Your monthly support provides voters the knowledge they need to make confident decisions at the polls. Donate today.
Denis Chapman
Denis Chapman was a candidate for at-large representative on the Cabell County School Board in West Virginia. The general election was held on May 10, 2016.[1] He lost the election.[2]
All five candidates running in the 2016 school board race discussed the issues facing the district with The Herald-Dispatch. To see what they said, check out the "Issues in the election" section below.
Biography
Chapman is a retired teacher. He taught at Cabell County Schools. He has also worked as an education consultant and lobbyist. Chapman earned a bachelor's degree from Marshall University.[3] He and his wife have one daughter.[4]
Elections
2016
- See also: Cabell County Schools elections (2016)
Two of the five seats on the Cabell County Schools School Board were up for general election on May 10, 2016. In his bid for re-election, incumbent Garland "Skip" Parsons ran against four challengers—Scott Caserta, Gordon Ramey II, Austin Sanders and Denis Chapman.[1][5] Parsons won re-election, and Ramey won the open seat.[2]
Though the election was held at large, only two members from the same geographical district could be on the board during a given term. Parsons and Caserta were from District 4. Chapman and Ramey were from District 2, and Sanders was from District 1.[1][6] The three members of the board not up for election in 2016 were from Districts 1, 2 and 4. That meant that only one candidate from each of those districts could win election to the board, which pinned Parsons and Caserta against each other and Chapman and Ramey against each other.[5] Though Caserta received more votes than Ramey, he did not receive enough to defeat Parsons, which gave Ramey the chance to take the seat.[2][7]
Results
| Cabell County Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Garland "Skip" Parsons Incumbent |
31.03% | 8,924 |
| Scott Caserta | 24.02% | 6,907 |
| Gordon Ramey II |
17.70% | 5,089 |
| Denis Chapman | 16.79% | 4,827 |
| Austin Sanders | 10.35% | 2,976 |
| Write-in votes | 0.11% | 33 |
| Total Votes | 28,756 | |
| Source: Cabell County Clerk, "2016 Primary Election Results," accessed May 27, 2016 | ||
Funding
The Cabell County Clerk's Office does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. Ballotpedia requested this information, but the county did not provide it.
Endorsements
Chapman was endorsed by The Herald-Dispatch and the Cabell County Education Association Political Action Committee.[8][9]
Campaign themes
2016
The Herald-Dispatch Q&A
The Herald-Dispatch asked the candidates in this race the following four bolded questions. Chapman's responses are shown below.
| “ | What do you see your role should be as a member of the Board of Education?
A member of the Board of Education plays an important role in the community fostering support between parents, teachers, students, professional staff, and the greater city and county. A Board of Education member’s main responsibility is to oversee the implementation of federal and state laws and to make sure that the budget is administered as to benefit students at all levels. How would you address the dropout issue? The drop out issue is a multifaceted problem that affects school systems across the country. For Cabell County, the Board of Education, while it does not play a direct role in mitigating drop outs, can help to empower students, teachers and parents to work together to address all underlying causes and develop creative solutions. How would you encourage more parental involvement? It is well established that when parents are more involved, students achieve at higher levels across the board. The Board member plays an important role in this aspect of education, encouraging parent/teacher engagement and working with professionals across the school system to ensure that there is effective communication between students, parents and the teacher. How would you increase the rigor of the curriculum to benefit students? Curriculum for individual disciplines is traditionally set at the state level by that department’s leaders who research best practices and national trends to ensure the standards established are the most relevant for each student’s long term educational needs. The Board can ensure that those guidelines are being met locally and facilitate communication between the county and state should the need arise.[10] |
” |
| —Denis Chapman (March 31, 2016)[4] | ||
Editorial
Chapman highlighted the following issues in an editorial he wrote for The Herald-Dispatch:
| “ | The Cabell County Board of Education plays a pivotal role in the community, addressing the short-term and long-term needs of students, teachers, school personnel and the region generally. It is never an easy task - balancing all of these perspectives with our limited given resources.
It requires creativity and a deep understanding of how the various pieces fit together, play off of one another and can work together. It requires understanding of how to "work the system" to get the most for county constituents. It requires listening to new views and incorporating ideas and theories into the bigger picture. For over 40 years I have had the honor of doing all of these for the students, teachers and service personnel of Cabell County. I have served in the classroom, shepherding students through the exciting terrain of academia, celebrating their achievements when they excelled at national debate tournaments and delighting when they went on to be productive members of our community. I have seen ninth-graders who could barely make it through the day graduate with honors four short years later, ready to go to college. I have seen students that feel "out of place" get a certification in a trade or career program and get a good-paying job. I have been delighted when they come back years later and share that something I taught in my classroom made a difference to them. That is why we go into teaching, and, I have to admit, it is truly an amazing thrill. During this same time, I also served as a representative for the county and state teachers, spending many evenings and summers studying training, and representing their needs at the local, state and national level. For example, each June for the past 30 years, I have attended the NEA Representative Assembly where teachers from across the country share best practices and debate issues to make our public schools stronger. While both of these have provided me with an amazing lifetime of professional experience, my most important role has been that of father to a student who went through all 12 grades in the Cabell County school system. I was able to see how policies implemented for the classroom worked at home for the family. I was able to understand and implement the most effective ways of communicating with parents, because now I was one. The school system is a complicated conglomeration of needs, wants, resources and abilities. While it is never perfect, Cabell County schools have a tremendous opportunity ahead. Advances in technology allow us to communicate and teach like never before - reaching students where they are and how they best learn. However, budget cuts at the state and national level threaten all aspects of education, especially those that allow teachers to provide nurturing productive classrooms where all students succeed. Only someone with years of experience navigating these waters and walking that tightrope between needs and resources can help move the county to the next level. There are a lot of challenges ahead for the county schools and students. Education today is so vastly different from when I entered the classroom. However, it is also an exciting time to be on the forefront of preparing the next generation of West Virginians. I firmly believe that and would appreciate your support in May at the ballot box. Help me ensure a future for our children like I have provided to so many in my classroom and that my daughter enjoyed during her time at Cabell County Schools.[10] |
” |
| —Denis Chapman (April 26, 2016)[11] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Denis Chapman' 'Cabell County Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cabell County Clerk, "2016 Candidate Filings," accessed February 1, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Cabell County Clerk, "2016 Primary Election Results," accessed May 10, 2016
- ↑ The Herald-Dispatch, "Cabell BOE candidates ready to tackle issues," April 15, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Herald-Dispatch, "Cabell County Board of Education candidate: Denis H. Chapman," March 31, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cabell County Schools, "Board," accessed February 1, 2016
- ↑ West Virginia Legislature, "Chapter 18. Education: Article 5. County Board Of Education," accessed February 1, 2016
- ↑ The Herald-Dispatch, "Live Election Night Results," accessed May 10, 2016
- ↑ The Herald-Dispatch, "Editorial: Chapman, Parsons merit election to school board," April 25, 2016
- ↑ The Herald-Dispatch, "Campaign Trails: Groups announce endorsements for W.Va. candidates," April 19, 2016
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Herald-Dispatch, "Denis Chapman: Experience as teacher prepared candidate to serve on board," April 26, 2016
| 2016 Cabell County Schools Elections | |
| Cabell County, West Virginia | |
| Election date: | May 10, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Garland "Skip" Parsons • Scott Caserta • Denis Chapman • Gordon Ramey II • Austin Sanders |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
