Flagler County Public Schools elections (2014)
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Three seats on the Flagler County School Board were up for general election on August 26, 2014. The general election determines if candidates for each seat could garner a majority of the vote total. Because no candidate in District 2 received 50 percent plus one of the vote in the general election, the top two vote recipients advanced to the runoff election on November 4, 2014.
District 1 incumbent Andy Dance defeated newcomer Maria Barbosa. The District 2 election featured incumbent John Fischer and challengers Toni Baker, Lynnette Callender and Janet McDonald. Since neither Fischer nor McDonald was able to garner 50 percent plus one of the vote, they faced each other in the runoff election in November, where McDonald won. Trevor Tucker won re-election to the District 4 seat against challenger Michael McElroy.
The district complied with state requirements for class sizes for the second year in a row and, thus, avoided paying penalties for exceeding the limits. However, the district's attempt to incorporate exceptional student education (ESE) students into general education classrooms was criticized by board members and parents at an October 2014 board meeting.
About the district
- See also: Flagler County Public Schools, Florida
Flagler County Public Schools is based in Bunnell, the county seat of Flagler County, Florida. Flagler County is home to 99,956 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau.[1] Flagler County Public Schools was the 34th-largest school district in Florida, serving 13,007 students during the 2011-2012 school year.[2]
Demographics
Flagler County underperformed in comparison to the rest of Florida in terms of higher education achievement in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 23.5 percent of Flagler County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 26.2 percent for Florida as a whole. The median household income in Flagler County was $48,134 compared to $47,309 for the state of Florida. The poverty rate in Flagler County was 14.4 percent compared to 15.6 percent for the entire state.[1]
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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.
Voter and candidate information
The Flagler County School Board consists of five members elected to four-year terms. Each member represents a specific geographic district also represented by a county commissioner. There was a general election on August 26, 2014, and the runoff election for District 2 took place on November 4, 2014, as no candidate received 50 percent or more of the general election vote in that race.
Candidates for the school board filed for the election by June 20, 2014. The county's elections office hosted early voting for the general election at various locations from August 16, 2014, to August 23, 2014. The early voting window for the runoff election ran from October 25, 2014, to November 1, 2014. The last day to request a mailed absentee ballot in the general election was August 20, 2014, and the runoff election deadline was October 29, 2014.
Elections
2014
Candidates
District 1
- Andy Dance
- Incumbent
- Graduate, University of Florida
- Owner, Andrew S. Dance and Associates, LLC.
- Maria Barbosa
- Licensed clinical counselor
District 2
- John Fischer
- Incumbent
- Graduate, Kean University
- Retired financial advisor
- Janet McDonald
- Graduate, Muhlenberg College and LeHigh University
- Retired educator, specialist
Candidates defeated in the general election:
- Toni Baker
- Customer service, B3Assistants, LLC.
- Lynnette Callender
- Graduate, Sarah Lawrence College and Howard University
- Principal, Law Office of Lynnette J. Callender
- Consumer arbitrator, Florida Attorney General
District 4
- Michael McElroy
- Graduate, Pace University
- Police academy instructor
- Trevor Tucker
- Incumbent
- Business owner, Sun Country Pest Control
Election results
Runoff: District 2
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Janet McDonald |
54% | 17,792 | |
| Nonpartisan | John Fischer Incumbent | 46% | 15,176 | |
| Total Votes | 32,968 | |||
| Source: Flagler County Supervisor of Elections, "2014 General Election Results," November 14, 2014 | ||||
General: District 1
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Andy Dance Incumbent |
60.1% | 7,426 | |
| Nonpartisan | Maria Barbosa | 39.9% | 4,929 | |
| Total Votes | 12,355 | |||
| Source: Flagler County Supervisor of Elections, "2014 Primary Official Results," August 28, 2014 | ||||
General: District 2
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Janet McDonald |
32.8% | 4,110 | |
| Nonpartisan | John Fischer Incumbent |
32.6% | 4,087 | |
| Nonpartisan | Lynnette Callender | 22.5% | 2,822 | |
| Nonpartisan | Toni Baker | 12.1% | 1,511 | |
| Total Votes | 12,530 | |||
| Source: Flagler County Supervisor of Elections, "2014 Primary Official Results," August 28, 2014 | ||||
General: District 4
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Trevor Tucker Incumbent |
50.2% | 6,066 | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael McElroy | 49.8% | 6,008 | |
| Total Votes | 12,074 | |||
| Source: Flagler County Supervisor of Elections, "2014 Primary Official Results," August 28, 2014 | ||||
Endorsements
None of the candidates received official endorsements as of the general election.
Campaign finance
Candidates received a total of $52,590.66 and spent a total of $44,769.79 as of October 28, 2014, according to the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections.[4]
District 1
In the District 1 race, candidates raised a total of $12,201.44 and spent a total of $10,039.42.[4]
| Candidate | Monetary contributions |
In-kind contributions |
Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maria Barbosa | $5,450.00 | $826.76 | $5,450.00 | $0.00 |
| Andy Dance | $4,730.00 | $1,194.68 | $4,589.42 | $140.58 |
District 2
In the District 2 race, candidates raised a total of $24,638.08 and spent a total of $19,360.37.[4]
| Candidate | Monetary contributions |
In-kind contributions |
Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toni Baker | $1,420.00 | $30.00 | $1,420.00 | $0.00 |
| Lynnette Callender | $3,733.33 | $588.50 | $2,353.85 | $1,379.48 |
| John Fischer | $7,540.00 | $126.25 | $5,411.35 | $2,128.65 |
| Janet McDonald | $11,100.00 | $100.00 | $10,175.17 | $924.83 |
District 4
In the District 4 race, candidates raised a total of $15,751.14 and spent a total of $15,370.00.[4]
| Candidate | Monetary contributions |
In-kind contributions |
Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael McElroy | $8,400.00 | $0.00 | $8,400.00 | $0.00 |
| Trevor Tucker | $6,970.00 | $381.14 | $6,970.00 | $0.00 |
Past elections
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2012District 3
District 5
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What was at stake?
With three incumbents all facing challengers in the general election, 2014 could have seen a slate of new faces join the board. However, only one incumbent failed to secure re-election in general election on August 26, 2014. Andy Dance and Trevor Tucker retained their seats in Districts 1 and 4, respectively, while District 2 incumbent John Fischer proceeded to a runoff election on November 4, 2014, against Janet McDonald.
Issues in the district
Class size compliance
County school officials stated in October 2014 that they had complied with state requirements for class sizes. These class size requirements were first created by an initiated constitutional amendment which was approved by voters in 2002. Voters upheld the intent of the original amendment in 2010 when they defeated Amendment 8, which would have changed the language from a maximum class size to a school-wide average class size. The deadline for compliance in the 2014-2015 school year was October 17, 2014. The class size limits are as follows for core academic classes: 18 in kindergarten through third grade, 22 in fourth through eighth grade and 25 in high school grades. Over enrollment in just one class would prevent a district from having complied with the law. If the district had failed to do meet these limits, it would have been subject to financial penalties. This marked the second consecutive year that the district complied with the class size limits. In 2012, however, the district paid a penalty of $14,938 due to failure to meet the requirements.[5]
ESE full inclusion
The school district began an attempt to fully incorporate its "exceptional student education" (ESE) into the general education classroom in 2014-2015 school year. As of October 2014, multiple complaints about the project had been voiced. According to the Florida Department of Education, ESE is part of providing education programs for students who have disabilities and students who are gifted.[6] One major complaint against the inclusion of ESE students into the general education classroom has been their ability to test at the grade level required in the class. Students are tested quarterly with "standard, grade-level assessments that affect their term grades," but ESE students are not always at the grade level of their general education classroom peers. Parents have voiced concerns over the effect the inclusion project is having on their autistic children.[7]
Board member Colleen Conklin stated at an October 21, 2014, board meeting that teachers had told her they had not received proper training to incorporate the ESE students into their classrooms. She challenged the district's ESE specialist Tracy Umpenhour to explain how that happened. Umpenhour stated that while training had been provided, it focused on ESE teachers instead of general education teachers.[7]
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for the school board election in 2014:[8]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| June 20, 2014 | Last day of candidate filing period |
| August 16, 2014 | First day of early voting in general election |
| August 20, 2014 | Last day to request mailed absentee ballot for general election |
| August 23, 2014 | Last day of early voting in general election |
| August 26, 2014 | General election day |
| October 25, 2014 | First day of early voting in runoff election |
| October 29, 2014 | Last day to request mailed absentee ballot for runoff election |
| November 1, 2014 | Last day of early voting in runoff election |
| November 4, 2014 | Runoff election day |
Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Florida elections, 2014
Area residents voted on county and statewide races on November 4, 2014. Residents of Flagler County voted on races for county commission seats. Voters decided on a statewide ballot measure to amend the state constitution to allow the use of medical marijuana. The November 4, 2014, ballot included races for state legislature, state executive and U.S. House seats.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Flagler + County + Schools + Florida"
See also
- Florida
- Flagler County Public Schools, Florida
- Florida school board elections, 2014
- List of school board elections in 2014
- School board elections, 2014
- Flagler County, Florida ballot measures
- Local ballot measures, Florida
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 United States Census Bureau, "Flagler County, Florida," accessed July 8, 2014
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed July 7, 2014
- ↑ Flagler County Elections, "Home," accessed July 8, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Flagler County Supervisor of Elections, "Reporting group (Election/Committees) : 2013-2014 Candidates (1/1/2013)," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ The Daytona Beach News-Journal, "Volusia, Flagler schools comply with class-size rules," October 17, 2014
- ↑ Florida Department of Education, "Exceptional Student Education (ESE)," accessed October 28, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Palm Coast Observer, "School district on inclusion classes: We’re listening," October 22, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
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| 2014 Flagler County Public Schools Elections | |
| Flagler County, Florida | |
| Election date: | August 26, 2014 |
| Candidates: | District 1: • Maria Barbosa • Andy Dance District 2: • Toni Baker • Lynnette Callender • John Fischer • Janet McDonald |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
