Michael Owens (Virginia)
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Michael Owens was a candidate for at-large representative on the Fairfax County Public Schools school board in Virginia. Owens was defeated in the at-large special election on August 29, 2017.
Owens participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Biography
Owens' worked experience includes serving as a user experience and usability expert for the consulting firm Design for Context, as director of Maryland Public Television Online, as a manager of user experience at Monster Government Services, and as an English teacher at Fairfax High and George C. Marshall schools in the district. She earned a bachelor's degree in history from Johns Hopkins University, a second bachelor's degree in English from Towson University, a master's degree in English from the University of Virginia, and a second master's degree in education from Marymount University. Owens' service experience includes being vice president and president of the PTA and as the director of The Sighthound Underground, an international rescue association for dogs. She has one daughter who attends school in the district.[1][2]
Elections
2017
One of the 12 seats on the Fairfax County Public Schools school board in Virginia was up for at-large special election on August 29, 2017, due to the resignation of former board member Jeanette Hough, who left the position to join her husband on an overseas work assignment. Karen Keys-Gamarra won the election after defeating Sandra Allen, Chris Grisafe, and Michael Owens.[3][4][5]
Results
| Fairfax County Public Schools, At-large Special Election, 2-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Karen Keys-Gamarra |
63.90% | 41,526 |
| Chris Grisafe | 32.93% | 21,402 |
| Michael Owens | 2.07% | 1,346 |
| Sandra Allen | 1.10% | 714 |
| Total Votes | 64,988 | |
| Source: Fairfax County Office of Elections, "August 29, 2017 Special Election - Official Returns," accessed September 7, 2017 | ||
Funding
Owens reported $282.05 in contributions and $282.05 in expenditures to the Virginia Department of Elections, which left her campaign with a $0.00 balance in the election.[6]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Michael Owens participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[7] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on July 20, 2017:
| “ | My goal is to advocate for our students by helping to prioritize programs like Pre-K and SACC and emphasize a curriculum that engages all of the children in our diverse community.[8][9] | ” |
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 Virginia. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | My first priority is finding ways to expand some of our already exceptional programs to make them available to all students.[9] | ” |
| —Michael Owens (July 20, 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. |
| 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. Standardized tests are a very narrow window into student achievement--and gaps in education. We are training educators to "teach to the test" which does nothing to improve real world outcomes for our students' educations. |
| 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? |
| Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. Teachers should receive more pay across the board, but absolutely there should be raises and bonuses for those teachers who set the bar higher for everyone else. Exceptional teachers need to be rewarded for doing their jobs well. Currently the only way for teachers to increase their salaries is by taking on more responsibility--which discourages them from prioritizing their classroom performance. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion should be used to remove students who are violent and physically aggressive toward other students. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Student-teacher ratio The most important factor for success in the classroom is the level of engagement by teachers, students, and parents. One way to increase the potential for engagement is smaller class sizes, but curriculum plays a key role as well. |
Candidate website
Owens highlighted the following issue on her campaign website:
| “ | J.E.B. Stuart High School Renaming
This is–by far–the most asked question by voters that I have received since beginning this journey last month. We live in the Stuart pyramid and not only will my daughter be a student there one day, but she has attended many school events and even had her ballet recital in Stuart’s auditorium. So I do have a personal stake in this school and I’m not going to beat around the bush. Do I support changing the name? Yes. Do I want to pay for it? No. And that’s the bottom line. It will cost well over half a million dollars to change the name and that is money much better spent on curriculum development, pre-K, reducing class sizes, etc. Stuart’s free and reduced lunch rate is twice the county average. If we’re spending those funds on this school, let’s do so in a way that will really help the kids who go here. That being said, I have every confidence that the (very vocal) segment of the community supporting the name change can raise the funds to do so. I don’t really want to see the name changed to Apple High School, but how about Steve Jobs High? I challenge the community to rally around this change as an opportunity. Whose name do you want to see there? What individuals or organizations will commit to funding those names. Wouldn’t it be great if we had more than one option and we let the students chose? To those who will mourn the passing of the Stuart name, I suggest finding other ways to memorialize this historical figure. We don’t need to forget J.E.B. Stuart’s contributions to history. Let him live on in the curriculum . . . but not emblazoned across my daughter’s chest.[9] |
” |
| —Michael Owens (2017)[10] | ||
Inside Nova Q&A
Owens participated in the following Q&A conducted by Inside Nova. The questions provided by Inside Nova appear bolded, and Owens' responses follow below.
What three things most need to be improved within the school system?
| “ | 1. Increase teacher salaries to attract and retain highly qualified teachers. Current FCPS teacher salaries are not in line with our neighbors and do not reflect the contribution that our teachers make to the high quality of life in Fairfax County.
2. Fully fund proven programs, such as pre-K, that have long term positive impact on student outcomes. These programs should not have waiting lists; they should be available to all children in Fairfax County. 3. Establish a program to train students, faculty, administrators and staff to identify and confront discrimination and bullying in a non-violent but effective way. Our students need to feel safe in our schools.[9] |
” |
| —Michael Owens (2017)[11] | ||
Where should the school system focus in the future?
| “ | I believe that our teachers are our most precious resource. We have some of the best teachers in the world here – and because they are so talented they have other opportunities and are increasingly they are taking those opportunities.[9] | ” |
| —Michael Owens (2017)[11] | ||
Aside from just increasing salaries and benefits, what steps should be taken to boost teacher recruitment and retention?
| “ | I propose a complete overhaul of the FCPS HR apparatus. There are major flaws in how we are hiring and managing our teachers as employees.[9] | ” |
| —Michael Owens (2017)[11] | ||
What other priorities and initiatives would you focus on, and which programs would you consider putting on the chopping block?
| “ | I have volunteered with many non-profit organizations and for the last 5 years I have been the director of an international non-profit dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating retired hunting dogs from all over the world. I believe that to fully fund our priorities, FCPS needs to learn from the non-profit world and embrace creative fund-raising campaigns and programs. There are groups within FCPS – like our sports teams – that have a proven track record of successfully reaching out to the community to raise money. I would like to partner those groups with the particular programs that need more support in a very integrated way. For example, can the football team sponsor and mentor the pre-K program? Can they help advocate for the toddlers, support their events, volunteer in the classroom? I believe this would be a positive experience for both groups.[9] | ” |
| —Michael Owens (2017)[11] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Michael Owens Fairfax County Public Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Michael Owens Candidate for Fairfax County School Board, "Who is Michael Owens?" accessed August 15, 2017
- ↑ Centre View, "Low-Turnout High-Stakes Special Election for School Board," July 31, 2017
- ↑ Inside Nova, "Court OKs School Board special election in Fairfax," June 15, 2017
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Judy Flaig," Election Manager, Fairfax County Office of Elections, July 5, 2017
- ↑ Fairfax County Office of Elections, "Precinct Status Report - August 29, 2017 Special Election," accessed August 29, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed January 17, 2018
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Michael Owens's responses," July 20, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Michael Owens Candidate for Fairfax County School Board, "Positions," accessed July 20, 2017
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 Inside Nova, "Q&A: Fairfax School Board contenders sprint to the finish," August 22, 2017
| Fairfax County Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Fairfax County, Virginia | |
| Election date: | August 29, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Sandra Allen • Chris Grisafe • Karen Keys-Gamarra • Michael Owens |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
