Watertown Unified School District elections (2017)
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Three of the nine seats on the Watertown Unified School District Board of Education were up for at-large general election on April 4, 2017. In their bids for re-election to the board, incumbents Tony Arnett, Jennifer Bakke, and Mark Holland defeated challenger Ronald Roehl.[1][2][3]
More incumbents ran to retain their seats in the 2017 election than they did in the 2016 election. Two of the three incumbents whose terms were up for election that year ran and won additional terms, and a newcomer won election to an open seat. Click here for more election trends.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Watertown Unified Board of Education consists of nine members elected to three-year terms. Elections are held at large on a staggered basis every year in April. Three seats were up for election on April 5, 2016, and three were up for general election on April 4, 2017. A primary election could have been held on February 21, 2017, if seven or more candidates had filed to run in the race.[4]
School board candidates had to be at least 18 years old, U.S. citizens, 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.[5]
To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file nomination papers with the school district clerk by January 3, 2017. 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 6, 2017. The terms of candidates elected in the race started on April 24, 2017.[5]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Watertown Unified School District, At-large General Election, 3-year terms, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jennifer Bakke Incumbent |
26.28% | 1,690 |
| Tony Arnett Incumbent |
25.64% | 1,649 |
| Mark Holland Incumbent |
24.06% | 1,547 |
| Ronald Roehl | 23.65% | 1,521 |
| Write-in votes | 0.37% | 24 |
| Total Votes | 6,431 | |
| Source: Dodge County Clerk, "Spring Election April 4, 2017," accessed May 2, 2017 and Jefferson County Clerk, "Spring General Election," accessed May 2, 2017 | ||
Candidates
Tony Arnett 
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Jennifer Bakke
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| Mark Holland
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Ronald Roehl | ||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Wisconsin elections, 2017
The Watertown Unified Board of Education election shared the ballot with elections for the office of Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction and one seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.[6]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Wisconsin school board elections in 2017:[7][8]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| January 3, 2017 | Candidate filing deadline |
| January 16, 2017 | Campaign finance deadline for candidates registered before January 1 |
| February 13, 2017 | Campaign finance deadline for districts holding primary elections |
| March 27, 2017 | Campaign finance deadline for general election |
| April 4, 2017 | Election Day |
| April 24, 2017 | Board members take office |
| July 15, 2017 | Post-election campaign finance deadline |
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
All school board candidates in Wisconsin were required to file a campaign registration statement with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission after qualifying as candidates. This statement declares their candidacy to the county clerk's office and allows them to claim exemption from reporting campaign contributions and expenditures. Candidates were only required to report campaign contributions and expenditures if they did one or both of the following:[9]
- Accepted contributions, made disbursements, or incurred debt in excess of $2,000 during the calendar year
- Accepted more than $100 from a single source during the calendar year, barring contributions made by candidates to their own campaigns
There were three campaign finance report deadlines in 2017:
- The pre-primary report was due February 13, 2017,
- The pre-election report was due March 27, 2017, and
- The post-election report was due July 15, 2017.[10]
Candidates who filed before January 1, 2017, also had to file a continuing campaign finance report on January 16, 2017.[8]
Reports
All four candidates in this race filed exemption statements detailing they would not spend or receive more than $2,000 toward their campaigns. Because of this, they did not have to file additional campaign finance reports.[11]
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2017
Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
Every incumbent on the Watertown Unified Board of Education whose term was up for election in 2017 ran for and won another term. In the 2016 election, two of the three incumbents whose terms were up for election ran to retain their seats. Both incumbents won re-election that year, and a new member won the open seat on the ballot.
| School board election trends | ||||||
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| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Watertown Unified School District | ||||||
| 2017 | 1.33 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| 2016 | 1.33 | 0.00% | 66.67% | 100.00% | 33.33% | |
| Wisconsin | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.38 | 38.24% | 73.53% | 84.00% | 35.29% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
Candidate survey
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About the district
The Watertown Unified School District is located in Dodge and Jefferson counties in southeastern Wisconsin. The county seat of Dodge County is Juneau, and the county seat of Jefferson County is Jefferson. In 2015, Dodge and Jefferson Counties were home to 88,502 residents and 84,559 residents, respectively.[12] The district was the 49th-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 3,876 students.[13]
Higher education achievement
Both counties underperformed compared to Wisconsin as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2011 and 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 16.4 percent of Dodge County residents and 22.6 percent of Jefferson County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 27.8 percent of state residents.[12]
Median household income
From 2011 to 2015, the median household income for Dodge County was $53,783, and it was $56,877 for Jefferson County. During that same time period, the median household income for Wisconsin was $53,357. For the United States, it was $53,889.[12]
Poverty rate
From 2011 to 2015, the poverty rate in Dodge County was 8.7 percent, and it was 9.2 percent for Jefferson County. During that same period, the poverty rate for the entire state was 12.1 percent, and for the entire country it was 13.5 percent.[12]
Racial demographics
| Racial Demographics, 2015[12] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race | Dodge County (%) | Jefferson County (%) | Wisconsin (%) |
| White | 94.6 | 96.3 | 87.6 |
| Black or African American | 3.1 | 1.0 | 6.6 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6 | 0.5 | 1.1 |
| Asian | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.8 |
| Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.1 |
| Two or more races | 1.0 | 1.2 | 1.8 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 4.6 | 7.1 | 6.6 |
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 Watertown Unified School District Wisconsin election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Watertown Unified School District | Wisconsin | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Daily Union, "Candidates on April election ballot," January 4, 2017
- ↑ Dodge County Clerk, "Unofficial Final Results," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Jefferson County Clerk, "April 4, 2017 Spring Election," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Watertown Unified School District, "Board Members," accessed January 3, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wisconsin Association of School Boards, "Guide for Candidates: 2017 Spring Election Edition," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Election Commission, "Spring 2017 Election," accessed January 3, 2017
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Guided for Candidates," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Wisconsin Ethics Commission, "Campaign Finance Checklist," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "11.0104 Reporting exemptions: limited activity," accessed December 15, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Ethics Commission, "Filing Deadlines and Reporting Periods," accessed December 15, 2016
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Jody Thompson, Administrative Assistant/Deputy Clerk/Board Secretary, Watertown Unified School District," March 28, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 United States Census Bureau, "Dodge County, Wisconsin," accessed December 19, 2016
- ↑ 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
| Watertown Unified School District elections in 2017 | |
| Dodge and Jefferson counties, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 4, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Tony Arnett • Incumbent, Jennifer Bakke • Incumbent, Mark Holland • Ronald Roehl |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
