Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
South Washington County Schools elections (2015)
2017 →
← 2013
|
 |
Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links |
South Washington County Schools Washington County, Minnesota ballot measures Local ballot measures, Minnesota |
 |
Three seats on the South Washington County School Board were up for general election on November 3, 2015.
The seats of incumbents Ron Kath, Joe Slavin and Michelle Witte were up for election.[1] Kath, Slavin and Witte defeated challengers Dean Barton, Patricia Driscoll, Molly Lutz and Andrea Mayer-Bruestle for the three at-large seats. Lutz previously ran unsuccessfully for a board seat in 2013.
About the district
South Washington County Schools is located in east-central Minnesota in Washington County. The county seat is Stillwater. This county was home to 238,136 residents in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau.[2] In the 2011-2012 school year, South Washington County Schools was the sixth-largest school district in Minnesota and served 17,858 students.[3]
Demographics
Washington County outperformed the rest of Minnesota in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 40.5 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 32.6 percent for Minnesota as a whole. The median household income in Washington County was $81,540, compared to $59,836 for the state of Minnesota. The poverty rate was 5.7 percent, compared to 11.5 percent for the entire state.[2]
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.
Voter and candidate information
The South Washington County School Board consists of seven members elected at-large to four-year terms. There was no primary election, and the general election was held on November 3, 2015. Three seats were up for election in 2015.[1]
School board candidates had to file nomination documents during the candidate filing period, which began on July 28, 2015, and ended on August 11, 2015. The deadline for candidates to withdraw was August 13, 2015.[5]
Elections
2015
Candidates
At-large
Ron Kath 
|
Joe Slavin
|
Michelle Witte
| |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Dean Barton | Patricia Driscoll | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
| Molly Lutz | Andrea Mayer-Bruestle | ||
|
|
|
|
|
Election results
| South Washington County Schools, At-Large, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Ron Kath Incumbent |
18.4% | 5,382 |
| Michelle Witte Incumbent |
17.2% | 5,028 |
| Joe Slavin Incumbent |
15.1% | 4,431 |
| Molly Lutz | 14.1% | 4,120 |
| Dean Barton | 12.1% | 3,547 |
| Patricia Driscoll | 11.3% | 3,297 |
| Andrea Mayer-Bruestle | 10.9% | 3,186 |
| Write-in votes | 0.94% | 276 |
| Total Votes | 29,267 | |
| Source: Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Local Results in Washington County," accessed November 4, 2015 These election results are not official and will be updated when certified results are available. You can submit certified results by contacting us. |
||
Endorsements
Incumbents Ron Kath, Joe Slavin and Michelle Witte received endorsements from the United Teachers of South Washington County.[6]
Campaign finance
The South Washington County Schools administration does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013
2011
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What was at stake?
Ballotpedia survey responses
Two of the seven candidates in this election participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from Patricia Driscoll and Michelle Witte.
Top priorities
When asked what her top priorities would be if elected, Patricia Driscoll stated:
| “ | Financial stability.[7] | ” |
| —Patricia Driscoll, 2015[8] | ||
When asked what her top priorities would be if elected, Michelle Witte stated:
| “ | Ensure educators have the resources they need to serve our students, through passage of our levy referendums, and budgeting driven by evidence of what supports student achievement; To recruit and retain excellence in our workforce through support of more competitive compensation, professional development, and efforts to diversify; Support curriculum re-design that meets changing student needs.[7] | ” |
| —Michelle Witte, 2015[9] | ||
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 the candidates' rankings:
| Issue importance ranking | ||
|---|---|---|
| Issue | Driscoll | Witte |
| 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 candidates were asked to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to the candidates' responses can be found below.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the South Washington County Schools election in 2015:[5]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| July 28, 2015 | First day for candidates to file nomination documents |
| August 11, 2015 | Last day for candidates to file nomination documents |
| August 13, 2015 | Last day for candidates to withdraw |
| November 3, 2015 | Election Day |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Minnesota elections, 2015
This election did not share the ballot with other elections.[10]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms South Washington County Schools Minnesota. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| South Washington County Schools | Minnesota | School Boards |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 South Washington County Schools, "School Board Members," accessed January 26, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 United States Census Bureau, "Washington County, Minnesota," accessed October 15, 2013
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Election Results and Statistics," accessed October 15, 2013
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Filing Periods," accessed January 26, 2015
- ↑ United Teachers of South Washington County, "Home," accessed October 29, 2015
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Patricia Driscoll Responses," September 25, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Michelle Witte Responses," October 3, 2015
- ↑ Washington County, Minnesota, "Sample Ballots," accessed October 21, 2015
| 2015 South Washington County Schools Elections | |
| Washington County, Minnesota | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Ron Kath • Incumbent, Joe Slavin • Incumbent, Michelle Witte • Dean Barton • Patricia Driscoll • Molly Lutz • Andrea Mayer-Bruestle |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
