Waukesha School District elections (2017)
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Three seats on the Waukesha School District school board were up for general election on April 4, 2017. Incumbents Joseph Como Jr., Barbara Brzenk, and Karin Rajnicek won re-election without opposition.[1][2]
The 2017 school board election for the Waukesha School District was less competitive than the elections held in 2015 and 2016. Click here to view the district's full election trends.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Waukesha school board consists of nine members elected at large to three-year terms.[3][4] A general election is held each April with a February primary for any seat with more than two candidates.
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
| Waukesha School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Barbara Brzenk Incumbent |
33.77% | 4,475 |
| Joseph Como Jr. Incumbent |
33.63% | 4,456 |
| Karin Rajnicek Incumbent |
32.60% | 4,320 |
| Total Votes | 13,251 | |
| Source: Waukesha County Clerk, "2017 Spring Election," accessed April 4, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
Candidates
Joseph Como Jr. 
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Barbara Brzenk
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Karin Rajnicek
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Wisconsin elections, 2017
The district's school board election shared the ballot with elections for state school superintendent and state courts.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Wisconsin school board elections in 2017:[6][7]
| 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:[8]
- 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.[9]
Candidates who filed before January 1, 2017, also had to file a continuing campaign finance report on January 16, 2017.[7]
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2016
2015
2014Incumbents Barbara Brzenk, Joseph Como Jr. and Karin Rajnicek won re-election to the board without opposition on April 1, 2014. 2013William Baumgart, Steve Edlund and Ellen Langill won re-election to the board without opposition on April 2, 2013.[10] 2012Patricia Madden, Patrick McCaffery and Daniel Warren won re-election to the board without opposition on April 3, 2012.[11][12] 2011
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What was at stake?
Election trends
- See also: School board elections, 2017
The 2017 school board election for the Waukesha School District, like the district's 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 races, consisted entirely of unopposed candidates running for election. While the 2017 election was not competitive, the 2016 school board election had 1.6 candidates per seat running in the race. The 2015 school board election featured 2.0 candidate per seat running in the race. The 2015 state and national averages of candidates running per seat were 1.38 and 1.72, respectively.
| School board election trends | |||||
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| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Waukesha School District | |||||
| 2017 | 1 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| 2016 | 1.6 | 0.00% | 50.00% | 66.67% | |
| 2015 | 2 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| 2014 | 1 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| 2013 | 1 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| Wisconsin | |||||
| 2015 | 1.38 | 32.00% | 84.00% | 35.29% | |
| United States | |||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
About the district
- See also: Waukesha School District, Wisconsin
Waukesha School District is located in Waukesha County in southeastern Wisconsin. The county seat is Waukesha. Waukesha County was home to 396,488 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[13] The district was the seventh-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 13,494 students.[14]
Demographics
Higher education achievement
Waukesha County outperformed Wisconsin as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2011 to 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 41.2 percent of Waukesha County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 27.8 percent for the state as a whole and 29.8 percent for the entire United States.[13]
Median household income
Between 2011 and 2015, the median household income in Waukesha County was $76,545, compared to $53,357 for Wisconsin.[13] During that same time period, the median household income for the entire United States was $53,889.[15]
Poverty rate
Between 2011 and 2015, the poverty rate in Waukesha County was 4.7 percent, while the statewide poverty rate was 12.1 percent. During the same time period, the national poverty rate was 13.5 percent.[13][15]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[13] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Waukesha County (%) | Wisconsin (%) |
| White | 93.4 | 87.6 |
| Black or African American | 1.5 | 6.6 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3 | 1.1 |
| Asian | 3.4 | 2.8 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Two or More Races | 1.4 | 1.8 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 4.7 | 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 Waukesha School District Wisconsin election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Waukesha School District | Wisconsin | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Nick Katers, "Email exchange with Susan Ettinger," January 4, 2017
- ↑ Waukesha County Clerk, "2017 Spring Election," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Waukesha School District, "Board of Education Membership," April 1994
- ↑ Waukesha Now, "No challengers once again for Waukesha School Board," January 14, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Wisconsin Association of School Boards, "Guide for Candidates: 2017 Spring Election Edition," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Guided for Candidates," accessed December 16, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 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
- ↑ Waukesha School District, "2013 Waukesha School Board Election," accessed February 10, 2014
- ↑ Waukesha School District, "Notice of Election of School Board Members," accessed September 20, 2014
- ↑ Waukesha Patch, "No Challengers Against Waukesha School Board Incumbents," January 4, 2012
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 United States Census Bureau, "Waukesha 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
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 United States Census Bureau, "State & County QuickFacts: USA," accessed July 6, 2015
| Waukesha School District elections in 2017 | |
| Waukesha County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 4, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Joseph Como Jr. • Incumbent, Barbara Brzenk • Incumbent, Karin Rajnicek |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
