Elizabeth Hammond

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Elizabeth Hammond

Prior offices

Troy School District Board of Education At-large

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Education

Bachelor's

University of Michigan

Personal

Profession

Founder, Contract Direct

Contact

Personal website

Elizabeth Hammond is an at-large representative on the Troy School District school board in Michigan. Hammond won the seat in the at-large general election on November 8, 2016.

Biography

Hammond earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. She is the founder of Contract Direct.

Elections

2016

See also: Troy School District elections (2016)

Two of the seven seats on the Troy School District school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. No incumbents filed for re-election in 2016, leaving four candidates to run for the seats: Steve Gottlieb, Elizabeth Hammond, Bernard Lourim, Kumar Bhatt, and Sunil Sivaraman. Hammond and Gottlieb defeated Sivaraman, Lourim, and Bhatt. A sixth candidate, Evan Agnello, initially filed in the race, but he withdrew his candidacy on July 29, 2016.

Results

Troy School District, At-Large General Election, 6-year terms, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Elizabeth Hammond	30.13%	12,794
Steve Gottlieb	27.54%	11,696
Sunil Sivaraman	15.99%	6,792
Bernard Lourim	13.65%	5,798
Kumar Bhatt	12.33%	5,238
Write-in votes	0.35%	148
Total Votes		42,466
Source: Oakland County Elections Division, "November 8, 2016 General Election," November 22, 2016

Funding

See also: List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2016

School board candidates in Michigan were required to file pre-election campaign finance reports with their county election offices by October 28, 2016. Post-election reports were due by December 8, 2016.

In Michigan, candidates are prohibited from receiving contributions from corporations or labor organizations. Within 10 days of becoming a candidate, candidates must form a candidate committee. Following the creation of the committee, candidates have an additional 10 days to register the committee with the school district filing official by filing a statement of organization. A candidate committee that does not expect to receive or spend more than $1,000 during the election cycle is eligible to receive a reporting waiver, which allows that committee not to file pre-election, post-election, and annual campaign statements.

October 28 filing

Candidates received a total of $8,377.97 and spent a total of $6,106.21 as of October 30, 2016, according to the Oakland County Clerk/Register of Deeds.

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Steve Gottlieb	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Elizabeth Hammond	$2,526.97	$2,526.97	$0.00
Bernard Lourim	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Sunil Sivaraman	$5,851.00	$3,579.24	$2,271.76
Kumar Bhatt	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Campaign themes

2016

Hammond's campaign website included the following themes:

“	Issues I will fight for smaller class sizes. I will fight to make sure more dollars go directly toward teaching and learning in the classroom. I will fight for better early childhood education. I will fight excessive assessment. I will fight to make sure every child has the opportunity to learn and grow in a high-quality school with teachers who can change their lives. Smaller Class Sizes One of my biggest concerns is class size in the Troy School District. With kindergarten class sizes consistently near 26 at a number of our schools and grades 1-3 classes maxing out at 28/29, we are doing our elementary students a huge disservice. Research shows that students in smaller classes perform better in all measurable ways: they receive better grades, score higher on tests and have better attendance. Further, smaller classes enhance the development of “non-cognitive” skills not captured by tests, such as self-esteem, motivation and persistence, which are also linked to success in school and throughout a student’s life. Last year, kindergarten class sizes in the Troy School District averaged a staggering 23.7 students per class. These large classes were due in part to 98 out of district School of Choice students who were allowed to enroll in our kindergarten program despite the fact that they resided outside of the district. Had those 98 students not been invited to enroll, class sizes would have been a more manageable 20.9 students per class. Studies indicate that any reduction of class size at this level would significantly impact students learning in a positive way. In Michigan, almost 23 percent of students in the public school system are enrolled in a charter school or crossed district lines to attend school. This excludes children who attend private schools or are homeschooled in a program not supported by the school district (2015). Economically advantaged students with resources to do so are abandoning their local schools for greener pastures in nearby districts. This leaves disadvantaged students in districts that are now further disadvantaged by the loss of students from their neighborhoods. This further exacerbates the already prevalent economic disparity in education. Raising School Efficiency Troy schools can become more cost efficient and improve the overall quality of education through a reallocation of resources. Studies have shown that school efficiency and educational productivity can be increased by shifting resources toward those inputs that aid in increasing achievement and away from those unproductive inputs. In short, we need to evaluate where and how we have traditionally allocated our funds and the impact those funds have on the quality of education provided to all students. Through a reallocation of funds, the Troy School District can improve the quality of education provided without increasing overall spending. Excessive Assesment Excessive assessment is also an issue plaguing educators across the country. As a parent, I am stressed and concerned about an overemphasis on testing and how much time testing and test prep are taking from instruction. I know many teachers who share this concern. I believe that our highly qualified teachers should be free to teach our children how to think and not how to take tests. Early Childhood Education I believe that the Troy School District should provide better options for Early Childhood Education. Success in school and life is driven by early childhood development. From birth to age five the brain develops rapidly and builds the foundation for character and cognitive skills necessary for success. A strong Early Childhood Education program can foster cognitive growth along with skills such as attentiveness, motivation, self-control and sociability that will help them become productive adults. A study for the Partnership for America’s Economic Success states that early childhood education produces a ten-fold return over the educational life of the child. With returns like those, we can’t afford not to invest in Early Childhood Education.	”
—Elizabeth Hammond (2016)

Recent news

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

Elizabeth Hammond - Google News

See also

• Troy School District, Michigan
• Troy School District elections (2016)

External links

• Troy School District
• Campaign website