April Davis
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April Davis was a candidate for at-large representative on the Hillsboro School District school board in Oregon. Davis was defeated in the at-large general election on May 16, 2017.
This candidate participated in Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Biography
Davis' professional experience includes serving on the Glencoe High School site council and the Cultural Coalition of Washington County.[1]
Elections
2017
Four of the seven seats on the Hillsboro School District school board in Oregon were up for at-large general election on May 16, 2017. Three filed for the open Position 1 seat: Erika Lopez, April Davis, and Jen Brandse, with Lopez winning the seat. In Position 2, incumbent Glenn Miller was defeated by challenger Mark Watson. Position 3 saw incumbent Monte Akers file for the seat along with challenger Martin Granum, who successfully ousted the incumbent. Position 6 saw the most competition, with four filing for the open spot on the board: Kevin Currin-Smith, Jaci Spross, Alexander Flores, and Brian Lyles. Spross won the seat.[2][3]
Results
| Hillsboro School District, Position 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Erika Lopez |
53.19% | 8,517 |
| April Davis | 34.04% | 5,451 |
| Jen Brandse | 12.32% | 1,973 |
| Write-in votes | 0.45% | 72 |
| Total Votes | 16,013 | |
| Source: Washington County Elections, "Statement of Ballots Cast," accessed June 12, 2017 | ||
Funding
The filing deadline in Oregon for a campaign transaction is typically no later than 30 calendar days. However, beginning on the 42nd day before an election day and through the date of the election, a transaction is due no later than seven calendar days after the date it occurred. The dates for the beginning and ending of the seven-day reporting period for the 2017 Oregon school board elections were:[4]
- April 4, 2017 (Seven day campaign finance reporting begins)
- May 16, 2017 (Seven day campaign finance reporting ends)
A school board candidate in Oregon must form a candidate committee unless he or she meets all of the following conditions:[5][6]
- The candidate elects to serve as his or her own treasurer.
- The candidate does not have an existing candidate committee.
- The candidate does not expect to receive or spend more than $750 during a calendar year (including personal funds).
A candidate committee must file a Statement of Organization with the Elections Division of the Oregon Secretary of State within three business days of first receiving or spending money. A form including campaign account information must accompany the Statement of Organization.[5][7]
Candidate committees that expect to receive or spend $3,500 or more in a calendar year are required to report all transactions. A committee that does not expect to receive or spend this much is still required to file a Statement of Organization and designate a campaign bank account, but does not have to file transactions. Instead, they must file a Certificate of Limited Contributions and Expenditures.[5][8]
Endorsements
Davis received an endorsement from Oregon Right to Life.[9]
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
April Davis participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[10] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on April 2, 2017:
| “ | If I am elected to serve as a director on the school board, it is my hope to serve the students and their families to the best of my ability. My achievement would be working to improve the performance of the district.[11][12] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Oregon. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| “ | I ranked managing the budget first because a well managed budget is vital for the other issues to be addressed. I ranked expanding school choice second because I believe that a student will perform best if given a choice. I ranked post secondary preparedness third because I believe that it is the function of schools to prepare students for life after they graduate. I ranked close the achievement gap fourth because I believe that all students need to be given the resources they need to succeed. I ranked improving the education of special needs students fifth because they are the most vulnerable. I ranked expanding the arts sixth even though I believe that the arts enrich and are important to an well rounded education the other issues were student need directed and should take priority. I ranked improving teacher relations last even though I think it is important it is not as important as the other issues.[12] | ” |
| —April Davis (April 2, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| No. A charter school operates independent of the school district, and should not have to seek approval of the schools district. As a school board I would not want to be responsible for a school that operates independently. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. A standardized test is a snap shot of a student's progress toward the standard. The test is a measure of how effective a teacher, and the curriculum being used are meeting the child's needs and learning style. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students. Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. An effective teacher should be rewarded for their abilities and talents. If a talented effective teacher is not given merit pay they will become discouraged and feel unappreciated. Not rewarding good teachers is a mistake and will affect teaching throughout the school district. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| Yes. Parents should be given the choice of how and where their child is educated. If the public educational system is not serving their child in a manner that they are satisfied with they have the right to claim the money that is being given to the unsatisfactory school and enroll their child in a school that will meet the needs of the child and their family. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| A district should be able to expel students that will not conform to district policy, consistently disrupts learning, and threatens safety of teachers and students. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers All of these factors are important for a successful classroom. Teachers are the most important because they have direct contact with the children in the class. All of the other factors in this example are secondary classroom support. Even though student teacher ratio is important I did not choose it as most important because the quality of the teacher has more impact on a students learning. |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Hillsboro Tribune, "Parent advocate runs for Hillsboro School Board," March 6, 2017
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Washington County, Oregon," accessed May 17, 2017
- ↑ Washington County, "Candidate and Measure Filings," accessed March 20, 2017
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Oregon Elections Calendar," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Oregon Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance Manual - 2014," accessed January 13, 2014
- ↑ Oregon Revised Statutes, "Chapter 260, Section 043," accessed January 13, 2014
- ↑ Oregon Revised Statutes, "Chapter 260, Section 039," accessed January 13, 2014
- ↑ Oregon Revised Statutes, "Chapter 260, Section 057," accessed January 13, 2014
- ↑ Oregon Right to Life, "Vote Pro-Life for School Board by May 16th!" accessed May 15, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "April Davis's responses," April 2, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Hillsboro School District elections in 2017 | |
| Multnomah and Washington County, Oregon | |
| Election date: | May 16, 2017 |
| Candidates: | Position 1: Erika Lopez • April Davis • Jen Brandse Position 2: Incumbent, Glenn Miller • Mark Watson |
| Important information: | What's at stake? |
