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Rochester City School District elections (2015)

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School Board badge.png
2015 Rochester City School District Elections
General Election date:
November 3, 2015
Primary Election date:
September 10, 2015
Table of Contents
About the district
Method of election
Elections
What was at stake?
Candidate survey
Key deadlines
Additional elections
External links
See also
New York
Rochester City School District
Monroe County, New York ballot measures
Local ballot measures, New York
Flag of New York.png

Four seats on the Rochester City School District Board of School Commissioners were up for at-large general election on November 3, 2015. The seats of incumbents Willa Powell (D/WF), Malik Evans (D/I), Melisza Campos and Mary Adams (D/I) were on the ballot.[1] Adams, Evans and Powell sought and won re-election; the fourth seat went to newcomer Elizabeth Hallmark (D/WF). Candidate Matthew McDermott (WF) lost in the general election.[2]

All three incumbents, along with Hallmark, won the Democratic primary election, which allowed them to advance to the general election. Despite losing in the primary, McDermott also advanced to the general election as he cross-filed with the Working Families Party. No candidates filed to run with the Republican Party.[3][4]

The district sought to improve four of its schools that could be subject to state takeover for the 2016-2017 school year due to a new education law. A total of 15 schools in the district were considered failing in 2015, and only three districts in the state had a larger number of failing schools.[5] The district had to also find another $10 million that was not included in the 2015-2016 budget in order to solve a busing dispute with the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority.[6] Campaign finance was also an issue in this election due to a new interpretation of the state's education and election laws.[7]

See also: What was at stake in the Rochester City School District election?

See how this race compared to past school board elections in the state in the "Election trends" section. Incumbent Willa Powell participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. To read her responses, check out the "Ballotpedia survey responses" section.

About the district

See also: Rochester City School District, New York
Rochester City School District is located in Monroe County, N.Y.

The Rochester City School District is located in Monroe County in western New York. The county seat of Monroe County is Rochester. Monroe County was home to 749,857 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[8] During the 2012-2013 school year, Rochester City was the third-largest school district in New York and served 30,145 students.[9]

Demographics

Monroe County outperformed the rest of New York in terms of higher education achievement in 2013. The United States Census Bureau found that 35.8 percent of Monroe County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 33.2 percent for New York as a whole. The median household income in Monroe County was $52,394, compared to $58,003 for the entire state. The poverty rate in Monroe County was 15.0 percent, compared to 15.3 percent statewide.[8]

Racial Demographics, 2014[8]
Race Monroe County (%) New York (%)
White 77.3 70.4
Black or African American 16.1 17.6
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4 1.0
Asian 3.6 8.5
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1
Two or More Races 2.5 2.4
Hispanic or Latino 8.1 18.6

2014 Party Affiliation, Monroe County[10]
Party Registered Voters % of Total
Democratic 187,809 40.17
Republican 134,473 28.76
Independence 21,879 4.68
Constitution 8,416 1.80
Working Families 1,685 0.36
Green 1,277 0.27
Other 507 0.11
Unaffiliated 111,538 23.85

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 Rochester City Board of School Commissioners consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. They are elected at large on a staggered basis every November of odd-numbered years.[11] Three seats were on the ballot in November 2013, and four seats were on the ballot in 2015.[12][13] The primary election was held on September 10, 2015, and the general election was held on November 3, 2015.[14]

To get on the ballot, political party candidates had to file their designating petitions with the Monroe County Board of Elections between July 6, 2015, and July 9, 2015. Independent candidates also had to file their nominating petitions with the Monroe County Board of Elections. Those petitions had to be filed between August 11, 2015, and August 18, 2015. Signature filing requirements for political party candidates and independent candidates can be found in the table to the right.[15][16]

Candidates can run with multiple party designations under a process called cross-filing. The names of candidates running with multiple parties appear under each party designation on the ballot. The votes from each designation are then pooled together to give a candidate's vote total, which is called electoral fusion.

To vote in this election, district residents had to be U.S. citizens and at least 18 years old. They also had to have lived in the district for at least 30 days before the election.[17] Voter identification was not required to vote.[18]

2015 Petition Signature Requirements[15][16]
Party Signature Requirements
Democratic 1,000
Republican 534
Conservative 42
Green 20
Working Families 30
Independence 168
Independent candidates 1,500

Elections

2015

General election

Election results

ELECTORAL FUSION:
Rochester City School District,
At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2015
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Cross-filed (2) Green check mark transparent.pngMalik Evans Incumbent 24.9% 14,907
     Cross-filed (2) Green check mark transparent.pngElizabeth Hallmark 23.8% 14,239
     Cross-filed (2) Green check mark transparent.pngWilla Powell Incumbent 22.6% 13,512
     Cross-filed (2) Green check mark transparent.pngMary Adams Incumbent 22.1% 13,204
     Working Families Party Matthew McDermott 6.2% 3,738
     Nonpartisan Write-in votes 0.4% 260
Total Votes 59,860
Source: Monroe County, "2015 Monroe County General Election Unofficial Results," accessed November 3, 2015.

General election candidates

Democratic Party Independent Mary Adams Green check mark transparent.png Democratic Party Independent Malik Evans Green check mark transparent.png Democratic Party Working Families Party Willa Powell Green check mark transparent.png

Mary Adams.jpg

  • Incumbent
  • Member from 2012-2015
  • Cross-filed with the Democratic and Independence Parties
  • Graduate, State University of New York at Cortland and the University of Rochester
  • Research nurse, University of Rochester Medical Center

Malik Evans.jpg

Willa Powell.jpg

  • Incumbent
  • Member from 1997-2001, 2003-2015
  • Cross-filed with the Democratic and Working Families Parties
  • Graduate, Rochester Institute of Technology
  • Retired captain and personnel officer, United States Army Reserve
Democratic Party Working Families Party Elizabeth Hallmark Green check mark transparent.png Working Families Party Matthew McDermott

Elizabeth Hallmark.png

  • Cross-filed with the Democratic and Working Families Parties
  • Graduate, Mount Holyoke College, Antioch University and University of Rochester
  • Adjunct professor, University of Rochester, Nazareth College and Roberts Wesleyan College

Matthew McDermott.jpg

Democratic primary Democratic Party

Democratic primary election results

This election was held September 10, 2015.

Rochester City School District, At-Large, Democratic Primary, 2015
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Malik Evans Incumbent 19.2% 4,910
Green check mark transparent.png Mary Adams Incumbent 16.2% 4,137
Green check mark transparent.png Elizabeth Hallmark 14.2% 3,637
Green check mark transparent.png Willa Powell Incumbent 14.2% 3,629
Lorenzo Williams 10.4% 2,652
Howard Eagle 9.9% 2,517
Mia Hodgins 8.1% 2,065
Matthew McDermott 7.5% 1,923
Write-in votes 0.28% 72
Total Votes 25,542
Source: Monroe County Clerk, "Democratic Primary Final Summary," accessed September 23, 2015

Candidates defeated in the Democratic primary

Democratic Party Howard Eagle Democratic Party Mia Hodgins

Howard Eagle.jpg

  • Democratic candidate
  • Graduate, Monroe Community College and the State University of New York at Brockport
  • Adjunct professor, State University of New York at Brockport
  • Former teacher, Rochester City School District

Mia Hodgins.jpg

  • Democratic candidate
  • Graduate, State University of New York at Oswego and the Rochester Institute of Technology
  • Assistant director of development, Monroe Community College
Democratic Party Working Families Party Matthew McDermott Democratic Party Lorenzo Williams

Matthew McDermott.jpg

Placeholder image.png

Endorsements

The following is a list of endorsements made in the 2015 Rochester City School District elections:

Candidate endorsements
Endorsement Mary Adams Malik Evans Willa Powell Howard Eagle Elizabeth Hallmark Mia Hodgins Matthew McDermott Lorenzo Williams
Political parties
Democratic Party Monroe County Democratic Committee[19]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
Working Families Party Working Families Party[20]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
Local media
Rochester City Newspaper[21]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
Community organizations
Rochester Labor Council[22][23]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
Rochester Teachers Association (RTA)[24]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
Board of Education Non-Teaching Employees (BENTE)[22][23]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
Coalition for Justice in Education (CJE)[22][23]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}
Empire State Pride Agenda[25]
{{{1}}}
ATU Local 282[22][26]
{{{1}}}
{{{1}}}

Campaign finance

School Board badge.png

The Rochester City School District does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Due to a change in the interpretation of New York education and election laws, the Rochester City School District was in charge of campaign finance reports for the 2015 school board election.[27] The district required that a Freedom of Information Act request be filed and copies of the documents be paid for.[28] According to the Democrat & Chronicle, incumbent Willa Powell and challengers Howard Eagle, Mia Hodgins and Lorenzo Williams reported spending less than $500 on their campaigns for the first campaign finance filing deadline for the primary election. The newspaper also reported that out of the eight candidates in the election, challenger Elizabeth Hallmark spent the most money on her campaign at $1,714, and incumbent Malik Evans raised the most at $9,125, which included a $5,000 personal loan.[7]

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

School board candidates were required to file campaign finance disclosure reports with the clerk of the Rochester City School District. No disclosure reports were required from candidates who raised or spent less than $500, but those candidates did have to file a sworn statement to that effect with the school district clerk.[29] Three reports were required per election from those over the $500 threshold. The first was due 30 days before the election. The second was due five days before the election, and the third was due 20 days after the election.[30]

Past elections

What was at stake?

2015

Election trends

School Board Election Trends Banner.jpg
See also: School boards in session: 2014 elections by the numbers

With four seats on the ballot on November 3, 2015, over half of the Rochester City Board of School Commissioners had the potential to change hands. Three of the four incumbents ran to retain their seats, guaranteeing that at least one newcomer would join the board. An average of two candidates per seat ran in the primary. Three candidates were eliminated in that election, leaving an average of 1.25 candidates per seat for the general election. All three incumbents were re-elected to the board, and one newcomer took the open seat.

In 2014, an average of 2.02 school board candidates ran per seat up for election in New York's largest school districts. That year, 23.4 percent of board seats in those districts were unopposed, and 40.43 percent of seats went to newcomers.

Issues in the district

Superintendent resigns

On October 27, 2015, Rochester Superintendent Bolgen Vargas announced he would be stepping down on December 31, 2015. The Board of Education appointed Daniel Lowengard to serve as the district's interim superintendent from January 1, 2016, through June 30, 2016. During that time, Vargas served as a consultant to Lowengard and to the board.[31]

Lowengard previously served as a superintendent for the Syracuse City School District. In support of Lownegard's appointment, Timothy G. Kremer, executive director of the New York State School Boards Association, said, “Dan has the right experience, professional capabilities and personal commitment to allow for a smooth, near seamless transition between superintendents. Dan’s calm, steady leadership will be essential during these changing, often chaotic, times.”[31]

Education Transformation Act

Due to a new education law passed in 2015, four schools in the Rochester City School District could have faced state takeover if they did not improve during the 2015-2016 school year. In addition to giving the state the power to take over failing schools, the Education Transformation Act of 2015 made several educational reforms in New York that targeted student performance and teacher evaluation systems.[5]

To be considered failing, schools had to have graduation rates or achievement scores below 60 percent for three consecutive years. If they continued to have low scores for 10 consecutive years, schools were considered persistently failing. Under the Education Transformation Act, schools considered to be failing had to create an improvement plan that was approved by the state. If failing schools did not improve after one year, they went into "receivership," which gave the district superintendent more power over hiring and firing staff and restructuring the school. If failing schools did not improve after one year under receivership, they were put under the control of outside operators, such as university or nonprofit organizations.[5]

A total of 15 schools in the district were considered failing as of the 2015-2016 school year.[32] Four of those schools were in their second and last year of targeted reforms under receivership of the district superintendent. “If those schools were to fail, then the state could take over and implement radical actions that we’ve never seen before,” said Rochester City Superintendent Bolgen Vargas. The other 11 schools were in their first year and had one more to go.[5] A total of 178 schools in New York were considered failing in 2015. Check out the table to the right to compare Rochester to other districts in the state.[33]

Vargas said the district focused on early literacy, student attendance and third-grade reading levels. He said he believed the results would show in higher graduation rates, but that it would take years to see a significant shift. He said the new system needed to be more flexible to give districts the chance to make improvements.[5]

The Education Transformation Act added $1.3 billion to state education funding, creating a record high of $23.5 billion in state education funds. A total of $75 million of those funds was earmarked to help failing schools.[5] Rochester City School District's failing schools received an additional $7.5 million for the 2015-2016 school year. Vargas said the district used the money for "expanded learning, summer learning, addressing the summer learning loss of our students."[32]

New York school districts with failing schools[33]
District Number of failing schools
Albany City School District 3
Amsterdam City School District 1
Buffalo City School District 27
Central Islip Union Free School District 1
Hempstead Union Free School District 2
Mt. Vernon School District 1
Newburgh Enlarged City School District 1
New York City School District 92
Poughkeepsie City School District 2
Rochester City School District 15
Roosevelt Union Free School District 2
Schenectady City School District 2
Syracuse City School District 18
Troy City School District 1
Utica City School District 1
Wyandanch Union Free School District 1
Yonkers City School District 8

Busing agreement

In July 2015, the Rochester City School District announced that it had signed a busing agreement with the Rochester-Genesee Regional Transportation Authority (RGRTA) for the 2015-2016 school year. The agreement came after RGRTA had initially announced they would stop busing students in April 2015.

At issue was the process of transferring students at a downtown transit center. Fights had occurred between students at the center, and several customers and local leaders had complained about safety issues. Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren had asked the school district and RGRTA to stop having students transferred at the center.

The new agreement for the 2015-2016 school year was $10 million more than the school district budgeted, but it ensured 91 percent of students would not be transferred at the downtown transit center. According to Rochester City Superintendent Bolgen Vargas, the district planned to cover the additional costs with funds requested from the state.[6]

Issues in the election

Campaign finance changes
Campaign Finance Ballotpedia.png

Due to a revised decision on New York's education and election laws, the Rochester City School District was in charge of campaign finance disclosure statements from school commissioner candidates rather than the state. The revised decision, however, did not include a mandate that school districts publish the information. Because of this, it was more difficult to find out how much candidates spent on their campaigns for the 2015 election season.[7][27]

Previously, campaign finance statements filed with the school district were handed over to the New York State Board of Elections. The Board of Elections then published those documents online, giving anyone free, public access to view them. Shanai Lee, clerk of the Rochester Board of Education, required a Freedom of Information Act request to be filed in order to access those documents. Photocopies of documents from the district cost 25 cents per page. Lee said she requested advice from the New York State School Boards Association. A spokesperson for the association said he did not believe school districts were required to publish campaign finance statements, and neither the New York State Education Department nor the Board of Elections provided feedback on the issue.[7][28]

Ballotpedia survey responses

Candidate Connection Logo - stacked.png
See also: Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey

One of the eight 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 incumbent Willa Powell.

Top priorities

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

“ Given that a dozen schools are under receivership status, with the Superintendent serving as the de facto receiver, this Board of Education must become active around working with the state to develop viable receivership partners, as it did with Est High School last year.[34] ”
—Willa Powell (2015)[35]
Ranking the issues

Powell 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. This table displays the candidate's rankings:

Issue importance ranking
Issue Powell's ranking
Expanding arts education
4
Expanding career-technical education
6
Balancing or maintaining the district's budget
3
Improving college readiness
5
Closing the achievement gap
1
Improving education for special needs students
2
Expanding school choice options
7
Positions on the issues

The candidate 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 the candidate's responses can be found below.

Key deadlines

The following dates were key deadlines for the Rochester City School District election in 2015:[15][16][30][36]

Deadline Event
July 9, 2015 Political party designating petition filing deadline
August 11, 2015 - August 18, 2015 Independent nominating petition filing period
August 12, 2015 First campaign finance report due for primary election
August 14, 2015 In-person voter registration deadline for primary election
August 21, 2015 By-mail voter registration deadline for primary election
September 5, 2015 Second campaign finance report due for primary election
September 10, 2015 Primary Election Day
September 30, 2015 Third campaign finance report due for primary election
October 4, 2015 First campaign finance report due for general election
October 9, 2015 In-person voter registration deadline for general election
October 14, 2015 By-mail voter registration deadline for general election
October 29, 2015 Second campaign finance report due for general election
November 3, 2015 General Election Day
November 23, 2015 Third campaign finance report due for general election

Additional elections on the ballot

See also: New York elections, 2015

The Rochester City School District election shared the ballot with a number of municipal offices: county executive, family court judge, district attorney, county legislators, city court judge and city council. There were also a number of town offices on the ballot.[37]

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Rochester City School District' New York. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Rochester City School District elections (2015) - Google News

See also

Rochester City School District New York School Boards
School Board badge.png
Seal of New York.png
School Board badge.png

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Rochester City School District, "Board Member Biographies," accessed July 16, 2015
  2. ↑ Monroe County, "2015 Monroe County General Election Unofficial Results," accessed November 3, 2015
  3. ↑ Monroe County Clerk, "2015 Monroe Primary Unofficial Results," accessed September 10, 2015
  4. ↑ Democrat & Chronicle, "Incumbents, Hallmark prevail for city school board," September 10, 2015
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Rochester Business Journal, "Sweeping reforms address failing schools," July 10, 2015
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Rochester Business Journal, "City school district signs agreement with RGRTA," July 8, 2015
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Democrat & Chronicle, "School board election spending muddled," August 17, 2015
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 United States Census Bureau, "Monroe County, New York," accessed September 23, 2015
  9. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed April 29, 2015
  10. ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "NYSVoter Enrollment by County, Party Affiliation and Status," November 1, 2014
  11. ↑ Rochester City School District, "Policy 2100: School Board Legal Status," accessed July 16, 2015
  12. ↑ Abbey Smith, "Email communication with H. Early in the Monroe County Board of Elections," February 9, 2015
  13. ↑ Monroe County Board of Elections, "2013 General Election Certification," accessed July 16, 2015
  14. ↑ New York State Election Commissioners Association, "State of New York 2014 Election Law," accessed February 9, 2015
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 Monroe County Board of Elections, "Party Designating Petitions 2015," accessed July 16, 2015
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Monroe County Board of Elections, "Independent Nominating Petitions 2015," accessed July 16, 2015
  17. ↑ Monroe County Board of Elections, "Voter Registration," accessed July 16, 2015
  18. ↑ Monroe County Board of Elections, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed July 16, 2015
  19. ↑ Monroe County Democratic Committee, "2015 MCDC Designating Convention Results," May 22, 2015
  20. ↑ Working Families Party, "2015 Candidates: Rochester Area," accessed September 8, 2015
  21. ↑ Rochester City Newspaper, "Primary Endorsements," August 26, 2015
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 Liz Hallmark for Rochester City School District, "Home," accessed September 8, 2015
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Mary Adams Commissioner, RCSD, "Testimonials and Endorsements," accessed August 13, 2015
  24. ↑ Rochester Teachers Association, "Adam's Updates," accessed September 8, 2015
  25. ↑ Empire State Pride Agenda, "EMPIRE STATE PRIDE AGENDA ANNOUNCES FIRST ROUND ENDORSEMENTS FOR 2015," August 25, 2015
  26. ↑ Facebook, "ATU Local 282," August 17, 2015
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Monroe County Board of Elections, "Campaign Finance Disclosure Filings," May 11, 2015
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Abbey Smith, "Email communication with Rochester City Board of Education Clerk Shanai Lee," August 13, 2015
  29. ↑ Monroe County Board of Elections, "Campaign Finance Disclosure Filings," May 11, 2015
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 New York State Election Law, "NY Code - Section 1529: Times for filing statements," accessed August 12, 2015
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 ABC 13 WHAM, "RCSD Superintendent to step down," October 27, 2015
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 News 10, "New York State Exposed Education: Is putting more money towards failing schools an effective strategy?" September 24, 2015
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Office of Governor Andrew Cuomo, "The State of New York's Failing Schools 2015 Report," accessed October 13, 2015
  34. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  35. ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Willa Powell responses," September 1, 2015
  36. ↑ Rochester City School District, "Campaign Expenditure And Contribution Statements For Candidates For Member Of The Board Of Education: Rochester City School District September 10, 2015 Primary Election," accessed August 12, 2015
  37. ↑ Monroe County Board of Elections, "Report of Designating Petitions Filed by Party and Office Name," July 15, 2015
2015 Rochester City School District Elections
Monroe County, New York
Election date:Primary election: September 10, 2015
General election: November 3, 2015
Candidates:At-large: • Incumbent, Mary Adams (D, I) • Incumbent, Malik Evans (D, I) • Incumbent, Willa Powell (D, WF) • Howard Eagle (D) • Elizabeth Hallmark (D, WF) • Mia Hodgins (D) • Matthew McDermott (D, WF) • Lorenzo Williams (D)
Important information:What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot
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