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David Mitnick
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.
David Mitnick is the Sleepy Hole Borough incumbent on the Suffolk Public Schools school board in Virginia. He defeated fellow challenger Charles D. Leavell and appointed board member James Perkinson in the general election on November 4, 2014. Mitnick won re-election in the general election on November 8, 2016.
Mitnick participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Elections
2016
Three of the seven seats on the Suffolk Public Schools school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. The three incumbents—Judith Brooks-Buck (Nansemond Borough), David Mitnick (Sleepy Hole Borough), and Phyllis Collier Byrum (Whaleyville Borough)—ran unopposed and won re-election to their seats.[1]
Results
| Suffolk Public Schools, Sleepy Hole Borough General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 David Mitnick Incumbent (unopposed) |
98.15% | 5,612 |
| Write-in votes | 1.85% | 106 |
| Total Votes | 5,718 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2016 November General Official Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||
Funding
Mitnick reported no contributions or expenditures to the Virginia Department of Elections as of October 17, 2016.[2]
2014
- See also: Suffolk Public Schools elections (2014)
The November 4, 2014, general election in Portsmouth Public Schools featured five seats up for election. In the Chuckatuck race, incumbent Linda Bouchard faced challenger Dorothy Gamble. In the Cypress and Holy Neck races, incumbents Lorraine Skeeter and Enoch Copeland ran unopposed, respectively. In the Suffolk race, incumbent Michael Debranski faced challenger Thelma Hinton. The special election for the Sleepy Hole Borough featured Charles D. Leavell, David Mitnick and appointed board member James Perkinson.
Bouchard, Skeeter, Copeland, Mitnick and Debranski won election in their respective districts.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | David Mitnick |
42.5% | 1,449 | |
| Nonpartisan | James Perkinson Incumbent | 37.9% | 1,291 | |
| Nonpartisan | Charles D. Leavell | 18.6% | 634 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.9% | 32 | |
| Total Votes | 3,406 | |||
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "Official Election Results," accessed December 29, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Mitnick did not file a campaign finance report with the Virginia State Board of Elections during the election.
Endorsements
Mitnick did not receive any endorsements during the election.
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
David Mitnick 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 11, 2016:
| “ | Continued cooperation among school board members and with our City Council.[3][4] | ” |
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 Virginia. |
| 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 relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | Answers are self explanatory.[4] | ” |
| —David Mitnick (October 11, 2016) | ||
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? |
| Yes. As long as the standardized tests are testing the same information included in the curriculum. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| I am pleased that in Virginia the state standards of learning are the framework for education. |
| 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? |
| Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. The probationary period should include a plan for improvement that has measureable, realistic goals monitored by a supervisor who makes frequent classroom observation accompanied by pre and post conferences. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. An incentive should be provided to teachers who find ways to ensure that all children succeed. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| As a last resort. Schools and school systems have a responsibility to provide educational opportunities for all students. Due process should be afforded to all students. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers A highly skilled educator can make all the difference in the success of their students. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms David Mitnick Suffolk Public Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Suffolk, Virginia, "Candidate Listing," accessed June 29, 2016
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed October 18, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "David Mitnick's responses," October 11, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
