Thompson School District elections (2017)
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Three of the seven seats on the Thompson School District Board of Education in Colorado were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. Paul Bankes ran unopposed for the open District B seat. In District E, incumbent Lori Hvizda Ward also ran unopposed. Barb Kruse defeated write-in candidate Lynn Greer for the open District F seat.[1][2] The winners of the 2017 election were tasked with choosing the district's next superintendent. Superintendent Stan Scheer announced he would be retiring at the end of the 2017-2018 school year.[3]
The 2017 election had a higher percentage of unopposed seats than the district's previous two elections had. For information on election trends, click here.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Thompson Board of Education consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. Elections are held on a staggered basis so that three or four seats are up for election every odd-numbered year in November. Though members run for seats in specific geographic districts, they are elected at large.[4]
To qualify to run for school board, candidates had to be residents of the school district and registered voters for a minimum of 12 consecutive months before the election. They also could not have been convicted of a sexual offense against a child. To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file nomination petitions containing 50 signatures of eligible voters in the school district by September 1, 2017.[5]
Colorado voters were allowed to register to vote through election day.[6] Photo identification was not required to vote in Colorado.[7]
Candidates and results
District B
Results
| Thompson School District, District B General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Paul Bankes (unopposed) |
100.00% | 19,129 |
| Total Votes | 19,129 | |
| Source: Larimer County Elections Office, "Election Summary Report," accessed November 27, 2017 | ||
Candidates
Paul Bankes 
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District E
Results
| Thompson School District, District E General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Lori Hvizda Ward Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 19,267 |
| Total Votes | 19,267 | |
| Source: Larimer County Elections Office, "Election Summary Report," accessed November 27, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Lori Hvizda Ward
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District F
Results
| Thompson School District, District F General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Barb Kruse (unopposed) |
98.95% | 18,985 |
| Write-in votes | 1.05% | 202 |
| Total Votes | 19,187 | |
| Source: Larimer County Elections Office, "Election Summary Report," accessed November 27, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Lynn Greer | Barb Kruse
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Colorado elections, 2017
The Thompson Board of Education election shared the ballot with elections for Loveland mayor and city council.[8]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the 2017 Colorado school board elections.[9][10]
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
Candidates received a total of $15,901.18 and spent a total of $8,447.52 in the election, according to the Colorado Secretary of State.[11]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| District B | |||
| Paul Bankes | $11,748.45 | $6,918.17 | $4,830.28 |
| District E | |||
| Lori Hvizda Ward | $2,748.73 | $1,159.35 | $1,589.38 |
| District F | |||
| Barb Kruse | $1,404.00 | $370.00 | $1,034.00 |
Reporting requirements
School board candidates in Colorado were required to file three campaign finance reports. The reports were due on October 17, 2017, November 3, 2017, and December 7, 2017.[10]
Past elections
To see results from past elections in the Thompson School District, click here.
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
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Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
The 2017 Thompson Board of Education election had a higher percentage of unopposed seats compared to the district's two previous elections. One formal candidate filed for each of the three seats on the ballot in 2017, which left each seat unopposed. No seats were unopposed in the district's 2013 and 2015 elections.
Two newcomers were guaranteed to win open seats in 2017, and one unopposed incumbent was guaranteed to win re-election. The district also elected a mix of newcomers and incumbents to the board in 2015, but newcomers defeated two incumbents and swept the ballot in 2013.
| School board election trends | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Thompson School District | ||||||
| 2017 | 1.00 | 100.00% | 33.33% | 100.00% | 66.67% | |
| 2015 | 2.00 | 0.00% | 50.00% | 100.00% | 50.00% | |
| 2013 | 2.25 | 0.00% | 50.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% | |
| Colorado | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.77 | 30.77% | 55.38% | 83.33% | 53.85% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
Issues in the district
Superintendent announces plans to retire
District Superintendent Stan Scheer announced on September 1, 2017, that he would be retiring at the end of the 2017-2018 school year. He had served in the role since 2012. Scheer said that with a year left on his contract and a new board getting elected in 2017, he thought it was good timing to step down. He said he would work to help the board find his replacement.[3]
Scheer was 74 years old when he announced his plans to retire. "I'm at that point in my life when I really need to find some things to do other than work as hard as I have been," said Scheer. He said he was looking forward to spending more time with his 13 grandchildren.[3]
About the district
- See also: Thompson School District, Colorado
The Thompson School District is based in north-central Colorado in Larimer County. The district serves students in Loveland, Berthoud, and Fort Collins as well as sections of Boulder and Weld Counties. Larimer County was home to an estimated 339,993 residents in 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[12] The district was the 17th-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 16,133 students.[13]
Demographics
Larimer County outperformed Colorado as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 44.3 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older earned a bachelor's degree, compared to 38.1 percent of state residents. During the same time period, the average household income in Larimer County was $59,805, compared to $60,629 for the entire state. The county poverty rate was 12.2 percent, and the state poverty rate was 11.5 percent.[12]
| Racial Demographics, 2016[12] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Larimer County (%) | Colorado (%) |
| White | 92.9 | 87.5 |
| Black or African American | 1.1 | 4.5 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.0 | 1.6 |
| Asian | 2.3 | 3.3 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Two or More Races | 2.5 | 3.0 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 11.2 | 21.3 |
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 Thompson School District Colorado election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Thompson School District | Colorado | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Reporter-Herald, "4 candidates vie for 3 seats on the Thompson school board," September 1, 2017
- ↑ 2017 Larimer County Election Results, "Final Unofficial Results," accessed November 8, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Report-Herald, "Superintendent Stan Scheer to retire from Thompson School District," September 2, 2017
- ↑ Thompson School District, "Board of Education," accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Association of School Boards, "2017 Elections School Board Candidate Guide," accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Voter Registration FAQs," accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Acceptable Forms of Identification," accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ Loveland City Clerk, "Municipal Elections," accessed September 15, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed August 28, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Colorado Secretary of State, "2017 Biennial School Election Calendar," accessed August 28, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "TRACER: Candidate Search," accessed December 18, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: Larimer County, Colorado; Colorado," accessed August 31, 2017
- ↑ 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
| Thompson School District elections in 2017 | |
| Larimer County, Colorado | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | District B: • Paul Bankes District E: • Incumbent, Lori Hvizda Ward District F: • Lynn Greer (write-in candidate) • Barb Kruse |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
