Union County Public Schools elections (2016)
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Six of the nine seats on the Union County Public Schools school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. Four of the seats were elected by district and two were elected at large. In District 1, two newcomers filed for the open seat: Rebekah Ratliff and Candice Sturdivant. Sturdivant won the spot on the board. Matt Helms filed for the vacant District 2 seat and ran unopposed, winning the seat. In District 5, two newcomers filed for the vacant spot on the board: Joseph Morreale and Amelie Schoel, with Morreale emerging victorious. District 6 saw Kathy Heintel file unopposed for the unexpired term and win the seat. Three filed for the two at-large seats: incumbent Christina Helms and newcomers Lee Henage and Dennis Rape. Rape and Helms were successful in winning terms on the board. There was no primary.[1][2]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Union County Public Schools school board is composed of a nine-member board elected to four-year terms. Six members are elected by district and three members are elected at large. Five seats were up for election in 2014 and six seats were up for election in 2016. There was no primary election, and a general election was scheduled for November 8, 2016.
Candidates and results
District 1
Results
| Union County Public Schools, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Candice Sturdivant |
59.24% | 4,953 |
| Rebekah Ratliff | 40.46% | 3,383 |
| Write-in votes | 0.3% | 25 |
| Total Votes | 8,361 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial General Election Results-Union," accessed November 8, 2016 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
Candidates
| Rebekah Ratliff | Candice Sturdivant | ||
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District 2
Results
| Union County Public Schools, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Matt Helms (unopposed) |
99.32% | 13,611 |
| Write-in votes | 0.68% | 93 |
| Total Votes | 13,704 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial General Election Results-Union," accessed November 8, 2016 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
Candidates
| Matt Helms | |
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District 5
Results
| Union County Public Schools, District 5 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Joseph Morreale |
61.60% | 9,405 |
| Amelie Schoel | 38.08% | 5,814 |
| Write-in votes | 0.33% | 50 |
| Total Votes | 15,269 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial General Election Results-Union," accessed November 8, 2016 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
Candidates
| Joseph Morreale |
Amelie Schoel | ||
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District 6
Results
| Union County Public Schools, District 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Kathy Heintel (unopposed) |
99.16% | 15,633 |
| Write-in votes | 0.84% | 133 |
| Total Votes | 15,766 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial General Election Results-Union," accessed November 8, 2016 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
Candidates
| Kathy Heintel | |
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At-Large
Results
| Union County Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Dennis Rape |
35.77% | 53,283 |
| Christina Helms Incumbent |
33.31% | 49,612 |
| Lee Henage | 30.03% | 44,726 |
| Write-in votes | 0.89% | 1,331 |
| Total Votes | 148,952 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial General Election Results-Union," accessed November 8, 2016 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
Candidates
| Christina Helms |
Lee Henage | Dennis Rape | |||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: North Carolina elections, 2016
The following offices shared the general election date with the school board elections in Union County:
- President
- U.S. Senate
- Governor
- Lieutenant Governor
- Attorney General
- Secretary of State
- State Treasurer
- State Auditor
- State Superintendent of Schools
- Agriculture Commissioner
- Labor Commissioner
- Insurance Commissioner
- State Senate
- State House of Representatives
- North Carolina Court of Appeals
- Judicial District Court
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for this North Carolina school board election:[3]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| March 7, 2016 | First quarter campaign finance deadline |
| July 12, 2016 | Second quarter campaign finance deadline |
| July 29, 2016 | Candidate filing deadline |
| October 31, 2016 | Third quarter campaign finance deadline |
| November 8, 2016 | General Election Day |
| January 11, 2017 | Fourth quarter campaign finance deadline |
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at elections@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
School board candidates in this election raised a total of $24,689.67 and spent a total of $22,883.75 as of November 4, 2016, according to the Union County Board of Elections.[4]
School board candidates in North Carolina were required to file campaign finance reports to their county's board of elections unless the candidate:
(1) Did not receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in contributions, and
(2) Did not receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in loans, and
(3) Did not spend more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).[5]
The third quarter campaign finance deadline was October 31, 2016, and the fourth quarter deadline was January 11, 2017.[6]
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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2016
Issues in the district
Transgender bathroom law
North Carolina passed the Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act (HB 2) which stated that individuals in government-operated facilities had to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender stated on their birth certificate on March 23, 2016. The law was passed by the legislature in a one-day special session and was signed into law that night by Governor Pat McCrory (R). The bill reversed an earlier ruling that allowed transgender individuals to use the restroom of their preference, and it offset local ordinances in the state that let transgender citizens do so.[7]
On March 30, 2017, the North Carolina State Legislature approved and Gov. Roy Cooper (D) signed a repeal of HB 2. HB 142 repealed HB 2 but created a three-year moratorium on local anti-discrimination ordinances and prohibited local ordinances related to bathroom access.[8] The state house approved HB 142 by a 70-48 vote and the state senate voted 32-16 to pass the measure.[9]
HB 2's effect on NC school districts
When HB 2 was signed into law, many school districts in the state struggled to formulate a response, especially since Title IX prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex. North Carolina school districts were unsure of how to balance these two laws. In the Wake County Public School System, Wake County sheriff Donnie Harrison said he would consider pulling deputies out of schools if the district did not decide on a consistent transgender bathroom policy. Harrison said the district did not have a uniform policy on the use of bathrooms by transgender students, which was causing confusion and unease among parents.[10][11]
According to Lisa Luten, a Wake County Public School System spokesperson, transgender student issues with bathrooms and locker rooms were handled on a case-by-case basis. "No child has ever been at risk based on how we have handled this issue,” Luten said. “Because this issue is still being debated in federal courts, the school system is unable to create a formal policy.”[10] (Note: The court ruling on HB 2 was made on March 30, 2017.) The district's superintendent James Merrill said that transgender bathroom questions ought to be addressed by administrators rather than student resource officers. According to Nathan Smith, the director of public policy for the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network, the consequence is that many schools decide their transgender bathroom policies on a case-by-case basis, leading to conflicting rules between school campuses.[10][12]
Backlash
On July 21, 2016, the NBA announced it planned to move its All-Star Game from Charlotte, North Carolina, which was scheduled to be held there in 2017. According to the Charlotte Observer, this decision would cost the city approximately $100 million. On September 12, 2016, the NCAA moved seven championships that were scheduled to be held in the state during the 2016-2017 school year. Two days later, the Atlantic Coast Conference made a similar decision, revealing it planned to move the men's football championship game scheduled for December 2016 from Charlotte.
Want to see how this election related to state and national trends on this topic? Ballotpedia tracked this issue in the 2016 election cycle so you can see the connections and impact on this race in context.
About the district
Union County Public Schools is located in Union County, North Carolina. The county seat of Union County is Monroe. Union County was home to 222,742 residents between 2010 and 2015, according to the United States Census Bureau.[13] The district was the sixth-largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 41,074 students.[14]
Demographics
Union County outperformed in comparison to North Carolina as a whole in terms of higher education attainment from 2010 to 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 32.3 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 27.8 percent for state residents. The median household income in the county was $65,893, compared to $46,693 for the state. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 10.8 percent, while that rate was 16.4 percent for state residents.[13]
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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 'Union County Public Schools' 'North Carolina'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Union County Public Schools | North Carolina | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Union County Government, "Candidate List Grouped by Contest," August 16, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial General Election Results-Union," accessed November 8, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Reporting Schedules," accessed November 1, 2016
- ↑ Union County, "2016 Campaign Finance Reports," accessed November 4, 2016
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "Chapter 163: Elections And Election Laws, Article 22A - Regulating Contributions and Expenditures in Political Campaigns," accessed February 11, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Reporting Schedules," accessed October 11, 2016
- ↑ Charlotte Observer, "Understanding HB2: North Carolina’s newest law solidifies state’s role in defining discrimination," March 26, 2016
- ↑ ABC 11, "GOV. COOPER SIGNS NORTH CAROLINA'S HB2 COMPROMISE BILL," March 30, 2017
- ↑ NBC News, "HB2 Repeal: North Carolina Legislature Votes to Overturn Controversial ‘Bathroom Bill’," March 30, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Daily Tarheel, "Wake County sheriff calls for consistent transgender bathroom policy," September 29, 2016
- ↑ CBS North Carolina, "Wake sheriff threatens to pull deputies over transgender bathroom policy," September 27, 2016
- ↑ The News & Observer, "Four things to remember about House Bill 2," September 13, 2016
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 United States Census Bureau, "Union County, North Carolina," accessed October 3, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "NC Voter Statistics Results," accessed August 29, 2014
| 2016 Union County Public Schools Elections | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 1: Rebekah Ratliff • Candice Sturdivant District 2: Matt Helms |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
