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Elliott Grier
Elliott Grier was a candidate for at-large representative on the Davenport Community Schools school board in Iowa. Grier was defeated in the at-large general election on September 12, 2017.
Grier participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Elections
2017
Three of seven seats on the Davenport Community Schools school board in Iowa were up for at-large general election on September 12, 2017. Incumbent Clyde Mayfield and newcomers Allison Beck and Bruce Potts defeated newcomers Rodney Blackwell, Elliott Grier, and David Reke in the race for the three seats.[1][2]
| Davenport Community Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Allison Beck |
26.09% | 1,628 |
| Bruce Potts |
23.30% | 1,454 |
| Clyde Mayfield Incumbent |
18.78% | 1,172 |
| Elliott Grier | 10.82% | 675 |
| Rodney Blackwell | 10.69% | 667 |
| David Reke | 9.84% | 614 |
| Write-in votes | 0.48% | 30 |
| Total Votes | 6,240 | |
| Source: Scott County, Iowa, "2017 School Boards Election - Official Results," accessed September 18, 2017 | ||
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Elliott Grier participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[3] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on August 9, 2017:
| “ | My priority as a school board director will be to focus on ensuring we have a good definition of where the achievement gap exists (is it race, sex, socioeconomic status?) and then support initiatives that will help reduce that gap. I also want to raise the awareness and accessibility of the preschool programs the district offers to ensure the students that are coming into Kindergarten are ready to learn.[4][5] | ” |
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 Iowa. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | I believe all of the topics above are important goals of any school board so it is very difficult to rank them. Two of the basic tenants of any school board are to ensure a quality education for all students and approve the finances of the district. The achievement gap is a means of measuring whether all or not all students are meeting their potential. A positive working relationship with teachers is an invaluable insight into what initiatives are well received in the classrooms. The DCSD has a very high number of kids eligible for free/reduced lunch so improving special ed instruction will be a major level in reducing the achievement gap.[5] | ” |
| —Elliott Grier (August 9, 2017) | ||
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.) |
|---|
| Yes. For some students a specialized and focused education will keep them more engaged because they are truly interested in the subject matter they are learning. Everybody also learns differently so having the option of different education structures can be beneficial. |
| 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. Ideally multiple metrics would be considered when evaluating a student or whether an initiative is working or not. There are too many factors that go into a students score other than just their knowledge. |
| 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. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. There are too many outside factors and too many objective criteria to fairly evaluate which teachers are performing better than others for any given year. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. The voucher system is simply setting up a two-tiered education system by publicly subsidizing private schools. The private schools are allowed to spend additional money on their students which allows for more opportunities. By taking the students out of public schools, the public schools are loosing funds that could be used to bolster support programs. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion should be used as an absolute last resort for disciplinary action, unless other students or staff are put at risk due the continued presence of that student. Everything should be done by the school staff to determine the root cause of why a student is acting out and find corrective actions that will empower the student to make good choices in the future. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Parent involvement. All of the above are important to a quality education, but it's the parents that can help with the reinforcement of concepts and holding the student accountable. The schools need to teach the students, but also engage with the parents so that they know what the student's current standing in the classroom is and so that they are comfortable with the subject matter enough that they can be a resource for the student. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Elliott Grier Davenport Community Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Scott County, "September 12, 2017 School Boards Election: Davenport Community School District School Board Director," accessed August 4, 2017
- ↑ Scott County, Iowa, "2017 School Boards Election - Unofficial Results," accessed September 12, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Elliott Grier's responses," August 9, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Davenport Community Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Scott County, Iowa | |
| Election date: | September 12, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Clyde Mayfield • Allison Beck • Rodney Blackwell • Elliott Grier • Bruce Potts • David Reke |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
