Hillary Procknow
Hillary Procknow
was
a candidate for At-large Position 9 on the Austin School Board in Texas. She
faced
four challengers in the general election on November 4, 2014. Since neither she nor Kendall Pace got 50 percent "plus one" of the vote, she faced her in a runoff election on December 16, 2014. She was defeated by Pace in that election.
Biography
Procknow has both her bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Texas at Austin and her doctorate from Louisiana State University. At the time of her candidacy, Procknow was an educator at the University of Texas at Austin and the program coordinator for Texas Success Initiative (TSI).[1]
Elections
2014
The November 4, 2014, general election in Austin Independent School District featured five seats up for election. The District 1 race featured four candidates; P. Kevin Bryant, Edmund T. Gordon, Stanton Strickland, and David “D” Thompson competed for the seat held by Cheryl Bradley. Since neither Gordon nor Thompson garnered 50 percent "plus one" or more of the vote, they faced each other in a runoff election on December 16, 2014. Gordon triumphed over Thompson in that race.
The District 4 race featured newcomers Julie Cowan and Karen Zern Flanagan, as incumbent Vincent Torres did not file for-election. Cowan triumphed over Flanagan in that race. The District 6 race featured three candidates; Kate Mason-Murphy, Monica Sanchez, and Paul Saldaña vied for the seat held by Lori Moya. Mason-Murphy and Saldaña headed to the runoff election, where Saldaña was victorious.
The lone incumbent to file for re-election was Robert Schneider in District 7. He defeated challenger Yasmin Wagner. Meanwhile, the at-large position held by Tamala Barksdale drew five challengers; Nael Chavez, Kendall Pace, Kazique J. Prince, Hillary Procknow, and Andy M. Trimino competed for that seat. Neither Pace nor Procknow received a majority of the vote, so they competed in the runoff election. Pace defeated Procknow in that election.
Results
Runoff election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Kendall Pace |
65% | 28,868 | |
| Nonpartisan | Hillary Procknow | 35% | 15,515 | |
| Total Votes | 44,383 | |||
| Source: Travis County Clerk, "Austin Independent School District Cumulative Results," accessed December 30, 2014 | ||||
General election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Kendall Pace |
39.7% | 37,916 | |
| Nonpartisan | Hillary Procknow |
24.2% | 23,142 | |
| Nonpartisan | Nael Chavez | 16% | 15,273 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kazique J. Prince | 11.9% | 11,324 | |
| Nonpartisan | Andy M. Trimino | 8.3% | 7,905 | |
| Total Votes | 95,560 | |||
| Source: Travis County Clerk, "Austin Independent School District Cumulative Results," accessed December 30, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Candidates must file reports with the Texas Ethics Commission or the appropriate county clerk. They must disclose the amount of each contribution (or the value and nature of any in-kind contribution), the name and address of the individual or political committee making the contribution and the date of the contribution. Filers must also report all expenditures, including the date of an expenditure, the name and address of the person to whom the expenditure is made and the purpose of the expenditure.[2]
As of September 30, 2014, Procknow had not filed a campaign finance report with the Travis County Clerk.[3]
Endorsements
Procknow did not receive any endorsements during the election.
Campaign themes
Procknow stated the following regarding her campaign themes on her website.
| “ | Positions on Key Issues -I do not support charter schools, which by their very nature, take money away from public education, are not required to accept all students (including students with learning and physical disabilities, students who are deemed 'behavior problems', or students who do not make 'acceptable scores' on tests. These practices allow charters to 'cream' the best students from our public schools. Research on charter schools shows that students, on average, do not perform better in charters than in public schools. In addition, there have been numerous stories about misappropriation of moneys allotted to charter schools. I will share this information on this page. -I am against the use of standardized test scores to evaluate teachers. Teachers receive the students who come into their classes and must meet them where they are. Recent research in this area has concluded that it is poor practice to evaluate teachers on student test scores. In addition, this forces teachers to teach to the test, narrowing a rich curriculum into painful sound bytes presented for student memorization. -I am against the use of high stakes testing (STAAR) to determine students' promotion to the next grade level or ability to earn a diploma. Evidence suggests that high stakes testing contributes to the school-to-prison pipeline, with more students who fail the test ending up behind bars. Additionally, the state of Texas awards Pearson approximately $95 MILLION per year to develop and score these tests. That money is better used in hiring additional teachers for reduced class sizes. -I am against the overuse of district benchmark tests. These are the tests provided by the district in order to 'prepare students for the state tests.' Valuable teaching time is wasted on testing students at the beginning, middle, and end of the year in various disciplines. Our students need to be involved in meaningful and enriching projects and activities that require inquiry, freedom, creativity, and room for failure in a safe setting. -I support reduced homework for students through middle school. Recent research reveals that most homework (particularly worksheets) is of negligible value to students until they are in high school, and deprives students of opportunities to play and spend time with family and community. -I support increased PE and recess times for all grade levels. Children use their bodies to learn and need unstructured, independent time with their peers in order to develop emotionally, socially, and academically. It is to the detriment of academics that we reduce physical activity. -I support increased focus on music, art, and PE (the so-called 'specials'). These areas are fundamental to the development of humanity and are no less important than the 'core' subject areas.[4] |
” |
| —Hillary Procknow's Facebook campaign page (2014)[5] | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Hillary + Procknow + Austin + Independent + School + District + Texas"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Facebook, "Dr. Hillary Procknow for AISD Trustee Position 9 At-Large," accessed October 14, 2014
- ↑ Texas Ethics Commission, "Campaign Finance Guide for Candidates and Officeholders Who File With Local Filing Authorities," September 1, 2013
- ↑ Travis County Clerk, "Search Campaign Finance Reports," accessed September 19, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Facebook, "Dr. Hillary Procknow for AISD Trustee Position 9 At-Large," accessed October 14, 2014
