Rochester Public Schools elections (2016)
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Three of the seven seats on the Rochester Public Schools School Board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. In his bid for re-election to Seat 1, incumbent Richard Hinds was defeated by challenger Don Barlow. Seat 3 incumbent Deborah Seelinger won re-election after defeating John League in a primary election on August 9, 2016, and Bobbie Gallas in the general election. The race for the open Seat 7 featured candidates Ahmed Ragab and Mark Schleusner. Schleusner won election to the seat.[1][2][3]
League announced that he was dropping out of the race on July 24, 2016. Because the candidate withdrawal deadline had already passed, his name still appeared on the primary election ballot.[4]
The Rochester School Board was guaranteed to welcome at least one new member to the board after the 2016 election due to an open seat, and another newcomer defeated an incumbent to win a second seat. In 2014, the district added one new member to the board. Click here to see how else this race compared to past elections in both the district and the state.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Rochester School Board consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. Elections are held at large, but candidates run for specific seats. Elections are held on a staggered basis every November of even-numbered years. Four seats were up for election on November 4, 2014, and three seats were up for election on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on August 9, 2016, for Seat 3 as more than two candidates filed to run in that election.[1][5][6]
To run in this election, school board candidates had to be at least 21 years old, residents of the school district for at least 30 days before the date of the election, and able to vote in Minnesota. They also had to register with the school district by May 31, 2016. Any candidate wishing to withdraw their candidacy had to do so by June 2, 2016.[7]
To vote in this election, residents of the district had to register by October 18, 2016. In the case of a primary, voters had to register by July 19, 2016.[8] Photo identification was not required to vote in Minnesota.[9]
Candidates and results
Seat 1
Results
| Rochester Public Schools, Seat 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Don Barlow |
67.39% | 32,439 |
| Richard Hinds Incumbent | 32.21% | 15,506 |
| Write-in votes | 0.4% | 191 |
| Total Votes | 48,136 | |
| Source: Rochester Public Schools, "Abstract of Votes Cast," accessed January 11, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Richard Hinds | Don Barlow 
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Seat 3
General election
Results
| Rochester Public Schools, Seat 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Deborah Seelinger Incumbent |
56.78% | 27,399 |
| Bobbie Gallas | 42.80% | 20,654 |
| Write-in votes | 0.41% | 200 |
| Total Votes | 48,253 | |
| Source: Rochester Public Schools, "Abstract of Votes Cast," accessed January 11, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Deborah Seelinger
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Bobbie Gallas | ||
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Primary election
Results
| Rochester Public Schools, Seat 3 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Deborah Seelinger Incumbent |
51.22% | 2,166 |
| Bobbie Gallas |
35.90% | 1,518 |
| John League | 12.89% | 545 |
| Total Votes | 4,229 | |
| Source: Rochester Public Schools, "Aug 11, 2016 - Special Session Agenda," accessed October 21, 2016 | ||
Candidates defeated in the primary
| John League | |
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Seat 7
Results
| Rochester Public Schools, Seat 7 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Mark Schleusner |
70.73% | 34,532 |
| Ahmed Ragab | 28.93% | 14,125 |
| Write-in votes | 0.33% | 162 |
| Total Votes | 48,819 | |
| Source: Rochester Public Schools, "Abstract of Votes Cast," accessed January 11, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Ahmed Ragab | Mark Schleusner
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Minnesota elections, 2016
The Rochester Public Schools general election shared the ballot with the presidential election as well as elections for seats in the Minnesota State Senate and the Minnesota House of Representatives. It also shared the ballot with Olmsted County elections for county commissioners and soil and water supervisors.[10]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Minnesota school board elections in 2016:[7][11]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| May 31, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| June 2, 2016 | Candidate withdrawal deadline |
| July 19, 2016 | Voter registration deadline for primary election |
| July 31, 2016 | Pre-primary campaign finance report due |
| August 9, 2016 | Primary election date |
| October 18, 2016 | Voter registration deadline for general election |
| October 29, 2016 | Pre-election campaign finance report due |
| November 8, 2016 | General election date |
| December 7, 2016 | Post-election campaign finance report due |
| January 2, 2017 | Board members take office |
Endorsements
The Post Bulletin Editorial Board endorsed Seat 1 challenger Don Barlow and Seat 3 incumbent Deborah Seelinger.[12][13]
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 $5,543.00 and spent a total of $5,134.67 in the election, according to the Rochester Public Schools.[14]
Seat 1
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Hinds | $13.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Don Barlow | $650.00 | $396.00 | $254.00 |
Seat 3
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deborah Seelinger | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Bobbie Gallas | $4,380.00 | $3,688.65 | $691.35 |
| John League | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
Seat 7
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ahmed Ragab | $500.00 | $454.29 | $45.71 |
| Mark Schleusner | $0.00 | $595.73 | ($595.73) |
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2016
Election trends
The 2016 school board election in Rochester Public Schools was guaranteed to add one new member to the board due to an open seat. Another newcomer defeated an incumbent to win a seat on the board, and one incumbent won re-election.
The district's 2014 election saw one new member join the board. All four incumbents ran to retain their seats that year, but the newcomer defeated one of them for a 75 percent success rate.
| School board election trends | |||||
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| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Rochester Public Schools | |||||
| 2016 | 2.33 | 0.00% | 50.00% | 66.67% | |
| 2014 | 2.00 | 50.00% | 75.00% | 25.00% | |
| Minnesota | |||||
| 2014 | 2.00 | 21.21% | 86.96% | 39.39% | |
| United States | |||||
| 2014 | 1.89 | 32.57% | 81.31% | 38.24% | |
Issues in the election
Candidate forum
Five of the six candidates who ran in the general election on November 8, 2016, participated in a candidate forum hosted by the Rochester NAACP, the Rochester Muslim Community Circle, Rochester for Justice, and the First Unitarian Universality Church on October 6, 2016. Seat 1 incumbent Richard Hinds, Seat 1 challenger Don Barlow, Seat 3 incumbent Deborah Seelinger, and Seat 7 candidates Ahmed Ragab and Mark Schleusner answered questions about the district's achievement gap, discipline disparities, and hiring teachers of color.
Achievement gap
A total of 36 percent of students attending the Rochester school district are of a minority race or ethnicity, and assessments showed the district had an achievement gap between minority students and white students in math, reading, and science, according to the Post Bulletin. The candidates were asked how they would ensure the district's performance improved.
Seelinger said, "I am committed to solving this problem, but I think we need to reach out and have more resources, more people involved to talk about the actual issues and how we can solve them."
Barlow called the achievement gap "embarrassing," and said, "It is my belief that this is nothing new and I'm tired of hearing the same old excuse, it's a multi-piece puzzle, it's bigger than any one of us."
Hinds agreed with Barlow that the achievement gap was embarrassing, but he also called it "avoidable." He said the district should keep high standards and pointed to how science scores fell after graduation requirements were changed to allow fewer science courses.
Ragab agreed with Hinds that the district's standards had "failed us to an extent." He said, "[I]f we continue to relax our standards, our kids are going to continue to struggle."
Schleusner said, "We need to come together as a community to do this together, these are our children, they're not mine, they're not yours — we're all here to raise all of our children to the highest standards possible."
Discipline disparities
Rochester Public Schools entered into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) in September 2015 after it was revealed that there was a discipline disparity in the district between students of color and white students. In reaction to this agreement, the candidates were asked if there had been any progress made on the agreement to eliminate the disparity and whether or not they thought the district's planned actions would be enough to address the disparity.
As an incumbent, Seelinger spoke about what the district had done so far. She said the district had a behavior system in place and that the student handbook had been updated. She said officials in the district were soliciting feedback on discipline in schools and that the board had set up a professional development day for the 2016-2017 school year. She also said that the board planned to look at curriculum related to discipline in the 2016-2017 school year.
Barlow said the district community should have known about the OCR investigation sooner. "I would make sure that you're informed about what is going on and what is happening to our students," said Barlow.
Hinds said education must be available to every student on equal terms. "If we say, 'if you just work really hard, you too will have the same education as other students,' that is not equal terms," said Hinds.
Ragab expressed concern that not everyone had acknowledged that the discipline disparity was a problem. He said, "I haven't seen anything solid yet that shows me that there is an actual plan that will help us move forward. We want transparency. We want accountability. And we have to see the results."
Schleusner said, "At the end of the day it shouldn't take something like the OCR report to point out deficiencies within our district." He said the district and the community should have conversations "on a regular basis, instead of on a mandated schedule by a government organization."
Hiring teachers of color
When asked how important racial composition was for Rochester Public Schools and what could be done to hire and retain more teachers of color, Seelinger said, "I think a lot of it might come from promoting teaching as a great profession and a great thing to go into, a field that's respected, I think that's really missing for a lot of students, not only those of color."
Barlow said he was unsure why the district was unable to find qualified teachers of color. He said that the newly hired administrators for the 2016-2017 school year had all been white.
Hinds said having a teaching staff that reflected the makeup of the student body was an important goal for the district. He said mentoring students and connecting them to the community was the biggest thing the district could do.
Ragab said, "If we want to bring in teachers of color we can do it. If we want to find people who are qualified for the job, we can do it. We may choose not to, but we can do it."
Schleusner said the district needed to start looking at nontraditional ways to recruit teachers of color. He suggested district officials encourage students of color attending Rochester schools to become teachers and return to the district.[15]
Issues in the district
Study finds lead in Rochester Public Schools
A test conducted in July 2016 revealed that 10 percent of tested drinking fountains and sinks in Rochester Public Schools contained lead levels that exceeded what the Minnesota Department of Health considered safe. The district tested its water facilities based on the health department's recommendation that they be tested every five years. The facilities that contained lead were shut down until they could either be replaced or corrected.[16][17]
The district last tested its water facilities in 2012 and also found about 10 percent of sinks and fountains had unsafe levels of lead. The 2016 study tested 400 more facilities than it did in 2012.[17]
Candidate survey
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About the district
- See also: Rochester Public Schools, Minnesota
Rochester Public Schools is located in Olmsted County in southeastern Minnesota. The county seat is Rochester. Olmsted County was home to 151,436 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[18] The district was the seventh-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 16,761 students.[19]
Demographics
Olmsted County outperformed Minnesota as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 40.2 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 33.2 percent of state residents. The median household income for Olmsted County was $67,089, compared to $60,828 for the entire state. The percentage of people in poverty was 9.8 percent, while it was 11.5 percent statewide.[18]
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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 'Rochester Public Schools' 'Minnesota'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Rochester Public Schools | Minnesota | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 KROC AM 1340, "Primary Elections Needed for Rochester City Council – School Board," May 31, 2016
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Results for Selected Contests in School District No. 535 - ROCHESTER," accessed August 9, 2016
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Results for Selected Contests in School District No. 535 - ROCHESTER," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ Post-Bulletin, "Candidate drops out of school board race," July 30, 2016
- ↑ Rochester Public Schools, "Elected School Board Members," accessed June 1, 2016
- ↑ Post-Bulletin, "Confusion over school board primary elections," June 17, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Minnesota Secretary of State, "2016 School District Elections Guide," accessed June 1, 2016
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Elections Calendar: 2016 Election Dates," accessed May 27, 2016
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Do I Need To Bring ID?" accessed May 27, 2016
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings 2016 State General Election: Olmsted County," accessed July 8, 2016
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "2016 Minnesota School Districts with a Primary Elections Calendar," accessed July 21, 2016
- ↑ Post Bulletin, "Our View: Rochester School Board, Seat 1: Richard Hinds vs. Don Barlow," October 17, 2016
- ↑ Post Bulletin, "Our View: Rochester School Board, Seat 3: Deborah Seelinger vs. Bobbie Gallas," October 18, 2016
- ↑ Rochester Public Schools, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed December 8, 2016
- ↑ Post Bulletin, "School board candidates address achievement gap," October 7, 2016
- ↑ KIMT.com, "Study: Lead found in Rochester Public Schools," September 7, 2016
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Post Bulletin, "Is the water safe in Rochester schools?" September 9, 2016
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 United States Census Bureau, "Olmsted County, Minnesota," accessed June 28, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Election Results and Statistics," accessed August 1, 2014
| 2016 Rochester Public Schools Elections | |
| Olmsted County, Minnesota | |
| Election date: | Primary election: August 9, 2016 General election: November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | Seat 1: • Incumbent, Richard Hinds • Don Barlow Seat 3: • Incumbent, Deborah Seelinger • Bobbie Gallas • John League Seat 7: • Ahmed Ragab • Mark Schleusner |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
