Yuma Union High School District elections (2016)
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Three of the five seats on the Yuma Union High School District school board were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. Board incumbent Bruce Gwynn filed for re-election and faced challengers Ralph Farr, David Lara, Shelley Mellon, and Pat Riley. Gwynn won another term on the board and was joined in his victory by Mellon and Lara.[1][2]
Because only one incumbent filed for an additional term, at least two newcomers were guaranteed to join the board. There was no primary.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Yuma school board is composed of five nonpartisan members who are elected at large to four-year terms. There was no primary election, and a general election was held November 8, 2016. Unopposed elections were canceled and did not appear on the ballot. Arizona law required an automatic recount in the case of a tie. If a tie was confirmed, the winner would have been chosen by drawing lots in the presence of the candidates.[3]
Candidates were required to submit nominating petitions signed by qualified electors totaling 0.5 percent of the total voter registration in the school district to the county school superintendent by August 10, 2016. The last day to file as a write-in candidate was September 29, 2016. Voters had to register to vote by October 10, 2016, in order to vote in the general election.[4]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Yuma Union High School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Shelley Mellon |
25.43% | 22,004 |
| David Lara |
23.01% | 19,907 |
| Bruce Gwynn Incumbent |
20.24% | 17,508 |
| Pat Riley | 18.29% | 15,823 |
| Ralph Farr | 13.03% | 11,269 |
| Total Votes (100) | 86,511 | |
| Source: Yuma County, "Final Canvass," accessed Decembeer 12 2016 | ||
Candidates
Bruce Gwynn 
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Ralph Farr | David Lara
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| Shelley Mellon
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Pat Riley | ||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Arizona elections, 2016
The following offices shared the general election date with this Arizona school board election:
Two state ballot measures were also scheduled to appear on the general election ballot: Proposition 205 (Arizona Marijuana Legalization) and Proposition 206 (Arizona Minimum Wage and Paid Time Off).
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for this Arizona school board election in 2016:[5]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| August 10, 2016 | Last day to file nominating petitions |
| October 10, 2016 | Voter registration deadline for the general election |
| October 12, 2016 | Early voting begins for the general election |
| November 4, 2016 | Pre-general campaign finance deadline |
| November 8, 2016 | General election day |
| December 8, 2016 | Post-general 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
School board candidates in Arizona were not required to file a campaign finance report if they did not raise or spend more than $500. If they plan to stay under this threshold, they are permitted to file an exemption statement. This rendered them exempt from all other campaign finance reporting, provided they did not exceed the $500 threshold. Otherwise, candidates were not required to file any report until they raised or spent more than the threshold limit. At that point, they had to file a Statement of Organization within five business days from when the threshold was reached. The pre-general campaign finance report was due November 4, 2016. All campaign finance filing was handled by the Arizona Secretary of State.[6]
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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2016
Issues in the district
Drastic teacher shortages
A report released by the Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association revealed that four weeks into the 2016-2017 school year, Arizona still had over 2,000 teacher vacancies. According to 12 News, that was 25 percent of all positions in the state. Dr. Doug Wilson, superintendent of Marana Unified School District, said the issue was "that the pool of teachers is very narrow. It really is, so this is going to be a problem for school districts all over Arizona for several years."[7][8]
Adam Sharp, a principal of Espiritu Charter School, said he was not surprised by the teacher shortage. “There's a lack of respect for the teachers some people view this as a lesser profession," he explained. Although the report looked at a variety of factors to explain the shortage, Sharp thought it came down to one issue: teacher pay. 12 News reported that Arizona's average starting salary was $31,874, while the national average was $36,141. Teachers were leaving for other states whose starting pay was $8,000-$10,000 more. Meanwhile, the open spots in Arizona were being filled by long-term substitutes. However, that did not suffice when it came to special education, which required a more particular skill set. Some district superintendents, such as Kristi Sandvik of Buckeye Elementary School District and Dr. Andrew Rogers of Liberty Elementary School District, were turning to contract agencies to find special education teachers. However, Dr. Rogers added that doing so was “significantly more expensive than if we hired people directly.”[7][8]
About the district
- See also: Yuma Union High School District, Arizona
Yuma Union High School District is located in Yuma, Arizona, the county seat of Yuma County. The county was home to 204,275 residents between 2010 and 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[9] The district was the 24th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 10,723 students.[10]
Demographics
Yuma County underperformed in comparison to Arizona as a whole in terms of higher education attainment between 2010 and 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 14.0 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 27.1 percent of state residents. The median household income for the county was $41,380, compared to $49,928 statewide. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 22.6 percent, while that rate was 17.4 percent for state residents.[9]
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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 'Yuma Union High School District' 'Arizona'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Yuma Union High School District | Arizona | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email conversation with Vivian Williams: Financial Assistant at Yuma County Superintendent of Schools," August 22, 2016
- ↑ Yuma County, "Election Night Reporting," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ onecl, "Arizona Revised Statutes - Title 15 Education - Section 15-424 Election of governing board members; terms; statement of contributions and expenditures," accessed September 19, 2016
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Elections Calendar & Upcoming Events," accessed September 19, 2016
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Elections Calendar & Upcoming Events," accessed September 1, 2016
- ↑ Arizona Campaign Finance Guide, "Questions & Answers," accessed October 6, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 AZEdNews, "Shortage has school leaders attracting teachers in new ways," September 14, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 12 News, "Study: Arizona least attractive state for teachers; teacher shortage at crisis level," September 27, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 United States Census Bureau, "Yuma County, Arizona, Quick Facts," accessed September 20, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Previous Arizona Elections," accessed September 2, 2014
| 2016 Yuma Union High School District Elections | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Bruce Gwynn • Ralph Farr • David Lara • Shelley Mellon • Pat Riley |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
