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Verona Area School District elections (2018)
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 17 (online or mail), or Nov. 2 (in-person)
- Early voting: Varies by locality
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6
- Online registration: Yes
- Same-day registration: Yes
- Voter ID: Photo ID required
- Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
2019 →
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Three of the seven seats on the Verona Area School District Board of Education in Wisconsin were up for at-large general election on April 3, 2018. At-large incumbent Renee Zook did not file for re-election, leaving one open seat. Portion 1 incumbent Meredith Stier-Christensen was the only candidate to file for the seat and was re-elected without opposition. At-large incumbent Thomas Duerst and newcomer Carolyn Jahnke defeated candidate Jim Ruder for the two at-large seats.[1][2]
With one open seat on the ballot, the 2018 election followed a district pattern established by the previous two election cycles. Click here for election trend information in the district.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Verona Area Board of Education consists of seven members elected to three-year terms on a staggered basis. All members are elected at large, but three members must reside in specific geographic areas within the district and the other four members can reside anywhere in the district. The Portion 1 member must live in the part of the district outside of the cities of Verona and Fitchburg. The Portion 2 member must live in Fitchburg, and the Portion 3 member must live in Verona. Elections are held every year. In a three-year cycle, one at-large member and one portion member is elected each year for two years. During the third year, two at-large members and one portion member are elected.[3]
School board candidates in Wisconsin had to be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old, and residents of the school district for a minimum of 28 consecutive days before filing as a candidate. They also could not be disqualified from voting under Wisconsin law.[4]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file nomination papers with the school district clerk by January 2, 2018. If incumbents whose terms were up for re-election did not file to run in the race and did not file written notification that they would not be running, the candidate filing deadline could have been extended until January 5, 2018. The terms of candidates elected in the race started on April 23, 2018.[4]
Voter registration
- See also: Voting in Wisconsin and Voter identification laws by state
To vote in Wisconsin, one must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of the state for at least 10 days prior to the election. A voter must be at least 18 years old.[5][6][7] One can register to vote by mail, online, or in person. For voters registering to vote in this 2018 school board election by mail, the application had to be postmarked by March 14, 2018. The online voter registration deadline was March 30, 2018, and the in-person deadline was April 3, 2018.
Candidates and results
Portion 1
General election
General election for Verona Area School District Board of Education Portion 1
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Meredith Stier-Christensen (Nonpartisan) | 98.9 | 4,426 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 1.1 | 50 | ||
| Total votes: 4,476 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
At-Large
General election
General election for Verona Area School District Board of Education At-large (2 seats)
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Carolyn Jahnke (Nonpartisan) | 40.3 | 3,174 |
| ✔ |  | Thomas Duerst (Nonpartisan) | 33.4 | 2,629 |
 | Jim Ruder (Nonpartisan) | 25.5 | 2,007 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.9 | 69 | ||
| Total votes: 7,879 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Wisconsin elections, 2018
Key deadlines
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.
Past elections
To see results from past elections in the Verona Area School District, click here.
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
Ballotpedia researches issues in school board elections across the United States, but information availability is a challenge for us in many school districts. Please contact us about the issues that impact your local school district. Note that not all submissions may meet Ballotpedia's coverage requirements for inclusion.
Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
Election trends
The 2018 Verona Area School District election was guaranteed to add one newcomer to the school board due to an open seat. The district also added newcomers to the board in 2016 and 2017. Those newcomers won open seats as well, while every incumbent who ran for another term each year won re-election.
The table below details election trends for the district, the state, and the country as a whole.
| School board election trends | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Uncontested seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Verona Area School District | ||||||
| 2018 | 1.33 | 50.00% | 66.67% | 100.00% | 33.33% | |
| 2017 | 1.00 | 100.00% | 66.67% | 100.00% | 33.33% | |
| 2016 | 1.50 | 50.00% | 50.00% | 100.00% | 50.00% | |
| Wisconsin | ||||||
| 2016 | 1.57 | 29.73% | 78.38% | 68.97% | 45.95% | |
| 2015 | 1.38 | 38.24% | 73.53% | 84.00% | 35.29% | |
| 2014 | 1.40 | 46.67% | 86.67% | 88.46% | 23.33% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2016 | 1.90 | 34.05% | 71.31% | 82.39% | 41.04% | |
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
| 2014 | 1.89 | 32.57% | 75.51% | 81.31% | 38.24% | |
About the district
- See also: Verona Area School District, Wisconsin
The Verona Area School District is located in Dane County. The seat of county government is Madison. Located in south-central Wisconsin, the county was home to approximately 531,273 residents between 2010 and 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[8] The district served 5,418 students in the 2015–2016 school year.[9]
Demographics
Higher education achievement
Dane County outperformed Wisconsin as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2012 and 2016. The United States Census Bureau found that 49 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had earned a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 28.4 percent of state residents and 30.3 percent of residents in the country as a whole.[8]
Median household income
From 2012 to 2016, the median household income in the county was $64,773, compared to $54,610 for the state as a whole. During that same period, the median household income for the entire United States was $55,322.[8]
Poverty rate
The poverty rate in Dane County was 10.9 percent from 2012 to 2016. During that same period, the poverty rate was 11.8 percent statewide, and it was 12.7 percent for the country as a whole.[8]
Racial demographics
| Racial Demographics, 2016[8] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Dane County (%) | Wisconsin (%) |
| White | 85.5 | 87.5 |
| Black or African American | 5.3 | 6.6 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.5 | 1.1 |
| Asian | 6.1 | 2.8 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 2.6 | 1.9 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 6.3 | 6.7 |
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.
See also
| Verona Area School District | Wisconsin | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Abbey Smith, "Email communication with district clerk," January 3, 2018
- ↑ Dane County Elections, "2018 Spring Election Unofficial Canvass," accessed April 3, 2018
- ↑ Verona Area School District, "Board Policies: School Board Elections," accessed January 20, 2018
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Wisconsin Association of School Boards, "Guide for Candidates," accessed November 26, 2017
- ↑ DMV.org, "Voter Registration in Wisconsin," accessed January 22, 2015
- ↑ State statutes stipulate that an individual must have resided in Wisconsin for at least 28 days prior to the election in order to register to vote in that election. However, the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin ruled that "the increase of the durational residency requirement from 10 days to 28 days is unconstitutional." Consequently, the earlier 10-day requirement took effect once again. An appeal of the district court's decision was pending as of September 20, 2016.
- ↑ Wisconsin Statutes, "Section 6.10," accessed November 7, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: Dane County, Wisconsin; Wisconsin; UNITED STATES," accessed March 23, 2018
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Local Education Agency (School District) Universe Survey Data," accessed January 29, 2018
| Verona Area School District elections in 2018 | |
| Dane County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 3, 2018 |
| Candidates: | Portion 1: Meredith Stier-Christensen At-Large: Incumbent, Thomas Duerst • Carolyn Jahnke • Jim Ruder |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
