The Clean Slate sweeps Jeffco: what happened in November's top school board elections?
November 4, 2015
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School board elections have the distinction in American politics of having a prescribed topic of office: education. As this year's top elections show, however, that topic branches and weaves to a unique complexity, rivaling that of any other elected or appointed office. School board members are subject to scrutiny and public rebuke, can become entangled in party politics and are constantly involved in the dynamics of state reforms, intervention efforts and court rulings.
Ballotpedia's Senior Elections Analyst, Brittany Clingen, recaps the results of the historic Jeffco Public Schools elections and recall elections. |
On Tuesday, 217 of America's largest school districts by enrollment held elections. Among these, Ballotpedia identified five which exemplify the pressing debates in education reform and governance, as well as the radical power of local elections. In Jeffco Public Schools in Colorado, voters replaced their entire school board through the combined efforts of a recall movement and a general election. At the other extreme in New York, Rochester City School District voters retained all of the incumbents who sought re-election, even as four district schools face the possibility of state takeovers. Norwalk Public Schools in Connecticut saw local intra-party disputes overshadow education issues. Meanwhile, Seattle and Spokane Public Schools faced local debates that were inextricable from Washington state politics and power.
These races represent only a snapshot of the range of issues voters across America had to consider before they cast their school board ballots. For a full report of the outcomes across the more than 1,200 candidates tracked by Ballotpedia on Tuesday, click here.
Jeffco Public Schools
For the first time in district history, Jeffco Public Schools elected to replace its entire Board of Education through a combined recall and general election. The recall successfully ousted the majority bloc on the board—members Julie Williams, John Newkirk and Ken Witt from Districts 1, 2 and 5, respectively—and replaced them with a group of candidates referred to as "The Clean Slate." The slate also included the winners of the two seats up for general election.
| Jeffco Public Schools: 2015 Election Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 | District 2 | District 3 | District 4 | District 5 | |
| Recall targets |
Julie Williams | John Newkirk | Ken Witt | ||
| The Clean Slate |
Brad Rupert | Susan Harmon | Ali Lasell | Amanda Stevens | Ron Mitchell |
| Non-slate candidates |
Matt Dhieux | Kim Johnson | Tori Merritts | Regan Benson | |
| Paula Noonan | |||||
| Pre-election board: |
Julie Williams | John Newkirk | Jill Fellman | Lesley Dahlkemper | Ken Witt |
| Winners: | Brad Rupert | Susan Harmon | Ali Lasell | Amanda Stevens | Ron Mitchell |
Rumblings of a potential recall started over a year ago after some community members, district staff and students clashed with the conservative board majority that formed following the 2013 election. The recall petition was filed by Jeffco United for Action. The group accused Williams, Newkirk and Witt of attempting to censor AP U.S. history classes, pushing out over 700 district educators due to the board's new policies, wasting "millions of taxpayer dollars," violating open meeting laws, limiting public input at board meetings, bullying students and parents, and releasing private student information without consent.[1] In response, the three board members highlighted what they saw as positive changes they had helped bring about in the district, including raising teacher salaries, making union negotiations transparent, providing free full-day kindergarten to families in need and bringing greater equality in how the district funds its schools.[2]
Voters, however, sided with the recall supporters. Over 63 percent of voters cast ballots to remove the embroiled board members. "The Clean Slate" candidates handily defeated their challengers to replace the recall targets. Of the five slate members, Ali Lasell saw the narrowest margin of victory but still defeated Kim Johnson by over 20,000 votes, according to unofficial election results.
Norwalk Public Schools
|
District A |
District B |
District C |
District D |
District E |
After an eventful nomination process for District A Democrats, the tightest general election race in Norwalk Public Schools shifted to District C. While both Republican incumbents who sought re-election retained their seats, fewer than 70 votes separated District C incumbent Michael Lyons (R) from his opponent Lisa Nuzzo (D). The District D race drew the most overall ballots cast; incumbent Bryan Meek (R) defeated Haroldo Williams (D) by more than 11 points.
Two newcomers will join the board after winning the open District A and B seats. Erik Anderson (D) was unopposed in the District B race following his primary victory over incumbent Migdalia Rivas (D) and the withdrawal of Harold Bonet (R). Yvel Crevecoeur (D/WFP) won the District A seat with an 8.8 percent lead over former Democratic candidate Joe Perella (I), who was endorsed by the Norwalk Republican Town Committee for the race despite running independently. Crevecoeur's victory was hard won after he was passed over for the Democratic Party's nomination, despite have been recommended for the ballot by District A residents. The timeline below provides an overview of the events surrounding the nomination process and election proceedings.
Rochester City School District
With possible state takeovers for four failing schools, Rochester City School District residents voted in favor of board continuity by re-electing the three incumbents who sought new terms in 2015. Four seats were up for election, but incumbent Melisza Campos did not seek re-election, guaranteeing at least one new board member for the district. Incumbents Malik Evans (D/I), Willa Powell (D/WF) and Mary Adams (D/I) each won new four-year terms in their seats, while newcomer Elizabeth Hallmark (D/WF) won her first term on the board, placing second overall in the at-large election.
Election results
|
☑ |
☑ |
☑ |
| New York school districts with failing schools[3] | ||
|---|---|---|
| District | Number of failing schools | |
| Albany City School District | 3 | |
| Amsterdam City School District | 1 | |
| Buffalo City School District | 27 | |
| Central Islip Union Free School District | 1 | |
| Hempstead Union Free School District | 2 | |
| Mt. Vernon School District | 1 | |
| Newburgh Enlarged City School District | 1 | |
| New York City School District | 92 | |
| Poughkeepsie City School District | 2 | |
| Rochester City School District | 15 | |
| Roosevelt Union Free School District | 2 | |
| Schenectady City School District | 2 | |
| Syracuse City School District | 18 | |
| Troy City School District | 1 | |
| Utica City School District | 1 | |
| Wyandanch Union Free School District | 1 | |
| Yonkers City School District | 8 | |
These new terms could overlap with the state assuming control of some of Rochester's schools if academic performance metrics for those schools do not improve. To be considered failing, schools had to have graduation rates or achievement scores below 60 percent for three consecutive years. If they continued to have low scores for 10 consecutive years, schools were considered persistently failing. Under the Education Transformation Act, schools considered to be failing had to create an improvement plan that was approved by the state. If failing schools do not improve after one year, they go into "receivership," which gives the district superintendent more power over hiring and firing staff and restructuring the school. If failing schools do not improve after one year under receivership, they are put under the control of outside operators, such as university or nonprofit organizations.[4]
A total of 15 schools in the district were considered failing as of the 2015-2016 school year.[5] Four of those schools were in their second and last year of targeted reforms under receivership of the district superintendent. “If those schools were to fail, then the state could take over and implement radical actions that we’ve never seen before,” said Rochester City Superintendent Bolgen Vargas. The other 11 schools were in their first year and had one more to go.[4] A total of 178 schools in New York were considered failing in 2015. See the table to the right to compare Rochester to other districts in the state.[3]
Whether or not the district will be able to make sufficient progress in its struggling schools remains to be seen, but the topic was certainly on the mind of at least one sitting board member heading into the 2015 election. Incumbent Willa Powell (D/WF) participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey, where she emphasized the importance of this issue. When asked what her top priority would be upon re-election, she stated, "Given that a dozen schools are under receivership status, with the Superintendent serving as the de facto receiver, this Board of Education must become active around working with the state to develop viable receivership partners, as it did with Est High School last year."[6]
Seattle Public Schools
While Washington's vote-by-mail system means most races will remain undetermined for a little longer, Seattle will likely see half of its board replaced when the tallies are complete. Four of the districts seven seats were up for election, but the only incumbent to seek re-election was Marty McLaren in District 6.
Election results: The following are initial election night tallies and are subject to change as the vote-by-mail process is completed.
|
District 1 |
District 2 |
District 3 |
District 6 |
The race for District 6 was the most competitive in 2015. Incumbent Marty McLaren faced challengers Leslie Harris and Nick Esparza in the primary. Harris and McLaren advanced to the general election, but the primary election results and campaign finance reports indicated a difficult general election race for the incumbent. McLaren placed second in the primary, more than 10 points behind Harris. As of campaign finance reports available on October 21, 2015, Harris had raised more than four times McLaren's campaign contributions and outspent her by a factor of almost seven. The initial vote tallies on election night showed Harris definitively defeating McLaren, with almost three times the number of votes being cast for the challenger.
While a number of factors drive board change, Seattle's board saw a unique set of pressures heading to the November ballot. The board elections drew an increased number of candidates as the district wrestled with several issues connected to state legislation. In district-specific bills, Rep. Eric Pettigrew (D-37) and Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos (D-37) supported attempts to reform the district's board and size. Both legislators cited concerns over the achievement gap between district averages and the averages of students of color in the district. Meanwhile, local teacher protests were part of the statewide discourse on education funding.
Spokane Public Schools
| Graduation Rates in Spokane Public Schools District[7] (%) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Graduation Rate | Dropout Rate |
| 2008 | 61.9 | 8.0 |
| 2009 | 64.7 | 7.9 |
| 2010 | 73.4 | 5.2 |
| 2011 | 76.7 | 5.0 |
| 2012 | 76.6 | 5.2 |
| 2013 | 79.5 | Data not yet available |
| 2014 | 83.0 | Data not yet available |
The six-year terms of Spokane's Board of Directors members provide for a long-term impact, and the district is not unfamiliar with just how much can happen in that span of time. In the length of one board term, the district saw its graduation rate rise from an alarming 61.9 percent in 2008 to 83.0 percent in 2014. The desire for further improvement, however, has been voiced by district administration and candidates in this year's election. As of election night tallies, voters seemed divided on which candidates would best serve the district as it continues to address these concerns and those related to statewide battles over education funding.
Election results: The following are based on initial election night tallies and are subject to change as the vote-by-mail process is completed.
|
Position 3 |
Position 4 |
The Position 3 race appears the most competitive in the first round of results. Incumbent Rocky Treppiedi faced a primary challenge in August and held a lead of 270 votes over his general election opponent Jerrall Haynes. If his lead holds, Treppiedi's new term would extend his tenure on the board to 25 continuous years. Position 4 incumbent Jeffrey Bierman did not seek re-election, leaving his seat open to a newcomer. As of election night results, Paul Schneider held an 8.7 percent lead over fellow candidate Patricia Kienholz.
Bierman and Kienholz participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey, which highlighted areas of similarity and disagreement between the Position 4 candidates. When asked to rank seven different education issues based on importance, the candidates agreed that "closing the achievement gap" would be their top priority. They differed sharply, however, on the matter of school choice. Schneider identified it as the second most important issue out of the seven options provided in the survey, while Kienholz placed it last. The full rankings of both candidates and their answers to other questions from the survey can be read here.
This divide over school choice is particularly notable following a September ruling of the Washington Supreme Court that found charter schools unconstitutional. Charter schools emerged as a new issue in the district in the 2013 election, following the narrow approval of Initiative 1240 in 2012. The statewide initiative allowed charter schools in public school districts for the first time in the state, with an initial allowance of 40 charter schools by 2017. Superintendent Shelley Redinger has been a charter school advocate since her appointment in 2012, and the district applied to the state shortly thereafter to develop authorized charter programs.[8] The Washington State Board of Education approved Spokane as the first district with charter school authorization powers on September 11, 2013.[9]
On September 4, 2015, the Washington Supreme Court ruled that charter school law is unconstitutional under the common schools definition in the state's constitution.[10][11] Therefore, the court argued, they would not be eligible for public funding. On September 24, 2015, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson asked the court to reconsider its ruling or, at the very least, push back the date it would go into effect until the end of the school year. Ferguson stated, "Given the significant impacts of this ruling on Washington students and their families, we are respectfully asking the Supreme Court to take another look at this decision."[11] According to the Office of the Attorney General, "The Rules of Appellate Procedure do not specify a timeline for the court to rule on motions for reconsideration."[12]
See also
| School board elections portal | News and analysis | |
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Footnotes
- ↑ Jefferson County Elections, "Election Information - What's on the 2015 Coordinated Election Ballot?" accessed October 9, 2015
- ↑ 9 News, "JeffCo recall effort gets underway," July 9, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo, "The State of New York's Failing Schools 2015 Report," accessed October 13, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namededreform - ↑ News 10, "New York State Exposed Education: Is putting more money towards failing schools an effective strategy?" September 24, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Willa Powell responses," September 1, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs nameddropout - ↑ The Spokesman-Review, "Spokane Public Schools step closer to charter schools," July 10, 2013
- ↑ Yakima Herald, "State board empowers Spokane district to OK charter schools," September 12, 2013
- ↑ Fox, "State Supreme Court rules voter-approved charter school law unconstitutional," accessed October 15, 2015
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Spokesman Review, "State attorney general asks high court to reconsider charter school ruling," accessed October 15, 2015
- ↑ Washington State Office of the Attorney General, "AG asks state supreme court to reconsider charter schools ruling," accessed October 15, 2015
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