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One seat on the Owasso Public Schools school board was scheduled for by-district general election on February 14, 2017. However, the election for Ward 2 was canceled due to lack of opposition. Incumbent Rhonda Mills was the only candidate to file in the race, and she was automatically elected to another term.[1]
This 2017 election marked the sixth consecutive canceled election in this district. The elections for Wards 1, 5, 4, 3, and 2 in 2016, 2015, and 2014, 2013, and 2012, respectively, were also canceled due to lack of opposition. Click here to read how this race compared to past elections in both the district and the state.
The Owasso Public Schools school board consists of five members elected by district to five-year terms. A general election was scheduled for February 14, 2017, but it was canceled due to lack of opposition. Candidates had to file affidavits of candidacy between December 5, 2016, and December 7, 2016.
To vote in Oklahoma, one had to be at least 18 years old, a United States citizen, and a resident of Oklahoma. Voters in Oklahoma had to show proof of identity before receiving a ballot. Valid forms of identification had to include the name of the voter, a photograph, and an expiration date that occured after the date of the election. In order to vote in this school board election, voters had to register by January 20, 2017.[2][3]
Ward 2 incumbent Rhonda Mills was automatically re-elected.
| Owasso Public Schools, Ward 2 General Election, 5-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | ||
| Rhonda Mills | |
|---|---|
| |
This Oklahoma school board election shared the ballot with a race for two seats on the Owasso City Council.[4]
The following table lists key deadlines for Oklahoma's school board elections in 2017:[5]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| December 5, 2016 | First day of candidate filing period |
| December 7, 2016 | Last day of candidate filing period |
| January 20, 2017 | Last day to register to vote in the school board election |
| January 31, 2017 | Post-General Contributions and Expenditures Report due |
| February 14, 2017 | General election |
| April 30, 2017 | 1st Quarter Contributions and Expenditures Report due |
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Every school board candidate in Oklahoma who accepted or spent more than $1,000 was required to file a Statement of Organization with the school district clerk within 10 days of the transaction. This statement establishes the candidate's campaign committee and declares the names of the chair and treasurer of the committee. Once a candidate filed a Statement of Organization, his or her committee was required to make reports of contributions and expenditures.[6]
Contribution and expenditure reports had to be made for the last quarter of the year preceding the election and quarterly during the election year until the committee was dissolved and a final report of contributions and expenditures was made. The reporting dates for this 2017 election were:[7]
Information about earlier elections can be found by clicking [show] at the right. | |
|---|---|
2016One of the five seats on the Owasso Public Schools school board was scheduled for by-district general election on February 9, 2016. Ward 1 incumbent Pat Vanatta filed for re-election, but no candidates filed to challenge him.[8] Due to this lack of opposition, the election was canceled and Vanatta was automatically re-elected.[9] 2015Ward 5 incumbent Forrest James Turpen retained his seat after the election was canceled due to a lack of opposition in the race. 2014
Ward 4 incumbent Brent England retained his seat after the election was canceled due to a lack of opposition in the race. 2013Gail Ballinger ran unopposed for re-election and won the Ward 3 seat by default. The school district canceled the election due to the lack of opposition.[10] 2012Rhonda Mills ran unopposed for re-election and won the Ward 2 seat by default. The school district canceled the election due to the lack of opposition.[10] | |
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.
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Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey. |
Between 2012 and 2017, no challenger filed against an incumbent candidate in Owasso Public Schools elections, and the school district’s incumbent success rate remained at 100 percent. As of 2015, Owasso's rate of unopposed seats was 100 percent, while the Oklahoma state average was 85.71 percent and the U.S. average was 35.95 percent. In 2015, no school district in Oklahoma covered by Ballotpedia elected a newcomer to its school board, while 40.81 percent of school districts across the U.S. elected at least one newcomer during the same year.
| School board election trends | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Owasso Public Schools | |||||
| 2017 | 1 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 00.00% | |
| 2016 | 1 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 00.00% | |
| 2015 | 1 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 00.00% | |
| 2014 | 1 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 00.00% | |
| 2013 | 1 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 00.00% | |
| 2012 | 1 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 00.00% | |
| Oklahoma | |||||
| 2015 | 1.14 | 85.71% | 100.00% | 00.00% | |
| 2014 | 1.31 | 62.50% | 80.00% | 43.75% | |
| United States | |||||
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
| 2014 | 1.89 | 32.59% | 81.31% | 38.24% | |
Owasso Public Schools is located in Tulsa County in northeastern Oklahoma. The seat of county government is Tulsa. The county was home to approximately 639,242 residents between 2010 and 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau. The district was the 13th-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 9,658 students.[11][12]
Tulsa County outperformed Oklahoma as a whole in terms of higher education attainment from 2011 to 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 30.4 percent of its residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree or higher, compared to 24.1 percent for Oklahoma as a whole. The median household income in the county was $49,759, compared to $46,879 for the state of Oklahoma. The poverty rate in Tulsa County was 15.9 percent, compared to 16.1 percent for the entire state.[12]
| Racial Demographics, 2015[12] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Tulsa County (%) |
Oklahoma (%) |
| White | 73.4 | 74.8 |
| Black or African American | 10.8 | 7.8 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 6.8 | 9.1 |
| Asian | 3.0 | 2.2 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Two or More Races | 5.9 | 6.0 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 12.1 | 10.1 |
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.
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Owasso Public Schools Oklahoma election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
| Owasso Public Schools | Oklahoma | School Boards |
|---|---|---|
| Owasso Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Tulsa County, Oklahoma | |
| Election date: | February 14, 2017 (Canceled) |
| Candidates: | Ward 2: Incumbent, Rhonda Mills |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |