Texas school board elections, 2015
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A total of 80 Texas school districts among America's largest school districts by enrollment held elections in 2015 for 218 seats. Board elections in 69 districts were held on May 9, 2015. The remaining 11 districts held their elections on November 3, 2015.
Here are several quick facts about Texas's school board elections in 2015:
- The largest school district by enrollment with an election in 2015 was Houston Independent School District with 203,354 K-12 students.
- The smallest school district by enrollment with an election in 2015 was Canyon Independent School District with 9,224 K-12 students.
- Eight districts were tied for the most seats on the ballot in 2015 with four seats up for election in each district.
- Thirty-seven districts were tied for the fewest seats on the ballot in 2015 with two seats up for election in each district.
The districts listed below served 2,723,097 K-12 students during the 2012-2013 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.[1] Click on the district names for more information on the district and its school board elections.
Trends in Texas school board elections[edit]
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
The 2015 school board elections in Texas' largest school districts attracted a smaller average number of candidates per seat than there were in the state's 2014 school board elections. The 2015 elections also had a higher percentage of seats go unopposed compared to the percentage that went unopposed in 2014. Newcomers fared better in the state's 2014 elections than in 2015. They won 38.50 percent of the seats on the ballot in 2014, compared to the 34.40 percent of seats they won in 2015.
The following sections analyze competitiveness and incumbency advantage in Texas' school board elections. Two of the 80 school districts that held elections in 2015 utilized runoff elections. In the other districts, winners only had to receive a plurality, or relative majority, of votes in the general election to secure a seat. All of the school board elections held in the state in 2014 and 2015 were nonpartisan.
Details of the data discussed here can be found in the table below.
Competitiveness[edit]
In 2015, elections held in the largest school districts in Texas attracted an average of 1.69 candidates per seat on the ballot. This was lower than the average 1.86 candidates that ran per seat up for election in 2014. The 2015 elections also had a higher percentage of unopposed seats. Nearly half of the seats—48.62 percent—were unopposed in 2015, compared to the 37.61 percent of seats that were unopposed in 2014.
Incumbency advantage[edit]
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A total of 83.53 percent of incumbents who ran for re-election in 2015 retained their seats. A total of 170 of the 218 incumbents whose terms were on the ballot ran to keep their seats, and 142 of them won. Of those winners, 92 were unopposed; the others won re-election by defeating challengers. In 2014, 81.76 percent of incumbents who ran for re-election won additional terms. A total of 170 of the 226 incumbents whose seats were up for election ran to retain their seats, and 139 of them won. Of those winners, 76 were unopposed; the others defeated challengers to keep their seats. The map below details the success rates for incumbents who ran in the 2015 school board elections that were held in the largest school districts by enrollment in the U.S.
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Data table[edit]
The table below displays the statistics for school board elections in Texas' largest school districts from 2014 to 2015.
| Texas school board elections, 2014-2015 | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total | Incumbents | ||||||||
| Seats up | Candidates | Candidates/ seat |
Unopposed seats | % unopposed | % seats won by newcomers | Sought re-election | Unopposed | Retained | % retained | |
| 2015 | 218 | 369 | 1.69 | 106 | 48.62% | 34.40% | 170 | 92 | 142 | 83.72% |
| 2014 | 226 | 421 | 1.86 | 85 | 37.61% | 38.50% | 170 | 76 | 139 | 81.76% |
Spotlight districts[edit]
Bastrop Independent School District elections[edit]
Cancelled elections[edit]
Two of the seven seats on the Bastrop Board of Trustees were scheduled for election in 2015. The cancellation of these elections marked the second canceled election in a row due to a lack of contested races. In 2014, Molly McClure and Billy Moore were automatically elected to their first terms after the Board of Trustees canceled the election and certified the unopposed candidates.[2]
The trend of low contest elections, however, extends further back. One of the three seats up for election in 2013 was unopposed while the other two seats saw just two candidates file for each of their races. Similarly in 2012, two seats up for election saw two candidates each.
Comal Independent School District elections[edit]
2015 bond package[edit]
The Comal Board of Trustees approved a bond package worth $147.4 million at its February 2015 meeting, that was put to voters on the May 9, 2015, ballot. Voters, in turn, approved the measure. The package laid out a plan that addressed the district's strategy to tackle increased enrollment, student safety and technology, existing capital projects and new construction. Roughly $94 million of the bond package was allotted for the construction of two new middle schools; two of the district's middle schools, Smithson Valley Middle School and Canyon Middle School, were expected to reach capacity by 2018. According to Superintendent Andrew Kim, "most of our capacity is at our elementary campuses, which is why we are focused on building middle schools only, and only for those that are exceeding their capacity.” The rest of the bond package included $20.1 million for capital projects at existing facilities and $21.3 million for technology.[3]
Dallas Independent School District elections[edit]
Resignation of Superintendent Mike Miles[edit]
Following Superintendent Mike Miles' performance review at the board of trustee's meeting on May 1, 2015, school board members adopted a letter of concern against Miles but did not fire him. The performance review came after board members Joyce Foreman, Elizabeth Jones and Bernadette Nutall sued the district when a performance review was not scheduled for Miles in a timely manner after they requested one. Dallas County District Judge Carl Ginsberg ruled in favor of the trustees, mandating a special meeting to review the superintendent on May 1, 2015.[4] At the meeting, Foreman called for a motion to force Miles to resign in December 2015. The motion failed 6-3, with Jones and Nutall voting with Foreman. Fellow trustee Eric Cowan said he was not satisfied with Miles' performance, but he believed making such a change would be "irresponsible."[4] The letter of concern with Miles was passed after the resignation motion failed. The letter was adopted with a vote of 7-2.[5]
Mike Miles announced his resignation on July 23, 2015. Miles stated he was resigning due to family matters.[6] Miles spoke of his impact in the district highlighting the district's updated teacher evaluation system and increase in early childhood education under his leadership. According to NBC 5, Miles stated that he had "made decisions that, while not always popular, were done with the best interests of children and the district in mind."[6]
Miles joined the school district in 2012 after serving as the superintendent of Harrison School District Two in Colorado for six years. He previously worked as a foreign service officer with the U.S. State Department.[6]
Fort Bend Independent School District elections[edit]
Discrimination allegations, Houston Chronicle report[edit]
After a 2012 civil rights investigation was launched in Fort Bend ISD, officials say the district is taking steps to prevent discriminatory disciplinary practices. As of January 2015, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), which operates within the U.S. Department of Education, said the investigation is ongoing in Fort Bend ISD. Records show that the investigation was initially called to determine if Fort Bend ISD "discriminates against African-American students by disciplining them more frequently and more harshly than other similarly situated students."[7]
The Houston Chronicle initiated its own examination of the district's discrimination allegations in 2015. Upon reviewing district data and hundreds of documents obtained through a public records request, the findings did indicate the presence of discriminatory practices. In the 2013-2014 school year, black students made up roughly 29 percent of the student population. In the same year, black students accounted for about 60 percent of in-school suspensions and alternative school placements, while white students made up for fewer than 10 percent of disciplinary actions. The student population in Fort Bend is diverse, with 19 percent accounting for white students, 26 percent for Hispanic students and 22 percent for Asian students. Clarence Holliday, president of the Missouri City branch of the NAACP, said "the community has had issues with the Fort Bend school system for many, many years." According to Superintendent Charles Dupre, who took office in 2013 after the investigation had begun, "we are going to be proactive and study our own data and we're going to do a corrective action plan for our own district." Superintendent Dupre also noted that cultural differences are a significant factor, such as communication styles and expectations for teacher-student relationships, and it is important for the district to be mindful of those differences.[7]
Since the launch of the OCR's investigation, the district has seen some positive results. In the summer of 2013, the district formed a student affairs department to serve as a hub for the district's disciplinary complaints, while also allowing the district to keep an eye on and pay attention to individual cases. From the fall of 2013 to 2014, several campuses in the district saw a decrease in the number of disciplinary actions against black students. The district has drafted a corrective action plan, which has yet to be reviewed by the OCR.[7]
According to the Chronicle report, a "district's discipline practices can be deemed discriminatory, and thus in violation of federal law, if its policies are either explicitly race-based or if they are neutral but found to have a disparate impact." As a result, the Fort Bend ISD could be asked to enter into a corrective agreement, and any students who were affected by discriminatory practices could have their records corrected or given compensatory educational services.[7]
Survey responses[edit]
Twenty of the 370 candidates running for a school board seat in Texas' largest school districts in the 2015 elections responded to Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey. The following sections display their answers to questions about education issues.
Ranking the issues[edit]
The candidates were asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays the candidates' average rankings as well as the highest and lowest rankings for each issue.
| Issue importance ranking | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | Average ranking | Highest ranking | Lowest ranking |
| Expanding arts education | 5.35 | 1 | 7 |
| Expanding career-technical education | 3.47 | 1 | 7 |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | 3.06 | 1 | 7 |
| Improving college readiness | 3.06 | 1 | 7 |
| Closing the achievement gap | 3.18 | 1 | 7 |
| Improving education for special needs students | 4.18 | 2 | 6 |
| Expanding school choice options | 5.71 | 2 | 7 |
Positions on the issues[edit]
The candidates were also asked short answer and multiple choice questions regarding significant issues in education. Links to those responses can be found below.
State profile[edit]
| Demographic data for Texas | ||
|---|---|---|
| Texas | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 27,429,639 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 261,232 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 74.9% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 11.9% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 4.2% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.5% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.1% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.5% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 38.4% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 81.9% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.6% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $53,207 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 19.9% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Texas. **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. | ||
Presidential voting pattern[edit]
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Texas
Texas voted Republican in all six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, one is located in Texas, accounting for 0.5 percent of the total pivot counties.[8]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Texas had one Retained Pivot County, 0.55 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.
More Texas coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Texas
- United States congressional delegations from Texas
- Public policy in Texas
- Influencers in Texas
- Texas fact checks
- More...
Academic performance[edit]
| Education terms |
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| For more information on education policy terms, see this article. |
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- See also: Public education in Texas
NAEP scores[edit]
- See also: NAEP scores by state
The National Center for Education Statistics provides state-by-state data on student achievement levels in mathematics and reading in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The chart below presents the percentage of fourth and eighth grade students that scored at or above proficient in reading and math during the 2012-2013 school year. Compared to three neighboring states (Louisiana, New Mexico, and Oklahoma), students in Texas had the highest scores in nearly every category. The state only fell behind Oklahoma in fourth-grade reading.[9]
| Percent of students scoring at or above proficient, 2012-2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Math - Grade 4 | Math - Grade 8 | Reading - Grade 4 | Reading - Grade 8 | |
| Texas | 41% | 38% | 28% | 31% |
| Louisiana | 26% | 21% | 23% | 24% |
| New Mexico | 31% | 23% | 21% | 22% |
| Oklahoma | 36% | 25% | 30% | 29% |
| U.S. averages | 41% | 34% | 34% | 34% |
| Source: United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables" | ||||
Graduation, ACT and SAT scores[edit]
The following table shows the graduation rates and average composite ACT and SAT scores for Texas and surrounding states during the 2012-2013 school year. All statements made in this section refer to that school year.[9][10][11]
In the United States, public schools reported graduation rates that averaged to about 81.4 percent. About 54 percent of all students in the country took the ACT, while 50 percent reported taking the SAT. The average national composite scores for those tests were 20.9 out of a possible 36 for the ACT and 1,498 out of a possible 2,400 for the SAT.[12]
Texas schools reported a graduation rate of 88 percent during the 2012-2013 school year, which was the highest rate among its neighboring states.
In Texas, more students took the SAT than the ACT in 2013, earning an average SAT score of 1,437.
| Comparison table for graduation rates and test scores, 2012-2013 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Graduation rate, 2013 | Average ACT composite, 2013 | Average SAT composite, 2013 | ||||
| Percent | Quintile ranking** | Score | Participation rate | Score | Participation rate | ||
| Texas | 88% | First | 20.9 | 37% | 1,437 | 59% | |
| Louisiana | 73.5% | Fifth | 19.5 | 100% | 1,655 | 5% | |
| New Mexico | 70.3% | Fifth | 19.9 | 70% | 1,626 | 12% | |
| Oklahoma | 84.8% | Second | 20.8 | 75% | 1,689 | 5% | |
| United States | 81.4% | 20.9 | 54% | 1498 | 50% | ||
| **Graduation rates for states in the first quintile ranked in the top 20 percent nationally. Similarly, graduation rates for states in the fifth quintile ranked in the bottom 20 percent nationally. Sources: United States Department of Education, "ED Data Express" ACT.org, "2013 ACT National and State Scores" The Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT scores by state, 2013" | |||||||
Dropout rate[edit]
- See also: Public high school dropout rates by state for a full comparison of dropout rates by group in all states
The high school event dropout rate indicates the proportion of students who were enrolled at some time during the school year and were expected to be enrolled in grades nine through 12 in the following school year but were not enrolled by October 1 of the following school year. Students who have graduated, transferred to another school, died, moved to another country, or who are out of school due to illness are not considered dropouts. The average public high school event dropout rate for the United States remained constant at 3.3 percent for both school year 2010–2011 and school year 2011–2012. The event dropout rate for Texas was lower than the national average at 2.4 percent in the 2010-2011 school year, and 2.5 percent in the 2011-2012 school year.[13]
See also[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed April 20, 2015
- ↑ Bastrop Independent School District, "2013-14 Board Minutes: Regular Meeting," March 18, 2014
- ↑ Comal Independent School District, "Comal ISD Board of Trustees Approve $147.4 Million Bond Package," February 27, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Dallas Observer, "Mike Miles Doesn't Get Fired at Special Dallas ISD Board Review," archived May 5, 2015
- ↑ Kera News, "Dallas School Superintendent Mike Miles Survives Another Attempt To Oust Him," archived May 6, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Dallas Independent School District, "Superintendent," accessed February 12, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Houston Chronicle, "Disciplining of black students at issue in Fort Bend ISD," January 17, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 United States Department of Education, ED Data Express, "State Tables," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ ACT, "2012 ACT National and State Scores," accessed May 13, 2014
- ↑ Commonwealth Foundation, "SAT Scores by State 2013," October 10, 2013
- ↑ StudyPoints, "What's a good SAT score or ACT score?" accessed June 7, 2015
- ↑ United States Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data (CCD), State Dropout and Graduation Rate Data File, School Year 2010-11, Provision Version 1a and School Year 2011-12, Preliminary Version 1a," accessed May 13, 2014
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