Elizabeth Public Schools elections (2016)
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Three of the nine seats on the Elizabeth Public Schools school board were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. Incumbents Stanley Neron and Jose Rodriguez, along with Diane Barbosa, defeated incumbent Carlos Trujillo, Ricky Castaneda, Christina Moreira, Maria Medeiros DaRassi, Sima Farid, Maria Lorenz, and former candidate Virginia San Pedro for the three seats up for election.[1]
Three candidates participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. Click here to read their responses.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Elizabeth school board consists of nine members elected at large to three-year terms. Elections are staggered, with three seats up for election each year. The general election was held on November 8, 2016. There was no primary election.[2]
Candidates for the school board must be 18 years old and registered to vote. They must have resided within the district for at least one year prior to their election or appointment. Candidates cannot concurrently hold office as mayor or as a member of the governing body of a municipality. Board members cannot have been convicted of a felony. There are no term limits.[2]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Elizabeth Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Diane Barbosa |
25.33% | 11,330 |
| Jose Rodriguez Incumbent |
21.62% | 9,669 |
| Stanley Neron Incumbent |
21.59% | 9,656 |
| Carlos Trujillo Incumbent | 10.67% | 4,774 |
| Christina Moreira | 7.33% | 3,277 |
| Sima Farid | 3.96% | 1,773 |
| Maria Lorenz | 3.92% | 1,753 |
| Ricky Castaneda | 2.23% | 999 |
| Maria Medeiros DaRassi | 1.79% | 799 |
| Virginia San Pedro | 1.44% | 642 |
| Write-in votes | 0.13% | 56 |
| Total Votes | 44,728 | |
| Source: Union County Clerk, "Official Results," accessed December 1, 2016 | ||
Candidates
Stanley Neron 
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Jose Rodriguez
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Carlos Trujillo | Diane Barbosa
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Ricky Castaneda |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Christina Moreira | Sima Farid | Maria Lorenz | Maria Medeiros DaRassi | Virginia San Pedro |
Additional elections
- See also: New Jersey elections, 2016
The Elizabeth school board election shared the ballot with federal elections for President of the United States and United States Representative. There were two statewide ballot measures on the ballot. There were also municipal elections for Union County Freeholder, Elizabeth City Council, and Elizabeth mayor.[3]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for New Jersey school board elections in 2016:[4][5]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| July 25, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| September 9, 2016 | Candidate withdrawal deadline |
| October 10, 2016 | First pre-election campaign finance report due |
| October 18, 2016 | Voter registration deadline |
| October 28, 2016 | Second pre-election campaign finance report due |
| November 8, 2016 | Election day |
| November 28, 2016 | Post-election campaign finance report due |
| January 1 - January 7, 2017 | New members sworn in |
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $152,132.10 and spent a total of $119,653.08 in the election, according to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.[6]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Diane Barbosa | $59,090.00 | $46,557.58 | $12,532.42 |
| Ricky Castaneda | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Christina Moreira | $2,656.52 | $0.00 | $2,656.52 |
| Maria Medeiros DaRassi | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Sima Farid | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Maria Lorenz | $807.58 | $0.00 | $807.58 |
| Stanley Neron | $12,600.00 | $13,902.77 | -$1,302.77 |
| Jose Rodriguez | $67,678.00 | $53,053.11 | $14,624.89 |
| Virginia San Pedro | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Carlos Trujillo | $9,300.00 | $6,139.62 | $3,160.38 |
Past elections
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What was at stake?
Candidate survey
Survey responses
Three candidates in this race participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display the responses to the survey questions from Ricky Castaneda, Maria Lorenz, and Christina Moreira.
Hope to achieve
When asked what he hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Castaneda stated:
| “ | Get PARCC out. Increase relationship with student body, faculty and parents.[7] | ” |
| —Ricky Castaneda (August 6, 2016)[8] | ||
When asked what she hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Lorenz stated:
| “ | I would like to encourage parental involvement by opening committee meetings to the public. I also want to involve students, teachers and administrators to roundtable discussions in order to better establish policies. Establish an elected and functional Special Education Parent Group along with a Bilingual Parent Group. I want to work towards providing equal access to education for all students.[7] | ” |
| —Maria Lorenz (October 14, 2016)[9] | ||
When asked what she hoped to achieve if elected to the school board, Moreira stated:
| “ | I hope to be the voice of parents, students and teachers when I get elected, something that has been missing from this district for years. I hope to help address why some of our schools have been "focus" schools for years what we can do to change that. I would like to review the current graduation requirements,high school start and end times, as well as equal access to AP/Honors courses and activities. We need to include our parents in the discussion of issues concerning our school with possible quarterly round tables. Also want to include our high school student in the decisions that affect them, possibly 2 reps from each academy. I would like to bring back a proper SEPAC with parental input, not just workshops.[7] | ” |
| —Christina Moreira (August 6, 2016)[10] | ||
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 their rankings:
| Issue importance ranking | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issue | Castaneda's ranking | Lorenz's ranking | Moreira's ranking | |
| Expanding arts education | ||||
| Improving relations with teachers | ||||
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | ||||
| Improving post-secondary readiness | ||||
| Closing the achievement gap | ||||
| Improving education for special needs students | ||||
| Expanding school choice options | ||||
Positions on the issues
The candidates were asked to answer nine multiple choice and short answer questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. A link to their responses can be found below.
- Ricky Castaneda's survey responses
- Maria Lorenz's survey responses
- Christina Moreira's survey responses
Report a story for this election
Ballotpedia researches issues in school board elections across the United States, but information availability is a challenge for us in many school districts. Please contact us about the issues that impact your local school district. Note that not all submissions may meet Ballotpedia's coverage requirements for inclusion.
Candidate survey
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
About the district
- See also: Elizabeth Public Schools, New Jersey
Elizabeth Public Schools is located in Union County, New Jersey. Union County was home to 555,786 residents in 2015, according to estimates by the United States Census Bureau.[11] The district was the third-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 24,875 students.[12]
Demographics
Union County underperformed compared to New Jersey as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 32.3 percent of county residents aged 25 years or older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 36.4 percent of all state residents. The median household income in the county was $69,396, compared to $72,062 for the state. The poverty rate in Union County was 11.1 percent, compared to 10.8 percent for the entire state.[11]
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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 'Elizabeth Public Schools' 'New Jersey'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Elizabeth Public Schools | New Jersey | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Mandy Gillip, "Email communication with Lisa Bobish, Union County Election Supervisor," July 26, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Elizabeth Public Schools, "Bylaw," accessed August 31, 2016
- ↑ Union County, New Jersey, "Candidate Lists," accessed September 27, 2016
- ↑ New Jersey School Boards Association, "2016 School Board Candidacy & Election Dates," accessed September 20, 2016
- ↑ State of New Jersey Department of State, "General Election Timeline," accessed September 20, 2016
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "Public Information," accessed December 12, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Ricky Castaneda's responses," August 6, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Maria Lorenz's responses," October 14, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, "Christina Moreira's responses," October 14, 2016
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 United States Census Bureau, "Union County, New Jersey," accessed September 27, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ New Jersey Department of State, "NJ Election Information and Results Archive," accessed September 28, 2016
| 2016 Elizabeth Public Schools Elections | |
| Union County, New Jersey | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Stanley Neron • Incumbent, Jose Rodriguez • Incumbent, Carlos Trujillo • Diane Barbosa • Ricky Castaneda • Christina Moreira • Sima Farid • Maria Lorenz • Maria Medeiros DaRassi • Virginia San Pedro |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional measures on the ballot |
