Loudoun County Public Schools elections (2015)

2019 →
2015 Loudoun County Public Schools Elections
General Election date:
November 3, 2015
Table of Contents
About the district Method of election Elections What was at stake? Key deadlines Additional elections External links
See also
Virginia Loudoun County Public Schools Loudoun County, Virginia ballot measures Local ballot measures, Virginia

All nine seats on the Loudoun County Public Schools School Board were up for general election on November 3, 2015.

Algonkian District incumbent Debbie Rose, Broad Run District incumbent Kevin Kuesters and Dulles District incumbent Jeff Morse all faced one challenger each in their re-election bids. Rose and Morse retained their seats, while Kuesters lost to challenger Joy Maloney.

Fellow board member William Fox competed against two challengers, Tom Marshall and Nels Pearsall, in his bid to retain the Leesburg District seat. Marshall won the race, removing Fox from the board.

The race for the at-large seat featured newcomers Beth Huck and Stephan Knobloch, since board member Thomas Reed did not file for re-election. Huck won the open seat. Catoctin District incumbent Jennifer Bergel also did not file, which left her seat open to Eric DeKenipp and Dusty Sparrow Reed. DeKenipp secured that open seat. Incumbents Eric Hornberger, Jill Turgeon and Brenda Sheridan all ran unopposed and won re-election to the Ashburn District, Blue Ridge District and Sterling District seats, respectively.

One of the 16 candidates in this election participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. Click here to read candidate responses to the survey.

About the district

See also: Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia

Loudoun County Public Schools is located in Loudoun County, Va.

Loudoun County Public Schools is located in northeast Virginia in Loudoun County. The county seat of Loudoun County is Leesburg. This county was home to 363,050 residents in 2014, according to estimates by the United States Census Bureau. In the 2011-2012 school year, Loudoun County Public Schools was the fourth-largest school district in Virginia and served 65,585 students.

Demographics

Loudoun County outperformed the rest of Virginia in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 57.9 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 35.2 percent for Virginia as a whole. The median household income in Loudoun County was $122,238, compared to $63,907 for the state of Virginia. The poverty rate was 3.6 percent, compared to 11.3 percent for the entire state.

Racial Demographics, 2014
Race	Loudoun County (%)	Virginia (%)
White	70.7	70.5
Black or African American	7.8	19.7
American Indian and Alaska Native	0.5	0.5
Asian	17.3	6.3
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.1	0.1
Two or More Races	3.5	2.8
Hispanic or Latino	13.4	8.9

Presidential Voting Pattern, Loudoun County
Year	Democratic Vote (%)	Republican Vote (%)
2012	51.5	47.0
2008	53.7	45.4
2004	55.7	43.6
2000	56.1	40.9

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.

Voter and candidate information

The Loudoun County School Board is a nine-member board elected to serve four-year terms. One seat on the board is elected at-large with the remaining eight seats elected by district.

All nine seats were on the ballot in 2015. The general election was held on November 3, 2015. The next scheduled election for board seats was 2019. The filing deadline for candidates interested in running for the board was June 9, 2015.

At-large

Beth Huck		Stephan Knobloch
	Bachelor's degree, Regent University Community lifestyle manager, Brambleton Community Association Former teacher		Doctorate, University of Virginia Senior vice president, K12 Insight, LLC

Algonkian District

Debbie Rose		Ryan Myers
	Incumbent Bachelor's degree, University of California at Los Angeles J.D., Drake University Intellectual property fellow, Association for Competitive Technology		Certified financial planner

Ashburn District

Eric Hornberger
	Incumbent

Blue Ridge District

Jill Turgeon
	Incumbent

Broad Run District

Kevin Kuesters		Joy Maloney
	Incumbent Bachelor's degree, Virginia Tech Certified public accountant		Government contractor

Catoctin District

Eric DeKenipp		Dusty Sparrow Reed
	Bachelor's degree, Hawaii Pacific University Master's degree, Marymount University Senior manager of human capital, Vencore, Inc. Veteran, United States Marine Corps		Bachelor's degree, Indiana University J.D., The George Washington University School of Law Attorney

Dulles District

Jeff Morse		Kenya Amira Savage
	Incumbent

Leesburg District

William Fox		Tom Marshall		Nels Pearsall
	Incumbent

Sterling District

Brenda Sheridan
	Incumbent

Election results

Loudoun County School Board, At-large, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Beth Huck	55.0%	33,684
Stephan Knobloch	44.6%	27,328
Write-in votes	0.37%	225
Total Votes		61,237
Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 4, 2015

Loudoun County School Board, Algonkian District, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Debbie Rose Incumbent	53.6%	4,029
Ryan Myers	46.2%	3,473
Write-in votes	0.19%	14
Total Votes		7,516
Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 4, 2015

Loudoun County School Board, Ashburn District, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Eric Hornberger Incumbent	96.7%	5,950
Write-in votes	3.25%	200
Total Votes		6,150
Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 4, 2015

Loudoun County School Board, Blue Ridge District, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jill Turgeon Incumbent	97.2%	8,520
Write-in votes	2.77%	243
Total Votes		8,763
Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 4, 2015

Loudoun County School Board, Broad Run District, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Joy Maloney	57.7%	4,549
Kevin Kuesters Incumbent	42.0%	3,311
Write-in votes	0.25%	20
Total Votes		7,880
Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 4, 2015

Loudoun County School Board, Catoctin District, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Eric DeKenipp	53.6%	4,881
Dusty Sparrow Reed	46.1%	4,200
Write-in votes	0.32%	29
Total Votes		9,110
Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 4, 2015

Loudoun County School Board, Dulles District, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jeff Morse Incumbent	69.3%	5,802
Kenya Amira Savage	30.5%	2,554
Write-in votes	0.18%	15
Total Votes		8,371
Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 4, 2015

Loudoun County School Board, Leesburg District, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Tom Marshall	48.2%	3,430
William Fox Incumbent	44.2%	3,145
Nels Pearsall	7.3%	520
Write-in votes	0.3%	21
Total Votes		7,116
Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 4, 2015

Loudoun County School Board, Sterling District, General Election, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Brenda Sheridan Incumbent	97.8%	5,007
Write-in votes	2.21%	113
Total Votes		5,120
Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 4, 2015

Endorsements

The following is a list of endorsements made in board elections in Loudoun County Public Schools in 2015:

Candidate endorsements
Candidate	Loudoun Education Association PAC
At-large
Beth Huck
Stephan Knobloch
Algonkian District
Debbie Rose (incumbent)
Ryan Myers
Ashburn District
Eric Hornberger (incumbent)
Blue Ridge District
Jill Turgeon (incumbent)
Broad Run District
Kevin Kuesters (incumbent)
Joy Maloney
Catoctin District
Eric DeKenipp
Dusty Sparrow Reed
Dulles District
Jeff Morse (incumbent)
Kenya Amira Savage
Leesburg District
William Fox (incumbent)
Tom Marshall
Nels Pearsall
Sterling District
Brenda Sheridan (incumbent)

Campaign finance

See also: List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2015

Candidates received a total of $65,356.90 and spent a total of $47,727.38 as of October 26, 2015, according to the Virginia State Board of Elections.

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
At-large
Beth Huck	$5,300.77	$4,560.71	$740.06
Stephan Knobloch	$5,685.00	$4,033.36	$1,651.64
Algonkian District
Debbie Rose (incumbent)	$1,910.49	$1,720.28	$190.21
Ryan Myers	$6,275.00	$4,262.95	$2,012.05
Ashburn District
Eric Hornberger (incumbent)	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Blue Ridge District
Jill Turgeon (incumbent)	$550.00	$277.30	$272.70
Broad Run District
Kevin Kuesters (incumbent)	$5,852.40	$4,140.41	$1,711.99
Joy Maloney	$14,480.57	$7,588.92	$6,891.65
Catoctin District
Eric DeKenipp	$3,679.60	$3,679.60	$0.00
Dusty Sparrow Reed	$3,620.68	$3,567.26	$53.42
Dulles District
Jeff Morse (incumbent)	$6,558.88	$5,141.45	$1,417.43
Kenya Amira Savage	$5,944.74	$5,076.81	$867.93
Leesburg District
William Fox (incumbent)	$4,940.77	$3,200.33	$1,740.54
Tom Marshall	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Nels Pearsall	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Sterling District
Brenda Sheridan (incumbent)	$558.00	$478.00	$80.00

Past elections

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

2011 Loudoun County Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Thomas Reed Incumbent 56.3% 25,540      Nonpartisan Robert Ohneiser Incumbent 31.1% 14,104      Nonpartisan Jay Bose 12.1% 5,477      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.6% 273 Total Votes 45,394 Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed January 29, 2015 Loudoun County Public Schools, Algonkian District General Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Debbie Rose 48% 3,129      Nonpartisan John Stevens Jr. Incumbent 41.6% 2,711      Nonpartisan Eileen Tagg-Murdock 10.2% 667      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.2% 10 Total Votes 6,517 Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed January 29, 2015 Loudoun County Public Schools, Ashburn District General Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Eric Hornberger 34.5% 2,193      Nonpartisan John Ryan 23.8% 1,515      Nonpartisan Deborah Piland 18.7% 1,190      Nonpartisan Chris Souther 13.5% 859      Nonpartisan John Andrews II 9.3% 589      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.3% 18 Total Votes 6,364 Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed January 29, 2015 Loudoun County Public Schools, Blue Ridge District General Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Jill Turgeon 52.3% 3,840      Nonpartisan Priscilla Godfrey Incumbent 47.3% 3,473      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.3% 24 Total Votes 7,337 Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed January 29, 2015 Loudoun County Public Schools, Broad Run District General Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Kevin Kuesters 66.2% 3,284      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 33.8% 1,674 Total Votes 4,958 Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed January 29, 2015 Loudoun County Public Schools, Catoctin District General Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Jennifer Bergel Incumbent 54.3% 3,796      Nonpartisan Pablo Arias 45.3% 3,167      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.4% 27 Total Votes 6,990 Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed January 29, 2015 Loudoun County Public Schools, Dulles District General Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Jeff Morse 58.9% 2,930      Nonpartisan Anjan Chimaladinne 30% 1,492      Nonpartisan Margaret Michaud 10.9% 542      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.2% 10 Total Votes 4,974 Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed January 29, 2015 Loudoun County Public Schools, Leesburg District General Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan William Fox 44% 2,614      Nonpartisan Tom Marshall Incumbent 42.6% 2,529      Nonpartisan Mark Nuzzaco 13.2% 785      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.2% 11 Total Votes 5,939 Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed January 29, 2015 Loudoun County Public Schools, Sterling District General Election, 4-year term, 2011 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Brenda Sheridan Incumbent 98.2% 3,995      Nonpartisan Write-in votes 1.8% 74 Total Votes 4,069 Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "November 2011 General Election Official Results," accessed January 29, 2015

What was at stake?

2015

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey

One out of the 16 candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from Broad Run District candidate Joy Maloney.

Top priorities

When asked what her top priorities would be if elected, Maloney stated:

“	My top priorities would be: - put a plan in place for full day kindergarten for all - lower class sizes - offer some form of elementary foreign language again - expand advanced and specialized opportunities, not just in math and science but in arts and the humanities and not just in high school, but elementary and middle	”
—Joy Maloney (2015)

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Maloney, however, did not provide rankings to the issues.

Education policy
Click here to learn more about education policy in Virginia.
Education on the ballot

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue
N/A	Expanding arts education
N/A	Expanding career-technical education
N/A	Balancing or maintaining the district's budget
N/A	Improving college readiness
N/A	Closing the achievement gap
N/A	Improving education for special needs students
N/A	Expanding school choice options

Positions on the issues

Maloney was asked to answer 10 multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to her responses can be found below.

• Joy Maloney survey responses

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Loudoun County Public Schools election in 2015:

Deadline	Event
June 9, 2015	Deadline for candidate filing of nomination papers
October 13, 2015	Voter registration deadline for general election
October 27, 2015	Deadline to apply for absentee ballot by mail
October 31, 2015	Deadline to apply for an absentee ballot in person
November 3, 2015	Election Day

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Virginia elections, 2015

This election shared the ballot with races for clerk of court, county revenue commissioner, commonwealth's attorney, county board of supervisors, county sheriff, county treasurer and soil and water conservation district.

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Loudoun County Public Schools Virginia. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Loudoun County Public Schools elections (2015) - Google News

See also

Loudoun County Public Schools	Virginia	School Boards
List of school districts in Virginia	Virginia school board elections, 2015 Public education in Virginia Local ballot measures, Virginia	School board elections, 2015 School board elections, 2014 School board election data analysis, 2015 School board election data analysis, 2014

External links

Suggest a link

• Loudoun County Public Schools
• Virginia Department of Elections