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Ian Kalin
Ian Kalin was a candidate for an at-large seat on the San Francisco Unified School District school board in California. Kalin was defeated in the at-large general election on November 8, 2016.
The 2016 election was Kalin's first time running for public office.[1] Kalin participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Biography
Kalin works as a chief data officer for the U.S. Department of Commerce. He previously worked for Socrata, Google.org, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Power Advocate Inc. Kalin served as an officer in the U.S. Navy from 2002 to 2007. While in the Navy, he served as a counter-terrorism officer and as a nuclear engineer. He earned a bachelor's degree in international politics from Georgetown University and a master's degree in engineering management from Old Dominion University.[1]
Elections
2016
Four of the seven seats on the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. In their bids for re-election, incumbents Matthew Haney, Rachel Norton, and Jill Wynns ran against challengers Stevon Cook, Rob Geller, Ian Kalin, Phillip Kim, Trevor McNeil, and Mark Sanchez.[2] Haney and Norton won re-election, and Sanchez and Cook won the other two seats on the ballot.[3]
Results
| San Francisco Unified School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Matthew Haney Incumbent |
18.89% | 175,803 |
| Mark Sanchez |
16.73% | 155,706 |
| Stevon Cook |
16.37% | 152,335 |
| Rachel Norton Incumbent |
13.86% | 129,012 |
| Jill Wynns Incumbent | 10.16% | 94,571 |
| Trevor McNeil | 9.27% | 86,233 |
| Phillip Kim | 6.99% | 65,045 |
| Ian Kalin | 4.81% | 44,788 |
| Rob Geller | 2.75% | 25,617 |
| Write-in votes | 0.16% | 1,482 |
| Total Votes | 930,592 | |
| Source: San Francisco Department of Elections, "November 8, 2016 Official Election Results," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Funding
Kalin began the race with an existing account balance of $5,745.84 from his previous campaign. He reported $67,830.00 in contributions and $71,857.67 in expenditures to San Francisco Ethics Commission, which left his campaign with $1,718.17 on hand as of October 22, 2016.[4]
Endorsements
Kalin was endorsed by the community organization Evolve and CCSA Advocates.[5][6]
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Ian Kalin 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 22, 2016:
| “ | IMPROVED ACCOUNTABILITY. San Francisco is failing to grade our schools. We need transparent, official performance metrics. SIMPLIFIED ENROLLMENT. Neighborhoods are torn apart. We can improve diversity and communities by reforming student assignments. BUDGET SOLUTIONS. Teacher shortages, overcrowding, and run-down facilities limit our children’s potential. Better fiscal oversight can avert this crisis.[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 California. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| “ | Although I answered the question above, it sets up false comparisons. For example, when San Francisco's school district has more funds, it will be able to finally pay teachers the salary they deserve, which would subsequently "improve relations". It's not that relations with teachers are not important. It's just not a prioritized order of how to achieve that objective. There are similar issues with the other rankings. Therefore, the main takeaway for me here is that the #1 issue facing San Francisco's schools is that they have insufficient resources to accomplish their goals.[8] | ” |
| —Ian Kalin (September 22, 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. I support existing charter schools in San Francisco and would consider supporting new charter schools. While we must carefully think through all allocations of resources, charter schools have been the sites of some of the best innovations in education that can then be applied to the wider system. That said, there are certain aspects of the current charter school relationship with SFUSD that are not optimal. For example, charter schools do not have the same reporting requirements to receive funding through the State’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) and their adoption of Common Core standards has less oversight from district leadership than their public school counterparts. Although I deeply appreciate the role of charter schools in our broader education ecosystem, if you get public money you must also be subject to public oversight and standards. |
| 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 are very important and may be accurate for a certain purpose, but they are insufficient to measure student achievement. We also have too many tests. I support President Obama's call to limit testing to no more than 2% of class time. In moderation, smart and strategic tests can help assess the progress of children in schools and help them learn. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| I strongly support Common Core. While we need to make sure standardized testing has the right role in our classrooms and does not come to dominate the student experience, ensuring common curriculum standards is the only way to make sure that all our children are ready to compete in a 21st century economy, and that no schools or children miss out on the education they deserve. |
| 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. 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. This question doesn't describe the timing or degree of underperformance. I answered assuming this referred to an initial identification. On the other hand, if a teacher is severely underperforming over a relevant period of time, there needs to be accountability in the system that leads to just outcomes like termination. That said, underpaid teachers without professional development need to be given an opportunity to grow within their profession. Better yet, let's pay great salaries to great teachers and invest in their success! |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. Good teachers should be paid more for good performance. However, performance evaluations cannot be as simple as looking at the standardized test scores of their students, particularly for those teachers who work in high-needs classrooms. There needs to be a more comprehensive evaluation to award the merit pay. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. I am not opposed to private schools. But under our current educational structure, they should have private money. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Rarely, if ever. San Francisco's recent history of African-American students being disproportionally suspended and expelled led to programs like "Safe and Supportive Schools", which seeks to reduce expulsions. However, this program is under-funded and not performing as well as it should because teachers are not receiving the professional development resources that were intended when the program began. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers |
Political philosophy
Kalin described the following as his political philosophy.
| “ | My wife and I are raising our kids here because we believe in San Francisco. We’re entering the school system and know it isn’t working for everyone. A smart city needs strong schools. That’s why I’m fighting to help EVERY student.
I grew up in a bilingual, immigrant household and my career started after the 9/11 terror attacks when I became a U.S. Navy Officer. The skills I learned served me well; I grew clean-tech and data businesses right here in San Francisco, I led technology improvements for 200+ governments nationwide, delivering billions of taxpayer savings and creating 300+ jobs. Today, I modernize governments as an Appointee by President Obama. I will put these skills to work for San Francisco and strengthen our schools. With your vote, I will deliver: - IMPROVED ACCOUNTABILITY. San Francisco is failing to grade our schools. We need transparent, official performance metrics. |
” |
| —Ian Kalin (September 22, 2016)[1] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Ian Kalin San Francisco Unified School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- San Francisco Unified School District, California
- San Francisco Unified School District elections (2016)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ballotpedia's Biographical Information Submission Form, "Ian Kalin's responses," September 22, 2016
- ↑ City and County of San Francisco Department of Elections, "November 8, 2016 Election Information for Campaigns and Candidates," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ San Francisco Department of Elections, "November 8, 2016 Unofficial Election Results," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ San Francisco Ethics Commission, "City and County of San Francisco Public Portal for Campaign Finance, Lobbyist and Campaign Consultant Disclosure," accessed November 4, 2016
- ↑ Evolve, "Endorsements: November 8, 2016 General Election," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ CCSA Advocates, "Our Endorsements: November 2016 Elections," accessed October 27, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Ian Kalin's responses," September 22, 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.
| 2016 San Francisco Unified School District Elections | |
| San Francisco County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Matthew Haney • Incumbent, Rachel Norton • Incumbent, Jill Wynns • Stevon Cook • Rob Geller • Ian Kalin • Phillip Kim • Trevor McNeil • Mark Sanchez |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
