Gwendolyn Britt
Gwendolyn Britt was a candidate for an at-large seat on the Detroit Public Schools Community District Board of Education in Michigan. Britt was defeated in the at-large general election on November 8, 2016.
Biography
Britt has been the program director for Education One since 2006. She served as site coordinator for the Christ Temple Baptist Church Education Center from 2009 to 2011.[1]
Elections
2016
- See also: Detroit Public Schools elections (2016)
Seven seats on the Detroit Public Schools Community District Board of Education were up for general election on November 8, 2016. There was no primary. A total of 63 candidates filed for the election including 10 of the 11 incumbent board members. The top two vote recipients will serve six-year terms, the next three winners will serve four-year terms, and the remaining two winners will serve two-year terms.[2][3] The winning candidates were Angelique Nicole Peterson-Mayberry, LaMar Lemmons, Georgia Lemmons, Sonya Mays, Misha Stallworth, Deborah Hunter-Harvill, and Iris Taylor.
A June 2016 state reorganization bill split Detroit Public Schools into two entities. The existing district will collect taxes to pay down debts, while a new district overseen by the school board was created to oversee school operations. This bill reduced the school board's membership from 11 to seven after the November 2016 election. The state-appointed Detroit Financial Review Commission will oversee the new district's financial dealings.[2]
Results
Funding
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.[4]
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.[5]
October 28 filing
Candidates received a total of $164,533.68 and spent a total of $100,234.02 as of October 30, 2016, according to the Wayne County Clerk.[6] Angelique Nicole Peterson-Mayberry led the field with $57,980.00 in contributions and $40,364.82 in expenditures for the reporting period. Her biggest donor through October 28, 2016, was the United Auto Workers Michigan V-PAC, which contributed $27,500.00 to her candidate committee. Sixteen of the 63 candidates filed campaign finance statements by October 30, 2016. The remaining candidates had not filed their reports or qualified for exemption from reporting.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tawanna Simpson | $1,200.00 | $996.38 | $203.62 |
| Ida Carol Short | $1,409.15 | $975.00 | $434.15 |
| Herman Davis | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Angelique Nicole Peterson-Mayberry | $57,980.00 | $40,346.82 | $17,633.18 |
| Kevin Turman | $5,038.99 | $3,555.84 | $1,483.15 |
| Deborah Hunter-Harvill | $3,950.00 | $4,387.83 | -$577.83 |
| John Telford | $19,000.00 | $5,341.52 | $13,658.51 |
| Markita Meeks | $100.00 | $25.00 | $75.00 |
| Mary Kovari | $14,383.54 | $16,883.54 | $4,315.86 |
| Ben Washburn | $500.00 | $0.00 | $500.00 |
| Iris Taylor | $10,725.00 | $6,311.16 | $4,413.84 |
| Sonya Mays | $20,935.00 | $15,450.49 | $0.00 |
| Charmaine Johnson | $0.00 | $1,939.68 | $0.00 |
| Phillip Caldwell II | $2,915.00 | $2,713.37 | $201.67 |
| Leslie Andrews | $16,114.00 | $0.00 | $6,500.00 |
| Penny Bailer | $10,283.00 | $1,307.39 | $8,975.61 |
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Gwendolyn Britt 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 4, 2016:
| “ | I hope to achieve smaller class sizes, a unified curriculum, balanced budget, and open communication between the school community, parents, and staff.[7][8] | ” |
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 Michigan. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | The choices reflect the importance of the academic growth of students. A foundation for learning must be set first.[8] | ” |
| —Gwendolyn Britt (September 4, 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.) |
|---|
| No. Charter schools are not subject to the same governance and regulations as public schools and thereby are generally run with inadequate outcomes. |
| 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. No, based on what I have heard from teachers these test are not accurate because it is not a reliable source, it discriminates against non-eng. speaking students, teachers teach to the test and students are not encouraged to think critically, it is narrowing to the curriculum. stressful and other unproductive outcomes. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| Common Core State Standards are broad and creates inconsistencies across the district. |
| 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. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. The mentorship program is an excellent source of growth and support. Along with this additional training in classroom management, curriculum development and technology should also be a requirement. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. No private schools take need funds from the public sector and giving away free money would only under-mind the fundamental plans of the new DPSCD. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion is regulated in DPS already - students and parents have the option to appeal and request a mediator to represent them. |
| 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. Class size determines the level of manageability which in turn determines how much students learn. The advancement of the student is the most important thing. |
Additional themes
Britt answered the following questions from 482Forward:
| “ |
What are the top 3 priorities you hope to accomplish during your tenure?
What do you think the role of the school board is? What is your vision for student well-being and success? What experience do you have that prepares you for this role?
Education: Bachelor of Arts Degree 2015 Marygrove College
|
” |
| —Gwendolyn Britt (2016), [9] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Gwendolyn Britt Detroit Public Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Gwendolyn Britt," accessed September 20, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wayne County, Michigan, "Elections Division-Election Information," accessed August 30, 2016 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "list" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ The Detroit Free Press, "72 people seek seven Detroit school board seats," July 26, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Bureau of Elections, "2016 and 2017 Campaign Finance Filing Schedule," January 12, 2016
- ↑ Genesee County, "Filing Requirements under Michigan's Campaign Finance Act," February 7, 2014
- ↑ Wayne County Clerk, "Wayne County Campaign Finance Information System," accessed October 30, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Gwendolyn Britt's responses," September 4, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 482Forward, "DPS Board Answers: Gwendolyn Britt," accessed September 26, 2016
