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David Pyrz
David Pyrz was a candidate for at-large representative on the South Washington County Schools school board in Minnesota. Pyrz was defeated in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Pyrz participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Elections
2017
Five of the seven seats on the South Washington County Schools school board in Minnesota were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. Four seats were up for general election to regular four-year terms, and the fifth seat was up for special election to a two-year term due to a vacancy on the board.[1] In the race for the four-year terms, at-large incumbents Tracy Brunnette, Katie Schwartz, and Sharon H. Van Leer won re-election. Incumbent Katy McElwee-Stevens did not win re-election, as Patricia Driscoll won the fourth seat. Challengers Thor Halverson, Alexandra Hedberg, Douglas Hoffman, David Pyrz, and William Thurmes were defeated in that race. Heather Hirsch won the two-year term, defeating Wael Abdelkader, Sean Brown, Duane Girard, and Steve Lagoon.[2][3]
Results
| South Washington County Schools, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Patricia Driscoll |
11.96% | 4,353 |
| Katie Schwartz Incumbent |
11.07% | 4,031 |
| Tracy Brunnette Incumbent |
10.92% | 3,977 |
| Sharon H. Van Leer Incumbent |
10.91% | 3,970 |
| William Thurmes | 10.04% | 3,656 |
| Alexandra Hedberg | 9.84% | 3,582 |
| Katy McElwee-Stevens Incumbent | 9.53% | 3,471 |
| Douglas Hoffman | 9.19% | 3,345 |
| David Pyrz | 8.97% | 3,267 |
| Thor Halverson | 7.01% | 2,553 |
| Write-in votes | 0.55% | 199 |
| Total Votes | 36,404 | |
| Source: South Washington County Schools, "School Board Meeting Minutes November 16, 2017," accessed December 8, 2017 | ||
Funding
The South Washington County Schools 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
Ballotpedia survey responses
David Pyrz participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[4] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on October 5, 2017:
| “ | I truly believe we can become a World Class school district! We have the support, the community, the involvement, the resources and the passion to do amazing things. We need, however, to become even better in the areas of child safety, maintain an unwavering prioritization of the classroom experience first, and hone the skills & disciplines of our leadership associated with transparent, critical decision-making. Accountability of the Board and Administration is paramount to achieve these objectives. I can help influence these priorities in a refreshing, positive, energetic way and help us become a World Class district!![5][6] | ” |
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 Minnesota. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | I believe the safety of our children should be the top priority for our District. I am also optimistic that we can tackle all these priorities, regardless of rank, to make our District truly World Class![6] | ” |
| —David Pyrz (October 5, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight 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.) |
|---|
| Yes. |
| 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. Standardized tests are accurate, but not holistic. A more well rounded assessment is necessary to truly measure student achievement. While accurate, standardized tests alone are not enough. |
| 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. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. Attracting and retaining the best avialable talent in the teaching profession is a key factor in our success. As in any profession, the opportunity to advance your livelihood through your own performance is tremendously motivating. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Private schools offer a tremendous opportunity for students and teachers to engage in meaningful learning & development. They are, however, private. When opening a private learning institutions, all financial factors should be considered, including the need to fund the facility privately in a way which still creates a learning environment competitive with the public schools around the area. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| It is the duty of our District to teach and develop every single student that walks into our schools. This begins with the quality teachers who are empowered to teach in a safe environment. Any student who puts the safety of a child or adult at risk in our District must be met with severe action. All rational and available efforts must be made to develop that child to a point where he / she is no longer a risk to others in the learning environment. This may include, but is certainly not limited to, early intervention to determine the root cause of the disruptive behavior. If all such efforts are fully exhausted & remain unsuccessful, expulsion may be considered in order to protect the experience of the rest of the District. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers. Even with the perfect curriculum, classroom ratio and support structure, the education experience can fall apart without a quality teacher. The interaction with the teachers and students in the classroom is the most sacred relationship in District 833 and we must do everything we can to protect & enhance it. |
Twin Cities Pioneer Press survey
Pyrz participated in the following survey conducted by the Twin Cities Pioneer Press. The survey questions appear bolded, and Pyrz's responses follow below.
What qualifies you to hold this position?
| “ | I have the passion, professional skill set & appropriate approach to help District 833 become world class! With two kids in school in 833, I am passionate about our District. I grew up the son of a teacher, creating a love for education. My professional experience with strategy & decision making will help me serve the people of District 833.[6] | ” |
| —David Pyrz (2017)[7] | ||
What would your top priorities be if elected?
| “ | CHILD SAFETY: It’s our obligation to become world class in safety. ACCOUNTABILITY & TRANSPARENCY: The Board & Administration work FOR the people of 833, not the other way around. |
” |
| —David Pyrz (2017)[7] | ||
What do you think is the primary role of government?
| “ | Government should create an environment in which constituents are encouraged, empowered & enabled to thrive. This includes, but is not limited to, provisions of education and foundational safety. Government should always function on behalf of the people, with constituents taking great pride in their actions as a part of this working model.[6] | ” |
| —David Pyrz (2017)[7] | ||
Candidate website
Pyrz highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:
| “ | PEOPLE
YOUR SAFETY
REAL ACCOUNTABILITY
ZEST FOR SUCCESS!
|
” |
| —David Pyrz (2017)[8] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms David Pyrz South Washington County Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ South Washington County Bulletin, "Candidacy Filing Notice," June 26, 2017
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Results for Selected Contests in School District No. 833 - SOUTH WASHINGTON COUNTY," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Candidate Filings: 2017 Municipal and School District Elections," accessed August 16, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "David Pyrz's responses," October 5, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Twin Cities Pioneer Press, "Minnesota elections: South Washington County school board candidates," October 24, 2017
- ↑ Pyrz833.com, "Platform," accessed October 26, 2017
