates. Four months later, she withdrew the bill. "I am still absolutely 100 percent in support of maintaining the privacy of all students. But I'm going to roll the bill over until next year so we can work on those issues," Lynn said.[8][9]

House Bill 2414 drew criticism from local media and some companies threatened to withhold business from the state if the bill were passed. Lynn said that was not why she withdrew the bill; instead, she put it on hold in order to further study the issue. She said school districts in Tennessee were "largely following what the bill says."[8][10]

While HB 2414 was still in committee, Gov. Bill Haslam (R) expressed concern about the bill. “I’m hearing that our school boards have figured out how to adjust to each situation that arises, and to date, I’m not hearing parents say we have [a] problem in our schools today,” said Haslam.[11]

Attorney General Herbert Slatery (R)

State Reps. Mike Stewart (D-52) and Harry Brooks (R-19) asked for an opinion on the issue from Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery (R). Slatery responded by warning that the state could lose federal Title IX funding if the bill were passed.[12]

As things currently stand, we must, as a practical matter, assume that H.B. 2414 would violate Title IX, because the enforcer of Title IX has clearly interpreted — and enforced — Title IX to prohibit as 'discriminatory on the basis of sex' what H.B. 2414 is designed to accomplish.[13]
—Attorney General Herbert Slatery (April 2016)[12]

Stewart said Slatery's opinion was the "final nail in the coffin" for the bill. He and State Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-55) said the bill could also hinder the state's goal of creating a business-friendly climate.[12] Executives of dozens of companies had signed a letter to state lawmakers asking them to reject the bill on the grounds that it was discriminatory.[14]

David Fowler, former state senator and president of the Family Action Council of Tennessee, objected to Slatery's opinion. He said the attorney general had used settlement agreements rather than court decisions to warn the state legislature away from passing the bill. "Settlement agreements have no persuasive value as a matter of law, unlike the court decisions that have actually ruled in favor of sex-designated bathrooms," Fowler said.[12]

After the bill was withdrawn, Fowler issued a statement:

But we join the thousands of parents across the state who are profoundly disappointed that at this point in the process Rep. Lynn has decided not to proceed with a bill that would have simply protected the privacy of the children they have entrusted to our public schools.[13]
—David Fowler (April 2016)[8]

In addition to receiving support from the Family Action Council of Tennessee, the bill was backed by approximately 30 pastors from the Tennessee Pastors Network. At least 67,000 state citizens opposed the bill, as two transgender high school students turned in that many signatures to the governor's office. They were joined by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, the Tennessee Equality Project, the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, and the Human Rights Campaign.[8]

Candidate survey

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About the district

See also: Putnam County School System, Tennessee
The Putnam County school district is located in Putnam County, Tennessee.

The Putnam County school district is located in Putnam County in central Tennessee. The county seat is Cookeville. Putnam County was home to 74,553 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[15] The district was the 16th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 11,141 students.[16]

Demographics

Putnam County underperformed compared to Tennessee as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 22.8 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 24.4 percent of state residents. The median household income in Putnam County was $34,780, compared to $44,621 for the entire state. The poverty rate was 20.8 percent, compared to 18.3 percent statewide.[15]

Racial Demographics, 2014[15]
Race Putnam County (%) Tennessee (%)
White 94.0 78.9
Black or African American 2.4 17.1
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8 0.4
Asian 1.3 1.7
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1
Two or More Races 1.4 1.7
Hispanic or Latino 5.8 5.0

Presidential Voting Pattern, Putnam County[17]
Year Democratic Vote Republican Vote
2012 7,802 17,254
2008 9,739 17,101
2004 10,566 15,637
2000 10,785 11,248

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 'Putnam County Schools' 'Tennessee'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

Putnam County Schools Tennessee School Boards
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Seal of Tennessee.png
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External links

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Tennessee Secretary of State, "Election Calendar 2016," accessed March 30, 2016
  2. 2.0 2.1 Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Sara Shaw, Putnam County Election Commission" April 11, 2016
  3. 3.0 3.1 Putnam County School System, "School Board Members," accessed March 30, 2016
  4. Putnam County Election Commission, "Putnam County Election Results August 4, 2016," accessed August 5, 2016
  5. Tiffany Rouse, "Email communication with Putnam County Elections Commission Deputy Clerk Jim Herrin," March 9, 2015
  6. Tennessee Secretary of State, "What ID is required when voting?" accessed March 30, 2016
  7. Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Debbie Steidl," July 29, 2016
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 The Tennesseean, "Transgender bathroom bill dead for year," April 18, 2016
  9. Open States, "HB 2414," accessed April 19, 2016
  10. Knoxville News Sentinel, "Tennessee lawmakers should stay out of students’ restrooms," April 3, 2016
  11. Huffington Post, "Tennessee Governor Skeptical Of Anti-Transgender Bathroom Bill," April 13, 2016
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 The Tennesseean, "Attorney general: Tennessee bathroom bill threatens Title IX funds," April 11, 2016
  13. 13.0 13.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  14. CBS News, "Tennessee lawmakers under fire over transgender bathroom bill," April 13, 2016
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 United States Census Bureau, "Putnam County, Tennessee," accessed April 11, 2016
  16. National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
  17. Tennessee Secretary of State, "Election Results," accessed June 26, 2014