Reading School District elections (2013)

2015 →
2013 Reading School District Elections
General Election date:
November 5, 2013
Table of Contents
About the district Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links References
See also
Pennsylvania Reading School District Berks County, Pennsylvania ballot measures Local ballot measures, Pennsylvania

Five seats on the Reading School Board were up for election on November 5, 2013. The candidate field was narrowed in a primary election held on May 21, 2013.

Robin Costenbader-Jacobson, Manuel Guzman, Eddie Moran and Yvonne L. Stroman defeated Brian Twyman and Abraham J. Cepeda for the four at-large, full term seats. Abraham J. Cepeda ran unopposed and won the two-year seat.

About the district

See also: Reading School District, Pennsylvania

Reading School District is located in Berks County, Pennsylvania

Reading School District is located in Berks County in eastern Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 Census, the county was home to 413,491 residents.

Demographics

The county outperforms the rest of Pennsylvania based on average household income, but underperforms in poverty rate and higher education achievement. According to the 2010 Census, the median household income in Berks County is $54,823 compared to Pennsylvania's statewide median of $51,651. The poverty rate in Berks County is 13.1% while the state average is 12.6%. The percentage of residents over 25 with a bachelor's degree or higher in Berks County is 22.1% while the percentage in Pennsylvania overall is 26.7%.

Racial Demographics, 2012
Race	Berks County (%)	Pennsylvania (%)
White	89.3	83.5
Black or African American	6.4	11.4
American Indian and Alaska Native	0.7	0.3
Asian	1.5	2.7
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.1	0.1
Two or More Races	2.0	1.7
Hispanic or Latino	17.5	6.1

Presidential Voting Pattern
Year	Democratic Vote (%)	Republican Vote (%)
2012	58.9	49.5
2008	45.0	54.0
2004	53.0	46.4
2000	52.7	43.7

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.

Method of board member selection

The Reading School Board consists of nine members elected to four-year terms. The members of the board are elected at-large by voters in the district. The primary election for the Reading School Board was held on May 21, 2013 and the general election was held on November 5, 2013. One seat that was up for election was for a special two year term following a former board member's resignation. Five seats were up for election on November 5, 2013 and five seats were up for election on November 3, 2015.

Elections

2013

Candidates

• Abraham J. Cepeda
• Robin Costenbader-Jacobson
• Manuel Guzman
• Eddie Moran
• Yvonne L. Stroman
• Brian Twyman

Election results

General election

Reading School District, At-large General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democrat	Eddie Moran	19.8%	2,916
	Democrat	Manuel Guzman	18.7%	2,754
	Democrat	Yvonne L. Stroman Incumbent	17.7%	2,605
	Democrat	Robin Costenbader-Jacobson	17.1%	2,516
	Republican	Brian Twyman	10.4%	1,539
	Republican	Robin Costenbader-Jacobson	8.4%	1,236
	Republican	Abraham J. Cepeda	7.9%	1,167
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.1%	17
Total Votes				14,750
Source: Government of Berks County, Pennsylvania, "Rdg. School Board 4 Year," accessed December 16, 2013

Reading School District, At-large General Election, 2-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Cross filed	Abraham J. Cepeda	99.6%	3,794
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	0.4%	14
Total Votes				3,808
Source: Government of Berks County, Pennsylvania, "Rdg. School Board 2 Year," accessed December 16, 2013

Primary election

Reading School District Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Robin Costenbader-Jacobson	41.7%	561
	Republican	Brian Twyman	29.6%	399
	Republican	Abraham J. Cepeda	27.8%	374
	Republican	Write-in	0.9%	12
Total Votes				1,346
Source: Berks County Election Results, "2013 Primary Results," accessed October 7, 2013

Reading School District Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democrat	Robin Costenbader-Jacobson	19.1%	1,545
	Democrat	Manuel Guzman	18%	1,456
	Democrat	Eddie Moran	17.8%	1,439
	Democrat	Yvonne L. Stroman	15.6%	1,264
	Democrat	Brian Twyman	15.4%	1,251
	Democrat	Abraham J. Cepeda	14%	1,137
	Democrat	Write-in	0.1%	9
Total Votes				8,101
Source: Berks County Election Results, "2013 Primary Results," accessed October 7, 2013

Endorsements

No candidates received any official endorsements for their campaigns.

Campaign finance

No contributions or expenditures were reported during the election, according to Berks County Election Services.

Past elections

Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right.

2011 Reading School District Primary Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Cross listed Frank B. Denbowski 19.5% 6,108      Democrat Rebecca Acosta 15.2% 4,772      Democrat Robert Heebner, Jr. 14.5% 4,546      Democrat Karen H. McCree 13.8% 4,326      Democrat Piere V. Cooper 12.9% 4,036      Republican William Cinfici 8.5% 2,656      Republican Gary S. Wegman 8.8% 2,769      Republican Joseph R. Brenton 6.9% 2,166      Nonpartisan Write-in 0.1% 17 Total Votes 31,396 Source: Berks County Election Results, "2011 Election Results," accessed October 7, 2013 2009 Reading School District Primary Election, 4-year term, 2009 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Cross listed Harry P Storch, Jr 22.1% 3,552      Democrat Yvonne Stroman 19.7% 3,155      Democrat Isamac Torres-Figueroa 18.5% 2,963      Democrat James E. Washington 17.8% 2,864      Republican Celcia M. Zuber 10.4% 1,677      Republican William Cinfici 11.4% 1,828      Nonpartisan Write-in 0.1% 16 Total Votes 16,055 Source: Berks County Election Results, "2009 Election Results," accessed October 7, 2013

What was at stake?

Five seats were at stake in the November election. Yvonne L. Stroman was the only incumbent seeking re-election.

Issues

Nominating petitions

Originally ten candidates filed nominating petitions for the five school board seats. Candidate Abraham J. Cepeda challenged four of the petitions because they did not have the appropriate amount of signatures. Judge Scott E. Lash agreed and ordered former city mayor Joseph D. Eppihimer, Elijah A. Rhodes and Gary S. Wegman to be removed from the school board ballot. Cepeda alleged that Eppihimer had only 65 valid signatures out of 125 submitted, that Rhodes had 56 out of 142, Storch 86 out of 132 and Wegman 98 out of 109. He also alleged Wegman had not filed his statement of financial interest. In a separate ruling, Judge Timothy J. Rowley also ordered incumbent Harry P. Storch Jr. removed from the Democratic ballot. One hundred valid signatures were necessary in order to appear on the ballot.

Key deadlines

The following were key deadlines for the Reading School Board election.

Deadline	Event
February 19, 2013	First day for filing nominating petitions
March 12, 2013	Last day to file nominating petitions
March 27, 2013	Last day to withdraw from ballot
May 21, 2013	Primary Election Day
August 1, 2013	Last day to circulate and file nomination papers nominating independent candidates
August 8, 2013	Last day for candidates who have filed nomination papers to withdraw
August 12, 2013	Last day for candidates nominated at the Primary to withdraw
August 22, 2013	Last day to file substituted nominations
September 16, 2013	First day to receive Official Absentee Ballot Applications
October 7, 2013	Last day an elector may register to vote or make change to their voting record to be eligible for the General Election
November 1, 2013	Last day to receive Official Absentee Ballots in County Board of Elections by 5:00 PM
November 5, 2013	Election day

Additional elections on the ballot

In addition to the school board race, residents of Reading School District had statewide, countywide and local items on the ballot. They voted on a Judge of the Superior Court in a statewide race. Additionally, they voted for Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, Jury Commissioner and various Magisterial District Judges. There was also treasurer, coroner, council member, prothonotary, judge of elections and inspector of elections races on the ballot.

See also

• Reading School District, Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania school districts
• List of school districts in Pennsylvania
• Berks County, Pennsylvania ballot measures
• Local ballot measures, Pennsylvania
• Pennsylvania
• Financial policies, education standards at stake in November school board elections
• School board election wrap-up: Incumbents re-elected overwhelmingly in November 5 elections
• School board elections review: Voters opt for experience over new blood in nation's largest school districts
• Pennsylvania school boards to see large turnover

External links

Suggest a link

• Reading School District
• Berks County
• Pennsylvania Department of Education