Red Clay Referendum Results
Official Results from Department of Elections for New Castle County
Question 1: Renovation and/or additions to various schools:
For the Bond Issue: 6,675
Against the Bond Issue: 3,494
Question 2: To build a new school
For the Bond Issue: 5,398
Against the Bond Issue: 4,552
I’d be interested in seeing the voter breakdown.
Tags: Education
According to early numbers, 6521 to 3404 for line 1 (school repairs and upgrades) and 5302 to 4349 for line 2 (the new school in Hockessin). Let the post-game analysis begin.
Mike, where are you getting these numbers?
And boy, those numbers seem high for a referendum.
Facebook. Apparently there’s a group of Red Clay folk gathered at Stanton watching as returns come in TO THEM. This has ALWAYS bugged me about Dept. of Elections. The numbers some how FIRST get to big time players (the District) as opposed to going on their damn webpage. The numbers still aren’t up. Anyway, my old high school principal posted them on Facebook and I posted them, as well.
Red Clay Consolidated School District
Referendum
Election information
Results of previous referenda
Unofficial results
Election Information
Date of Election: February 28, 2012
Time: Polls are open from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m.
[ Sample Ballot | Ejemplo de Papeleta ]
[ Notice of Election | Aviso de Elección ]
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Previous referenda
Results of previous referenda
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Unofficial Results
For authority to issue bonds
Polling Place Question 1: Renovation and/or additions to various schools Question 2: To build a new school
For the Bond Issue Against the Bond Issue For the Bond Issue Against the Bond Issue
Issue#1:6,675 FOR 3,494 AGAINST
Issue#2: 5,398 FOR 4,552 AGAINST
That doesn’t seem fair. It is an election, not a school event.
You know, I’m ready to move school board elections and referendums to the date of the general election in November. Both of these votes are highly political.
http://electionsncc.delaware.gov/Red_Clay/2012/rc_ref12.shtml
Here goes. Apparently I was looking at the wrong page.
Let me revise my comment above. I don’t know if the District was getting numbers before the public. They may have been using the link above. I wasn’t using that one. It has just been my experience at other political primaries/school board elections that the candidate or parties involved always seemed to have an “inside” number they could contact to get the results early to let their respective camps know what’s going on. That being said, I can’t confirm that’s what happened here, so don’t want to imply that.
I was using that link, Mike. I still think we need to move this stuff into the general election. That way the District and Board Members would have to court ALL the voters – not just the ones their SuperPac decides to woo.
RCCSD blatant manipulation. Holding “parent” nights at polling schools….. wicked, brutal manipulation Rec Clay Style!
We had that issue out several years ago. I’m against moving this to the general because they would become political. Too political. They’re political enough already, but soon enough we’d have board members identifying by party and such. John Kowalko had some eloquent words three years ago why we shouldn’t move school board and referenda to the general. I deferred to him on that topic.
pandora–step back–for a new building, it sure wasn’t given to them. You have effectively put your district leadership on alert to a closer margin, and a reality that maybe folks don’t want to build buildings for choice students. You have to remember, that was only your recent expose’, and people not knowing this stuff have to be educated–on a wider scale. Excellent attempt on your part given the limited time and resources for this first time on calling them out! You are their public now!!!!
I already know RCCD’s board members politics. They don’t hide them.
If you don’t want to move them to the general, then how about any phone call, mailer, postcard, etc. must be sent to every Red Clay resident. Right now, Red Clay’s SuperPac spent months informing certain groups while deliberately keeping other groups in the dark.
So take your pick, and if the only thing everyone gets on an upcoming referendum is the district newspaper that’s mailed to everyone, that’s fine with me. After all, that’s all city neighborhoods received.
Parent nights — the oldest trick in the “how to win the referendum” book.
If you want to score really big, get the PTA to run an Ice Cream Social.
The SuperPAC must go, Pandora. I intend to address this very soon.
Further on the SuperPAC, I’ve informally addressed its legality many times before, but haven’t done the real back-breaking work of fully figuring out what it is. Is it a parent organization TOTALLY unrelated to the District? Or is the District actually LEGALLY allowed to have a PAC? If this is 100% private and it’s an offshoot organization (that the District has totally and wholly co-opted), then I wonder what can be done aside from putting the pressure on the district to divest any activity or interest in the organization.
Well, they seem to function as one entity, Mike. Whenever I wanted referendum information I went to Red Clay’s website and then Red Clay directed me to The Friends of Red Clay page for the info.
Ugh. Sounds to me like we need some legislation defining these superpacs and how far Districts can go in participating with them. I do not like it.
I still think we need to move this stuff into the general election.
Welcome to the dark side. Seriously, after watching this with you, I am more convinced than ever that these elections should move to the General or Primary dates. This seems especially important for the city — make them ask for their votes everywhere. The exclusionary way this gets done now is very political. Making this happen on a regular election day just moves the politics abit more out in the open.
Exactly. Let’s stop pretending this isn’t political.
The district gets the information early the same way anyone can. They assign a person to wait at each polling place when the polls close. The results are publically displayed in the window of the polling place. That person then calls Stanton with the results. The poll workers must drive the official results to the Department of Elections where they are tallied and posted to the website. The average poll worker is about 123 years old (God bless them). I am sure they do not drive faster than a phone call/text/email. That is how the district (or campaign headquarters in the general election) knows first. Nothing devious. Just experienced organizations.
PS-I am sure the vote total Mike M had was off a little due to calculation errors in the name of speed. Or maybe they let a Cab grad add them. 🙂
Yes, Anon. That’s how it works. Thanks for the clarification.
The community has spoken and there can’t be any denial that there wasn’t enough advertisement. Was anybody hurt by the outcome?
Markell said the numbers won’t be official until 10:00 a.m. after the Charter School of Wilmington students check the math. 🙂
Be careful. I hear some Cab kids are in the CSW classes. Make sure the kid has no artistic ability and then let them do the math.
The community has spoken and there can’t be any denial that there wasn’t enough advertisement. Was anybody hurt by the outcome?
Are you kidding me, Kilroy? What advertisement? The same advertisement for all Red Clay tax payers? I’m not questioning that the community voted (it’s over and done), but I’d ask you did all Red Clay communities get the same information?
The real problem is that referendums and school board elections get their SuperPacs to run a political campaign, while pretending that this isn’t political. Then they pressure the school administration and teachers (free campaign staff) to promote it the “district way.” There is no way to counter this. No debates. No questions answered at board meetings. No information if you live in a certain feeder pattern. It’s all about containment.
When I was a Red Clay parent our PTA was against building North Star. The principal shut us down. No parent calling lists for us and we were told we couldn’t speak out against the referendum on school property. So… we stood across the street and yelled to parents picking up their kids to come speak with us.
Ya know, we wouldn’t tolerate this behavior from any other group holding an official election.
LOL 🙂 They’ll just as shades of gray
LOL 🙂 They’ll just as shades of gray
Are you kidding me, Kilroy? What advertisement?
YOU LOL 🙂
“The real problem is that referendums and school board elections get their SuperPacs to run a political campaign, while pretending that this isn’t political.”
Come on it was the scare-tactics that the buses will be heading back into Wilmington! Question ! was going to pass and it did big! Question 2 passed did because of the busing scare tactic.
Looks like you’ll have to take that wine tasted down from Boones Farm to MD 20/20!
“The principal shut us down. No parent calling lists for us and we were told we couldn’t speak out against the referendum on school property.”
We failed as bloggers! So on three C:/ del *.* 🙂
It is what it is!
moving this all to the general will add PAC and political influence to a primary position. Theory says this is a vote OF the well informed and not the rabble that show up to vote for a person and an office and pull levers willy nilly on issues.
I hear the Delaware GOP is adopting Red Clay tactics and will host bingo nights in schools on election night. Markell will use a scare tactic, if state workers don’t vote for him and if he wins he’ll cut pensions. 🙂
“Theory says this is a vote OF the well informed and not the rabble that show up to vote for a person and an office and pull levers willy nilly on issues.”
Confucius say, if Jason got to bed with itchy butt he’ll wake-up with stinky finger 🙂
Sorry I got to go, Merv just sent the Limo for me to take me to the victory party. Said, my rants made him work harder!
I think this is well and expected – the ship had sailed and I’d missed it. Maybe next time!
The parents’ nights definitely did their job! Very smart. Loved ours. Even at our city school, where we have a number of peeps who were rabidly paying attention to this issue and opposed a new school…I know we few didn’t color the thinking of the couple hundred family members who turned out for a family night and went into the booth just wanting to ‘be supportive’ (as encourgaed by every robocall, lawn sign and postcard) – totally unaware of any controversy. How do you blame the well-meaning under-informed….?
I would like to know who the PAC members are though…do we know that? And why is it okay to force the teaching/admin staff (much as I love em) to spend so much time campaigning on the clock? Feels icky to me.
How can district admin use Red Clay time and resources (robocall?) to pitch a referendum they technically dont know has support without direction from their BOE? icky = wrong.
I guess it is kind of like the White House lobbying for its own Federal budget submission. I agree it sort of feels wrong for schools though.
I was at a red clay school three times yesterday- dropping off, picking up and at the parent event at night. The first it was hard to get my son to school because of the bus loads of senior citizens that were being dropped off to vote, so someone knew how to get the vote out. And whats wrong with the parent events? Are you saying that because the parents come out that they will vote yes? If so, then the voting would have been more towards the Yes and not so closely contested. Its not like any other polictical/election day group doestn go around and rally the voters to get out and vote? Ive never seen that before in any election? ha
Also I voted yes, and not because I am afraid of sending my kids to school with the ‘black kids’ as was reported here last week. My kids will be gone by the time the new school is built.
Red Clay School District Declares: “We are NOT taxed enough already!”
Folks in Delaware really believe (like their Pres) that throwing $$ at a problem fixes it.