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Sullivan County Schools elections (2016)
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Four of the seven seats on the Sullivan County Schools Board of Education were up for by-district general election on August 4, 2016.[1] Mark Ireson and Matthew Spivey ran unopposed and won the open District 1 and 3 seats, respectively. Two incumbents, Randall Jones and Todd Broughton, ran against each other for the District 5 spot after reapportionment changed district boundaries, leaving District 3 open and moving Broughton's residence to District 5. Jones won the seat. Incumbent Jane Thomas ran unopposed and won re-election to District 7.[2][3][4][5]
This race had the highest percentage of unopposed seats and the lowest average number of candidates per seat compared to the district's past three election cycles. To see how else this race compared to past elections in both the district and the state, check out the "Election trends" section below.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Sullivan County Board of Education consists of seven members elected by district to four-year terms. Elections are held on a staggered basis every August of even-numbered years. The District 2, 4, and 6 seats were up for election on August 7, 2014, and the District 1, 3, 5, and 7 seats were up for general election on August 4, 2016. There was no primary election.[3][6]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file their qualifying documents by April 7, 2016. The deadline to withdraw from the election was April 14, 2016.[1]
To vote in this election, residents of the district had to register by July 5, 2016.[1] Photo identification was required to vote in this election.[7]
Candidates and results
District 1
Results
| Sullivan County Schools, District 1 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Mark Ireson (unopposed) |
100.00% | 1,339 |
| Total Votes | 1,339 | |
| Source: Sullivan County Election Commission, "Election Results: August 4, 2016 County General and State Primary," accessed September 1, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Mark Ireson 
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District 3
Results
| Sullivan County Schools, District 3 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Matthew Spivey (unopposed) |
100.00% | 1,104 |
| Total Votes | 1,104 | |
| Source: Sullivan County Election Commission, "Election Results: August 4, 2016 County General and State Primary," accessed September 1, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Matthew Spivey
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District 5
Results
| Sullivan County Schools, District 5 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Randall Jones Incumbent |
50.74% | 895 |
| Todd Broughton Incumbent | 49.26% | 869 |
| Total Votes | 1,764 | |
| Source: Sullivan County Election Commission, "Election Results: August 4, 2016 County General and State Primary," accessed September 1, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Randall Jones
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Todd Broughton | ||
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District 7
Results
| Sullivan County Schools, District 7 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jane Thomas Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 1,212 |
| Total Votes | 1,212 | |
| Source: Sullivan County Election Commission, "Election Results: August 4, 2016 County General and State Primary," accessed September 1, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Jane Thomas
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Tennessee elections, 2016
The Sullivan County Schools election shared the ballot with primary elections for the state's 1st Congressional District seat on the U.S. House of Representatives, the District 4 seat on the Tennessee State Senate, and the District 1, 2, and 3 seats on the Tennessee House of Representatives. It also shared the ballot with general elections for the District 4 seat on the Republican State Executive Committee and the Districts 1 through 11 Constables for Sullivan County.[2]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Tennessee school board elections in 2016:[1]
| Deadline | Event |
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| April 7, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| April 11, 2016 | 1st quarter campaign finance report due |
| April 14, 2016 | Candidate withdrawal deadline |
| July 5, 2016 | Voter registration deadline |
| July 11, 2016 | 2nd quarter campaign finance report due |
| July 15, 2016 - July 30, 2016 | Early voting period |
| July 28, 2016 | Pre-election campaign finance report due |
| August 4, 2016 | Election day |
| October 11, 2016 | 3rd quarter campaign finance report due |
| January 25, 2017 | 4th quarter campaign finance report due |
Endorsements
No candidates received official endorsements in the election.
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
The pre-general campaign financial disclosure report for this election was due July 28, 2016. Candidates were also required to file quarterly reports for the 2016 election year. Those reports were due on April 11, 2016; July 11, 2016; October 11, 2016; and January 25, 2017.[1]
The Sullivan County Election Commission did not publish school board campaign finance reports online for this election. Ballotpedia staff directly requested this information, but the county did not provide it.
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2016
Election trends
- See also: School board elections, 2014
The Sullivan County Schools Board of Education election attracted fewer candidates per seat compared to past elections in both the district and the state. Five candidates ran for four seats in the district's 2016 race, equaling an average of 1.25 candidates per seat. In the district's 2014 race, an average 1.67 candidates ran per seat. In 2012, the district attracted an average of 2.25 candidates per seat, and in 2010, an average of two candidates ran per seat. School board elections held in Tennessee's largest school districts in 2014 attracted an average of 1.94 candidates per seat.
Related to having the lowest average number of candidates per seat compared to past elections, the district's 2016 election also had the highest percentage of unopposed seats. A total of 75 percent of the Sullivan County Board of Education seats on the ballot in 2016 were unopposed. In the district's 2014 race, 66.67 percent of the seats up for election were unopposed. No seats were unopposed in the district's 2012 race, and 33.33 percent were unopposed in the district's 2010 race. Statewide in 2014, 36.78 percent of school board seats on the ballot were unopposed.
Because of the high percentage of unopposed seats, the outcomes for three of the four school board seats on the ballot in Sullivan County in 2016 were determined prior to the election. Two incumbents were guaranteed to win another term, though which incumbent would take the District 5 seat was determined in the election. Two new members were also elected to the board. In the district's 2014 race, one new member was elected to the board, defeating an incumbent to win one of the three seats up for election. Incumbents had a 66.67 percent success rate that year. In 2012, the Sullivan County Board of Education race saw incumbents and newcomers splitting the seats, with 50 percent of incumbents retaining their seats and newcomers defeating the other 50 percent. In 2010, 100 percent of the district's incumbents who ran to keep their seats won re-election. One seat was left open, however, so one newcomer also won a seat on the board.
Overall in 2014, newcomers took 45.98 percent of the seats on the ballot statewide, and 75.41 percent of incumbents who ran for re-election won additional terms.
Issues in the state
Transgender bathroom bill withdrawn
State Rep. Susan Lynn (R-57) proposed legislation in January 2016 that would require public school students in kindergarten through college to use the bathroom and locker room that corresponded with the sex listed on their birth certificates. Four months later, she withdrew the bill. "I am still absolutely 100 percent in support of maintaining the privacy of all students. But I'm going to roll the bill over until next year so we can work on those issues," Lynn said.[8][9]
House Bill 2414 drew criticism from local media and some companies threatened to withhold business from the state if the bill were passed. Lynn said that was not why she withdrew the bill; instead, she put it on hold in order to further study the issue. She said school districts in Tennessee were "largely following what the bill says."[8][10]
While HB 2414 was still in committee, Gov. Bill Haslam (R) expressed concern about the bill. “I’m hearing that our school boards have figured out how to adjust to each situation that arises, and to date, I’m not hearing parents say we have [a] problem in our schools today,” said Haslam.[11]
State Reps. Mike Stewart (D-52) and Harry Brooks (R-19) asked for an opinion on the issue from Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery (R). Slatery responded by warning that the state could lose federal Title IX funding if the bill were passed.[12]
| “ | As things currently stand, we must, as a practical matter, assume that H.B. 2414 would violate Title IX, because the enforcer of Title IX has clearly interpreted — and enforced — Title IX to prohibit as 'discriminatory on the basis of sex' what H.B. 2414 is designed to accomplish.[13] | ” |
| —Attorney General Herbert Slatery (April 2016)[12] | ||
Stewart said Slatery's opinion was the "final nail in the coffin" for the bill. He and State Rep. John Ray Clemmons (D-55) said the bill could also hinder the state's goal of creating a business-friendly climate.[12] Executives of dozens of companies had signed a letter to state lawmakers asking them to reject the bill on the grounds that it was discriminatory.[14]
David Fowler, former state senator and president of the Family Action Council of Tennessee, objected to Slatery's opinion. He said the attorney general had used settlement agreements rather than court decisions to warn the state legislature away from passing the bill. "Settlement agreements have no persuasive value as a matter of law, unlike the court decisions that have actually ruled in favor of sex-designated bathrooms," Fowler said.[12]
After the bill was withdrawn, Fowler issued a statement:
| “ | But we join the thousands of parents across the state who are profoundly disappointed that at this point in the process Rep. Lynn has decided not to proceed with a bill that would have simply protected the privacy of the children they have entrusted to our public schools.[13] | ” |
| —David Fowler (April 2016)[8] | ||
In addition to receiving support from the Family Action Council of Tennessee, the bill was backed by approximately 30 pastors from the Tennessee Pastors Network. At least 67,000 state citizens opposed the bill, as two transgender high school students turned in that many signatures to the governor's office. They were joined by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee, the Tennessee Equality Project, the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition, and the Human Rights Campaign.[8]
Candidate survey
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About the district
- See also: Sullivan County Schools, Tennessee
The Sullivan County school district is located in Sullivan County in northeastern Tennessee. The county seat is Blountville. Sullivan County was home to 156,791 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[15] The district was the 17th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 10,657 students.[16]
Demographics
Sullivan County underperformed compared to Tennessee as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 21.2 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 24.4 percent of state residents. The median household income for Sullivan County was $39,577, compared to $44,621 for the entire state. The percentage of people below poverty level was 18.5 percent, while it was 18.3 percent statewide.[15]
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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 'Sullivan County Schools' 'Tennessee'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Sullivan County Schools | Tennessee | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Tennessee Secretary of State, "Election Calendar 2016," accessed March 31, 2016 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "calendar" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sullivan County Election Commission, "Noon, April 7, 2016 Filing Deadline Candidate Petitions Filed," accessed April 8, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sullivan County Schools, "Board," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ Times News, "Bales not seeking re-election to Sullivan BOE," April 7, 2016
- ↑ Sullivan County Election Commission, "Cumulative Report — Unofficial August 4, 2016," accessed August 5, 2016
- ↑ Sullivan County Election Commission, "Cumulative Report — Official," accessed February 23, 2015
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "What ID is required when voting?" accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 The Tennesseean, "Transgender bathroom bill dead for year," April 18, 2016
- ↑ Open States, "HB 2414," accessed April 19, 2016
- ↑ Knoxville News Sentinel, "Tennessee lawmakers should stay out of students’ restrooms," April 3, 2016
- ↑ Huffington Post, "Tennessee Governor Skeptical Of Anti-Transgender Bathroom Bill," April 13, 2016
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 The Tennesseean, "Attorney general: Tennessee bathroom bill threatens Title IX funds," April 11, 2016
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ CBS News, "Tennessee lawmakers under fire over transgender bathroom bill," April 13, 2016
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 United States Census Bureau, "Sullivan County, Tennessee," accessed April 12, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Election Results," accessed June 25, 2014
| 2016 Sullivan County Schools Elections | |
| Sullivan County, Tennessee | |
| Election date: | August 4, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 1: • Mark Ireson District 3: • Matthew Spivey District 5: • Incumbent, Randall Jones • Incumbent, Todd Broughton District 7: • Incumbent, Jane Thomas |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
