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Daniel J. Shanahan IV
Daniel J. Shanahan IV was a candidate for at-large representative on the Lowell Public Schools school board in Massachusetts. Shanahan was defeated in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Elections
2017
- See also: Lowell Public Schools elections (2017)
Six seats on the Lowell Public Schools School Committee in Massachusetts were up for general election on November 7, 2017.[1] In their bids for re-election, incumbents Andre Descoteaux, Jackie Doherty, Robert J. Hoey Jr., and Connie A. Martin faced former candidates Dominik Hok Y Lay and Dennis R. Mercier and newcomers Timothy Blake, Noelle Creegan, Gerard Nutter, and Daniel J. Shanahan IV.[2] All four incumbents won re-election, and Hok Y Lay and Nutter won the other two seats on the ballot.[3]
All seven seats on the school committee were up for election. The seventh seat was held by the mayor of Lowell, but was not covered by Ballotpedia as the city fell outside of municipal elections coverage.[4][5]
Results
| Lowell Public Schools, At-large General Election, 2-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jacqueline Doherty Incumbent |
12.19% | 6,385 |
| Robert J. Hoey Jr. Incumbent |
11.55% | 6,054 |
| Connie A. Martin Incumbent |
11.54% | 6,047 |
| Dominik Hok Y Lay |
10.61% | 5,558 |
| Andre Descoteaux Incumbent |
9.77% | 5,117 |
| Gerard Nutter |
9.19% | 4,817 |
| Dennis R. Mercier | 9.02% | 4,727 |
| Noelle Creegan | 8.94% | 4,684 |
| Timothy Blake | 8.63% | 4,520 |
| Daniel J. Shanahan IV | 8.39% | 4,396 |
| Write-in votes | 0.17% | 88 |
| Total Votes | 52,393 | |
| Source: City of Lowell, "Election Summary Report: Official Results," accessed November 28, 2017 | ||
Funding
The Lowell Election & Census Office does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign themes
2017
Shanahan answered the following five questions from the Lowell Sun as part of a series for the newspaper. The questions provided by the newspaper appear bolded, and Shanahan's answers follow below.
Should the Lowell Public School district return to neighborhood schools or retain its two-zone, citywide schools model?[6]
| “ | Rezoned to create neighborhood schools.[7] | ” |
| —Daniel J. Shanahan IV (2017)[6] | ||
What solutions would you propose to ensure the district can reliably provide adequate services to students within its budget?[8]
| “ | An initial budget should be more conservative, taking into account fluctuations in state funding based on historical data or trends over the past few years.[7] | ” |
| —Daniel J. Shanahan IV (2017)[8] | ||
Would you have voted to give Superintendent of Schools Salah Khelfaoui a new four-year contract?[9]
| “ | I believe our superintendent of schools should be under contract to remain competitive with our districts to ensure high quality candidates are hired at that position.[7] | ” |
| —Daniel J. Shanahan IV (2017)[9] | ||
What is the most pressing capital improvement project facing the School Department, besides the high school, and how do you propose to pay for it?[10]
| “ | I hesitate to focus on one capital improvement and believe our focus should be on repairing, improving and maintaining all school buildings to provide an optimal teaching and learning environment. We need to offer more special need services in town, versus sending students requiring those services out of district, which costs money. Offering such services may also attract out of district students with special needs, providing additional income that could be used for building improvements.[7] | ” |
| —Daniel J. Shanahan IV (2017)[10] | ||
What is your opinion on standardized testing? Do public schools do too much, too little, or just enough?[11]
| “ | Standardized testing has resulted in public school placing too much emphasis on test preparation. Other subjects are neglected that could better prepare students for high school, which in turn may impact college or career readiness. Standardized testing results may also unfairly reflect on teacher performance.[7] | ” |
| —Daniel J. Shanahan IV (2017)[11] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Daniel J. Shanahan Lowell Public Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Eda Jane Matchak, City of Lowell," January 31, 2017
- ↑ Lowell Sun, "City Council field set for preliminary," August 10, 2017
- ↑ City of Lowell Election & Census, "Election Results," accessed November 8, 2017
- ↑ Lowell Public Schools, "2016-2017 School Committee," accessed August 9, 2017
- ↑ Lowell Sun, "Preliminary city election set as 23 candidates qualify for council race," August 9, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lowell Sun, "Lowell School Committee candidates answer questions on the issues," October 11, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lowell Sun, "Lowell candidates offer solutions on school budget issues," October 12, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lowell Sun, "Lowell school candidates split on superintendent's contract," October 13, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lowell Sun, "Building maintenance, special ed cited as top Lowell school needs," October 14, 2017
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lowell Sun, "Lowell school candidates weigh in on standardized tests," October 15, 2017
