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    Council Rock School District elections (2017)

    From Ballotpedia - Reading time: 11 min

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    Council Rock School District Elections
    Primary election date
    May 16, 2017
    General election date
    November 7, 2017
    Enrollment (14-15)
    11,078 students

    Five of the nine seats on the Council Rock School District school board in Pennsylvania were up for by-district general election on November 7, 2017. Four seats were up for regular election and the Region 1 seat was up for special election after former board member Bill Foster resigned in July 2017. A partisan primary election for the four regular seats was held on May 16, 2017.

    In the special election for Region 1, Republican member Kathleen Mulholland, who was appointed to fill the seat until the general election, was defeated by Democratic challenger Mariann McKee for a two-year term. Region 3 incumbent Denise Brooks cross-filed to appear on the Democratic and Republican primary ballots and faced challenger Robert Hickey in the primary, who also cross-filed. Brooks won the Democratic nomination and Hickey won the Republican nomination, with both advancing to the general, where Hickey defeated the incumbent.

    In his bid for re-election to the Region 6 seat, incumbent Mark Byelich cross-filed and faced challenger Vijay Khanna in the primary, who filed as a Democrat. Byelich won both party nominations and moved on to the general, which he won unopposed. The Region 8 and Region 9 incumbents, Andy Block and Kyle Mckessy, respectively, cross-filed for re-election and both ran unopposed in the primary, so both advanced to the general and won without opposition.[1][2][3]

    These candidates could have faced independent candidates in the general election. However, no independent candidate filed by the August 1, 2017, deadline to get on the ballot.[4]

    Elections[edit]

    Voter and candidate information[edit]

    CRSD logo.jpg

    The Council Rock School District school board consists of nine members elected by district to four-year, staggered terms. Five seats were up for election on November 3, 2015, and five seats were up for election on November 7, 2017.

    Cross-filing[edit]

    Pennsylvania permits school board candidates to cross-file in primary elections. This means that a candidate may file to run in the primary election for both the Democratic and Republican parties. A cross-filed candidate can advance to the general election by winning one or both of the partisan primaries. This maximizes a candidate’s chances of advancing to the general as they have two ways to win in the primary round. If the candidate wins only one, they face the winner of the other primary in the general election. Cross-filers who win both primaries may still face independent candidates in the general election.

    General candidate requirements[edit]

    To run for a school board in Pennsylvania, one must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, and a resident of the school district for at least one year before the election date. To run in this 2017 school board election, partisan candidates had to file for office by March 7, 2017, and independent candidates had to file by August 1, 2017.[5][6]

    Voter requirements[edit]

    To vote in Pennsylvania, a resident must be a U.S. citizen for at least one month and a resident of the district in which he or she is registering for at least 30 days before the election. A voter must be at least 18 years of age by the next election date. The deadline to register to vote before the primary election was April 17, 2017, and the deadline to register to vote before the general election was October 10, 2017.[7]

    See also: Voting in Pennsylvania and Voter identification laws by state


    Candidates and results[edit]

    Region 1[edit]

    Results[edit]

    Council Rock School District,
    Region 1 General Election, 2-year term, 2017
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Mariann McKee 55.00% 1,458
         Republican Kathleen Mulholland Incumbent 45.00% 1,193
    Total Votes 2,651
    Source: Bucks County Election Results, "Municipal Election Tuesday, November 07, 2017," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.

    Candidates[edit]

    Republican Party Kathleen Mulholland Democratic Party Mariann McKee Green check mark transparent.png

    Placeholder image.png

    • Incumbent (Appointed July 2017)

    Placeholder image.png

    Region 3[edit]

    General results[edit]

    Council Rock School District,
    Region 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2017
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Republican Green check mark transparent.png Robert Hickey 50.05% 1,045
         Democratic Denise Brooks Incumbent 49.95% 1,043
    Total Votes 2,088
    Source: Bucks County Election Results, "Municipal Election Tuesday, November 07, 2017," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.

    Democratic primary results[edit]

    Council Rock School District,
    Region 3 Democratic Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Denise Brooks Incumbent 60.78% 327
         Democratic Robert Hickey 39.22% 211
    Total Votes 538
    Source: Bucks County, "Bucks County Election Results," accessed June 19, 2017

    Republican primary results[edit]

    Council Rock School District,
    Region 3 Republican Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Republican Green check mark transparent.png Robert Hickey 66.61% 423
         Republican Denise Brooks Incumbent 33.39% 212
    Total Votes 635
    Source: Bucks County, "Bucks County Election Results," accessed June 19, 2017

    Candidates[edit]

    Democratic Party Denise Brooks Republican Party Robert Hickey Green check mark transparent.png

    Placeholder image.png

    • Incumbent
    • Cross-filed as a Democrat and Republican in primary

    Placeholder image.png

    • Cross-filed as a Democrat and Republican in primary

    Region 6[edit]

    General results[edit]

    Council Rock School District,
    Region 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2017
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Democratic/Republican Green check mark transparent.png Mark Byelich Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 1,893
    Total Votes 1,893
    Source: Bucks County Election Results, "Municipal Election Tuesday, November 07, 2017," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.

    Democratic primary results[edit]

    Council Rock School District,
    Region 6 Democratic Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Mark Byelich Incumbent 53.99% 203
         Democratic Vijay Khanna 46.01% 173
    Total Votes 376
    Source: Bucks County, "Bucks County Election Results," accessed June 19, 2017

    Republican primary results[edit]

    Council Rock School District,
    Region 6 Republican Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Republican Green check mark transparent.png Mark Byelich Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 508
    Total Votes 508
    Source: Bucks County, "Bucks County Election Results," accessed June 19, 2017

    Candidates[edit]

    Cross filed Republican Party/Democratic Party Mark ByelichGreen check mark transparent.png

    Placeholder image.png

    • Incumbent
    • Cross-filed as a Democrat and Republican

    Defeated in primary[edit]

    Democratic Party Vijay Khanna

    Placeholder image.png

    Region 8[edit]

    General results[edit]

    Council Rock School District,
    Region 8 General Election, 4-year term, 2017
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Democratic/Republican Green check mark transparent.png Andy Block Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 2,263
    Total Votes 2,263
    Source: Bucks County Election Results, "Municipal Election Tuesday, November 07, 2017," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.

    Primary Democratic results[edit]

    Council Rock School District,
    Region 8 Democratic Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Andy Block Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 272
    Total Votes 272
    Source: Bucks County, "Bucks County Election Results," accessed June 19, 2017

    Primary Republican results[edit]

    Council Rock School District,
    Region 8 Republican Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Republican Green check mark transparent.png Andy Block Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 253
    Total Votes 253
    Source: Bucks County, "Bucks County Election Results," accessed June 19, 2017

    Candidates[edit]

    Cross filed Republican Party/Democratic Party Andy BlockGreen check mark transparent.png

    Placeholder image.png

    • Incumbent
    • Cross-filed as a Democrat and Republican

    Region 9[edit]

    General results[edit]

    Council Rock School District,
    Region 9 General Election, 4-year term, 2017
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Democratic/Republican Green check mark transparent.png Kyle Mckessy Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 1,691
    Total Votes 1,691
    Source: Bucks County Election Results, "Municipal Election Tuesday, November 07, 2017," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.

    Primary Democratic results[edit]

    Council Rock School District,
    Region 9 Democratic Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Kyle Mckessy Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 241
    Total Votes 241
    Source: Bucks County, "Bucks County Election Results," accessed June 19, 2017

    Primary Republican results[edit]

    Council Rock School District,
    Region 9 Republican Primary Election, 4-year term, 2017
    Party Candidate Vote % Votes
         Republican Green check mark transparent.png Kyle Mckessy Incumbent (unopposed) 100.00% 231
    Total Votes 231
    Source: Bucks County, "Bucks County Election Results," accessed June 19, 2017

    Candidates[edit]

    Cross filed Republican Party/Democratic Party Kyle MckessyGreen check mark transparent.png

    Placeholder image.png

    • Incumbent
    • Cross-filed as a Democrat and Republican

    Additional elections on the ballot[edit]

    See also: Pennsylvania elections, 2017

    The Council Rock School District general election shared the ballot with elections for:[4]

    The Council Rock School District primary election shared the ballot with primary elections for:

    Key deadlines[edit]

    The following dates were key deadlines for this Pennsylvania school board election in 2017:[8]

    Deadline Event
    March 7, 2017 Partisan candidate filing deadline
    April 17, 2017 Deadline to register to vote before the primary election
    May 16, 2017 Primary election day
    August 1, 2017 Independent candidate filing deadline
    October 10, 2017 Deadline to register to vote before the general election
    November 7, 2017 General election day

    Endorsements[edit]

    Mckessy received an official endorsement from the Newtown Republican Committee.[9]

    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[edit]

    Vijay Khanna and Andy Block signed waivers exempting them from campaign finance reporting, according to the Bucks County Board of Elections.[10]

    Ballotpedia was unable to obtain campaign finance reports submitted by candidates in this race. The Bucks County Board of Elections does not release campaign finance reports electronically and requires a fee to release hard copies.

    Campaign Finance Ballotpedia.png
    See also: Campaign finance requirements in Pennsylvania and List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2017
    2017 Campaign Finance Deadlines in Pennsylvania[11]
    Date Deadline
    May 5, 2017 2nd Friday Pre-Primary report due
    June 15, 2017 30-Day Post-Primary report due
    October 27, 2017 2nd Friday Pre-Election report due
    December 7, 2017 30-Day Post-Election report due

    School board candidates in Pennsylvania were required to report their campaign finance activity. Those who spent or received more than $250 in a reporting period had to file full reports. Those below the threshold had to file forms to declare they were exempt from reporting. Candidates could have, but were not required to, form committees to handle campaign finance transactions. They were not required to have separate bank accounts for campaign purposes.[12]

    The table to the left details the four campaign finance deadlines in 2017.[11]

    Past elections[edit]

    What was at stake?[edit]

    Report a story for this election[edit]

    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[edit]

    Candidate Connection Logo - stacked.png

    Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey.
    Click here to view or fill out the survey.

    About the district[edit]

    See also: Council Rock School District, Pennsylvania
    The Council Rock School District is located in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.

    The Council Rock School District is located in eastern Pennsylvania in Bucks County. The seat of county government is Doylestown. Bucks County was home to an estimated 626,399 residents between 2010 and 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau. The district was the 16th-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 10,156 students.[13][14]

    Demographics[edit]

    Bucks County outperformed Pennsylvania as a whole in terms of higher education attainment from 2011 to 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 37.4 percent of county residents had obtained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 28.6 percent for state residents. The median household income in the county was $77,568, while it was $53,599 for the entire state. County residents lived below the poverty level at a rate of 6.3 percent, while that rate was 13.2 percent for all state residents.[14]

    Racial Demographics, 2015[14]
    Race Bucks County (%) Pennsylvania (%)
    White 89.1 82.6
    Black or African American 4.2 11.7
    American Indian and Alaska Native 0.3 0.4
    Asian 4.8 3.4
    Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.1 0.1
    Two or More Races 1.6 1.9
    Hispanic or Latino 5.0 6.8

    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[edit]

    The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Council Rock School District Pennsylvania election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

    Council Rock School District elections (2017) - Google News

    See also[edit]

    Council Rock School District Pennsylvania School Boards
    School Board badge.png
    Seal of Pennsylvania.png
    School Board badge.png

    External links[edit]

    Footnotes[edit]

    1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bucks County, "Unofficial Candidate List," accessed April 7, 2017
    2. ↑ Bucks County, "Bucks County Election Results," accessed May 16, 2017
    3. ↑ Bucks County Election Results, "Municipal Election Tuesday, November 07, 2017," accessed November 8, 2017
    4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Bucks County, "Candidate List Municipal Election, November 7, 2017," accessed October 25, 2017
    5. ↑ Pennsylvania School Boards Association, "How to Run for School Board," accessed March 21, 2017
    6. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed March 21, 2017
    7. ↑ VotesPA, "How to Register," accessed June 10, 2014
    8. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed March 30, 2017
    9. ↑ Newtown Patch, "Newtown GOP Makes Municipal Election Endorsements, Declines To Weigh In On Borough Mayoral Race," Updated March 2, 2017
    10. ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email exchange with Thomas Freitag, Bucks County Election Coordinator," June 20, 2017
    11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Pennsylvania Department of State, "2017 Election Calendar," accessed April 19, 2017
    12. ↑ Pennsylvania Department of State, "Campaign Finance Reporting Law," accessed January 15, 2014
    13. ↑ 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
    14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 United States Census Bureau, "Bucks County," accessed March 23, 2017
    Council Rock School District elections in 2017
    Bucks County, Pennsylvania
    Election date:Primary: May 16, 2017
    General: November 7, 2017
    Candidates:Region 1: Incumbent, Kathleen Mulholland (R) • Mariann McKee (D)

    Region 3: Incumbent, Denise Brooks (D) • Robert Hickey (R)
    Region 6: Incumbent, Mark Byelich (D/R) • Vijay Khanna (D)
    Region 8: Incumbent, Andy Block (D/R)

    Region 9: Incumbent, Kyle Mckessy (D/R)
    Important information:What's at stake?
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