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Denis O'Leary
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Denis O'Leary is the Area 1 representative on the Oxnard board of trustees in California. O'Leary won re-election in the general election on November 8, 2016.[1]
O'Leary participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Elections
2016
- See also: Oxnard School District elections (2016)
Two of the five seats on the Oxnard School District board of trustees were up for by-district general election on November 8, 2016. In his bid for re-election to Area 1, incumbent Denis O'Leary defeated challenger Ruby Durias. The race for the open Area 4 seat featured candidates Veronica Diaz and Monica Madrigal Lopez, and Lopez won.[2][3]
Results
| Oxnard School District, Area 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Denis O'Leary Incumbent |
50.57% | 4,760 |
| Ruby Durias | 48.68% | 4,582 |
| Write-in votes | 0.75% | 71 |
| Total Votes | 9,413 | |
| Source: Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Official Final Results," accessed December 5, 2016 | ||
Funding
O'Leary reported no contributions or expenditures to the Ventura County Registrar of Voters in the election.[4]
Endorsements
O'Leary was endorsed by the community organization Evolve.[5]
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Denis O'Leary Incumbent |
44.5% | 17,211 | |
| Nonpartisan | Albert Duff Sr. Incumbent |
37.1% | 14,370 | |
| Nonpartisan | Sergio A. Lagunas | 17.7% | 6,861 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.7% | 252 | |
| Total Votes | 38,694 | |||
| Source: Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "2012 General Election Official Final Results," accessed July 30, 2014 | ||||
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Denis O'Leary 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 September 22, 2016:
| “ | I want to improve the education and lives of our students and their families.[6][7] | ” |
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 California. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| “ | Student achievement is the most important goal of an educator.[7] | ” |
| —Denis O'Leary (September 22, 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 be involved in the district routinely. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. Student achievement also should be ranked on the safety and securities of the family. If the parents have a secure job with the security of health, the students generally do better in school. Standardized test do not reveal the level of family and community stability. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| I am supportive of Common Core. |
| 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? |
| Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion should only be used when the safety of the students or teachers is at danger. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Parent involvement |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Denis O'Leary' 'Oxnard School District'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Qualified Candidate List," accessed August 23, 2016
- ↑ Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Qualified Candidate List," accessed August 23, 2016
- ↑ Oxnard School District, "General Election November 8, 2016," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "County of Ventura Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed April 11, 2017
- ↑ Evolve, "Endorsements: November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Denis O'Leary's responses," September 22, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 Oxnard School District Elections | |
| Ventura County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | Area 1: • Incumbent, Denis O'Leary • Ruby Durias Area 4: • Veronica Diaz • Monica Madrigal Lopez |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
