Newport News Public Schools elections (2016)
 |
Presidential • U.S. House • State ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • Candidate ballot access |
 |
← 2014 |
|---|
 |
|
|
| Enrollment (13–14): |
|
|
Three of the seven seats on the Newport News Public Schools school board were up for general election on May 3, 2016. Three candidates competed for the North District seat, while five candidates competed for the South District seat. Incumbent Shelly Simonds won re-election to her seat after running unopposed for the Central District seat.[1]
In the North District, Marvin Harris defeated Curtis Bethany and Valerie Young. John Eley III won the South District seats by defeating Sheryl Holmes Abbott, Terri Best, Bethany Martin and Yugonda Sample. This was the most competitive election in the past three elections for the Newport News School Board. The average number of candidates per seat exceeded the national and state averages from 2015.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Newport News School Board consists of seven members elected to four-year terms. Six members represent specific geographical districts while the seventh member represents the entire district. There was no primary election, and the general election was held on May 3, 2016.[2]
To be elected to the board, candidates must reside in the boundaries of the city of Newport News. If a board member moves from the city limits, their seat is considered vacant. Candidates must also be a citizen of the United States, be at least 18 years old and be a resident of Virginia for at least one year.
Candidates had until March 1, 2016, to collect 125 signatures for their nomination papers. The signatures had to come from residents of the district where the candidate sought election. Candidates could not begin circulating petitions until January 1, 2016.[3]
North District
Results
| Newport News Public Schools, North District General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Marvin Harris |
42.18% | 1,020 |
| Curtis Bethany | 33.62% | 813 |
| Valerie Young | 23.74% | 574 |
| Write-in votes | 0.45% | 11 |
| Total Votes | 2,418 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2016 May City General Official Results," accessed June 23, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Curtis Bethany | Marvin Harris 
|
Valerie Young | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
South District
Results
| Newport News Public Schools, South District General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| John Eley III |
31.04% | 1,080 |
| Terri Best | 29.69% | 1,033 |
| Sheryl Holmes Abbott | 27.68% | 963 |
| Bethany Martin | 7.07% | 246 |
| Yugonda Sample | 3.97% | 138 |
| Write-in votes | 0.55% | 19 |
| Total Votes | 3,479 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2016 May City General Official Results," accessed June 23, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Sheryl Holmes Abbott | Terri Best | John Eley III
| |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Bethany Martin | Yugonda Sample | ||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| |
Central District
Results
| Newport News Public Schools, Central District General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Shelly Simonds (unopposed) |
94.00% | 4,653 |
| Write-in votes | 6% | 297 |
| Total Votes | 4,950 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2016 May City General Official Results," accessed June 23, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Shelly Simonds
| |
|---|---|
|
|
|
Additional elections
- See also: Virginia elections, 2016
The Newport News school board election shared the ballot with elections for the city council.[1]
Key deadlines
The following dates are key deadlines for the Newport News school board elections in 2016:[4][5]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| March 1, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| April 12, 2016 | Last day to register to vote in the general election |
| April 15, 2016 | First campaign finance deadline |
| April 25, 2016 | Second compaign finance deadline |
| May 3, 2016 | Election Day |
| June 15, 2016 | Final campaign finance deadline |
Endorsements
Harris and Best received official endorsements from the Daily Press.[6]
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $5,024.12 and spent a total of $3,684.29 during the election, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.[7]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| North District | |||
| Curtis Bethany | $2,150.00 | $2,150.00 | $0.00 |
| Marvin Harris | No reports filed during the election. | ||
| Valerie Young | No reports filed during the election. | ||
| South District | |||
| Sheryl Holmes Abbott | $1,660.12 | $970.29 | $689.83 |
| Terri Best | No reports filed during the election. | ||
| John Eley III | No reports filed during the election. | ||
| Bethany Martin | No reports filed during the election. | ||
| Yugonda Sample | No reports filed during the election. | ||
| South District | |||
| Shelly Simonds | $1,214.80 | $564.00 | $650.80 |
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2012
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
What was at stake?
2016
Election trends
The Newport News school board is made up of seven members and has three or four at-large seats up for election each year. In 2016, the district had three seats up for election. One incumbent ran unopposed for re-election to her seat. One seat had three candidates, and the other open seat had five candidates in the race. This election saw an average of 3 candidates per seat, which is significantly higher than the candidate per seat average across the country (1.72) and in the state of Virginia (1.61), according to an analysis of 2015 school board elections in America's largest school districts by enrollment. It is also higher than the average candidates per seat in Newport News' school board elections in 2014 (2) and 2012 (2.33).
About the district
- See also: Newport News Public Schools, Virginia
Newport News Public Schools is located in eastern Virginia in Newport News. Newport News was home to 182,965 residents in 2014, according to the United States Census Bureau.[8] The district was the ninth-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 29,777 students.[9]
Demographics
Newport News underperformed in comparison to Virginia as a whole in terms of higher education achievement in 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 24.1 percent of city residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 35.8 percent of state residents. The median household income in Newport News was $51,000, compared to $64,792 for the state. The poverty rate in the city was 15.2 percent, compared to 11.8 percent for the entire state.[8]
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 'Newport News Public Schools' 'Virginia'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Newport News Public Schools | Virginia | School Boards |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
|
|
|
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Tiffany Rouse, "Email correspondence with Newport News Voter Registrar Vicki Lewis," March 7, 2016
- ↑ Newport News Public Schools, "Newport News School Board," accessed March 7, 2016
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Candidacy Requirements For City and Town Offices," accessed March 3, 2016
- ↑ Newport News, Virginia, "Voter Registration," accessed March 7, 2016
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "2016 Candidate Reporting Deadlines," accessed March 3, 2016
- ↑ Daily Press, "Editorial: Endorsement roundup," April 30, 2016
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed July 2, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 United States Census Bureau, "Quickfacts:Newport News, Virginia," accessed March 7, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Virginia State Board of Elections, "Election Results," accessed February 11, 2014
