Gary Mikes
Gary Mikes was a candidate for District 2 representative on the School District 27J school board in Colorado. Mikes was defeated in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Mikes participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Elections
2017
- See also: School District 27J elections (2017)
Four of the seven seats on the School District 27J Board of Education in Colorado were up for election on November 7, 2017. The District 2, 4, and 5 seats were up for general election to regular four-year terms, and the District 6 seat was up for special election to a two-year term.[1] Kevin Robert Kerber defeated Gary Mikes in the race for the open District 2 seat. In his bid for re-election to the District 4 seat, incumbent Blaine Nickeson defeated Greg Lee. Mandy Thomas defeated Kerrie Gutierrez for the open District 5 seat. District 6 incumbent Jennifer Venerable defeated Stanley Hiller.[2][3]
Results
| School District 27J, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kevin Robert Kerber |
53.30% | 7,642 |
| Gary Mikes | 46.70% | 6,697 |
| Total Votes | 14,339 | |
| Source: Adams County Elections Office, "Official Results," accessed November 27, 2027 and Weld County Elections Office, "Election Summary Report: Final Official Results," accessed November 27, 2017 | ||
Funding
Mikes reported no contributions or expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State in the election.[4]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Gary Mikes participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[5] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on September 28, 2017:
| “ | I have strong communication, problem solving and business skills to approach the challenges and establish solutions that plague the district. The quality people are the most important aspect of any organization and teachers are the key to the education excellence that all students deserve. I have seen many great teachers leave the district for various reasons, but the most prevalent is the pay discrepancy with surrounding districts. This extremely high turn over rate leads to large class sizes, teacher shortages and in my opinion, low academic test scores and lower district enrollment. Teacher compensation, retention and relationships will be my priority. As a businessman I bring fiscal responsibility. As a committed grandparent, citizen and employer I will bring an exemplary work ethic, integrity and a passion to see our young people succeed. My hope is to achieve a better education for the students, a well paid teaching staff that is proud to work for the district and a fair value for the taxpayers of the school district.[6][7] | ” |
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 Colorado. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| “ | The School District must obtain and keep the best teachers. We owe the best to our Students[7] | ” |
| —Gary Mikes (September 28, 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. |
| 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 always defer to school board decisions. |
| 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? |
| Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students. Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| Yes. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| I do not have an opinion at this time. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Gary Mikes School District 27J school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ School District 27J, "Board Members," accessed February 24, 2017
- ↑ School District 27J, "2017 School District 27J Board of Education Candidate Information," accessed September 2, 2017
- ↑ State of Colorado, "Adams County Election Results," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "TRACER: Candidate Search," accessed December 18, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Gary Mikes's responses," September 28, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| School District 27J elections in 2017 | |
| Adams County, Colorado | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | District 2: • Kevin Robert Kerber • Gary Mikes • Gregory Martin (write-in candidate) District 4: • Incumbent, Blaine Nickeson • Greg Lee District 5: • Kerrie Gutierrez • Mandy Thomas District 6: • Incumbent, Jennifer Venerable • Stanley Hiller |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
