Wheeler got 24,145 votes (60%) to Bartlett’s 15,931 votes (40%). He will take his seat on the school board in January.
Post 7, which includes McEachern, Harrison and Hillgrove high schools, now covers west-central Cobb after district lines were redrawn last spring by state legislators.
There are 54,722 registered voters in this post, 73% of which turned out for the election.
Bartlett, who was first elected to the board in 2008, spent Tuesday night with her family and then attended the Cobb Democrats election night watch party at the DoubleTree Atlanta Marietta Hotel.
When contacted about the outcome, she kept it short and simple: “Congratulations to Mr. Wheeler.”
Bartlett has been outspoken at numerous public forums and at school board meetings leading up to the election about her opposition to the charter-school amendment.
She has said it was tougher campaigning in the newly drawn district because it’s dominantly Republican, and some people told her they wouldn’t vote for her simply because she is a Democrat.
“It’s a problem with this nation,” she said in October. “They don’t evaluate who they are voting for, just the party associated with it.”
First-time candidate Wheeler, who was still in shock just before midnight, said he was excited.
“I appreciate everybody that’s helped me,” he said. “We’ve had supporters come from all over the place, and I appreciate every single one of them and everything they’ve done.”
He spent election night with his wife, Cathy, and their neighbors at his subdivision’s clubhouse in west Cobb.
The July 31 GOP primary was a three-person race featuring Wheeler, Larry Darnell and Heather Ryan. Wheeler won the nomination after a runoff with Darnell.
He qualified to run for the school board seat in May and since then came in first in the July 31 Republican primary and beat long-time Cobb County resident Larry Darnell in a mid-August runoff.
Wheeler said he sought the office to help shift the school board’s focus.
“Our goal should be to provide the best education we can afford our children,” he said.
He also said he opposes Superintendent Michael Hinojosa’s request to hire Teach For America teachers and favors the balanced calendar.
“It makes no sense to offer positions to recent college graduates who have not been trained when we are cutting back our current staff,” Wheeler said about TFA. “We already have quality people in these positions. We need to support them and not slap them in the face.”
According to campaign finance reports, Bartlett raised more than $5,322 and Wheeler raised more than $9,574.
The District 7 seat was the only contested Cobb school board race on Tuesday’s ballot.
Three other school board seats were decided July 31, with those victors having no opposition Tuesday. They are incumbents David Banks of District 5 in northeast Cobb and David Morgan of District 3 in southwest Cobb; and Republican Randy Scamihorn, who will take the District 1 post of northwest Cobb. The incumbent there, Lynnda Eagle, did not seek re-election.
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It's comical to watch the calendar kooks who declared:
"Stultz, KA, and Sweeney are out of their mind if they think that they were elected because the calendar was a driving issue. They were elected because they had R's by their name, and anyone with an R next to their name will win in Cobb."
Now claim that ignoring the monkey calendar led to her downfall - not the R next to her opponent's name.
Stultz, you are in our sights. It will be my pleasure to see you removed from office and get back to a place where the majority DOES rule. What a nerd.
“Nerds”: smart, industrious, hardworking, like to use their brains in their work/hobbies, calm, respectful
Anti-nerds: not so smart or industrious (like to whine/name-call), like to work with their hands, loud, disrespectful (see the Xmas song published last year by one of the anti-nerds – mocking Ms. Bartlett after she had a heart attack)
It’s been clear to anyone watching the least bit – that the July 31 start, frequent break calendar is for Anti-nerds. Nothing wrong about being an Anti-nerd; however, I think most of the county has higher hopes for their children.
“It’s a problem with this nation,” she said in October. “They don’t evaluate who they are voting for, just the party associated with it.” See 10/29/12 MDJ article "Bartlett seeks re-election in right-leaning district".
It is this statement and a holier-than-thou attitude that cost Mrs. Bartlett the election. She insulted potential constituents by stating they don't do something that they most certainly did. This statement implies that any constituent with a differing view than hers is too stupid to know what is important. Ms. Bartlett, you were evaluated and you came up short.
You and Teresa below should get your stories together better before posting.
Teresa makes the statement that voters have had a history of voting solely based on R/D ("... will never again let a R or D sway our School Board vote...")
Given that the new district is 60/40 R/D - exactly the same as the outcome of the election: it looks like the statistics support Ms. Bartlett's statement (and Teresa's ).
You have no idea.
"You have no idea"- you are a small, small person. Right on Cubmaster.
Try being a teacher, and then see if the 2 week swing doesnt make a difference.
- the heavy maintenance needed for our aging buildings can't be completed in time with short summer
- 96% of students in the country are on later starting calendars - hence, job opportunities, enhanced education programs, etc. are geared to this schedule
- July/early august is too hot to start on athletic practices, etc etc.
Yes, not taking personal responsibility for results is a problem for many including Bartlett.
Of course, she is too self-absorbed to consider she failed.
Cobb County parents, when it comes to our students, these elections should not be about political parties, as we learned two years ago, it should be about our kids. This is the first election since then, and I truly believe that we as parents have learned our lesson and will never again let a R or D sway our School Board vote.
I wonder why the tally was 60% - R, 40% - D for the school board post? Oh, that's right - that the R/D ratio for the area.
I'm a Republican, but voted for Allison. She has kept Banks, Eagle and to an extent Morgan in check since they all began to spin off the sane chart. She has a history of questioning expenditures rather than being a rubber stamp for the bureaucrats. This is what we needed. I admit I hesitated...her attendence at the Democratic events really galls me...but when Wheeler gets in and rubber stamps everything "those who spend our money without reservation" wants, you calendar people will be sorry. Oh wait a minute, no you won't because you don't care about anything except your fall trip to Disney.
We will lose our summers, decent teachers and loads of tax dollars. Congrats West Cobb, you can go on your Fall trip with your friends from Cherokee county on the cheap now. I can't believe we are trying to emulate Cherokee! Cherokee!!! Ugh!
East Cobb schools are more inline with the North Fulton schools than West/North Cobb schools.
It was good to see the E. Cobb PTA rep speak up against the July 31 calendar.
Hopefully you voted in something more than a rubber stamp. Time will tell
The district was redrawn as more than 60% Republican, which shows that people largely voted across party lines.
David Morgan inexplicably missed the vote on the calendar for "personal" reasons.
hmmmmmm
Now if the incoming board member Mr. Wheeler can keep his focus on education and not any personal agendas including injecting religion into the classroom or using the office as a stepping stone to higher office, we'll be fine. He's exactly right on Teach for America and the balanced calendar.
Hopefully he can be a buffer to the increasingly bad leadership by the new superintendent. This is what we get when we can't attract the best and brightest to our leadership positions. I had to point out that the Rockdale County candidate for superintendent got his doctorate online. Our leadership has been in sad shape for a while now. But, one board member at a time I guess.