Greg White (California)
Greg White was an at-large representative on the Panama-Buena Vista Union board of trustees in California. White did not seek re-election in 2020.
White participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Elections
2016
Three of the five seats on the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District board of trustees were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. In their bids for re-election, incumbents Dean Haddock and Greg White ran against challengers J.P. Lake and Victor Morones.[1] Haddock and White won re-election, and Lake won the other seat on the ballot.[2]
Results
| Panama-Buena Vista Union School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 J.P. Lake |
27.44% | 12,688 |
| Dean Haddock Incumbent |
25.72% | 11,891 |
| Greg White Incumbent |
23.86% | 11,034 |
| Victor Morones | 22.98% | 10,627 |
| Total Votes | 46,240 | |
| Source: Kern County Registrar of Voters, "Kern County Election Results," accessed December 5, 2016 | ||
Funding
White reported $31,558.92 in contributions and $29,892.87 in expenditures to the Kern County Registrar of Voters, which left his campaign with $1,666.05 on hand in the election.[3]
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Greg White 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 September 20, 2016:
| “ | My hope is to achieve Charter schools and School Choice programs being implemented into our School District's system. I would like to see that our District is emulated by other School Districts based on our performance and principles.[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 California. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| “ | This was difficult as these are all priorities.[5] | ” |
| —Greg White (September 20, 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.) |
|---|
| Yes. Charter schools continue to be the safe-haven for schools that need improvement. Charter offers a specialty to help students. |
| 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. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. Standardized tests can hold teachers and schools accountable but all students learn at different levels. Standardized tests prove how students perform to the State's standards, not the individual student. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| Common Core is a sensitive issue but I believe we should get rid of Common Core and give the freedom to teachers to teach how they would like to under standards set by the School District not standards set by the State. Each student learns differently and the State cannot decide a standard for each student. |
| 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? |
| Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Teachers who do not perform need to be held accountable for their actions. A probationary period offers a period of time for improvement. This time for improvement can offer training and mentoring programs that help students succeed. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. Merit pay should be justified by teacher's performance. Teacher's performance should be based on student's performance on test scores. If student's test scores are increasing, then merit pay is justified for the teacher. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| Yes. Parents have the choice to choose which school best fits their child to attend. School Vouchers offer the parents to make the decisions that is in the best interests of their child. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion needs to be handled and discussed at all levels from teacher, principal, administrator, and board member levels. Each level should offer a solution and adequate reasoning when dealing with expulsion. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers Teacher-student connection is the most important factor in the classroom. If student's have a good teacher, then student's perform better. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Greg White' 'Panama-Buena Vista Union School District'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Panama-Buena Vista Union School District, California
- Panama-Buena Vista Union School District elections (2016)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Bakersfield Californian, "THE GRADE: School board races shape up; BCHS unveils arts center," August 17, 2016
- ↑ Kern County, "Election Results: November 8, 2016 Consolidated Presidential General Election," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ Kern County Registrar of Voters, "Electronic Candidate Filing Search," accessed February 7, 2017
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Greg White's responses," September 20, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 Panama-Buena Vista Union School District Elections | |
| Kern County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Dean Haddock • Incumbent, Greg White • J.P. Lake • Victor Morones |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
