Wausau School District elections (2016): Difference between revisions
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Three of the nine seats on the Wausau School District school board were up for at-large general election on April 5, 2016. Incumbents Theresa Miles, Jane Rusch and Matthew Young filed for re-election. They faced challenger Mary Thao. Miles and Rusch were successful in their re-election bids with Thao winning the third seat.[1]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Wausau Board of Education consists of nine at-large members elected to three-year terms. If more than double the number of candidates had filed for the available seats, a primary election would have been held on February 16, 2016. Because only four candidates filed for the three seats, all of the candidates moved on to the general election.
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. 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.[2]
Candidates had until January 5, 2016, to collect between 100 and 200 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 or older.[3]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Wausau School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Mary Thao |
29.80% | 11,180 |
| Jane Rusch Incumbent |
24.76% | 9,288 |
| Theresa Miles Incumbent |
24.08% | 9,035 |
| Matthew Young Incumbent | 20.97% | 7,867 |
| Write-in votes | 0.39% | 148 |
| Total Votes | 37,518 | |
| Source: Wausau School District,"2016 Certificate of the Board of Canvassers," accessed May 10, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Theresa Miles 
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Jane Rusch
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| Matthew Young | Mary Thao
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Wisconsin elections, 2016
The Wausau School District election ballot also included the state's presidential primary, and races for state and county courts.[4]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Wisconsin school board elections in 2016:[5]
| 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
Theresa R. Miles and Mary Thao, and Jane Rusch were endorsed by the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.[6]
Campaign finance
No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election, according to the Wausau School District.[7]
Candidates were only required to file campaign finance reports if they did one of the following:[8][9]
- accepted contributions, made disbursements or incurred obligations in an aggregate amount of more than $2,000 in a calendar year
- accepted more than $100 from a single source in the calendar year, except contributions made by candidates to their own campaigns
What was at stake?
2016
Issues in the district
Enrollment decrease increases taxes
Taxes in Wausau School District will increase from $11.12 to $11.46 per $1,000 of home value for the 2016-2017 school year. Property taxes in the city of Wausau are also increasing by 66 cents per $1,000 of valuation, translating to a nearly $100 increase for a property valued at $150,000. While other nearby districts, such as D.C. Everest and Mosinee, will see decreases in their tax rates during the 2016-2017 school year, Wausau School District’s chief financial officer said that Wausau's increase is due to a decrease in total student enrollment.[10]
Enrollment concerns lead to boundary study
During a September 2015 meeting, the Wausau School Board approved the hiring of Martenson and Eisele Inc. to manage a study of the Wausau School District school attendance boundary maps. The district-wide study will be conducted over the course of several months during the 2015-2016 school year and will include a team comprising the hired contractors, two parents/guardians from each school being studied, and other, unnamed, community participants and district administrators.
The study is being undertaken in response to concern about enrollment inequities among schools. Any changes that are recommended to, and subsequently adopted by, the school board at the conclusion of the study will go into effect at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year. It could potentially adjust the attendance boundaries for 13 elementary schools as well as for the district’s middle and high schools. Parents and guardians will be notified about the process, and given instructions on how to volunteer to participate, through school bulletins and the district’s website.[11]
District undertakes widespread improvement projects
In late November 2015, citizens living in Wausau School District saw groundbreaking ceremonies at six different sites. These improvement and expansion projects are being funded by a $29 million referendum approved in April 2015. The referendum was the result of a proposal made in winter 2014, after the district spent four years studying its facilities.
Wausau East and West High Schools will add new classrooms to support career and technical skills classes, such as auto mechanics and robotics. G.D. Jones, Thomas Jefferson, Riverview and Hawthorn Hills Elementary Schools will add new classrooms where three-year-old and 4k learning programs will be implemented. Once construction is complete, the local A.C. Kiefer Early Learning Center will be closed, as the newly renovated schools will provide the programs once provided at that ageing location. The construction is slated to begin in earnest in the spring of 2016 and should be finished in August, prior to the start of the 2016-2017 school year.[12] [13]
Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
About the district
- See also: Wausau School District, Wisconsin
Wausau School District is located in Wausau, the county seat of Marathon County, in central Wisconsin. The county was home to approximately 135,780 residents in 2014, according to estimates by the United States Census Bureau.[14] Wausau School District is located in Wisconsin. The district was the 13th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 8,663 students.[15]
Demographics
Marathon County residents underperformed in terms of higher education achievement compared to Wisconsin as a whole in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 22.2 percent of county residents aged 25 years or older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 26.8 percent of all state residents. The median household income for Marathon County was $53,363, compared to $52,413 in Wisconsin as a whole. The median household income for the United States was $53,046. The poverty rates in the county and state were 10.9 percent and 13.0 percent, respectively, while it was 15.4 percent nationally.[16]<ewd>United States Census Bureau,"State&County QuickFacts:USA," accessed January 15, 2016</ref>
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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 'Wausau School District' 'Wisconsin'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Wausau School District | Wisconsin | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Wausau School District, "School Board Candidates for Spring Election," January 8, 2016
- ↑ 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, "2016 Spring Election and Presidential Preference Vote," accessed January 12, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Campaign Finance Report Dates 2016, 2017 and 2018," accessed January 25, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, "2016 Spring Election Candidate Endorsements," March 3, 2016
- ↑ Mandy Gillip, "Phone conversation with district secretary to the superintendent, March 31, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Campaign Finance Overview: State Candidates," May 2010
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "11.0104 Reporting exemptions: limited activity," accessed January 26, 2016
- ↑ Wausau Daily Herald, "Wausau tax rate steeper than neighbors", December 2,2015
- ↑ Wausau Daily Herald, "Wausau to begin study of boundary map", December 2, 2015
- ↑ WSAW 7,"Wausau schools break ground for future upgrades", November 23,2015
- ↑ WAOW 9 "Construction begins at Wausau schools," November 23,2015
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 United States Census Bureau, "Marathon County, Wisconsin," accessed January 27, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedcensus2 - ↑ Politico, "2012 Wisconsin Presidential Results," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ City-Data, "2008 Presidential Elections Results in Marathon County, Wisconsin," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Election Atlas, "2004 Presidential General Election Results - Marathon County, WI," accessed September 22, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Election Atlas, "2000 Presidential General Election Results - Marathon County, WI," accessed September 22, 2014
| 2016 Wausau School District Elections | |
| Marathon County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 5, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Theresa Miles • Incumbent, Jane Rusch • Incumbent, Matthew Young • Mary Thao |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
