Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Brian Anderson (Fayette County Board of Education, Georgia member)
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This board member is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.
Brian Anderson is the District 5 representative on the Fayette County Public Schools in Georgia. Anderson won in the general election on November 8, 2016.[1]
Biography
Anderson earned his bachelor's degree from Florida State University. He also holds an M.B.A. from Notre Dame University. Anderson has been a professional speaker and leadership trainer since 2006.[2]
Elections
2016
Three of the five seats on the Fayette County Public Schools were up for general election on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on May 24, 2016. District 1 incumbent Barry Marchman (R) defeated challenger Melissa Lohr (D) in the general election. In District 3, incumbent Marion Key lost the Republican primary to Scott Hollowell. Hollowell won without opposition in 2016. Brian Anderson defeated Susan Stopford in the District 5 Republican primary. Anderson won the District 5 general electeion against Democratic candidate Ching Ching Yap. Angela Kelly Stowman (D) withdrew from the District 3 race prior to the general election.[1]
Results
| Fayette County Board of Education, District 5 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Brian Anderson |
63.57% | 37,257 | |
| Democratic | Ching Ching Yap | 36.43% | 21,350 | |
| Total Votes | 58,607 | |||
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State, "General Election November 8, 2016," accessed December 14, 2016 | ||||
| Fayette County Board of Education, District 5 Republican Primary Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Brian Anderson |
59.10% | 6,636 |
| Susan Stopford | 40.90% | 4,593 |
| Total Votes | 11,229 | |
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election May 24, 2016," accessed December 14, 2016 | ||
Funding
Georgia candidates are able to file as exempt from reporting if they do not exceed $2,500 in contributions or expenditures during an election.
Candidates received a total of $16,512.90 and spent a total of $12,219.22 as of November 2, 2016, according to the Fayette County Board of Elections.[3]
District 1
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barry Marchman (incumbent) | Exempt | Exempt | Exempt |
| Melissa Lohr | $3,633.47 | $1,179.16 | $1,179.16 |
District 3
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angela Kelly Stowman | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Scott Hollowell | $4,515.75 | $2,081.65 | $0.00 |
District 5
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ching Ching Yap | $13,692.62 | $11,217.95 | $2,474.67 |
| Brian Anderson | $12,048.45 | $11,563.60 | $484.85 |
Campaign themes
2016
Anderson's campaign website listed the following themes for 2016:
| “ |
Strong Financial Strategy Local Based Decisions I will continue to support local governance and decision-making, and lobby against umbrella policies and standards designed to put every school system across the nation in the same box. The real world doesn’t work that way. I believe local decision-making is critical for continued excellence in our Fayette County school system. Common Core / Race to The Top There is value in having a minimum set of standards and criteria to ensure our children’s success. But…this should be handled at a local level, or a combination local/state level. A common marketing tactic for programs such as Common Core is that the program will engender academic excellence and 'raise the bar' for our countries school systems. As a consultant, I can appreciate the marketing message! Unfortunately, the reality is that the Common Core is a failure. States that have adopted it are leaving the program after realizing the promise far outweighs the reality. (Example: Indiana formally withdrew in March 2014) Even worse than the false advertising on the values and benefits of Common Core and similar Federal Programs, is the actual methodologies being taught to our children as a result. I was fortunate to take many math classes in college and graduate school. When I help my own 4th grader with math, it should not be difficult for me. I find the Common Core math teaching model to be flawed, and doing a tremendous disservice to our children. Our Fayette County teachers almost universally agree. While they are not able to speak out negatively on these issues, I will be a voice for parents, students, (and yes, our teachers) against complicating math through the Common Core teaching model. As your elected District 5 At-Large representative, I will be a strong voice against programs that marginalize our high quality education system. Cultivate and Maintain World Class Teachers As the parent of 4 children in our Fayette County public schools, I witness this first-hand on a regular basis. We have a serious morale problem district-wide. I will work with the entire Board of Education and Superintendent Barrow to address this. Our State and National lawmakers are constantly creating new bills which collectively aim to create a 'standardized test based ranking system' of teachers. Unfortunately, these tests simply do not work as advertised. I’m all for performance-based reviews, I think it should be done at a local level. I believe our Principals and Superintendent are best equipped to make these decisions. There is no 'standardized test' that can replace the value of a good principal to ensure we have the absolute best teachers in our school system. New Ideas / Technology This does not serve our children, and is a mistake As your elected District 5 At-Large representative, I will be a strong voice for STEM based learning at all levels in our schools. I will be a strong voice for technology, and using it in the classroom at all levels for Fayette County children. We should also investigate careers, skills, trades, and other paths available for our children at all levels. I am very open to new ideas, and believe that to be effective in the 21st century, we must equip our students to adapt to change, to be strong learners, and to think for themselves. Partnership with Business Community As your elected District 5 At-Large representative, I will be a strong advocate for additional business partnerships. Data-Driven Decision Making As your elected District 5 At-Large representative, I will be a voice of reason and help to ensure that when important decisions are made, they are done without regard to emotion but based on the reality that only unbiased data can provide. Improve Overall Quality of our School System I will work with the other Board of Education members and Superintendent Barrow to identify key areas we can improve, boosting the entire district. These do not have to be expensive fixes. As an example, I am confident we can boost SAT/ACT scores significantly across all of our high schools with very little spend. This will help all of our students going on to continue their education at the college level, and will boost the state and national perception of our district. I’ll talk through this in detail on my website and in any debate. I also believe that we must create opportunities for students not focused on college, so that they can gain a foothold in the workforce. The opportunities here for our children are great – and I will help create systems and training to boost these students. Students who wish to pursue careers in trade/vocational/technical disciplines should not be ignored. Every child does not need to go to college to succeed in life! By teaching real world entrepreneurship to students seeking an alternative path than attending college, we give them a real opportunity to build successful businesses and simultaneously grow and sustain our community. As your elected District 5 At-Large representative, I do not believe we serve our students and community by simply believing 'Fayette County schools are the best'. We must continue to innovate, grow, and transform our entire district into a world-class system. This must be done for all students. Proponent of Fine Arts and Sports Programs All too often, we talk about the quality of our school system based on SAT and ACT Scores, AP Exams, and other 'traditional academic' metrics. While rigor of curriculum is extremely important, the fine arts and sports play an integral role in the development of our children. I’ve attended many of our districts fine arts performances, from elementary and middle school, through the amazing work produced at the high school level across our county. I’ve also attended middle school and high school sporting events at every middle school and high school in the county. We are very fortunate to have the facilities, teachers, coaches and talented students that drive both our fine arts and sports programs. These programs build well rounded students. The Fine Arts fosters creativity and innovation – two very important skill sets in both college and the real world. Sports help instill leadership, sharing, teamwork, and tolerance – all extremely important traits for our children.We must continue to build strong offerings in both Fine Arts and Sports, to offer Fayette County children the opportunity to participate and excel in a wide range of activities. Our teachers and coaches need support from the Board and Superintendent, and should not feel like they are 'under fire'. Rather than seeing these programs as the first option to cut when we face budget issues, I believe we should nurture and develop these programs as part of a holistic outlook on education. Limit Unnecessary Assessments I am not anti-assessment, however I truly believe we need to take a real look at how much classroom time is spent taking assessment tests. I’d rather our children be learning new material than wasting valuable classroom time 'prepping' for assessments that simply do not matter. As your elected District 5 Fayette County School Board member, I will work with the other Board members and our Superintendent to do a comprehensive review of our mandatory and optional assessments. I will work to determine the value of our current assessments, what we should fight as a school system to change, and what is truly beneficial to our kids.[4] |
” |
| —Brian Anderson (2016), [5] | ||
Additional themes
Anderson provided the following statement of political philosophy to Ballotpedia:
| “ |
My focused goal is to immediately halt the abuse of federal spending and debt. It is my intention to fight for congressional term limits to put an end to the professional political class and restore the citizen legislature. I fully support the Libertarian ideal of 'Minimum government, Maximum freedom.' The first step is to pull us back from this economic cliff by halting any increase in federal spending and debt. Not One. Penny. More.[4] |
” |
| —Brian Anderson (2016), [6] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Brian Anderson' 'Fayette County Board of Education'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed April 18, 2016
- ↑ Anderson for Fayette, "Meet Brian," accessed May 30, 2016
- ↑ Easy Campaign Finance Portal, "Home," accessed November 2, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Anderson for Fayette, "Issues," accessed May 30, 2016
- ↑ Biographical submission to Ballotpedia on May 26, 2016
| 2016 Fayette County Board of Education Elections | |
| Fayette County, Georgia | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 1: Incumbent, Barry Marchman (R) • Melissa Lohr (D) District 3: Incumbent, Marion Key (R) • Scott Hollowell (R) • Angela Kelly Stowman (R) |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
.svg.png){kind=small}
