Dick Rylander

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Dick Rylander

Personal

Profession

Pharmaceuticals and biotechnology

Contact

Personal website

Dick Rylander was a candidate for District 4 representative on the Battle Ground Board of Directors in Washington. Rylander advanced from the primary election on August 4, 2015, to the general election on November 3, 2015. Dick Rylander lost the general election on November 3, 2015.

Rylander participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 school board candidate survey. In his survey responses and other campaign statements, Rylander stated his opposition to Common Core standards and "high stakes testing." He also placed an emphasis on school choice for district parents.

Biography

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Rylander earned a bachelor's degree in marketing and finance and an MBA. He worked as an adjunct professor at the University of Portland's business school. He also worked in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology for over 40 years.

Elections

2015

See also: Battle Ground School District elections (2015)

Opposition

Two of the five seats on the Battle Ground Board of Directors were up for election in 2015.

District 2 incumbent Ken Root and District 4 incumbent Mavis Nickels won re-election. Root ran unopposed in District 2, and Nickels faced two challengers in the District 4 primary: Ben Kapelka and Dick Rylander. Nickles and Rylander advanced to the general election ballot, where Nickles won a new term.

Results

Battle Ground School District Board of Directors, District 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Mavis Nickels Incumbent	56.4%	6,829
Dick Rylander	43.6%	5,283
Write-in votes	0%	0
Total Votes		12,112
Source: Clark County Auditor, "November 3, 2015 General Election," November 24, 2015

Battle Ground School District Board of Directors, District 4 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Mavis Nickels Incumbent	48.3%	4,496
Dick Rylander	33.3%	3,097
Ben Kapelka	18.4%	1,709
Write-in votes	0%	0
Total Votes		9,302
Source: Clark County, Washington, "August 4, 2015 Primary," accessed August 20, 2015

Funding

Rylander reported no contributions or expenditures to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission as of October 29, 2015.

Endorsements

Rylander received no official endorsements in this election.

Campaign themes

2015

Rylander participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates, in addition to campaign statements he provided for the county voters' pamphlet and on his campaign website.

Ballotpedia survey responses

Rylander participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“	Remove common code and dramatically reduce and/or remove high stakes testing.	”
—Dick Rylander (2015),

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:

Education policy
Click here to learn more about education policy in Washington.
Education on the ballot

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Expanding school choice options
2	Expanding career-technical education
3	Balancing or maintaining the district's budget
4	Expanding arts education
5	Improving education for special needs students
6	Improving college readiness
7	Closing the achievement gap

Positions on the issues

The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:

Question	Response
What is your stance on implementing Common Core standards?	They should not be implemented.
Should your district approve the creation of new charter schools?	If there is a demand
Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system?	Yes
Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement?	No
How can the district ensure equal opportunities for high and low achieving students?	Provide equal opportunities
How should expulsion be used in the district?	Expulsion cases must be viewed on a case-by-case basis rather than the district having an overarching policy.
If a school is failing in your district, what steps should the school board take to help the students in that school?	Define why it is failing and then take necessary action.
Do you support merit pay for teachers?	Yes
How should the district handle underperforming teachers?	Put underperforming teachers on a probationary period while they seek to improve.
How would you work to improve community-school board relations?	Reach out to the voters and parents in the directors district proactively and on a regular basis to share information and ask for input.

Voters' pamphlet

Rylander provided the following statement for the Clark County local voters' pamphlet for the 2015 general election:

“	I bring broad education and experience along with a passion for learning. Four adult children and ten (10) grandchildren mean I want quality education. Setting standards, establishing cutting edge education including technology and trade schools while effectively using tax payers money is key to success. Accountability, well paid teachers and students who have an environment to learn and excel are among my foci. By electing me you marry education with practical real world experience which will translate into setting a vision for a more productive local educational system.	”
—Dick Rylander (2015)

Campaign website

Rylander provided the following position stances on his campaign website:

“	Budget—We need to assure we are using our funds to best advantage before asking for more. Common Core—A good idea that is poorly planned and implemented High Stakes Testing—Worthless. Not predictive any performance and a waste of money that could and should be going to the classroom. Local Control of Schools—The people should make decisions and not outside interests Vocational schools—Needs more focus. Not everyone is suited to nor interested in going to a four (4) year college. For those who have a love for automotive, construction, culinary and other skills needed in everyday life helping them prepare increases their earnings while giving them a sense of success and satisfaction. Charter Schools—Parents should have choice. Taxes paid should include choice. Communication with the public—Board members need to find better ways to reach out to parents not only to keep them informed but to seek guidance for key challenges	”
—Dick Rylander (2015)

Recent news

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Dick Rylander Battle+Ground School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Dick Rylander - Google News

See also

• Battle Ground School District, Washington
• Battle Ground School District elections (2015)
• Incumbency no guarantee of success in Nov. 3 school board elections (November 6, 2015)
• What happened in Nov.'s top board elections? (November 4, 2015)

External links

Suggest a link

• Battle Ground School District
• Campaign website
• Campaign Facebook page