Albemarle County Public Schools elections (2015)
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Five seats on the Albemarle County Public Schools School Board were up for general election on November 3, 2015. The seats of Rivanna District incumbent Jason Buyaki, Scottsville District incumbent Stephen Koleszar, White Hall District incumbent Barbara Massie Mouly and at-large incumbent Ned Gallaway were up for election.[1]
Newcomers Jonathan Alcaro, Dolly Joseph and Catherine Lochner competed for the at-large seat. Alcaro defeated Joseph and Lochner in the general election. The White Hall District race featured challengers Caroll Hatcher and David Oberg; Oberg won the open seat. Incumbents Buyaki and Koleszar ran unopposed and won re-election to their Rivanna District and Scottsville District seats, respectively.
The Samuel Miller District seat, vacated by Eric Strucko's resignation on April 29, 2015, was up for special election on November 3, 2015. Michael Basile, Graham Paige and Brian Vanyo filed for the special election. Paige won the remainder of Stucko's term.[2][3]
One of the 10 candidates in this election participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 school board candidate survey. Check out the "What was at stake?" section to see survey answers.
About the district
Albemarle County Public Schools is located in central Virginia in Albemarle County. This county was home to 103,000 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[4] In the 2011-2012 school year, Albemarle County Public Schools was the 19th-largest school district in Virginia and served 13,104 students.[5]
Demographics
Albemarle County outperformed the rest of Virginia in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 52.2 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 Albemarle County was $67,725, compared to $63,907 for the state of Virginia. The poverty rate was 10.2 percent, compared to 11.3 percent for the entire state.[4]
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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.
Voter and candidate information
The Albemarle County School Board is a seven-member board with six members elected by district and one member elected at-large. Four board seat were facing regularly scheduled elections in 2015 and three seats were up for regularly scheduled elections in 2017.[7]
Candidates for the at-large, Rivanna District, Scottsville District and White Hall District had until June 7, 2015, to file nominating petitions with the county elections office. Samuel Miller District candidates had to submit nominating petitions by August 14, 2015.[8]
Elections
2015
Candidates
At-large
Jonathan Alcaro 
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Dolly Joseph | Catherine Lochner | |||
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Rivanna District
| Jason Buyaki
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Samuel Miller District (2-year term)
| Michael Basile | Graham Paige
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Brian Vanyo | |||
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Scottsville District
| Stephen Koleszar
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White Hall District
| Caroll Hatcher | David Oberg
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Election results
| Albemarle County School Board, At-large, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jonathan Alcaro |
50.3% | 9,184 |
| Catherine Lochner | 26.8% | 4,890 |
| Dolly Joseph | 22.1% | 4,036 |
| Write-in votes | 0.81% | 148 |
| Total Votes | 18,258 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 3, 2015 | ||
| Albemarle County School Board, Rivanna District, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Jason Buyaki Incumbent |
98.1% | 3,148 |
| Write-in votes | 1.9% | 61 |
| Total Votes | 3,209 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 3, 2015 | ||
| Albemarle County School Board, Samuel Miller District, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Graham Paige |
62.4% | 2,355 |
| Michael Basile | 22.2% | 839 |
| Brian Vanyo | 15.0% | 566 |
| Write-in votes | 0.42% | 16 |
| Total Votes | 3,776 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 3, 2015 | ||
| Albemarle County School Board, Scottsville District, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Stephen Koleszar Incumbent |
98.2% | 2,575 |
| Total Votes | 2,575 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 3, 2015 | ||
| Albemarle County School Board, White Hall District, General Election, 2015 | ||
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| David Oberg |
55.8% | 2,183 |
| Caroll Hatcher | 44.0% | 1,721 |
| Write-in votes | 0.28% | 11 |
| Total Votes | 3,915 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November General", accessed November 3, 2015 | ||
Endorsements
The Albemarle County Democratic Party endorsed Stephen Koleszar, David Oberg, Graham Paige and Jonathan Alcaro.[9]
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $3,757.83 and spent a total of $3,368.83 as of October 26, 2015, according to the Virginia State Board of Elections.[10]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| At-large | |||
| Jonathan Alcaro | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Dolly Joseph | $230.94 | $55.94 | $175.00 |
| Catherine Lochner | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Rivanna District | |||
| Jason Buyaki (incumbent) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Samuel Miller District | |||
| Michael Basile | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Graham Paige | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Brian Vanyo | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Scottsville District | |||
| Stephen Koleszar (incumbent) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| White Hall District | |||
| Caroll Hatcher | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| David Oberg | $3,526.89 | $3,312.89 | $214.00 |
Past elections
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What was at stake?
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
One candidate out of 10 total candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following section displays the responses to the survey questions from at-large candidate Dolly Joseph.
Top priorities
When asked what her top priorities would be if elected, Joseph stated:
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My top priority would be to ensure our schools are preparing students for a successful and happy life once they complete their grade school career. [11] |
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| —Dolly Joseph, (2015), [12] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidates were asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays the candidates' rankings from most to least important:
| Education policy |
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Click here to learn more about education policy in Virginia. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
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| Issue | Joseph |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
Positions on the issues
The candidates were asked to answer 10 multiple and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to the candidates' responses can be found below.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Albemarle County Public Schools election in 2015:[8]
| Deadline | Event |
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| June 9, 2015 | Last day for candidates to file nomination documents |
| August 14, 2015 | Last day for candidates to file nomination documents for the Samuel Miller District special election seat |
| October 13, 2015 | Last day to register to vote in the general election |
| October 27, 2015 | Last day to apply for an absentee ballot by mail |
| October 31, 2015 | Last day 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 commonwealth's attorney, county board of supervisors, sheriff, clerk of court and soil and water conservation district.[3]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Albemarle County Public Schools Virginia. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Albemarle County Public Schools | Virginia | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Albemarle County Public Schools, "School Board," accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ Charlottesville Tomorrow, "Samuel Miller applicants outline positions for School Board," June 8, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Virginia Department of Elections, "List of Candidates," September 9, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 United States Census Bureau, "Albemarle County, Virginia," accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Election Results," accessed September 17, 2013
- ↑ Albemarle County Public Schools, "Office of the School Board," accessed September 11, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Virginia Department of Elections, "2015 November Election Calendar," accessed January 27, 2015
- ↑ Albemarle County Democratic Party, "Our Candidates," accessed October 21, 2015
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Dolly Joseph's responses," September 16, 2015
