Everything you need to know about ranked-choice voting in one spot. Click to learn more!

South Kitsap School District elections (2017)

From Ballotpedia
Jump to: navigation, search
2015
School Board badge.png
South Kitsap School District Elections

General election date
November 7, 2017
Enrollment (14-15)
9,649 students

Three of the five seats on the South Kitsap School District school board in Washington were up for by-district general election on November 7, 2017. In District 3, incumbent Christopher Lemke was defeated by challenger Elizabeth Sebren. District 4 incumbent Rebecca Diehl filed for re-election and ran unopposed, winning a new term.

A special election was also scheduled for November 7, 2017, following the District 1 representative's resignation in September 2016.[1] Seward Stevens, the representative appointed to the position until November, filed for election and ran unopposed, winning his first full term.[2]

Elections

Voter and candidate information

South Kitsap SD Logo.jpg

The South Kitsap school board consists of five members elected by district to four-year terms.[3] Board members in South Kitsap can be reimbursed up to $4,800 for district activities but do not receive salaries.[4]

In order to run for a school board in Washington, candidates must be U.S. citizens, legal residents of Washington, at least 18 years old by the election day, and registered voters of the district in which they run.[5]

Voter registration

To vote in Washington, one must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of Washington, and at least 18 years old.[6] One may register to vote online, by mail, or in person at a county elections department. Registration must be completed 29 days prior to an election if done by mail or online and eight days prior to the election if done in person.[7]

Washington is a vote-by-mail only state. Ballots are mailed to voters at least 18 days before an election. Voters must postmark their ballots by election day or return them to a ballot drop box by 8 p.m. on the election day in order for them to count.[8]

See also: Voting in Washington and Voter identification laws by state

District 1 (Special election)

Results

South Kitsap School District,
District 1 Special Election, 2-year term, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Seward Stevens Incumbent (unopposed) 97.50% 10,239
Write-in votes 2.5% 262
Total Votes 10,501
Source: Kitsap County, Washington, "General Election: November 7, 2017," accessed December 1, 2017

Candidates

Seward Stevens Green check mark transparent.png

Placeholder image.png

  • Incumbent

District 3

Results

South Kitsap School District,
District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Elizabeth Sebren 55.73% 7,192
Christopher Lemke Incumbent 43.46% 5,609
Write-in votes 0.81% 105
Total Votes 12,906
Source: Kitsap County, Washington, "General Election: November 7, 2017," accessed December 1, 2017

Candidates

Christopher Lemke Elizabeth Sebren Green check mark transparent.png

Christopher Lemke.jpg

  • Incumbent

Placeholder image.png

District 4

Results

South Kitsap School District,
District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Rebecca Diehl Incumbent (unopposed) 97.92% 10,332
Write-in votes 2.08% 220
Total Votes 10,552
Source: Kitsap County, Washington, "General Election: November 7, 2017," accessed December 1, 2017

Candidates

Rebecca Diehl Green check mark transparent.png

Rebecca Diehl.jpg

  • Incumbent

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Washington elections, 2017

This Washington school board election in 2017 shared the ballot with elections for:[2]

  • Port commissioner
  • Water district

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for this Washington school board election in 2017:

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

All candidates opted for mini reporting in this election, according to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission.[9]

General guidelines

See also: Campaign finance requirements in Washington and List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2017
Campaign Finance Ballotpedia.png

Washington school board candidates must file a statement of organization within two weeks of filing for office. A statement of organization establishes a candidate's committee, treasurer, and bank the committee will use for its transactions.[10]

Candidates who raise and spend no more than $5,000 in aggregate and who do not receive more than $500 from any one contributor, including themselves, can participate in mini reporting. These candidates must keep a record of their contributors and expenditures but they are not required to report them unless they exceed the stated thresholds. In those cases, they must switch their filing status from mini to full reporting.[11]

The table below details campaign finance deadlines for 2017 Washington school board candidates:

Past elections

What was at stake?

Washington state seal.png

Education budget adds $7.3 billion to public school funding

Washington added $7.3 billion over four years to public school funding with the budget signed by Gov. Jay Inslee (D) on June 30, 2017. The funding was passed to comply with the 2012 McLeary v. State of Washington decision which ruled that the state was violating its state constitutional duty to fund K-12 education.[12]

Under the plan, property taxes were raised in areas with high property values, while taxes in other areas were decreased. These raises accounted for approximately $4 billion of the total $7.3 billion. According to state Sen. Kevin Ranker (D), the property tax increases would add approximately $400 a year to the average Washington household's taxes.[13]

Budget details

Washington teachers can receive two salaries: one from the state government and one from their school district. The new budget provisions included a minimum starting state salary for teachers of $40,000 (with adjustment for inflation and regional discrepancies), which was a 17 percent increase. The average minimum salary for instructional staff was $64,000 under the plan. School districts could also issue a salary over the previous maximum of $90,000 by up to 10 percent for educational staff associates or instructors who teach science, technology, engineering, and math, or in bilingual or special education programs. Below are a few other details of the new measure, according to Q13 Fox:

  • There’s a mandatory 10 percent [salary] increase after 5 years of employment.
  • Starting in 2020-21, the minimum state allocations for salaries must be adjusted annually for inflation.
  • Starting with the 2023 session, and every six years after that, the Legislature must review compensation to make sure they are adequate based on the market and economic differences between school districts.[14][15]
Reactions

“It’s absolutely helping the middle class and 73% of Washington,” state Sen. John Braun (R) said about the budget. He also said that it found a solution to comply with the McLeary ruling fairly. State Sen. Reuven Carlyle (D) disagreed. “It’s a stressful situation; it looks like property taxes are a major component of this and I think it’s safe to say it’s a Democratic budget with a Republican tax plan,” Carlyle said. He called the budget “the good, bad and the ugly.”[14]

McLeary v. State of Washington

The 2017 budget was passed in light of the McLeary ruling. When the decision was made in 2012, the Washington Supreme Court ordered the state to fully fund K-12 education by 2018. In September 2014, the Court held Washington in contempt for not making adequate progress. After the state still did not make adequate progress and produce a plan to comply with the Court's orders in 2015, the Supreme Court fined the state $100,000 a day until it complied.[12] Those fines totaled $80.3 million as of October 24, 2017.[16]

The State Supreme Court heard oral arguments on that day to determine whether or not the additional funding was enough for the state to be in full compliance with the court's ruling. An attorney for the state argued that the newest education budget was enough to pay for what the state's constitution calls for: a basic education for each child in Washington. The plaintiffs' lawyer argued that the Legislature was still far removed from reaching that goal. As of October 26, 2017, the court had not made a final decision.[17]

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

Candidate Connection Logo - stacked.png

Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey.
Click here to view or fill out the survey.

About the district

See also: South Kitsap School District, Washington
South Kitsap School District is located in Kitsap County, Washington.

South Kitsap School District is located in Kitsap County in western Washington. The seat of county government is Port Orchard. Kitsap County was home to an estimated 264,811 residents between 2010 and 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[18] The district was the 34th-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 9,649 students.[19]

Demographics

Kitsap County underperformed in comparison to Washington as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2011 to 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 30.3 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had obtained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 32.9 percent of state residents. The median household income in the county was $62,941, while it was $61,062 for the entire state. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 9.9 percent, while that rate was 12.2 percent for all state residents.[18]

Racial Demographics, 2015[20]
Race Kitsap County (%) Washington (%)
White 83.0 80.3
Black or African American 3.0 4.1
American Indian and Alaska Native 1.8 1.9
Asian 5.4 8.4
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 1.0 0.7
Two or More Races 5.7 4.6
Hispanic or Latino 7.5 12.4

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms South Kitsap School District Washington election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

See also

South Kitsap School District Washington School Boards
School Board badge.png
Seal of Washington.png
School Board badge.png

External links

Footnotes

  1. South Kitsap School District, "New School Board Member Selected," accessed May 22, 2017
  2. 2.0 2.1 Kitsap County, "2017 Candidates Who Have Filed," accessed May 22, 2017
  3. South Kitsap School District, "School Board," accessed February 5, 2015
  4. Snohomish County, "2014 Election Information Guide," accessed February 5, 2014
  5. Washington State School Directors' Association, "Running for school board," accessed June 5, 2017
  6. Washington Secretary of State, "Voter Eligibility," accessed June 10, 2014
  7. Washington Secretary of State, "Voters," accessed June 10, 2014
  8. Washington Secretary of State, "Frequently Asked Questions on Voting by Mail," accessed June 5, 2017
  9. Washington Public Disclosure Commission, "Local Candidates," accessed October 16, 2017
  10. Washington Election Code, "Chapter 42.17A.205," accessed March 10, 2014
  11. Washington State Public Disclosure Commission, "New Candidates," accessed June 22, 2017
  12. 12.0 12.1 Network for Excellence in Washington Schools, "‘The State has consistently failed to provide adequate funding’," accessed July 3, 2017
  13. Seattle Times, "New Washington state budget would provide $7.3B more to public schools over four years," June 29, 2017
  14. 14.0 14.1 Q13 Fox, "Budget: Biggest education reform in state history will rely heavily on property taxes," June 29, 2017
  15. Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  16. Seattle Times, "Live updates from Washington State Supreme Court hearing on $7.3 billion education budget," October 24, 2017
  17. Union-Bulletin, "Wash. Supreme Court justices appear frustrated at McCleary hearing," accessed October 26, 2017
  18. 18.0 18.1 2010 U.S. Census, "Quick Facts: Kitsap County," accessed June 7, 2017
  19. 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
  20. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Census