Chad Karl
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Chad Karl was a candidate for Zone 7 representative on the Wilson County Board of Education in Tennessee. The general election was held on August 4, 2016.[1] He lost the election.[2]
Karl participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Biography
Karl works as a plant manager for PFP, LLC. He has worked in that position since 2011. Karl earned a bachelor's degree in textile engineering from Georgia Tech. His children attend Wilson County Schools.[3]
Elections
2016
Five seats on the Wilson County Schools Board of Education were up for by-district general election on August 4, 2016.[4] The election added two more seats to the board, bringing the total from five up to seven.[5] The Zone 1 race featured incumbent Wayne McNeese and challenger John Jankowich. McNeese was re-elected to his seat. In Zone 3, Tom Sottek ran unopposed and won after incumbent Don Weathers dropped out of the race. Zone 5 incumbent Larry Tomlinson defeated challenger Dave Dixon to win another term. In the race for the new Zone 6 seat, Johnie Payton ran unopposed and won election to the board. Larry Inman, Chad Karl, and Gwynne Queener ran for the new Zone 7 seat, and Inman won the election.[1][6][7][2]
Results
| Wilson County Schools, Zone 7 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Larry Inman |
39.06% | 718 |
| Chad Karl | 37.76% | 694 |
| Gwynne Queener | 23.18% | 426 |
| Total Votes | 1,838 | |
| Source: Wilson County Election Commission, "Precinct Election Results," accessed September 1, 2016 | ||
Funding
Karl filed a statement of non-disclosure for the 2016 election stipulating that he would not spend more than $1,000 on his campaign. Because of this, he did not have to file additional campaign finance reports.[8]
Endorsements
Karl received no official endorsements in the election.
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Chad Karl participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on July 8, 2016:
| “ | Focus on the future. The teachers & administration know what they need and it is our job to listen and support them. Our focus should be on growth and funding that aligns with a long range plan that is constantly reviewed. Simply put: set goals, make a plan, work the plan, achieve the goals.[9][10] | ” |
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 Tennessee. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | Without the proper funding, no initiative can be implemented. Closing the achievement gap and improving post-secondary readiness are results, not initiatives.[10] | ” |
| —Chad Karl (July 8, 2016) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer nine 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.) |
|---|
| Yes. Yes, but they should be managed by the public school system. When you put talented students together, they make each other even better. "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another" Proverbs 27:17 |
| 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 defer to school board decisions in most cases. The state should map out a guidline |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. Test and data are in indicator of where a problem may be, but only point you to the problem. They do not explain the problem and can not be used as absolute. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| Common core was intended to teach critical thinking but ended up being tied to standardized testing. This caused common core to be about learning to take a test and it failed. |
| 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? |
| Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. Underperforming teachers should be given a fair opportunity to improve. A mentorship program not only builds skill, it builds relationships. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. Good teachers should be paid well. However, it is difficult to find a fair method and several districts have used student test scores to evaluate this. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Public School funding is already a challenge without giving away money. Any failing school should be fixed, not given an escape clause. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| This should be a board level decision with input from the principal. Problems should not be moved, they need to be dealt with. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| School administration When done correctly, a good administration supports their teachers, lets their teachers focus on teaching, encourages parent involvement and supports programs the teachers deem important. Basically, a teacher has a difficult time doing their job with a poor administration. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Chad Karl' 'Wilson County Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wilson County Election Commission, "Petitions," accessed April 8, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wilson County Election Commission, "Election Results Reporting," accessed August 5, 2016
- ↑ Chad Karl School Board, "About," accessed May 26, 2016
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Election Calendar 2016," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ The Tennesseean, "4 of 5 Wilson school board seats to be contested in August," April 7, 2016
- ↑ Wilson County Schools, "School Board," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ Lebanon Democrat, "Weathers drops out of school board race," April 16, 2016
- ↑ Wilson County Election Commission, "Statement of Non-Disclosure," accessed July 12, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Chad Karl's responses," July 8, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 Wilson County Schools Elections | |
| Wilson County, Tennessee | |
| Election date: | August 4, 2016 |
| Candidates: | Zone 1: • Incumbent, Wayne McNeese • John Jankowich Zone 3: • Tom Sottek Zone 5: • Incumbent, Larry Tomlinson • Dave Dixon Zone 6: • Johnie Payton Zone 7: • Larry Inman • Chad Karl • Gwynne Queener |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
