Mesa Public Schools elections (2016)
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Three of the five seats on the Mesa Public Schools school board were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. Incumbents Steven Peterson and Michael Nichols filed for re-election and were joined on the ballot by three newcomers: Kiana Sears, Dan Hink, and Elaine Miner. Peterson won re-election and was joined in his victory by Miner and Sears.[1][2]
Hink ran for the Mesa board unsuccessfully in 2014. There was no primary.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Mesa school board is composed of five nonpartisan members who are elected at large to four-year terms. There was no primary election, and a general election was held November 8, 2016. Unopposed elections were canceled and did not appear on the ballot. Arizona law required an automatic recount in the case of a tie. If a tie was confirmed, the winner would have been chosen by drawing lots in the presence of the candidates.[3]
Candidates were required to submit nominating petitions signed by qualified electors totaling 0.5 percent of the total voter registration in the school district to the county school superintendent by August 10, 2016. The last day to file as a write-in candidate was September 29, 2016. Voters had to register to vote by October 10, 2016, in order to vote in the general election.[4]
Candidates and results
At-large
Results
| Mesa Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Elaine Miner |
24.85% | 63,990 |
| Kiana Sears |
20.66% | 53,179 |
| Steven Peterson Incumbent |
20.14% | 51,865 |
| Michael Nichols Incumbent | 17.26% | 44,438 |
| Dan Hink | 17.09% | 43,987 |
| Total Votes (100) | 257,459 | |
| Source: Maricopa County Recorder, "Final Results," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Candidates
| Steven Peterson |
Michael Nichols | Kiana Sears | |||
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| Dan Hink | Elaine Miner | ||
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Arizona elections, 2016
The following offices shared the general election date with this Arizona school board election:
- President
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. House
- Corporation Commission
- State Senate
- State House
- State judges
- Maricopa County Board of Supervisors
- Maricopa County assessor
- Maricopa County attorney
- Maricopa County recorder
- Maricopa County treasurer
- Maricopa County sheriff
- Justices of the Peace
- Constables
- Maricopa Integrated Health System board
- Central Arizona Water Conservation District board
- Maricopa County Community College District board
Two state ballot measures were also scheduled to appear on the general election ballot: Proposition 205 (Arizona Marijuana Legalization and Proposition 206 (Arizona Minimum Wage and Paid Time Off.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for this Arizona school board election in 2016:[5]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| August 10, 2016 | Last day to file nominating petitions |
| October 10, 2016 | Voter registration deadline for the general election |
| October 12, 2016 | Early voting begins for the general election |
| November 4, 2016 | Pre-general campaign finance deadline |
| November 8, 2016 | General election day |
| December 8, 2016 | Post-general campaign finance deadline |
Endorsements
All candidates in this race were endorsed by the Mesa Education Association.[6]
Campaign finance
School board candidates in Arizona were not required to file a campaign finance report if they did not raise or spend more than $500. If they plan to stay under this threshold, they are permitted to file an exemption statement. This rendered them exempt from all other campaign finance reporting, provided they did not exceed the $500 threshold. Otherwise, candidates were not required to file any report until they raised or spent more than the threshold limit. At that point, they had to file a Statement of Organization within five business days from when the threshold was reached. The pre-general campaign finance report was due November 4, 2016. All campaign finance filing was handled by the Arizona Secretary of State.[7]
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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2016
Issues in the district
Drastic teacher shortages
A report released by the Arizona School Personnel Administrators Association revealed that four weeks into the 2016-2017 school year, Arizona still had over 2,000 teacher vacancies. According to 12 News, that was 25 percent of all positions in the state. Dr. Doug Wilson, superintendent of Marana Unified School District, said the issue was "that the pool of teachers is very narrow. It really is, so this is going to be a problem for school districts all over Arizona for several years."[8][9]
Adam Sharp, a principal of Espiritu Charter School, said he was not surprised by the teacher shortage. “There's a lack of respect for the teachers some people view this as a lesser profession," he explained. Although the report looked at a variety of factors to explain the shortage, Sharp thought it came down to one issue: teacher pay. 12 News reported that Arizona's average starting salary was $31,874, while the national average was $36,141. Teachers were leaving for other states whose starting pay was $8,000-$10,000 more. Meanwhile, the open spots in Arizona were being filled by long-term substitutes. However, that did not suffice when it came to special education, which required a more particular skill set. Some district superintendents, such as Kristi Sandvik of Buckeye Elementary School District and Dr. Andrew Rogers of Liberty Elementary School District, were turning to contract agencies to find special education teachers. However, Dr. Rogers added that doing so was “significantly more expensive than if we hired people directly.”[8][9]
About the district
- See also: Mesa Public Schools, Arizona
Mesa Public Schools is located in the city of Mesa, which lies in southwestern Arizona in Maricopa County. Phoenix is its county seat and the state capital. It is also the largest city in Arizona. Maricopa County was home to 4,167,947 residents between 2010 and 2015, according to United States Census Bureau.[10] The district was the largest school district in the state in the 2013–2014 school year and served 64,161 students.[11]
Demographics
Maricopa County outperformed Arizona as a whole in terms of higher education achievement between 2010 and 2014. The United States Census Bureau found that 30.0 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 27.1 percent for state residents. The median household income for the county was $53,689, compared to $49,928 statewide. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 17.1 percent, while that rate was 17.4 percent for all state residents.[10]
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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 'Mesa Public Schools' 'Arizona'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Mesa Public Schools | Arizona | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Maricopa County Education Service Agency, "Current Governing Board Candidates," accessed August 11, 2016
- ↑ Maricopa County Recorder, "Unofficial results," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ onecl, "Arizona Revised Statutes - Title 15 Education - Section 15-424 Election of governing board members; terms; statement of contributions and expenditures," accessed September 19, 2016
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Elections Calendar & Upcoming Events," accessed September 19, 2016
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Elections Calendar & Upcoming Events," accessed September 1, 2016
- ↑ AEA Fund for Public Education, "Local School District Recommendations," accessed October 21, 2016
- ↑ Arizona Campaign Finance Guide, "Questions & Answers," accessed October 6, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 AZEdNews, "Shortage has school leaders attracting teachers in new ways," September 14, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 12 News, "Study: Arizona least attractive state for teachers; teacher shortage at crisis level," September 27, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 United States Census Bureau, "Maricopa County, Arizona, Quick Facts," accessed September 19, 2016
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "ELSI Table Generator," accessed November 16, 2015
- ↑ Maricopa County Recorder, "Maricopa County Election Results Archives," accessed August 18, 2014
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Official Canvas of Votes for 2000 General Election," November 27, 2000
| 2016 Mesa Public Schools Elections | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Steven Peterson • Incumbent, Michael Nichols • Kiana Sears • Dan Hink • Elaine Miner |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
