Through 2008, school elections were held every September, and terms were three years.
From 2009 through 2017, school elections were held in odd years only. School board terms were lengthened to four years.
2017 was the final September school election. Beginning in 2019, the school election was combined with the city election in November of odd years.
School election results are available from 1976 for Iowa City only and 1977 to the present for all districts. Prior to 1976 school districts conducted their own elections, and records from before that date are not in our office.
Turnout
School election turnout tended to be highest in elections where funding questions appear on the ballot.
| Record Turnout by District | Voters | Date (links to results) |
Key Contests |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa City | 16,002 | 9/12/2017 | Bond (ICCSD & Kirkwood), board members |
| Clear Creek Amana (regular) | 1,971 | 11/7/2023 | PPEL/Income Tax, board members |
| Clear Creek Amana (special) | 2,447 | 2/14/2006 | Bond (New School) |
| Lone Tree | 584 | 9/11/2001 | Bond (School Improvements) |
| Solon | 1,757 | 9/12/2000 | Bond (New High School) |
| Turnout in Recent School Elections |
Registered Voters* |
Total Voters |
% | Ballot Issues |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9/12/2017 | 88,099 | 19,008 | 21.58% | Kirkwood bond (all districts), IC/CCA bond |
| 9/8/2015 | 82,711 | 7,945 | 9.6% | none |
| 9/10/2013 | 87,711 | 10,180 | 11.65% | Kirkwood levy (all districts), IC/CCA levy, LT sales tax use |
| 9/13/2011 | 88,471 | 5,451 | 6.16% | Kirkwood bond (all districts), Solon sales tax use |
| 9/8/2009 | 85,071 | 5,834 | 6.86% | Kirkwood levy (all districts) |
| 9/9/2008 | 81,842 | 2,863 | 3.50% | none |
| 9/11/2007 | 74,395 | 3,402 | 4.57% | none |
| 9/12/2006 | 74,683 | 2,683 | 3.59% | Solon Levy |
| 9/13/2005 | 78,079 | 3,893 | 4.99% | Kirkwood bond (all districts), Lone Tee and Solon levies |
| 9/14/2004 | 74,563 | 2,945 | 3.95% | Iowa City levy |
| 9/9/2003 | 66,620 | 4,472 | 6.75% | Kirkwood levy (all districts), Clear Creek Amana levy |
| 9/10/2002 | 69,388 | 3,618 | 5.21% | none |
| 9/11/2001 | 67,801 | 3,475 | 5.13% | Lone Tree bond issue |
| 9/12/2000 | 64,197 | 4,316 | 6.72% | Solon bond issue |
| 9/14/1999 | 61,819 | 5,341 | 8.64% | Clear Creek Amana levy |
| 9/8/1998 | 60,837 | 4,978 | 8.18% | Kirkwood levy (all districts) |
| 9/9/1997 | 59,108 | 3,060 | 5.18% | Clear Creek Amana and Solon levies |
| 9/10/1996 | 59,127 | 4,942 | 8.36% | Solon levy |
| 9/12/1995 | 57,909* | 6,236 | 10.77% | Iowa City bond issue |
| 9/13/1994 | 57,273 | 3,438 | 6.00% | Kirkwood levy (all district) Lone Tree Levy |
| 9/14/1993 | 56,396 | 4,902 | 8.69% | none |
| 9/8/1992 | 59,910 | 1,307 | 2.18% | none |
* Registration figures from 1996 to present include the Iowa City, Clear Creek Amana, Lone Tree, and Solon school districts. Due to the merger process the Clear Creek Amana district did not hold a regular school board election in September 1995, and the 1995 registration totals do not include Clear Creek Amana. Registration totals from 1994 and earlier include the Iowa City, Lone Tree, and Solon districts and the former Clear Creek district, and do not include the former Amana district. These totals include all voters within these school district, including voters from outside Johnson County.
Low Turnout
The lowest turnout election of any type in recent years was the September 8, 1992 school board election. Turnout in the Iowa City district was 0.96%. County-wide, 1,307 out of 59,910 registered voters participated, for a county-wide turnout of 2.18%. Only the Clear Creek school district had any contested races. More voters went to the polls in the Clear Creek district than in the Iowa City district, even though the Iowa City district had 23 times more registered voters.
| Turnout by District, 9/8/1992 |
Registered | Voters | Turnout | Contests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa City | 53,707 | 515 | 0.96% | 2 seats at large 2 candidates |
| Clear Creek | 2,321 | 646 | 27.83% | District 3: 1 seat, 2 candidates District 5: 1 seat, 1 candidate on ballot, 1 write in |
| Lone Tree | 1,121 | 73 | 6.51% | 2 seat at large 2 candidates |
| Solon | 2,761 | 73 | 2.64% | 2 seats at large 2 candidates |
Highest Vote Totals for Candidates
| District | Candidate | Votes | Year | Contested? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa City | Molly Abraham | 12,468 | 2023 | yes |
| Clear Creek Amana | Jennifer Bollers | 1,428 | 2023 | no |
| Lone Tree | Jon Ronan | 483 | 2001 | no |
| Solon | Don Otto | 1,118 | 2000 | no |
Close Elections
The closest school election in Johnson County was a 1995 tie in the Solon school district. Phyllis Connelly and Jan Kublik Miller each won 74 votes. Connelly was selected by lot at the official canvass of votes.
The closest Iowa City school district election in recent years was in 1977, when Bill Kidwell won the second and final board seat by 35 votes over Ann Bovbjerg.
Early Voting
The February 11, 2003 Iowa City school bond was the first election of any type in Johnson County history with more ballots cast early than on Election Day. 6,298 early ballots were counted, accounting for 50.45% of the vote. That remained the record high absentee percentage for all elections until the November 4, 2008 presidential election.
Write-Ins
Candidates are sometimes elected as write-ins, usually when no candidate is on the ballot. This happened in 2015 in Lone Tree. Three incumbents filed for two full four year terms, but no one filed for a two year term to fill a vacancy. Appointed incumbent Michael Waldschmidt withdrew from the full term race, and was elected to the two year term as a write-in.
The largest scale write in school election in recent years was the 1997 Iowa City School Board election. Two seats were open but only one candidate filed. Peter Wallace was elected as a write-in.
Write-in candidates have defeated candidates who were listed on the ballot, most recently in 1994 in Lone Tree. The most prominent case was in the 1983 Iowa City school board election, when three write in candidates ran ahead of the two candidates listed on the ballot in a contest for two seats.
Bond Issues
Bond issues require a 60% yes vote for approval. Key statistics from 1977 to present:
- Largest Yes percentage, school district: 71.21%, Iowa City School District, February 11, 2003
- Largest Yes percentage, non-school: 95.41%, Coralville pool, July 9, 2002
- Narrowest successful Yes margin: 60.7%, Solon School District, 1979
- Highest unsuccessful Yes percentage: 57.95%, Iowa City School District, May 12, 1992
- Largest No percentage, bond issue. 83.00%, City of Iowa City sports complex, June 25, 1991.
- Largest No percentage on any ballot issue: 84.2%, Swisher water utility, March 7, 2023 (50% yes required).