Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Donna Wells
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This board member is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.
Do you have a photo that could go here? Click here to submit it for this profile!
2017 - Present
2025
8
Donna Wells is the Beverly Manor District representative on the Augusta County Public Schools school board in Virginia. First appointed in March 2017, Wells won re-election in the by-district general election on November 7, 2017.[1]
Wells participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Elections
2017
Three of the seven seats on the Augusta County Public Schools school board in Virginia were up for by-district general election on November 7, 2017. In their bids for re-election, incumbents Donna Wells, David Shiflett, and John Ocheltree ran unopposed for the Beverly Manor District seat, the Middle River District seat, and the Pastures District seat, respectively.[2]
Results
| Augusta County Public Schools, Beverly Manor District General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Donna Wells Incumbent (unopposed) |
98.47% | 1,931 |
| Write-in votes | 1.53% | 30 |
| Total Votes | 1,961 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2017 November General," accessed November 21, 2017 | ||
Funding
Wells reported no contributions or expenditures to the Virginia Department of Elections in the election.[3]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Donna Wells 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 July 25, 2017:
| “ | Continue the strong tradition of Augusta County schools and improve teacher morale.[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 Virginia. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
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.) |
|---|
| 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 only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. |
| 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. Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. Only if requirements to receive that pay were totally non-partisan and equitable. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| It should be used in situations that cannot be resolved or where danger to students and faculty is a risk. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Student-teacher ratio |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Donna Wells Augusta County Public Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The News Virginian, "Wells chosen for Augusta School Board," March 24, 2017
- ↑ Abbey Smith, "Phone communication with Augusta County Voter Registration Office," June 16, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Campaign Finance Reports: Search Committees," accessed January 17, 2018
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Donna Wells's responses," July 25, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Augusta County Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Augusta County, Virginia | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | Beverly Manor District: • Incumbent, Donna Wells Middle River District: • Incumbent, David Shiflett Pastures District: • Incumbent, John Ocheltree |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
