Dave Espe
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Dave Espe is an at-large representative on the Eden Prairie Board of Education in Minnesota. Espe sought another term in the general election on November 3, 2015. Dave Espe won the general election on November 3, 2015.
Espe was first elected to the board in 2011.
Biography
Espe resides in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Espe earned a B.S. degree in mathematics and secondary education from the Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in 1977. He works as an independent consultant in project management.[1]
Elections
2015
- See also: Eden Prairie Schools elections (2015)
Opposition
The election in Eden Prairie featured four of the seven seats on the board up for at-large general election on November 3, 2015.
The seats of incumbents Karla Bratrud, Dave Espe, John Estall and Holly Parker were up for election. Espe, who was the only incumbent to file for re-election, faced challengers Asad Aliweyd, Murshid Barud, John Kohner, Greg Lehman, Jeffery Saxton and Adam Seidel for the four at-large seats. Barud previously ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the board in 2013. Espe, Kohner, Lehman and Seidel won the four seats.
Results
| Eden Prairie Schools, At-Large, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Adam Seidel |
21.9% | 2,531 |
| Dave Espe Incumbent |
20.9% | 2,416 |
| John Kohner |
17.7% | 2,041 |
| Greg Lehman |
13.7% | 1,582 |
| Asad Aliweyd | 11.6% | 1,342 |
| Jeffery Saxton | 8.8% | 1,016 |
| Murshid Barud | 5.0% | 579 |
| Write-in votes | 0.33% | 38 |
| Total Votes | 11,545 | |
| Source: Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Local Results in Hennepin County," accessed November 4, 2015 These election results are not official and will be updated when certified results are available. You can submit certified results by contacting us. |
||
Funding
Espe reported no contributions or expenditures to the Eden Prairie Schools administration during the election.[2]
Endorsements
Espe received an endorsement from the Eden Prairie News.[3]
2011
| Eden Prairie Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2011 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Holly Parker Incumbent |
19.2% | 3,734 | |
| Nonpartisan | John Estall Incumbent |
18.6% | 3,620 | |
| Nonpartisan | Dave Espe |
16.8% | 3,277 | |
| Nonpartisan | Karla Bratrud |
16.7% | 3,249 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tim Fox | 11.5% | 2,235 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kim Ross | 7% | 1,372 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bill Lapadat | 5.3% | 1,029 | |
| Nonpartisan | Derek Gunderson | 4.7% | 908 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.2% | 37 | |
| Total Votes | 19,461 | |||
| Source: Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Results for Selected School District Contests," accessed October 14, 2013 | ||||
Campaign themes
2015
Espe completed a survey conducted by the Eden Prairie News:
| “ | What is your view of the state of the school district?
The state of the EP School District is very good. We have a superintendent in his second contract, a management team who is talented and committed, principals that are leading their schools, a solid financial position (thanks to the voters passing both referendums!), and a very strong School Board. This is by far the best shape the district ha s seen in a very long time. That’s no t to say that there is not work to be done. Specifically, we need to improve our student learning significantly and rapidly, and this will be a primary focus of mine. If you could change one thing about how this district operates, what would it be? We need to continue to improve our communication to the community. We have made huge improvements in this area in the past four years, but for any organization, this is always an area we can improve upon. We strive to be very transparent in all we do. Every School board meeting, workshop and committee session is always open to the public. We publish minutes and video/audio recordings to every School Board meeting. And we want to continue to meet with the public, to understand your values and issues, and to make our district the best it can be. What is the biggest issue facing the Eden Prairie School District right now? Improving our student learning, as this will drive improvements in student achievement and growth as well as closing the achievement gap. A rising tide lifts all ships. It’s important that we work to improve learning for each student, from those students who are performing well to those that are performing below grade level. For those students performing below grade level, we need to work with them and their parents to ide ntify what is impacting the learning process, and then develop a plan for each student to overcome the issues and improve performance.[4] |
” |
| —Eden Prairie News survey (2015)[5] | ||
Espe completed a survey conducted by the League of Women Voters:
| “ | 1. Describe your background, experience and public school involvement that qualify you for the Eden Prairie School Board.
I am a current member of the Eden Prairie School Board, and I am enthusiastic about running for a second 4-year term. As the only incumbent on the ballot, I bring a wealth of knowledge about what the School Board is required to do, and how the School Board is to function. I have completed two years as the Vice-Chair of the School Board as well as serving on various committees including the Negotiations Committee. If re-elected, I will have the second longest tenure on the School Board (a mere four years). I am married and have five children, the oldest four are graduates of Eden Prairie High School and my youngest is a junior. I have lived in Eden Prairie for over 16 years. I have coached youth sports for over 20 seasons (baseball, basketball, football and soccer). I am a member of the Praise Band (Servant Song) at Immanuel Lutheran Church, playing guitar and singing. I am a passionate believer in strong public schools, and we celebrate that our Eden Prairie schools are some of the finest in the state, and the nation. I am also the point person for building the Miracle Field in Eden Prairie, which will give all children, regardless of any physical or cerebral issue, the opportunity to join a team and play baseball. We anticipate starting play in the spring of 2016. When I was elected to the School Board in 2011, our district was in a very different place than we are today. The district was not functioning well at that time, and in the past four years we have hired a new Superintendent, approved the hiring of many new Principals and Assistant Principals, approved the hiring of virtually an entire new senior staff (reporting to the Superintendent); replaced our governance structure with a new process called Policy Governance to better assign clear roles and responsibilities between the School Board and the Superintendent; and began to bring a focus back to student growth and proficiency. We have renewed our referendums to place the district in strong financial shape. The district has never been in better shape than it is today; we are not yet perfect, but we are improving daily and we have a clear direction as to where we are headed (through the development of a Strategic Plan). 2. What are the growing trends in student needs, and how should the Eden Prairie School District address them? One of the most significant issues facing our district (and our country) is the widening gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” (the “wealth” issue). When the School Board was considering the 1-1 technology plan three years ago (which was to put a computer device in each student’s hands), the primary reason I gave my support was that this was a “game changer” – enabling each student to have a computer for their school work as well as research, self learning, etc. No longer was the computer a “differentiator” – now it placed all students on a fairly level playing field. As a public school district, I welcome any child (regardless of background) to come to our district who truly wants to learn, work hard, and earn a great education. There is nothing more important than educating each and every child. 3. Discuss any specific changes you would like to make in school district policies, programs or curricula. Under Policy Governance, virtually all programs and curriculum content fall under the responsibility and decision making of the Superintendent, not the School Board. We monitor the Superintendent’s work through our board policies annually, and the board will make a determination if the Superintendent is making reasonable progress. These reports are found on the Eden Prairie School District website. As you peruse the reports, you will find that this is by no means a “rubber stamp” process, and you will notice that we have found work as not making reasonable progress. One particular area where the Board has taken an active role is that we anticipate that EACH student will be proficient and show a minimum of one year’s growth in all of our core subjects (reading, math and science). This becomes the “proof” that our students are indeed learning at the proper pace. 4. What recommendations do you have for the school district to save money? I want to thank once again the community members approved the referendums over the past two years. These have enabled us to retain a solid financial footing to support our students. Prior to the operational referendum approved in 2014, the district had been on a significant spending reduction plan of approximately $17 million dollars over the previous 3-4 years. Those cuts helped to streamline our district, and we intend to stay financially responsible. With about 90% of our operations budget committed to employees (salary and benefits), the reality is that any reductions could lead to negative impacts to our district (such as increased classroom sizes). We have directed our superintendent to find a minimum of $500,000 in cost reductions each year and we plan to continue doing so. As a board member, I will continue to keep a strong focus on our spending, and that we continue to look at the benefits, and risks, as we look at future cost reductions. 5. How will you engage the community to improve Eden Prairie public schools? The current School Board has taken a very proactive approach to improving in this area. We schedule community sessions throughout the year to listen to our parents and tax payers. All of our meetings are “open”, meaning that anyone can attend. At every School Board meeting, we make time available for our citizens to come and speak to the board. We publish our phone numbers and email addresses so that anyone can communicate with us at any time. All board meeting materials (agendas, minutes, audio/video) are made available through the district web site – www.edenpr.org . The district is also always looking for volunteers to come into our schools to help with different programs. You can contact the district administration office as well as any school to find out what opportunities for volunteerism are available. We want to hear from you, so don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.[4] |
” |
| —League of Women Voters survey (2015)[6] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Dave Espe' 'Eden Prairie Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Dave Espe," accessed October 27, 2015
- ↑ Eden Prairie Schools, "2015 School Board Candidate Campaign Financial Reports," accessed November 1, 2015
- ↑ Eden Prairie News, "Aliweyd, Espe, Kohner and Seidel endorsed," October 22, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Eden Prairie News, "Candidate Q&A: Dave Espe," October 22, 2015
- ↑ League of Women Voters, "Voter Guide: Dave Espe," accessed October 27, 2015
| 2015 Eden Prairie Schools Elections | |
| Hennepin County, Minnesota | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Dave Espe • Asad Aliweyd • Murshid Barud • John Kohner • Greg Lehman • Jeffery Saxton • Adam Seidel |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
