Aaron King

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Aaron King

Prior offices

Grand Prairie Independent School District school board Place 4

Successor: Nancy Bridges

---

Report an officeholder change

Contact

Personal Facebook

Aaron King was a member of the Grand Prairie Independent School District school board in Texas, representing Place 4. He assumed office in 2017. He left office on June 15, 2023.

King won re-election to the Grand Prairie Independent School District school board to represent Place 4 in Texas outright after the general election on May 2, 2020, was canceled.

Elections

2020

See also: Grand Prairie Independent School District, Texas, elections (2020)

General election

The general election was canceled. Aaron King (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

2017

See also: Grand Prairie Independent School District elections (2017)

Three of the seven seats on the Grand Prairie Independent School District school board in Texas were up for general election on May 6, 2017. In his bid for re-election to the Place 2 seat, incumbent Chester McCrary ran unopposed and won another term. In the race for the Place 4 seat, appointed incumbent Aaron King defeated challenger Johnny Boucher. The race for the open, at-large Place 3 seat included candidates Gloria Carrillo and Christopher Riddick. Carrillo won election to the seat.

Results

Grand Prairie Independent School District, Place 4 General Election, 3-year term, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Aaron King Incumbent	66.07%	440
Johnny Boucher	33.93%	226
Total Votes		666
Source: Dallas County Elections, "2017 Joint Election," accessed September 20, 2017

Funding

See also: Campaign finance in the Grand Prairie Independent School District elections

King reported $6,699.00 in contributions and $3,123.15 in expenditures to the Grand Prairie Independent School District, which left his campaign with $3,575.85 on hand as of April 27, 2017.

Endorsements

King was endorsed by state Rep. Rodney Anderson (R-105).

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Aaron King did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2017

King participated in the following survey conducted by The Dallas Morning News. The questions provided by The Dallas Morning News appear bolded, and King's responses follow below.

Why are you running for this office, and why should voters choose you over your opponent(s)? “ I live by the motto 'service above self.' I want to serve my community. I believe that education is the foundation to any community. Our children are the future. In fact, I am the proud father of four children, one of whom has special needs. I am a business operator right here in our community. I make decisions every day managing costs and revenues. I am invested in this community. I’m proud to say it’s my home. Both my parents are GPISD educators. I am a product of Grand Prairie Schools. I will bring to the School Board the views of parents, the savvy of local businessmen, and a commitment to push our state leaders to support public education for all! ” —Aaron King (2017) If elected, what two issues would you give the most attention and resources? “ If elected, I will serve in any and every capacity needed for our children to get the quality education they need. I will certainly advocate for children with special needs. Every child deserves the opportunity to pursue their dreams. I will prioritize life skills of discipline and leadership alongside curriculum to prepare our students for an international field of competition. The state requires students and educators to spend much time preparing for state assessments. And accountability is important. But so are the intangibles like respecting one another, honesty and integrity, saying no to bad influences, respecting our elders and obeying the law. I will insist that we continue to do more than the proverbial 'teach to the test.' I will push for our students to not just meet the state standards but to exceed them, while developing into the young role models I believe they can be to lead our community in the years to come. ” —Aaron King (2017) For incumbent trustees: What have you learned from your board service that you believe makes you more effective? “ I have learned the value of listening to others. Ernest Hemingway said that most people don’t listen, when they should be learning to listen 'completely' to others. There are seven elected board members. Each one comes from a different place, with different experiences shaping who they became. When I listen to them, I hear knowledge I hadn’t heard before. I see from a different perspective. The Good Book says there is wisdom in the counsel of many. I appreciate that more than ever. ” —Aaron King (2017) As you look around the country, what innovative ideas would you recommend for improving classroom performance? “ Technology. Practical, hands-on application of concepts changes book learning to embedding. Think of the difference between a student memorizing color theory in the arts, and a student painting according to color theory on high definition screens to create a backdrop in a video that will be entered in a competition like South by Southwest! Right now, our school district is leading the way in developing internships for high school students. I will push to increase that. Students learning on site by doing, rather than pure lecture is changing education as we speak. ” —Aaron King (2017) Given the current funding structure, how does your district meet the academic needs of its low-income students? Are you willing to ask voters to approve a tax increase to create or expand these programs? “ According to an independent study, students in our district who come from low-income homes boast some of the highest levels of student achievement across the state when compared to districts with similar income levels. That clearly shows our District is meeting the needs of our children. I will continue that emphasis if elected! State law regulates school funding. State law also sets a cap on local tax rates for operating school programs. Since we cannot exceed that rate set in the law, there is no reason for me to ask our local tax payers to approve a tax increase for operations. What I will do though is fight for school funding overhaul at the state level. The funding formulas are based on dollar values from several years ago, with no built-in model for cost increases. As a business operator, I know that such a business plan would not last long in the marketplace. The funding formulas are also inequitable. The state provides a little over $5,000 per student for Grand Prairie ISD. Other school districts receive much more. Often the districts that receive more state funding have wealthier demographics. That doesn’t make sense. Research shows poverty levels are directly related to student success. That means school leaders, elected officials, and community members need to come together to insist that the Legislature correct the imbalance in state funding and allocate resources to help off-set the disadvantage of low socio-economic realities. Education is the ladder every student needs to climb out of poverty. Our state legislators need to fix the funding problems. ” —Aaron King (2017) Many districts are exploring creative ways to save money or shift costs to parents and students. What creative measures would you favor or oppose and why? “ Grand Prairie ISD has been creating ways to maximum taxpayer dollars for years, which is why the District has a healthy fund balance while giving teachers’ pay raises every year even though the state funding hasn’t changed. I’m opposed to forcing parents to shoulder more and more of the burden when it is the state constitutional requirement to provide a public education. The Legislature must fix the funding formulas! Locally, I will advocate for attendance incentives, which raises revenue and benefits students. I will also seek third-party revenue sources for our children, like private donations and foundation grants to help support our unique programs. ” —Aaron King (2017) The state has adopted an A through F accountability system for district and campuses. Do you favor or oppose this system and why? “ Accountability is important. I believe schools and districts must be held accountable. If elected, I will hold our district accountable for student achievement. The A through F system though, is badly flawed. It doesn’t properly account for environmental factors that influence an individual student’s success. It doesn’t properly report progress by students based on starting points and ending points. We need an accountability system that is as transparent as it is effective. The A through F system is neither. ” —Aaron King (2017) How would you assess the district’s efforts to improve graduation rates and increase the number of students prepared for college? What further improvements would you advocate? “ The District’s most recent graduation rate is 88%, and has steadily risen over the last 8-10 years. I will advocate for expansion of our dual credit programs offering students the opportunities to graduate high school with college credit. I will also advocate for internships and business partner opportunities providing for workforce certifications and industry-ready graduates. ” —Aaron King (2017) What schools in your district have been particularly effective in getting every child up to grade level in reading and math? “ All of our schools met standard! That means all of our schools are effective in getting children to grade level and beyond. That kind of success is a testament to our fine teachers, principals, and all other support staff. ” —Aaron King (2017) How would you assess your district’s current school choice efforts, and what changes are needed? “ GPISD set the bar for schools of choice. Districts from all over the state (some even out of state) come to see how we’re developing a competitive, market-based concept of choices. We have leadership academies, fine arts schools, STEM schools, environmental science schools, single gender schools, and so on. I will advocate for and support a growing portfolio of program options for parents. ” —Aaron King (2017) How would you assess your superintendent’s performance? “ All of our schools met standard! At the graduation level, achievement gaps don’t exist. Every category of student achievement has grown under Dr. Hull’s leadership. That kind of success is not just because Dr. Hull is a great administrator. It’s because she is passionate about kids. That passion infects our staff, inspiring greatness. ” —Aaron King (2017) Where do you stand on the importance of early-childhood education? Would you support increasing class-size ratios at other grade levels in order to introduce or expand pre-K? “ I love the idea of early childhood education, and I will push our legislators to make it happen this session. I believe the state should invest in early education without increasing class-size ratios. We need to increase support for public education, not just shift resources around from one area to another. ” —Aaron King (2017) What resources are lacking in schools in your district? How could the district deliver services in the most cost-effective manner? “ Considering that GPISD receives a relatively low funding level from the state, yet our students are achieving at high levels, it is obvious that the District is already delivering services effectively. I will hold the line on that. I will also continue to push state officials to fix the slate and unfair funding formulas so that all children get the resources they need. I will advocate for providing technology-rich classroom environments. One-to-one programs. Lab equipment. Vocational equipment. The more creative we are with options for our students, the more invested they will be in achieving greatness. ” —Aaron King (2017) In what ways can your district’s communications with parents be improved? Likewise, how can parental involvement in your district improve? “ We have state-of-the-art communication systems that offer software-based, real-time information exchanges. Parents can login to a parent portal, see all of their child’s data, receive updates, and communicate with staff. If elected, my personal effort will be to maintain an open dialogue with our parents to advocate for what they need and want to see happen in education at a grassroots level. ” —Aaron King (2017)

See also

2020 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. President U.S. Congress U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

Coronavirus Weekly Updates Documenting America's Path to Recovery The Heart of the Primaries The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Personal

Facebook