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Chris Grisafe
Chris Grisafe was a candidate for at-large representative on the Fairfax County Public Schools school board in Virginia. Grisafe was defeated in the at-large special election on August 29, 2017.
Biography
A veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, Grisafe earned a bachelor's degree in political science and philosophy from Loyola Marymount University and an M.B.A. from Virginia Tech. He went on to become a national security specialist. Grisafe served as a member of the Superintendent’s Business Advisory Committee, the Bonds Committee, and the Adult Education Advisory Committee. In 2011, he unsuccessfully ran to represent the Providence District on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.[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
Grisafe reported $29,708.48 in contributions and $27,599.73 in expenditures to the Virginia Department of Elections, which left his campaign with $2,108.75 on hand in the election.[6]
Endorsements
Grisafe was endorsed by the Fairfax County Republican Party.[7]
Campaign themes
2017
Candidate website
Grisafe highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:
| “ | We live in a county where people believe in quality education and the opportunity it creates for children in our community.
A great champion for children - in a classroom, in charge of a school or on a School Board - can change lives. Fairfax County families and taxpayers know education brings economic development and jobs, maintains home values and impacts the overall quality of life. Chris Grisafe holds the core values Fairfax County needs to protect and fight for excellence in education, to stay focused on what is best for our students - driving dollars to the classroom - rather than getting sidetracked by experimentation and playing politics with our children's education[8] |
” |
| —Chris Grisafe (2017)[9] | ||
Inside Nova Q&A
Grisafe participated in the following Q&A conducted by Inside Nova. The questions provided by Inside Nova appear bolded, and Grisafe's responses follow below.
What three things most need to be improved within the school system?
| “ | To protect excellence in our schools and restore public trust, we must ensure financial accountability and transparency; ensure fair class sizes, and collaborate with teachers to improve their salaries and total compensation.
1. The combination of conducting a management audit, independent program evaluations, and zero-based budgeting will position the board to make informed budget decisions and better prioritize resources to the classroom. 2. There are many K-6-grade classrooms that have in excess of 30 students, in violation of FCPS policy, which is not consistently enforced. Class size is also an issue for higher grades where FCPS does not have a regulated cap. 3. FCPS salaries are not competitive with surrounding areas, and it’s time we engage teachers to right-balance total compensation.[8] |
” |
| —Chris Grisafe (2017)[10] | ||
Where should the school system focus in the future?
| “ | Instead of a cookie cutter approach to education, we should focus on allowing teachers to provide a growth model for individual student achievement, which will allow students to not only experience success in the classroom, but realize success for the rest of their lives.[8] | ” |
| —Chris Grisafe (2017)[10] | ||
Aside from just increasing salaries and benefits, what steps should be taken to boost teacher recruitment and retention?
| “ | Instead of deciding for teachers what will enrich their experience, I will take a proactive approach to visit classrooms and meet with teachers to hear first-hand from them how we can improve teacher moral, including by identifying and addressing useless training and excessive (i.e., duplicative or useless) data collection, and giving proven teachers autonomy and flexibility. With informed perspective, I look forward to working with my fellow board members to collaborate with teachers in determining what resources and support they require to meet the needs of educating students in Fairfax County.[8] | ” |
| —Chris Grisafe (2017)[10] | ||
What other priorities and initiatives would you focus on, and which programs would you consider putting on the chopping block?
| “ | First of all, I think Fairfax County educators are initiative-weary . . . we don’t need more initiatives. Instead, we need to focus on protecting excellence in the individual classrooms. Pitting advocates for individual programs against each other is not something I am interested in doing.
Instead of a lens on “cutting,” I think the Board needs to focus on the fiscal management of the $2.8 billion taxpayer dollars they already have and how to prioritize those dollars best to the classroom.[8] |
” |
| —Chris Grisafe (2017)[10] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Chris Grisafe 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
- ↑ Chris Grisafe for Fairfax County School Board At-large Special Election August 29th, "Meet Chris," 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
- ↑ Metro Weekly, "Parties select endorsees for Fairfax County School Board special election," June 28, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Chris Grisafe for Fairfax County School Board At-Large, "Issues," accessed July 20, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 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 |
