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Wauwatosa School District elections (2016)
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Three of the seven seats on the Wauwatosa School District School Board were up for by-district general election on April 5, 2016. Incumbent Michael Meier ran unopposed and won re-election to Seat 2, and newcomers Shawn Rolland and Emily Kenney ran unopposed and won Seats 1 and 3, respectively.[1][2]
Seat 1 incumbent Philip Kroner and Seat 3 incumbent Anne Fee filed noncandidacy paperwork, indicating they would not run for additional terms. Because they did not run, Rolland and Kenney were guaranteed to join the board.[1]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Wauwatosa School Board consists of seven members elected by district to specific seats. Elections are held on a three-year rotation. One year three seats are on the ballot, the next year four seats are on the ballot, and the third year no elections are held.[3] If more than two candidates had filed to run for any specific seat in this election, a primary election would have been held for that seat on February 16, 2016. Because only one candidate filed for each seat on the ballot, all three candidates ran in the general election on April 5, 2016.[1][4]
To be elected to the board, candidates must reside in the boundaries of the school district for 28 days prior to the filing of a "Declaration of Candidacy" form. Furthermore, at the time of taking office, each candidate must be a resident of the apportioned area he or she is elected to represent.[5] Candidates must also be 18 years old and citizens of the United States. Unless pardoned, those who have been convicted of a felony are not eligible for election to office in Wisconsin.[6]
Candidates had until January 5, 2016, to collect between 20 and 100 signatures for their nomination papers. The signatures had to come from residents of the district where the candidate sought election, but the petition circulators were not required to reside in the district or municipality. Circulators were required to be U.S. citizens and 18 years of age or older.[7]
Candidates and results
Seat 1
Results
| Wauwatosa School District, Seat 1 General Election, 3-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Shawn Rolland (unopposed) |
99.22% | 12,647 |
| Write-in votes | 0.78% | 99 |
| Total Votes | 12,746 | |
| Source: Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Carla Ledesma, City of Wauwatosa," May 9, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Shawn Rolland 
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Seat 2
Results
| Wauwatosa School District, Seat 2 General Election, 3-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Michael Meier Incumbent (unopposed) |
99.07% | 12,341 |
| Write-in votes | 0.93% | 116 |
| Total Votes | 12,457 | |
| Source: Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Carla Ledesma, City of Wauwatosa," May 9, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Michael Meier
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Seat 3
Results
| Wauwatosa School District, Seat 3 General Election, 3-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Emily Kenney (unopposed) |
99.38% | 12,567 |
| Write-in votes | 0.62% | 79 |
| Total Votes | 12,646 | |
| Source: Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Carla Ledesma, City of Wauwatosa," May 9, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Emily Kenney
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Additional elections
- See also: Wisconsin elections, 2016
The Wauwatosa School District election shared the ballot with the state's presidential preference vote as well as elections for the District I seat on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, seats on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Milwaukee County Executive, and Milwaukee County Comptroller.[8][9]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Wisconsin school board elections in 2016:[10]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| January 5, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| January 26, 2016 | Referendum submission deadline |
| March 28, 2016 | Pre-general election campaign finance deadline |
| April 5, 2016 | Election Day |
| April 25, 2016 | Board members take office |
| July 15, 2016 | Post-election campaign finance deadline |
Endorsements
Shawn Rolland and Emily Kenney were endorsed by Grassroots Tosa.[11] Kenney was further endorsed by the organizations Wisconsin Progress and Emerge America.[12][13]
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 $375.00 and spent a total of $414.00 in the election, according to the Wauwatosa School District.[14]
Seat 1
Shawn Rolland filed an exemption statement detailing that he would not spend or receive more than $2,000 toward his campaign. Because of this, he did not have to file additional campaign finance reports.[14]
Seat 2
Incumbent Michael Meier filed an exemption statement detailing that he would not spend or receive more than $2,000 toward his campaign. Because of this, he did not have to file additional campaign finance reports.[14]
Seat 3
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emily Kenney | $375.00 | $414.00 | ($39.00) |
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2016
Issues in the district
Board passes resolution opposing guns on school grounds
The Wauwatosa School Board passed a resolution on February 8, 2016, opposing proposed state legislation that would allow guns on school grounds. The bill sought to allow individuals with concealed carry licenses to bring their guns on school grounds and would allow school boards to decide if the guns would be allowed inside school buildings.[15][16]
The Wauwatosa School District lost a high school principal to a school shooting in 1993. Associate Principal Dale Breitlow was shot and killed in a hallway at Wauwatosa West High School. His killer, a former student, is serving a life sentence in prison.[15]
"Our immediate reaction was 'We do not want guns on our school grounds," said Mary Jo Randall, president of the Wauwatosa School Board.[15] The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction also opposed the bill, according to Tom McCarthy, the department's spokesperson.[16]
| “ | In 2008, a bipartisan group of legislators and school safety experts convened to examine ways we could improve school safety. Their solutions were centered on encouraging better planning and coordination with law enforcement, and allowing districts to exceed revenue caps to make their facilities safer and more secure. A logical first step to improve school safety is to bring back that key funding resource that was eliminated in 2011.[17] | ” |
| —Tom McCarthy, spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (2016)[16] | ||
The bill was introduced by State Sen. Mary Lazich (R-28), State Rep. Robert Brooks (R-60) and State Rep. Jesse Kremer (R-59). Kremer said the bill was for protection and prevention. "If you’ve got a school that allows concealed carry holders, a bad guy, a terrorist for that matter, isn’t going to know who’s carrying. So they might bypass that school," said Kremer.[16]
The bill was also supported by Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, (R-63), but Vos said it was "not a high priority for Republicans."[16]
District receives complaint about resources used by advocacy group
The Wauwatosa School District received a complaint about school resources being used by Support Our Schools (SOS) Wauwatosa, an advocacy group that has argued for increased education funding at the state level. Paris Procopis, a parent of a Wauwatosa student and a self-proclaimed politically active conservative, said SOS Wauwatosa was a partisan organization and should not be able to use taxpayer-funded facilities and email lists from the school district. "The issue isn't that they're ideologically different from me, it's that they're using school facilities to promote an agenda," Procopis said.[18]
SOS Wauwatosa's mission statement declares the group is nonpartisan, and Mary Young, president of the group, said their aim is to inform the community. Though Procopis said SOS Wauwatosa was funded by the teacher's union, Young said that was not the case. She said they were not affiliated with the union and that they charged members $10 to join in order to generate funding.[18]
According to Mary Jo F. Randall, president of the Wauwatosa School Board, allowing SOS Wauwatosa access to the district's buildings and email lists was not in violation of district policy or administrative guidelines. She also said that she was interested in learning how other school districts navigate the relationship between advocacy groups and school boards. "We've not had to be this proactive before and I think we're all feeling our way and trying to figure out what we have to do and how to best do it," said Randall.[18]
Superintendent Phil Ertl said he had received only one other complaint about SOS Wauwatosa other than the one brought up by Procopis. Outside of those two complaints, Ertl said the comments on the group have been positive.[18]
Mental health program
The Wauwatosa School District started a new initiative in 2016 called Project TEAMS (Tosa Early Awareness of Mental Health Supports). The program aims to breakdown stigmas attached to mental health. When students break an arm or leg or stay home with the flu, they get an outpouring of support from their classmates. When a student is dealing with a mental health issue, however, they usually do not receive the same support, according to Fred Robinson, the district's Tosa United coordinator, a position that focuses on working with the community to prevent student use of alcohol, tobacco and drugs.[19][20]
Project TEAMS focuses on educating adults in the community on how to recognize signs of mental health issues in youth between the ages of 12 and 18 and where to go from there. "Mental health issues manifest early in high school years," said Robinson. Project TEAMS is partnered with several agencies in the area that can help with referrals once a health issue is recognized.[19]
A total of 360 adults have been trained through the program. Project TEAMS looked for adults who interact with children on a regular basis, such as those who work in the school district, coach, volunteer with Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts, serve as church youth leaders or work in the medical field. The training is free due to a three-year grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which was established in 2013 after President Barack Obama called for action in the wake of the school shooting in Newton, Conn.[19]
Candidate survey
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About the district
- See also: Wauwatosa School District, Wisconsin
The Wauwatosa School District is located in Milwaukee County in southeastern Wisconsin. The county seat is Milwaukee. Milwaukee County was home to 956,406 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[21] The district was the 17th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 7,204 students.[22]
Demographics
Higher education achievement
Milwaukee County outperformed Wisconsin as a whole in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 28.1 percent of Milwaukee County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 26.8 percent for the state as a whole.[21]
Median household income
From 2009 through 2013, the median household income for Milwaukee County was $43,193. During that same time period, the median household income for Wisconsin was $52,413, and it was $53,046 for the entire United States.[21][23]
Poverty rate
The poverty rate in Milwaukee County was 21.6 percent from 2009 through 2013. During that same time period, the poverty rate for the entire state was 13.0 percent, and it was 15.4 percent for the country as a whole.[21][23]
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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.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Wauwatosa School District' 'Wisconsin'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Wauwatosa School District | Wisconsin | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wauwatosa Now, "Election 2016 takes shape as Wauwatosa filing deadline passes," January 5, 2016
- ↑ Milwaukee County Election Commission, "Election Summary Final - Unofficial," accessed April 6, 2016
- ↑ Wauwatosa School District, "Elections," accessed January 12, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "State Statutes: Chapter 120 School District Government," accessed January 11, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Wisconsin Candidate Eligibility," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates: Getting on the Ballot," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "State Statutes: CHAPTER 8," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Offices to Be Elections: Spring 2016," accessed February 16, 2016
- ↑ Milwaukee County Elections, "2016 Spring Election Candidates in Ballot Order," accessed February 16, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Campaign Finance Report Dates 2016, 2017 and 2018," accessed January 25, 2016
- ↑ Grassroots Tosa, "Vote April 5," March 28, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Progress, "Our Candidates," accessed April 1, 2016
- ↑ Emerge America, "2016 Emerge Candidates," accessed April 1, 2016
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Connie Galante, Administrative Assistant to Superintendent," July 19, 2016
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 ABC 2, "Wauwatosa School Board wants no guns on school property, no matter what," February 12, 2016
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 The Capital Times, "Bill to allow guns on school grounds has support from handful of school officials," January 16, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Wauwatosa Now, "Concerns raised over SOS Wauwatosa's use of school resources," January 12, 2016
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 Wauwatosa Now, "Wauwatosa school program aims to eliminate mental illness stigma," October 28, 2015
- ↑ Wauwatosa School District, "Tosa United," accessed November 17, 2015
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 21.4 United States Census Bureau, "Milwaukee County, Wisconsin," accessed January 12, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 United States Census Bureau, "State & County QuickFacts: USA," accessed July 6, 2015
- ↑ Milwaukee County Election Commission, "Election Results," accessed August 13, 2014
| 2016 Wauwatosa School District Elections | |
| Milwaukee County | |
| Election date: | April 5, 2016 |
| Candidates: | Seat 1: • Shawn Rolland Seat 2: • Incumbent, Michael Meier Seat 3: • Emily Kenney |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
