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Donald Hager (New Jersey)
Donald Hager was a candidate for an at-large seat on the Middletown Township School District school board in New Jersey. Hager was defeated in the at-large general election on November 8, 2016.
Hager participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Elections
2016
Three of the nine seats on the Middletown Township School District school board were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. John Little Jr., Leonora Caminiti, and incumbent Michael Donlon won election to the three seats by defeating incumbent Vincent Brand, Donald Hager, and Frank Higgins. Andrew Nicholes originally filed to run in the race but was appointed to the Middletown board in August 2016 after incumbent Helene Henkel resigned.[1]
Results
| Middletown Township School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 John Little Jr. |
19.07% | 11,246 |
| Leonora Caminiti |
18.96% | 11,184 |
| Michael Donlon Incumbent |
17.56% | 10,355 |
| Donald Hager | 15.88% | 9,365 |
| Frank Higgins | 15.79% | 9,314 |
| Vincent Brand Incumbent | 12.34% | 7,276 |
| Write-in votes | 0.4% | 237 |
| Total Votes | 58,977 | |
| Source: Monmouth County, New Jersey, "Official Results," accessed December 1, 2016 | ||
Funding
Hager reported no contributions or expenditures to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission in the election.[2]
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Donald J. Hager 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 4, 2016:
| “ | I hope to make our School Board's more of a community environment. I want more participation in the decision making processes our School Board makes. I want to serve Middletown to the best of my ability by providing accurate information to members of the public as well as voice concerns of those who live in our community.[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 New Jersey. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| “ | The topics listed above are important areas of a school community. I don't think it's necessarily fair to compare things like Art Education, Teacher Relations & Special Needs. Those are really important topics that have different ways you're able to accomplish improvement in them. I don't necessarily believe in "The Achievement Gap" - what it comes down to as an "Attitude Gap" and that child's willingness to want to learn, which can be helped. I feel that creating a level playing field and providing equal educational experiences to all is most important. All though I've ordered these categories to the best of my ability in importants, those topics are all areas that need constant attention and improvement in a school district.[4] | ” |
| —Donald J. Hager (October 4, 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 defer to school board decisions in most cases. The state should be involved in severe cases as well as set expectations, but should defer to school board decisions. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. Student's will go on to be Football Stars, Accountants, Actors, Bussinessman, Fisherman, etc. Different student's have different sets of skills. To assess all of these students with different sets of skills through one single standardized test is not an accurate way to convey the performance of a single child or performance of a district. It's a convenient method for assessment, but shouldn't be prioritized as it is now in our schools. Teaching to tests or making them out to be an important determining factor of students educational careers is not healthy. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| I believe it is important to set standards for our students regardless of what school they attend. This assures an equal opportunity to education and knowledge. However, when a larger government body dictates very specific guidelines to an educational program, it disallows school districts who want to innovate and break away from those guidelines to better serve their students. |
| 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. Before entering a classroom, teachers should be paired with another teacher for mentorship opportunities. This allows the district to examine the new teachers skills and also let's the teacher learn any specifics to that schools educational program. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. It's really difficult to rate a teacher based on numbers and scores. Success comes in all forms. Students express themselves differently and have different areas of expertise. Examining students with dynamic sets of skills using one or two methods of testing, isn't a true and accurate representation of the child's abilities. |
| 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 be used in severe cases of threatening or when damage is done to the schools students, faculty or infrastructure. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers A schools most valuable assets are its teachers. Before I mentioned the "Attitude Gap" in replacement of "The Achievement Gap." It's the willpower and motivation by teachers that given students the drive to learn. When a teacher provides unique lessons that connect with students, it's what makes a successful educational experience. The teacher has the power, with support of the school, to help close children's attitude gaps, get them excited about learning and perform better. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Donald Hager Middletown Township School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Middletown Township School District, New Jersey
- Middletown Township School District elections (2016)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Mandy Gillip,"Phone conversation with Monmouth County Clerk," August 1, 2016
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "Public Information," accessed December 12, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Donald J. Hager's responses," October 4, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 Middletown Township School District Elections | |
| Monmouth County, New Jersey | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Vincent Brand • Incumbent, Michael Donlon • Leonora Caminiti • Donald Hager • Frank Higgins • John Little Jr. |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional measures on the ballot |
