Colonial School District elections (2017)
From Ballotpedia
← 2016 |
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| General election date |
| May 9, 2017 |
| Enrollment (14-15) |
| 9,711 students |
One seat on the Colonial School District Board of Education in Delaware was up for at-large election on May 9, 2017. Incumbent Leo Magee Sr. was unopposed in the race. Due to lack of opposition, the election was canceled and Magee Sr. was automatically re-elected.[1]
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Colonial Board of Education consists of seven members elected at large to five-year terms. While elected at large, candidates must live within the nominating district of the seat for which they are running. Candidates filed to run for the seat in their nominating districts, but all voters in the school district were eligible to vote for the seat up for election. The winner of the 2017 election took office in July. A president and vice president was elected once the new members took office.[2] Candidates had to file for the election by March 3, 2017.
Voters are required to register to vote at least 24 days prior to the election. The deadline to register in this election was April 15, 2017. All voters were required to provide identification at the polls. Valid identification included a photo ID, utility bill, paycheck or any other government document featuring the voter's name and address.[3]
Candidates and results
At-Large
Results
Due to lack of opposition, the election was canceled and incumbent Leo Magee Sr. was automatically re-elected.
Candidates
Leo Magee Sr. 
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Additional elections on the ballot
The district's board elections did not share the ballot with other local, state, or federal elections.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Delaware school board elections in 2017:[4]
| Deadline | Event |
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| March 3, 2017 | Candidate filing deadline |
| April 15, 2017 | Deadline to register to vote in the general election |
| May 5, 2017 | Deadline for absentee ballot requests |
| May 9, 2017 | Election Day |
| May 11, 2017 | Certification of election results |
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
There were three campaign finance deadlines for Delaware in 2017:[5]
- The 30-Day Election Report was due on April 9, 2017,
- The Eight-Day Election Report was due May 1, 2017, and
- The Annual Report was due December 31, 2017.
School board candidates in Delaware were not required to file campaign finance reports so long as they certified that they did not expect to receive or spend more than $2000 from the date of their first contribution until the end of the 2017 election year. If they received or spent more than $2000, candidates had to notify the Delaware Office of the State Election Commissioner within seven days and file all otherwise required candidate reports.[6]
Past elections
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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2016This election was canceled due to a lack of opposition for District D incumbent Tim Suber and District F incumbent Joseph Laws III. 2015District B
2014
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What was at stake?
Issues in the district
Tax referendum on June 6, 2017
On June 6, 2017, a Colonial School District referendum to increase property taxes by 38 cents for every $100 in assessed home value passed with 5,742 votes for the proposal and 3,880 votes against it.[7] The tax rate was raised over a two-year period. In the first year the tax rate increased by 27 cents and in the second year it increased by 11 cents.[8][9] Delaware Online published an article estimating that the tax increase would raise individual taxes by approximately $300 a year. The district estimated that the tax would generate roughly $10.9 million in additional revenue.[10]
The same 38 cent tax increase was rejected by 58.9 percent of voters in a referendum on February 28, 2017.[10] That vote attracted fewer voters than the June special election, with 5,028 votes cast compared to 9,622.[7] As it did in the February referendum, the district allocated 84.1 percent of the proposed tax revenue to maintain class sizes, support a growing student population, and pay operation costs. But while the February tax measure planned to use the remaining funds to expand the district's curriculum offerings, the second tax measure would use it to offset an expected budget deficit caused by statewide funding cuts proposed by the Governor of Delaware, John Carney Jr. (D). In his 2018 fiscal year budget, the governor proposed statewide spending cuts—including decreasing funding to Delaware schools—and tax increases to balance the budget.[11] The Colonial School District Board of Education estimated the cuts would mean a $3.4 million decrease in the district's budget.[8][9]
If the tax referendum had once again been defeated, the board believed that the district would need to cut $4 million in the 2017-2018 school year and make further cuts in the 2018-2019 school year. When added to the proposed state cuts, the board of education projected a five percent total decrease in its funding based on the 2016-2017 school year budget of $157 million during the 2017-2018 school year.[9][10] In preparation for this possibility, the district laid off 175 employees in May to meet state deadlines. After the referendum passed, the district could recall some of those positions.[7]
John Di Mondi, a New Castle councilman, was against the proposed tax increase. He argued that the 38 cent increase could prove to have a bigger effect on those with lower incomes. He believed spending inefficiencies were behind the unbalanced budget. Di Mondi suggested salary and benefit decreases would be a viable solution.[10]
Report a story for this election
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Candidate survey
About the district
- See also: Colonial School District, Delaware
Colonial School District is located in New Castle County, Delaware.
The Colonial School District is located in New Castle County, Delaware. The county seat is Wilmington. New Castle County was home to 556,987 residents in 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[12] The district was the sixth-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 9,711 students.[13]
Demographics
New Castle County outperformed the entirety of Delaware in terms of higher education achievement from 2011 to 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 35 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 30 percent of state residents. The median household income in the county was $65,476, compared to $60,509 for the state. The poverty rate in the county was 12.1 percent, compared to 12.4 percent for the entire state.[12]
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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 Colonial School District Delaware election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Colonial School District | Delaware | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ New Castle County Department of Elections, "May 9, 2017 School Board Candidates & Filing Dates," accessed March 6, 2017
- ↑ Colonial School District, "Board of Education," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ The State of Delaware, "Frequently asked questions on voting," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ State of Delaware, "2017 School Election Calendar," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ Delaware Code Online, "Title 15, Chapter 80, Subchapter IV, Section 8030," accessed June 1, 2017
- ↑ Delaware Code Online, "Title 15, Chapter 80, Subchapter I, Section 8004," accessed June 1, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Delaware Online, "Colonial referendum passes on second attempt," accessed July 3, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Colonial School DIstrict, "March 23, 2017 Meeting Minutes," accessed May 5, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Colonial School District, "The Perfect Storm," accessed May 5, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Delaware Online, "Colonial takes another shot at referendum, warns of cuts," accessed May 9, 2017
- ↑ Delaware Online, "Carney proposes tax hikes, spending cuts in state budget," accessed March 23, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 United States Census Bureau, "Quickfacts:New Castle County, Delaware," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
- ↑ State of Delaware, "Election Results Archive," accessed April 1, 2016
