Spencer Community School District, Iowa, elections
| Spencer Community School District |
|---|
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| District details |
| School board members: 5 |
| Next election: November 4, 2025 |
| Students: 2,267 (2023-2024) |
| Schools: 5 (2023-2024) |
| Website: Link |
Spencer Community School District is a school district in Iowa (Clay County). During the 2024 school year, 2,267 students attended one of the district's five schools.
This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.
Elections
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Spencer Community School District, At-large
General election
The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.
General election for Spencer Community School District, At-large (3 seats)
Shelby Haak, Chad Irvine, and Bob Whittenburg are running in the general election for Spencer Community School District, At-large on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Shelby Haak (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Chad Irvine (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Bob Whittenburg (Nonpartisan) | ||
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 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
About the district
School board
The Spencer Community School District consists of five members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.
| Name | Year assumed office | Year term ends |
|---|---|---|
| Phil Bieber | ||
| Shelby Haak | ||
| Brea Schmidt | ||
| Bob Whittenburg | ||
| Bill Zinn |
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District map
Overlapping state house districts
The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.
Budget
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]
| SOURCE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal: | $3,485,000 | $1,496 | 10% |
| Local: | $14,023,000 | $6,021 | 40% |
| State: | $17,407,000 | $7,474 | 50% |
| Total: | $34,915,000 | $14,991 |
| TYPE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Expenditures: | $31,861,000 | $13,680 | |
| Total Current Expenditures: | $27,347,000 | $11,741 | |
| Instructional Expenditures: | $17,442,000 | $7,489 | 55% |
| Student and Staff Support: | $2,263,000 | $971 | 7% |
| Administration: | $3,280,000 | $1,408 | 10% |
| Operations, Food Service, Other: | $4,362,000 | $1,872 | 14% |
| Total Capital Outlay: | $3,174,000 | $1,362 | |
| Construction: | $2,132,000 | $915 | |
| Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: | $14,000 | $6 | |
| Interest on Debt: | $651,000 | $279 |
Academic performance
Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 73 | >=50 | 21-39 | 60-64 | PS | 60-79 | 74 |
| 2018-2019 | 80 | >=50 | >=50 | 70-74 | PS | >=50 | 80 |
| 2017-2018 | 83 | >=50 | >=50 | 70-74 | PS | >=50 | 84 |
| 2016-2017 | 85 | >=50 | >=50 | 75-79 | PS | >=50 | 86 |
| 2015-2016 | 84 | >=50 | >=50 | 75-79 | PS | >=50 | 86 |
| 2014-2015 | 82 | >=50 | 40-59 | 70-74 | PS | >=50 | 83 |
| 2013-2014 | 81 | >=50 | >=50 | 60-64 | PS | >=50 | 83 |
| 2012-2013 | 82 | >=50 | >=50 | 60-64 | PS | >=50 | 83 |
| 2011-2012 | 79 | >=50 | <50 | 55-59 | >=50 | <50 | 81 |
| 2010-2011 | 78 | >=50 | <50 | 50-59 | PS | >=50 | 80 |
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-2021 | 72 | >=50 | 40-59 | 70-74 | PS | 60-79 | 73 |
| 2018-2019 | 78 | >=50 | <50 | 70-74 | PS | >=50 | 80 |
| 2017-2018 | 77 | >=50 | >=50 | 70-74 | PS | >=50 | 78 |
| 2016-2017 | 81 | >=50 | >=50 | 70-74 | PS | >=50 | 82 |
| 2015-2016 | 80 | >=50 | >=50 | 70-74 | PS | >=50 | 81 |
| 2014-2015 | 79 | >=50 | 60-79 | 65-69 | PS | >=50 | 81 |
| 2013-2014 | 80 | >=50 | >=50 | 60-64 | PS | >=50 | 82 |
| 2012-2013 | 78 | >=50 | >=50 | 60-64 | PS | >=50 | 80 |
| 2011-2012 | 77 | <50 | >=50 | 50-54 | >=50 | >=50 | 80 |
| 2010-2011 | 80 | >=50 | >=50 | 55-59 | PS | >=50 | 82 |
The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:
| School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-2020 | >=95 | PS | PS | >=50 | PS | >=95 | |
| 2018-2019 | 90-94 | PS | >=50 | PS | 90-94 | ||
| 2017-2018 | 90-94 | PS | PS | >=50 | PS | 90-94 | |
| 2016-2017 | 85-89 | PS | >=50 | PS | PS | 85-89 | |
| 2015-2016 | >=95 | PS | PS | PS | PS | >=95 | |
| 2014-2015 | >=95 | PS | PS | PS | PS | >=95 | |
| 2013-2014 | 90-94 | PS | PS | >=50 | PS | 90-94 | |
| 2012-2013 | 90-94 | PS | PS | PS | 90-94 | ||
| 2011-2012 | 85-89 | PS | PS | PS | 90-94 | ||
| 2010-2011 | 85-89 | PS | PS | 90-94 |
Students
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]
| Year | Enrollment | Year-to-year change (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 2023-2024 | 2,267 | -3.3 |
| 2022-2023 | 2,341 | 0.5 |
| 2021-2022 | 2,329 | 2.0 |
| 2020-2021 | 2,282 | 1.5 |
| 2019-2020 | 2,247 | 2.8 |
| 2018-2019 | 2,184 | 5.4 |
| 2017-2018 | 2,067 | 4.5 |
| 2016-2017 | 1,973 | -2.2 |
| 2015-2016 | 2,016 | -1.2 |
| 2014-2015 | 2,041 | -1.8 |
| 2013-2014 | 2,078 | 1.0 |
| 2012-2013 | 2,058 | 0.0 |
| 2011-2012 | 2,059 | -0.5 |
| 2010-2011 | 2,070 | 11.0 |
| 2009-2010 | 1,843 | -8.4 |
| 2008-2009 | 1,997 | -1.5 |
| 2007-2008 | 2,026 | -1.6 |
| 2006-2007 | 2,058 | 0.0 |
| 2005-2006 | 2,058 | 0.0 |
| 2004-2005 | 2,057 | -3.1 |
| 2003-2004 | 2,120 | 1.1 |
| 2002-2003 | 2,097 | -1.4 |
| 2001-2002 | 2,127 | -3.7 |
| 2000-2001 | 2,205 | -1.9 |
| 1999-2000 | 2,246 | 0.0 |
| RACE | Spencer Community School District (%) | Iowa K-12 STUDENTS (%) |
|---|---|---|
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.9 | 2.5 |
| Black | 1.3 | 7.0 |
| Hispanic | 9.0 | 13.0 |
| Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 0.0 | 0.7 |
| Two or More Races | 3.4 | 5.0 |
| White | 85.3 | 71.5 |
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.
Staff
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]
As of the 2023-2024 school year, Spencer Community School District had 144.23 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 15.72.
| TYPE | NUMBER OF TEACHERS |
|---|---|
| Prekindergarten: | 6.12 |
| Kindergarten: | 9.96 |
| Elementary: | 87.58 |
| Secondary: | 40.57 |
| Total: | 144.23 |
Spencer Community School District employed 9.00 district administrators and 6.00 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.
| TYPE | NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS |
|---|---|
| District Administrators: | 9.00 |
| District Administrative Support: | 5.00 |
| School Administrators: | 6.00 |
| School Administrative Support: | 10.00 |
| TYPE | NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF |
|---|---|
| Instructional Aides: | 85.05 |
| Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: | 9.13 |
| Total Guidance Counselors: | 5.90 |
| Elementary Guidance Counselors: | 0.00 |
| Secondary Guidance Counselors: | 0.00 |
| Librarians/Media Specialists: | 1.00 |
| Library/Media Support: | 0.94 |
| Student Support Services: | 6.16 |
| Other Support Services: | 44.95 |
Schools
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]
About school boards
Education legislation in Iowa
Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.
See also
| School Boards | Education Policy | Local Politics | Iowa |
|---|---|---|---|
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
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