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Orleans Parish School Board elections (2016)
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Seven seats on the Orleans Parish School Board were up for by-district primary election on November 8, 2016. District 1 incumbent John Brown Sr., District 2 candidate Ethan Ashley, District 3 incumbent Sarah Usdin, and District 5 candidate Benjamin Kleban ran unopposed and won election to the board without appearing on the ballot. District 4 incumbent Leslie Ellison defeated challenger Walter Umrani. Morris Reed Jr. originally filed to challenge Ellison but withdrew from the race before the election. Despite his withdrawal announcement, his name remained on the ballot. District 6 incumbent Woody Koppel won re-election to his seat by defeating David Alvarez, and District 7 incumbent Nolan Marshall Jr. also won re-election after defeating Alvin Crusto Jr. and Kwame Smith.[1]
Orleans Parish School Board began the reunification process of the schools in its district in 2016. The state took over most of the schools in the district after Hurricane Katrina. All of the schools were placed under the control of the Orleans Parish School Board by July 1, 2018.
Louisiana elections use the Louisiana majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50% of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Orleans Parish School Board consisted of seven partisan members who are regularly elected simultaneously in by-district elections every four years. Louisiana school board elections required a majority of 50 percent plus one for a candidate to win. If a candidate garners this majority in what is called the primary election, no general election is held. If no candidate receives the majority of votes, a general election is held and functions as a runoff election. Any member who, at the end of his or her term, has served more than two and one-half terms in the last three consecutive terms cannot be re-elected in the following term; however, they can be re-elected following a one-term break.
The deadlines for candidates to file to run in this election was July 22, 2016.
Candidates and results
District 1
Results
This race was canceled due to a lack of opposition and did not appear on the ballot.
| Orleans Parish School Board, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic |  John A. Brown Sr. Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Candidates
John Brown Sr. 
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District 2
Results
This race was canceled due to a lack of opposition and did not appear on the ballot.
| Orleans Parish School Board, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Ethan Ashley (unopposed) | |
Candidates
| Ethan Ashley
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District 3
Results
This race was canceled due to a lack of opposition and did not appear on the ballot.
| Orleans Parish School Board, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Sarah Usdin Incumbent (unopposed) | |
Candidates
| Sarah Usdin
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District 4
Results
| Orleans Parish School Board, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Leslie Ellison Incumbent |
68.29% | 11,980 | |
| Democratic | Morris Reed Jr. | 18.51% | 3,247 | |
| Democratic | Walter Umrani | 13.20% | 2,315 | |
| Total Votes | 17,542 | |||
| Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Orleans Parish," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||||
Candidates
| Leslie Ellison
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Walter Umrani | ||
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Withdrawn candidates
| Morris Reed Jr. | |
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District 5
Results
This race was canceled due to a lack of opposition and did not appear on the ballot.
| Orleans Parish School Board, District 5 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | |
| Democratic | Benjamin Kleban (unopposed) | |
Candidates
| Benjamin Kleban
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District 6
Results
| Orleans Parish School Board, District 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Woody Koppel Incumbent |
53.38% | 10,422 | |
| Democratic | David Alvarez | 46.62% | 9,101 | |
| Total Votes | 19,523 | |||
| Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Orleans Parish," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||||
Candidates
| Woody Koppel
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David Alvarez | ||
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District 7
Results
| Orleans Parish School Board, District 7 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Nolan Marshall Jr. Incumbent |
54.39% | 9,830 | |
| Democratic | Kwame Smith | 26.16% | 4,728 | |
| Democratic | Alvin Crusto Jr. | 19.45% | 3,515 | |
| Total Votes | 18,073 | |||
| Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Orleans Parish," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||||
Candidates
| Nolan Marshall Jr.
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Alvin Crusto Jr. | Kwame Smith | |||
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Additional elections
- See also: Louisiana elections, 2016
The Orleans Parish School Board election shared the ballot with federal elections for President of the United States, United States Senator and United States Representative. The statewide elections on the ballot included elections for public service commissioner and the statewide judges. There were also municipal elections on the ballot, including elections for local judges and city court clerk.[2]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the Orleans Parish School Board elections in 2016:[3][4]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| June 22, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| August 10, 2016 | First campaign finance deadline |
| October 11, 2016 | Last day to register to vote |
| October 11, 2016 | Second campaign finance deadline |
| October 31, 2016 | Third campaign finance deadline |
| October 25-November 1, 2016 | Early voting period |
| November 8, 2016 | Primary election day |
| November 30, 2016 | Fourth campaign finance deadline |
| December 10, 2016 | Election Day (if necessary) |
| January 19, 2017 | Final campaign finance deadline |
Endorsements
The following is a list of official endorsements made in the Orleans Parish School Board elections. Click on candidates' names for a complete list of endorsements.
| Candidate endorsements | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endorsement | Leslie Ellison (District 4) |
Walter Umrani (District 4) |
David Alvarez (District 6) |
Woody Koppel (District 6) |
Alvin Crusto Jr. (District 7) |
Kwame Smith (District 7) |
Nolan Marshall Jr. (District 7) | ||||
| Political organizations | |||||||||||
| Orleans Parish Democratic Executive Committee[5] |  |
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| Independent Democrat Electors Association[6] | |
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| The New Orleans Coalition[7] | |
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| Independent Women's Organization[8] | |
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| Publications | |||||||||||
| The New Orleans Tribune[9] | |
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| State officials | |||||||||||
| Louisiana State Sen. J.P. Morrell (D-3)[10] | |
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| Louisiana State Sen. Wesley Bishop (D-4)[11][12] | |
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| Louisiana State Rep. Walt Leger, III (D-91)[13][14] | |
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| Louisiana State Rep. Helena Moreno[15] | |
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| * Louisiana State Rep. John Bagneris (D-100)[16] | |
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| Louisiana State Rep. Dr. Joseph Bouie (D-97)[17][18] | |
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| Louisiana State Senator Troy Carter (D-7)[19] | |
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| Local officials | |||||||||||
| New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu[20][21] | |
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| New Orleans Councilmember Stacy Head[22][23] | |
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| New Orleans Councilmember Susan Guidry[24][25] | |
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| New Orleans Councilmember LaToya Cantrell[26][27] | |
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| New Orleans Councilmember Jason Williams[28][29] | | ||||||||||
| New Orleans Councilmember James Gray[30][31] | | ||||||||||
| New Orleans Councilmember Jared Brossett[32][33] | |
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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 $317,085.87 and spent a total of $159,686.66 as of November 3, 2016, according to the Louisiana Ethics Administration Program.[34]
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 | |||
| John A. Brown Sr. | $2,150.00 | $0.00 | $2,150.00 |
| District 2 | |||
| Ethan Ashley | $80,494.10 | $57,786.70 | $22,707.40 |
| District 3 | |||
| Sarah Usdin | $69,116.00 | $14.564.08 | $54,654.97 |
| District 4 | |||
| Leslie Ellison | $26,361.50 | $21,697.51 | $4,663.99 |
| Walter Umrani | $8,000.00 | $5,022.89 | $2,977.11 |
| District 5 | |||
| Benjamin Kleban | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| District 6 | |||
| David Alvarez | $4,375.75 | $1,592.87 | $2,782.88 |
| Woody Koppel | $66,723.91 | $22,356.16 | $44,367.75 |
| District 7 | |||
| Alvin Crusto Jr. | $13,574.61 | $11,888.76 | $1,685.85 |
| Nolan Marshall Jr. | $41,950.00 | $20,494.69 | $37,392.98 |
| Kwame Smith | $4,340.00 | $4,283.00 | $57.00 |
What was at stake?
2016
Election trends
The 2016 school board election for Orleans Parish School Board guarenteed the addition of two new members to the board. Incumbents ran in all districts except for Districts 2 and 5. Overall, there were 12 candidates in the race for the seven seats up for election. Four of the seven seats were unopposed.
The district's 2012 election for seven seats attracted 15 candidates. None of the seven seats were unopposed.
| School board election trends | |||||
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| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Orleans Parish School Board | |||||
| 2016 | 2.4 | 57.14% | TBD | TBD | |
| Louisiana | |||||
| 2015 | 1.49 | 25.00% | 66.67% | 50.00% | |
| United States | |||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 32.57% | 81.31% | 38.24% | |
| 2014 | 1.89 | 35.97% | 82.66% | 40.77% | |
Issues in the district
School reunification process begins in Orleans Parish
Eleven years after Hurricane Katrina devastated Orleans Parish, the Orleans Parish School Board in partnership with the state of Louisiana's Recovery School District approved a plan to unify the parish's schools over the course of two years. The plan detailed how the district and existing charter schools would work together during the reunification process. The plan came after the passing of Act 91, legislation introduced by Sen. Karen Carter-Peterson (D-5). The bill passed in May 2016 after a previous reunification bill sponsored by Rep. Joseph Bouie Jr. (D-97) failed in 2015.[35][36]
The state took over the majority of the district's schools following Hurricane Katrina due to low academic performance and financial mismanagement. Over a decade, the state's district, named the Recovery School District, became a collection of charter school institutions. As of October 2016, the Recovery School District contained 54 charter schools. In 2016, the Orleans Parish School Board oversaw six local schools and 22 charter schools. The reunification plan called for all schools in Orleans Parish to fall under the management of the Orleans Parish School Board by July 1, 2018.
| Timeline for reunification[37] | |
|---|---|
| Date | Event |
| May 12, 2016 | Act 91 enacted |
| June 1-August 25, 2016 | Development of reunification plan by Unification Advisory Committee |
| August 30, 2016 | Presentation of reunification plan to Orleans Parish school board members |
| September 1, 2016-June 30, 2018 | Implementation of reunification plan |
| July 1, 2016 | All New Orleans schools unified under Orleans Parish School Board |
One of the biggest concerns of the Unification Advisory Committee set up by ACT 91 was the budget for the unified school district. The projections showed that the unified district would need to operate on $6 million less than the two districts operated separately. Orleans Parish superintendent, Henderson Lewis Jr., explained that the deficit would be made up in the merging of the central offices. The plan did not detail exactly what central office functions would be cut to make up the deficit. While the school board members and the two superintendents of the districts were optimistic about the future of the reunified school district, other local leaders were not happy with the plan.[38]
Local nonprofit leader and former educator, Wilfred Norris, was concerned with the lack of standards for the teachers and administrators in the charter schools. Former educator and radio host Dr. Raynard Sanders was especially vocal regarding the lack of oversight for charter schools by elected officials. Sanders referred to the reunification as "a return in name only."[39] Act 91 included wording that would limit the control of the elected local board. The legislation stated the following:
| “ | Unless mutually agreed to by both the charter school’s governing authority and the local school board pursuant to a duly authorized resolution adopted by each governing entity, the local school board shall not impede the operational autonomy of a charter school under its jurisdiction in the areas of school programming, instruction, curriculum, materials and tests, yearly school calendars and daily schedules, hiring and firing of personnel, employee performance management and evaluation, terms and conditions of employment, teacher or administrator certification, salaries and benefits, retirement, collective bargaining, budgeting, purchasing, procurement, and contracting for services other than capital repairs and facilities construction.[40] | ” |
| —Act 91 (2016)[41] | ||
The legislation did give the superintendent of the district the power to authorize new charter schools or dissolve underperforming charters. The school board would need a two-thirds vote to veto the superintendent's decision on the removal or creation of a charter school.[39]
The reunification plan started in the 2016-2017 school year with the Orleans Parish School Board taking over preschool operations and the schools operating in prisons that were formerly under the control of the Recovery School District.[37]
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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About the district
- See also: Orleans Parish School Board, Louisiana
Orleans Parish School Board is located in southern Louisiana in Orleans Parish. Orleans Parish is coterminous with the city of New Orleans. Orleans Parish was home to 389,617 residents in 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[42] The district was the 17th-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 12,447 students.[43]
Demographics
Orleans Parish outperformed Louisiana as a whole in terms of higher education achievement from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 34.4 percent of parish residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 22.1 percent of all state residents. The median household income in the parish was $36,964, compared to $44,991 for the state as a whole. The poverty rate in the parish was 27.9 percent, compared to 19.6 percent for the entire state.[42]
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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 'Orleans Parish School Board' 'Louisiana'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Orleans Parish School Board | Louisiana | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Inquiry," accessed July 27, 2016
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Inquiry," accessed Septemer 20, 2016
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "2016 Elections," accessed September 20, 2016
- ↑ Louisiana Board of Ethics, "Schedule of Reporting and Filing Dates," accessed September 30, 2016
- ↑ Uptown Messenger, "Danae Columbus: Orleans Parish Democrats’ endorsements surprise School Board incumbents," September 15, 2016
- ↑ IDEA, "Our Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ The New Orleans Agenda, "The New Orleans Coalition Announces Endorsements for the Fall Elections ," September 13, 2016
- ↑ Independent Women's Organization New Orleans, "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ The New Orleans Tribune, "Our Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Woody Koppel School Board, "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Woody Koppel School Board, "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Re-elect Nolan Marshall Jr., "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Woody Koppel School Board, "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Re-elect Nolan Marshall Jr., "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Woody Koppel School Board, "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Email communication with Hope Franklin," October 28, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Email communication with Hope Franklin," October 28, 2016
- ↑ Re-elect Nolan Marshall Jr., "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Email communication with Hope Franklin," October 28, 2016
- ↑ Woody Koppel School Board, "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Re-elect Nolan Marshall Jr., "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Woody Koppel School Board, "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Re-elect Nolan Marshall Jr., "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Woody Koppel School Board, "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Re-elect Nolan Marshall Jr., "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Woody Koppel School Board, "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Re-elect Nolan Marshall Jr., "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Woody Koppel School Board, "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Re-elect Nolan Marshall Jr., "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Woody Koppel School Board, "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Re-elect Nolan Marshall Jr., "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Woody Koppel School Board, "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Re-elect Nolan Marshall Jr., "Endorsements," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Louisiana Ethics Administration Program, "Louisiana Campaign Finance Reports," accessed November 3, 2016
- ↑ The New Orleans Advocate, "'Just think how far we have come': Orleans Parish School Board passes schools unification plan," August 30, 2016
- ↑ Nola.com, "6 key facts about the New Orleans school unification plan (and 5 for geeks)," August 25, 2016
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 Orleans Parish School Board, "Nola Schools Reunification," accessed October 4, 2016
- ↑ Nola.com, "New Orleans school unification is spelled M-O-N-E-Y," August 26, 2016
- ↑ 39.0 39.1 The Louisiana Weekly, "Community at odds over Act 91," September 13, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Louisiana State Legislature, "ACT No. 91," accessed October 4, 2016
- ↑ 42.0 42.1 42.2 United States Census Bureau, "Quickfacts:Orleans Parish, Louisiana," accessed September 20, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Election Results," accessed December 30, 2014
