Tulsa Public Schools elections (2014)
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Two seats on the Tulsa Public Schools school board were up for general election on February 11, 2014. Suzanne Schreiber won the District 7 seat. Shawna Keller defeated Bobbie Gray-Elliott for the District 4 seat in a runoff election on April 1, 2014.
About the district
- See also: Tulsa Public Schools, Oklahoma
Tulsa Public Schools is located in Tulsa County in northeastern Oklahoma. The county seat of Tulsa County is Tulsa. According to the United States Census Bureau, Tulsa County was home to 613,816 residents in 2012.[1] Tulsa Public Schools was the second-largest school district in Oklahoma, serving 41,501 students during the 2010-2011 school year.[2]
Demographics
Tulsa County outperformed in comparison to the rest of Oklahoma in terms of higher education achievement in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 29.5 percent of Tulsa County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 23.2 percent for Oklahoma as a whole. The median household income in Tulsa County was $47,845 compared to $44,891 for the state of Oklahoma. The poverty rate in Tulsa County was 15.4 percent compared to 16.6 percent for the entire state.[1]
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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.
Voter and candidate information
The Tulsa school board consists of seven members elected to four-year terms by geographic electoral districts. There was no primary election and the general election was held on February 11, 2014. Since no candidate had received a majority of the vote in District 4, a runoff election was held on April 1, 2014.[4] The District 4 and District 7 seats were on the ballot in 2014, and the District 1 seat was on the ballot in 2015.[5]
Candidates began to file affidavits of candidacy on December 2, 2013. The filing deadline for school board candidates to get on the ballot in the general election was December 4, 2013, and the deadline to contest a candidacy was December 6, 2013.[6]
Elections
2014
Candidates
District 4
- Bobbie Gray-Elliott
- Incumbent
- Realtor
- Shawna Keller
- Graduate, the University of Tulsa
- Teacher
District 7
- Suzanne Schreiber
- Graduate, the University of Tulsa and the University of Tulsa Law School
- Gene Beach
- Graduate, Tulsa University, Oral Roberts University and Tulsa Community College
Election results
Runoff election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Shawna Keller |
65% | 1,046 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bobbie Gray-Elliott Incumbent | 35% | 562 | |
| Total Votes | 1,608 | |||
| Source: Oklahoma State Election Board, "Municipal/Annual School Runoff Election — April 1, 2014," April 9, 2014 | ||||
General election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Shawna Keller |
49.8% | 220 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bobbie Gray-Elliot | 36% | 159 | |
| Nonpartisan | William D. Bickerstaff | 14.3% | 63 | |
| Total Votes | 442 | |||
| Source: Oklahoma State Election Board, "Annual School Election — February 11, 2014," accessed April 9, 2014 | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Suzanne Schreiber |
76.6% | 749 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gene Beach | 23.4% | 229 | |
| Total Votes | 978 | |||
| Source: Oklahoma State Election Board, "Annual School Election — February 11, 2014," accessed April 9, 2014 | ||||
Endorsements
No candidate received an official endorsement in this election.
Campaign finance
No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election, according to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission.[7]
What was at stake?
Two seats on the school board were up for election on February 11, 2014. District 4 member Bobbie Gray-Elliott sought re-election against newcomers Shawna Keller and William D. Bickerstaff. In District 7, newcomers Suzanne Schreiber and Gene Beach competed for Lois Jacobs' seat. Neither the president nor the vice president of the school board were up for re-election in 2014.
Issues in the district
Overcrowding
Tulsa Public Schools was addressing overcrowding in many of its schools. The district had shut down 14 school buildings with low enrollment as part of an ongoing efficiency initiative known as Project Schoolhouse. This left many schools operating at higher occupancy rates. District leaders said they need to pay close attention to ensure that schools did not cross the line between full and overcapacity. Each winter following Project Schoolhouse's institution, district administrators conducted an annual site capacity review, and the Tulsa school board subsequently approved adjustments to school boundaries to help balance out student enrollments among sites. In 2013, Tulsa Public Schools reopened a closed elementary school building as a seventh grade center to help alleviate unexpected crowding at McLain Junior High School. Superintendent Keith Ballard believed that Project Schoolhouse was working and that the district could be eligible to pursue a new bond issue to address capital needs, including classroom additions, in late 2014 or early 2015.[8]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Tulsa Public Schools election in 2014:[6][9]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| December 2, 2013 | First day to file affidavits of candidacy |
| December 4, 2013 | Last day to file affidavits of candidacy |
| December 6, 2013 | Last day to contest a candidacy |
| February 1, 2014 | Last day to file first campaign finance report |
| February 11, 2014 | Election day |
| March 23, 2014 | Last day to file second campaign finance report |
| April 1, 2014 | Runoff election (if necessary) |
| August 21, 2014 | Last day to file final campaign finance report |
Additional elections on the ballot
No other elections appeared on the local ballot.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Tulsa + Public + Schools + Oklahoma"
See also
- Oklahoma
- Tulsa Public Schools, Oklahoma
- Oklahoma school board elections, 2014
- List of school board elections in 2014
- School board elections, 2014
- Tulsa County, Oklahoma ballot measures
- Local ballot measures, Oklahoma
- Election preview: 2014 school board elections start quietly in Oklahoma
- Post election:Oklahoma school board elections see low turnout, most uncontested
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 United States Census Bureau, "Tulsa County, Oklahoma," accessed January 15, 2014
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed January 15, 2014
- ↑ Oklahoma State Election Board, "Voter Registration Reports," accessed December 12, 2014
- ↑ Tulsa County Election Board, "2014 Election Schedule," accessed January 15
- ↑ Tulsa Public Schools, "Policy Manual," accessed January 15, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Oklahoma, "2014 Instructions for Filing for Annual School Elections," accessed January 15, 2014
- ↑ Oklahoma, "Candidate Information," accessed January 14, 2014
- ↑ Tulsa World, "Tulsa Public Schools considering options to alleviate crowding," accessed January 16, 2014
- ↑ Oklahoma, "Generic Calendar for Filing Campaign Contributions and Expenditure Reports(C-1's)," accessed January 14, 2014
| 2014 Tulsa Public Schools Elections | |
| Tulsa County, Oklahoma | |
| Election date: | February 11, 2014 |
| Candidates: | District 4: • Incumbent, Bobbie Gray-Elliott • Shawna Keller • William D. Bickerstaff District 7: • Suzanne Schreiber • Gene Beach |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
