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Christina Moreira
Christina Moreira was a candidate for at-large representative on the Elizabeth Public Schools school board in New Jersey. Moreira was defeated in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Moreira and Ricky Castaneda ran in this election together as a slate called Putting Kids First.
Biography
Moreira's professional experience includes working as a dental hygienist. She earned her associate's in applied sciences from Rutgers University and graduated from Elizabeth High.[1]
Elections
2017
Three of the nine seats on the Elizabeth Public Schools school board in New Jersey were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. Board member Maria Z. Carvalho and newcomers Jerry Jacobs and Rosa Moreno Ortega defeated incumbent Paul Perreira and Ricky Castaneda, Sima Farid, Christina Moreira, Armando Da Silva, and Rosa Moreno Ortega.[2]
Carvalho, Moreno Ortega, and Jacobs ran in this election together as a slate called One Team One Dream. Perreira, Da Silva, and Farid ran together as a slate called Children First. Castaneda and Moreira ran together as a slate called Putting Kids First.
Results
| Elizabeth Public Schools, At-large General Election, 3-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Maria Z. Carvalho Incumbent |
22.66% | 5,103 |
| Jerry Jacobs |
19.55% | 4,401 |
| Rosa Moreno Ortega |
19.11% | 4,302 |
| Christina Moreira | 10.46% | 2,354 |
| Paul Perreira Incumbent | 10.06% | 2,266 |
| Armando Da Silva | 8.11% | 1,826 |
| Ricky Castaneda | 5.47% | 1,231 |
| Sima Farid | 4.41% | 994 |
| Write-in votes | 0.17% | 38 |
| Total Votes | 22,515 | |
| Source: Union County, "General Election, November 7, 2017: Official Results," accessed March 22, 2018 | ||
Funding
Moreira did not report campaign contributions or expenditures in this election as of October 17, 2017, according to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.[3]
2016
Three of the nine seats on the Elizabeth Public Schools school board were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. Incumbents Stanley Neron and Jose Rodriguez, along with Diane Barbosa, defeated incumbent Carlos Trujillo, Ricky Castaneda, Christina Moreira, Maria Medeiros DaRassi, Sima Farid, Maria Lorenz, and former candidate Virginia San Pedro for the three seats up for election.[4]
Results
| Elizabeth Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Diane Barbosa |
25.33% | 11,330 |
| Jose Rodriguez Incumbent |
21.62% | 9,669 |
| Stanley Neron Incumbent |
21.59% | 9,656 |
| Carlos Trujillo Incumbent | 10.67% | 4,774 |
| Christina Moreira | 7.33% | 3,277 |
| Sima Farid | 3.96% | 1,773 |
| Maria Lorenz | 3.92% | 1,753 |
| Ricky Castaneda | 2.23% | 999 |
| Maria Medeiros DaRassi | 1.79% | 799 |
| Virginia San Pedro | 1.44% | 642 |
| Write-in votes | 0.13% | 56 |
| Total Votes | 44,728 | |
| Source: Union County Clerk, "Official Results," accessed December 1, 2016 | ||
Funding
Cunha-Moreira reported $2,656.52 in contributions but no expenditures to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, which left her campaign with $2,656.52 on hand in the election.[5]
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Christina Moreira participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on October 20, 2016:
| “ | I hope to be the voice of parents,students and teachers when I get elected, something that has been missing from this district for years. I hope to help address why some of our schools have been "focus" schools for years what we can do to change that. I would like to review the current graduation requirements,high school start and end times, as well as equal access to AP/Honors courses and activities. We need to include our parents in the discussion of issues concerning our school with possible quarterly round tables. Also want to include our high school student in the decisions that affect them, possibly 2 reps from each academy. I would like to bring back a proper SEPAC with parental input, not just workshops.[6][7] | ” |
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 New Jersey. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer nine 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.) |
|---|
| No. |
| 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. They are NOT a accurate measure of student achievement. Standardized test such as PARCC have robbed children and teachers of actual teaching and learning and replaced it with test prep and memorization. I am firmly Against standardized testing. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| Common Core Needs to GO! These standards have NOT been proven, most of the states that were in the consortium have left. I am hoping that a new governor would get rid of these standards and PARCC test. |
| 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? |
| Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. I would fist like to know how the teacher was deemed "underperforming" was it based on a standardized test? If so I would need more than just that, as this is not a reliable measurement of a teachers effectiveness at teaching. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. Teaching and learning should not be a a [sic] competition. Every classroom is different, every group of students is different. Setting up a system of reward for a certain goal achieved can lead to misconduct. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Taxpayer-funded school vouchers result in less educational opportunity for students attending public schools as public funding are diverted to pay for private and religious education.Voucher students are a very select group, hand-picked by the private and religious schools to ensure their success. They also include very few children with special needs |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion should only be used when all other options such as counseling, therapy, have been exhausted or in cases of extreme violence with a weapon. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers I think the teacher is the guiding force in the classroom. They can take a curriculum and make it fun and understandable, or dreadful. They can motivate the students or bring them down. All other options revolve around the teacher. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Christina Moreira Elizabeth Public Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Elizabeth Public Schools, New Jersey
- Elizabeth Public Schools elections (2017)
- Elizabeth Public Schools elections (2016)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ TAP into Elizabeth, "Presenting Board of Education Candidate Cristina Moreira," November 1, 2016
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email exchange with Lisa Bobish-Hugelmeyer, Union County Elections Supervisor," August 4, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "Filings," accessed October 17, 2017
- ↑ Mandy Gillip, "Email communication with Lisa Bobish, Union County Election Supervisor," July 26, 2016
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "Public Information," accessed December 12, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Christina Moreira's responses," October 20, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Elizabeth Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Union County, New Jersey | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-Large: Incumbent, Maria Z. Carvalho • Incumbent, Paul Perreira • Ricky Castaneda • Armando Da Silva • Sima Farid • Jerry Jacobs • Christina Moreira • Rosa Moreno Ortega |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
