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Bob Byers
Robert "Bob" Byers was an at-large representative on the Lawrence Public Schools Board of Education in Kansas from 2009–2013 and June 30, 2014–July 1, 2015. He was elected on April 7, 2009, but failed to win re-election on in the April 2013 election. On June 30, 2014, he was appointed to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of board member Keith Diaz Moore.[1] Byers lost his bid for a new four-year term on the board in the general election on April 7, 2015. He participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates.
Biography
Byers is a member and past president of both DADS of Douglas County and Equity Council for Lawrence Public Schools.[2] He earned a bachelor's degree from Pittsburg State University and a master's degree from Kansas University. He is a widower and has one adult son.[3]
Elections
2015
Five seats were up for general election on April 7, 2015. Because more than three candidates filed for one position, a primary election was held on March 3, 2015.
Incumbents Bob Byers, Rick Ingram, Shannon Kimball, and Randy Masten were up for regular election. Masten was the only incumbent not to file to run for re-election. Byers, Ingram, and Kimball faced challengers Lindsey Frye, Ronald Gordon-Ross, Jessica Beeson, and Jill Fincher for the four-year terms up for election.[4] Ingram, Kimball, Beeson, and Fincher won the regular election.
An additional seat appeared on the ballot due to a vacancy on the board that was filled by appointment in 2014. Adina Morse resigned from the board in August to serve as the executive director of the Lawrence Schools Foundation. Marcel Harmon was appointed on September 8, 2014, to fill that vacancy.[5]
Because the seat would not have been up for regular election in 2015, the election for this seat was for the two years left on its unexpired term. Harmon ran to remain in the seat against challengers Mary Loveland, Kelly Spurgeon, and Norine Spears. Because more than three candidates filed for the race, a primary election was held. Harmon and Loveland advanced to the general election, where Harmon won his first full-term in the seat.[4]
Results
| Lawrence Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Shannon Kimball Incumbent |
18.9% | 5,418 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jessica Beeson |
17.6% | 5,050 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jill Fincher |
17.3% | 4,951 | |
| Nonpartisan | Rick Ingram Incumbent |
16.6% | 4,758 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bob Byers Incumbent | 14% | 4,015 | |
| Nonpartisan | Lindsey Frye | 9.3% | 2,669 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ronald Gordon-Ross | 6.3% | 1,819 | |
| Total Votes | 28,680 | |||
| Source: Douglas County, "Online Election Results (official)," accessed April 16, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Byers reported no contributions or expenditures to the Douglas County Clerk in this election.[6]
Endorsements
Byers received no official endorsements in this election.
2013
| Lawrence Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2013 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Vanessa Sanburn Incumbent |
26.6% | 5,455 | |
| Nonpartisan | Adina Morse |
25.6% | 5,237 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kristie Adair |
24% | 4,915 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bob Byers Incumbent | 22.7% | 4,639 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 1.1% | 224 | |
| Total Votes | 20,470 | |||
| Source: Douglas County Elections, "2013 General Election Results," April 11, 2013 | ||||
Campaign themes
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
Byers participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | In the beginning it would be to provide a child centered view on the budgetary situation facing the district. By involving the community in assist in focusing the board on directions in term of budgetary decisions.[7] | ” |
| —Bob Byers (2015)[8] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Kansas. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| "They should be implemented." | |
| "I would support the creation of charter schools within the district that provide a curriculum that adds to or accentuates the educational offering within the district. The creation of a charter school would need to be supported by the community." | |
| "No." | |
| "Standardized test is an excepted measurement of student achievement it alone does not provide a complete measurement of achievement. In order to truly measure achievement multi methods should be used. Examples methods would be Teacher observation and student performance these methods adds a child center view to student achievement." | |
| "By specifically planning to meet the educational needs of each child. With the goal of maximizing services to each child specifically direct to adding that child in meeting his or her needs." | |
| "Expulsion cases must be viewed on a case-by-case basis rather than the district having an overarching policy." | |
| ""It start with identifying the reasons for the failure and then taking target actions to correct the identified problems. The most important thing is to be mindful of timing and cost effectiveness in making needed changes."" | |
| "Yes." | |
| "Teacher like any employee of the district should be give every opportunity to correct performance issue. This should be accomplished by setting a clear and defined outline of expectations and duties. These expectation should be used to guide action taken to correct issue of performance. Each district in it's contract with it's teachers has an out lined discipline strategies to handle underperforming teachers." | |
| "I would work to improve community board relations by being available, by attempting to involve the community in decision making when possible." |
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Bob + Byers + Lawrence + Public + Schools"
See also
- Lawrence Public Schools, Kansas
- Lawrence Public Schools, Kansas elections (2015)
- Hot tub Gatorade, turnout in Peoria and the Wisconsin state budget... (April 8, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Lawrence Journal World, "Lawrence school board appoints former member Bob Byers to replace outgoing Diaz Moore," June 30, 2014
- ↑ Lawrence Journal-World, "Lawrence school board appoints former member Bob Byers to replace outgoing Diaz Moore," June 30, 2014
- ↑ Lawrence World Journal, "School board candidate profile: Bob Byers," March 22, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Douglas County Clerk, "Unofficial City/School Candidate Filings To Date," January 27, 2015
- ↑ Lawrence Journal World, "Marcel Harmon appointed to Lawrence school board," September 8, 2014
- ↑ Douglas County Clerk, "Candidate Reports," accessed May 28, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Bob Byer's responses," February 23, 2015
| 2015 Lawrence Public Schools Elections | |
| Douglas County, Kansas | |
| Election date: | Primary: March 3, 2015
General: April 7, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large, 4-year terms (Four seats): • Incumbent, Bob Byers • Incumbent, Rick Ingram • Incumbent, Shannon Kimball • Lindsey Frye • Ronald Gordon-Ross • Jessica Beeson • Jill Fincher
At-large, 2-year term (One seat): • Incumbent, Marcel Harmon • Mary Loveland • Kelly Spurgeon • Norine Spears |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
