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South Dakota school board elections, 2015
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South Dakota's 2015 elections School boards • Candidate ballot access |
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A total of two South Dakota school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment held elections for five seats in 2015. The first election was April 14, 2015, and the second was June 2, 2015.
Here are several quick facts about South Dakota's school board elections in 2015:
- The largest school district by enrollment with an election in 2015 was Sioux Falls School District with 23,227 K-12 students.
- The smallest school district by enrollment with an election in 2015 was Rapid City Area School District with 14,000 K-12 students.
- Rapid City Area School District had the most seats on the ballot in 2015 with three seats up for election.
- Sioux Falls School District had the fewest seats on the ballot in 2015 with two seats up for election.
The districts listed below served 37,227 K-12 students during the 2012-2013 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.[1] Click on the district names for more information on the district and its school board elections.
| 2015 South Dakota School Board Elections | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District | Date | Seats up for election | Total board seats | Student enrollment |
| Sioux Falls School District | 4/14/2015 | 2 | 5 | 23,227 |
| Rapid City Area School District | 6/2/2015 | 3 | 7 | 14,000 |
Trends in South Dakota school board elections
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
The 2015 school board elections in the South Dakota's largest school districts saw a higher number of candidates run per seat than the 2014 school board elections, but they had a lower number run compared to the 2013 elections. The 2015 elections also had a higher percentage of seats go unopposed than the 2013 elections, while the 2014 elections had the highest percentage of unopposed seats out of the three election years. Three seats were up for election in both 2013 and 2014. In 2015, there were five school board seats on the ballot.
The following sections analyze competitiveness and incumbency advantage in South Dakota's school board elections. These districts did not utilize primary or runoff elections. Winners only had to receive a plurality, or relative majority, of votes to secure a seat. All of the school board elections held in the state from 2013 to 2015 were nonpartisan.
Details of the data discussed here can be found in the table below.
Competitiveness
An average of 1.60 candidates ran per seat on the 2015 ballot in South Dakota's largest school districts, and an average of 1.33 candidates ran per seat in 2014. The 2013 school board elections in the state had the highest average of the three years with 2.00 candidates running per seat. In 2015, 20.00 percent of seats up for election were unopposed. This was lower than the 66.67 percent of seats that went unopposed in 2014. The 2013 school board elections had no seats go unopposed.
Incumbency advantage
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Every incumbent up for re-election in 2015 sought to retain their seats. This was also true of the three incumbents up for re-election in 2014. In 2013, however, only one of the three incumbents whose seats were up for election that year ran for re-election. Four of the five incumbents who ran to retain their seats in 2015 won re-election. One of those winner ran unopposed; the other three defeated challengers to keep their seats. In 2014, all three incumbents won re-election, and all but one faced opponents. In 2013, the one incumbent who ran won another term, and the two open seats went to newcomers. The map below details the success rates for incumbents who ran in the 2015 school board elections that were held in the largest school districts by enrollment in the U.S.
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Data table
The table below displays the statistics for school board elections in South Dakota's largest school districts from 2013 to 2015.
| South Dakota school board elections, 2013 - 2015 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total | Incumbents | ||||||||
| Seats up | Candidates | Candidates/ seat |
Unopposed seats | % unopposed | % seats won by newcomers | Sought re-election | Unopposed | Retained | % retained | |
| 2015 | 5 | 8 | 1.60 | 1 | 20.00% | 20.00% | 5 | 1 | 4 | 80.00% |
| 2014 | 3 | 4 | 1.33 | 2 | 66.67% | 0.00% | 3 | 2 | 3 | 100.00% |
| 2013 | 3 | 6 | 2.00 | 0 | 0.00% | 66.67% | 1 | 0 | 1 | 100.00% |
Survey responses
One of the eight candidates running for a school board seat in South Dakota's largest school districts in the 2015 elections responded to Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey. The following sections display the candidate's answers to questions about top priorities and education issues.
Top priorities
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When asked what her top priority would be if elected, Kate Parker, an incumbent on the Sioux Falls School Board, made the following statement:
| “ | Our Superintend [sic] is retiring after 11 years, so my top priority is to use my experience to help ensure a successful and productive transition with a new Superintendent.[2] | ” |
| —Kate Parker (2015)[3] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank seven issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Kate Parker did not complete this part of the survey and explained, "These seven issues are all highly important in a district as large as ours, and it is impossible to rank one higher than another." The following table lists the issues she was asked to rank:
| Issue importance ranking |
|---|
| Expanding arts education |
| Expanding career-technical education |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget |
| Improving college readiness |
| Closing the achievement gap |
| Improving education for special needs students |
| Expanding school choice options |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked an additional 10 short answer and multiple choice questions regarding significant issues in education. A link to those responses can be found below.
State profile
| Demographic data for South Dakota | ||
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 857,919 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 75,811 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 85% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 1.6% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 1.2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 8.6% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.6% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 3.3% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 90.9% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $50,957 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 15.3% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in South Dakota. **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. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
South Dakota voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in South Dakota, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[4]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. South Dakota had four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 2.21 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More South Dakota coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in South Dakota
- United States congressional delegations from South Dakota
- Public policy in South Dakota
- Endorsers in South Dakota
- South Dakota fact checks
- More...
Academic performance
| Education terms |
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| For more information on education policy terms, see this article. |
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- See also: Public education in South Dakota
NAEP scores
- See also: NAEP scores by state
The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The chart below presents the percentage of fourth and eighth grade students that scored at or above proficient in reading and math during the 2012-2013 school year. Compared to three neighboring states (Montana, Nebraska and North Dakota), South Dakota had the smallest percentage of fourth grade students score at or above proficient in both math and reading.[5]
| Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Math - Grade 4 | Math - Grade 8 | Reading - Grade 4 | Reading - Grade 8 | |
| South Dakota | 40% | 38% | 32% | 36% |
| Montana | 45% | 40% | 35% | 40% |
| Nebraska | 45% | 36% | 37% | 37% |
| North Dakota | 48% | 41% | 34% | 34% |
| United States | 41% | 34% | 34% | 34% |
| Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables" | ||||
Graduation, ACT and SAT scores
The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for South Dakota and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.[5][6][7]
In the United States, public schools reported graduation rates that averaged to about 81.4 percent. About 54 percent of all students in the country took the ACT, while 50 percent reported taking the SAT. The average national composite scores for those tests were 20.9 out of a possible 36 for the ACT and 1,498 out of a possible 2,400 for the SAT.[8]
South Dakota schools reported a graduation rate of 82.7 percent, lowest among its neighboring states.
In South Dakota, more students took the ACT than the SAT, earning an average ACT score of 21.9.
| Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores, 2012-2013 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Graduation rate, 2013 | Average ACT composite, 2013 | Average SAT composite, 2013 | ||||
| Percent | Quintile ranking** | Score | Participation rate | Score | Participation rate | ||
| South Dakota | 82.7% | Third | 21.9 | 78% | 1,760 | 3% | |
| Montana | 84.4% | Third | 21.3 | 72% | 1,595 | 25% | |
| Nebraska | 88.5% | First | 21.5 | 84% | 1,734 | 4% | |
| North Dakota | 87.5% | First | 20.5 | 98% | 1,799 | 2% | |
| United States | 81.4% | 20.9 | 54% | 1498 | 50% | ||
| **Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Sources: United States Department of Education, "ED Data Express" ACT.org, "2013 ACT National and State Scores" The Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT scores by state, 2013" | |||||||
Dropout rate
- See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states
The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades 9–12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–11 and school year 2011–12. The event dropout rate for South Dakota was lower than the national average at 2.6 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 3.1 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.[9]
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed April 20, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Kate Parker responses," March 30, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ ACT, "2012 ACT National and State Scores," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT Scores by State 2013," October 10, 2013
- ↑ StudyPoints, "What's a good SAT score or ACT score?" accessed June 7, 2015
- ↑ United States Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data (CCD), State Dropout and Graduation Rate Data File, School Year 2010-11, Provision Version 1a and School Year 2011-12, Preliminary Version 1a," accessed May 13, 2014
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