Bart Johnson
Bart Johnson was a candidate for at-large representative on the Puyallup School District school board in Washington. Johnson was defeated in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Elections
2017
Two of the five seats on the Puyallup School District school board in Washington were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. A primary election for Position 1 was held on August 1, 2017, because more than two candidates filed for the seat.
The Position 1 seat saw Maddie Names and Mike Leuzzi defeat Nathaniel Downes and Sheila Wynn in the primary. Names went on to win the seat in the general. Position 4 board member Kathy Yang filed for re-election and defeated challenger Bart Johnson.[1]
Results
| Puyallup School District, Position 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kathy Yang Incumbent |
71.55% | 12,651 |
| Bart Johnson | 28.45% | 5,031 |
| Total Votes | 17,682 | |
| Source: Pierce County, Washington, "November 7, 2017 General Election," accessed November 30, 2017 | ||
Funding
Johnson opted for mini reporting in this election, according to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission.[2] Candidates who opted for this had to keep a record of their contributors and expenditures, but were not required to report them. If they raised and spent more than $5,000 in aggregate or received more than $500 from any one contributor, including themselves, they would have had to switch their filing status from mini to full reporting.[3]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Bart Johnson participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[4] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on June 7, 2017:
| “ | My goal, it to change the school district to be more open to the community, and receive more community control in running the school district. The community deserves the right to know what the school district is doing, how their money is spent, and to have more say in how the school district is operated.[5][6] | ” |
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 Washington. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| “ | This is how I feel, if you wish for a more detailed answer, then you can ask me.[6] | ” |
| —Bart Johnson (June 7, 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.) |
|---|
| Yes. I believe that charter schools should be approved. It gives parents and students more choice, that they have the right to. |
| 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. I do not believe that standardized tests are an accurate measure of student achievement because some students get nervous, or cant focus at the time, and do bad. But in reality, they know all the material, plus some. When someone is nervous, their brain doesn't function at full capacity, therefor rendering them not as successful as they would be when they are not nervous. Or on math tests, students aren't allowed to have formulas written down, but what if they have a memory problem? They will automatically do bad on the test because they forgot the formulas and aren't allowed to write them down or have them written down on the test for them. In our modern world, if someone needs a formula for math, or something of the such, all they have to do is search it on their phone. |
| 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. 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. There should be teacher merit pay for teachers that do a great job, because it is an incentive for teachers to do the best job they can do, and get every student to do their best. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Private schools should not be able to receive any money from the state. Private schools are self supporting right now and they need to stay that way. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Only at the most EXTREME situation, should expulsion be used. Such as bomb or gun threats, or killing someone. |
| 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 Less students the teacher has in their classroom, the more success the teacher will have in teaching the students, because they will have more one-on-one or individual help from the teacher. |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Pierce County, "Candidates Who Filed," accessed May 24, 2017
- ↑ Washington Public Disclosure Commission, "Local Candidates," accessed October 16, 2017
- ↑ Washington State Public Disclosure Commission, "New Candidates," accessed June 22, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Bart Johnson's responses," June 7, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Puyallup School District elections in 2017 | |
| Pierce County, Washington | |
| Election date: | Primary: August 1, 2017 General: November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | Position 1: Nathaniel Downes • Mike Leuzzi • Maddie Names • Sheila Wynn Position 4: Incumbent, Kathy Yang • Bart Johnson |
| Important information: | What's at stake? |
