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Jamila Munson
Jamila Munson was a candidate for at-large representative on the Portland Public Schools school board in Oregon. Munson was defeated in the at-large general election on May 16, 2017.
Biography
Munson's professional experience includes co-founding Community for Equity PDX and working with Teach for America. She holds her master's in education.[1]
Elections
2017
- See also: Portland Public Schools elections (2017)
Three of the seven seats on the Portland Public Schools school board in Oregon were up for at-large general election on May 16, 2017. Since no incumbents filed for re-election, the board was guaranteed to see three newcomers elected. These new members were tasked with hiring a new superintendent and overseeing the implementation of a $790 million bond. A total of 11 candidates filed for the three seats.
In Zone 4, two candidates filed for the seat: Rita Moore and Jamila Munson, with Moore winning the seat. Three filed for the Zone 5 seat: Scott Bailey, Traci Flitcraft, and Virginia La Forte. Bailey won the seat. Six candidates filed for the Zone 6 seat: Zach Babb, Ed Bos, Julia Brim-Edwards, David Morrison, Trisha Parks, and Joseph Simonis, with Brim-Edwards winning the race.[2][3][4][5]
The Portland school board consists of seven members elected at large to four-year terms. While elected at large, each seat on the board has a zone number associated with it, and candidates must live in the zone for which they run. The seat numbers correlate to geographic areas in the district, and serve to separate the elections for each seat on the board into its own race.
Results
| Portland Public Schools, Zone 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Rita Moore |
57.63% | 55,209 |
| Jamila Munson | 41.66% | 39,915 |
| Write-in votes | 0.71% | 676 |
| Total Votes | 95,800 | |
| Source: Clackamas County, "Special District Election," accessed June 12, 2017, Multnomah County, "Multnomah County Election Results," accessed June 12, 2017, and Washington County Elections, "Statement of Votes Cast by Contest," accessed June 12, 2017 | ||
Funding
The filing deadline in Oregon for a campaign transaction is typically no later than 30 calendar days. However, beginning on the 42nd day before an election day and through the date of the election, a transaction is due no later than seven calendar days after the date it occurred. The dates for the beginning and ending of the seven-day reporting period for the 2017 Oregon school board elections were:[6]
- April 4, 2017 (Seven day campaign finance reporting begins)
- May 16, 2017 (Seven day campaign finance reporting ends)
A school board candidate in Oregon must form a candidate committee unless he or she meets all of the following conditions:[7][8]
- The candidate elects to serve as his or her own treasurer.
- The candidate does not have an existing candidate committee.
- The candidate does not expect to receive or spend more than $750 during a calendar year (including personal funds).
A candidate committee must file a Statement of Organization with the Elections Division of the Oregon Secretary of State within three business days of first receiving or spending money. A form including campaign account information must accompany the Statement of Organization.[7][9]
Candidate committees that expect to receive or spend $3,500 or more in a calendar year are required to report all transactions. A committee that does not expect to receive or spend this much is still required to file a Statement of Organization and designate a campaign bank account, but does not have to file transactions. Instead, they must file a Certificate of Limited Contributions and Expenditures.[7][10]
Endorsements
Munson received official endorsements from the Portland Tribune, Portland school board members Julie Esparza Brown, Pam Knowles, Amy Carlsen Kohnstamm, and Tom Koehler, Multnomah Education Service District chair Stephen Marc Beaudoin, Portland city commissioners Nick Fish and Dan Saltzman, Rep. Diego Hernandez (D), Rep. Tawna Sanchez (D), Multnomah County Chairs Deborah Kafoury and Beverly Stein, and Portland mayor Ted Wheeler.[11][12]
Campaign themes
2017
Munson posted the following as priorities on her campaign website:
| “ | Charter Schools and Protecting Public Education
When I graduated from college, I became a teacher in the South Bronx. Teach For America provided me a pathway to work towards educational equity in the classroom. It was through that experience that I gained a deeper understanding of the challenges our public school teachers face today. Despite scarce resources, constant turnover with staff, unstable school leadership, constant curriculum changes and many other challenges within the our bureaucracy of schooling---teachers are critical linch pins. I then worked in charter schools for seven years as a founding teacher and founding principal. That work provided me with critical perspective on charter schools, and how hard it is to open a public charter and sustain change for the long-term. I believe that our charter schools need direct public oversight and MUST be accountable for the same outcomes as public schools. I also think as long as we have scarce resources for public schools, we must be conservative in opening additional public charters in the coming years. I stand against vouchers, and any national policy that depletes any additional resources from our public schools. We must all actively advocate against vouchers options that divert our revenue for public schools into privately managed schools in our city. As a product of the public school system, I want to keep our schools public and I am against any efforts to privatize this system. Instead I am here standing in front of you, with a stronger sense of how to influence and lead within the burecracy of a large urban school system. Community Partnerships Build Stronger Schools and Healthier Communities. Portland Public Schools is an integral extension of our students’ community. With the current and growing diversity of our student population, we must strive to be more intentional and strategic about our community partnerships. There is no shortage of qualified and capable community organizations that share our goal of improving outcomes for all students, but we must also invest in our shared efforts in creating culturally-responsive learning environments and striving for student excellence throughout our school district. In addition to finding the right community partners, we must continue to take steps in supporting our teachers to be responsive to the needs of our students, while finding innovative ways to ensure that more of our teachers and administrators are reflective of our students' experience and cultures. We Must Prioritize Excellent Outcomes at All Schools Our board must engage with our schools in positive and supportive interactions that promote enhanced school performance. We must mine for bright spots and find ways to celebrate and scale change that can have a positive impact on outcomes. In addition, the board must engage in the challenges in productive ways as well. There are facilities in PPS that need robust change and management to address health hazards, staffing shortfalls in programs that meet the needs and interests of students, and misalignments with curriculum. In order to truly address educational equity, the board has to prioritize our energy and resources to increase the work being done in the district that is resulting in positive outcomes, and efficiently set policy to address the challenges and opportunities experienced on the path. The board should do a deep analysis of the current state of the district, and working toward shared solutions to eliminate disparities and integrate performance based thinking. Effective & Responsible Governance None of the above is possible without a board that is collaborative and accountable. The board is positioned to set in motion policy decisions that will impact our students today and for generations to come. Our school board needs new, accountable leadership that will not waste time or operate in divisive ways. We must prioritize policy that focuses on increasing outcomes for all of our students, establishes a strong PPS that is responsive to the needs of our community, and creates healthy learning environments at each school.[13] |
” |
| —Jamila Munson (2017)[14] | ||
See also
External links
- Portland Public Schools
- Jamila Munson 2017 campaign website
- Jamila Munson 2017 Facebook campaign page
Footnotes
- ↑ Jamila for Portland Public Schools, "About," accessed May 4, 2017
- ↑ Clackamas County, "Special District Election," accessed May 17, 2017
- ↑ Multnomah County, "Multnomah County Election Results," accessed May 17, 2017
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Washington County, Oregon," accessed May 17, 2017
- ↑ Multnomah County, "May 2017 Special District Election," accessed March 21, 2017
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Oregon Elections Calendar," accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Oregon Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance Manual - 2014," accessed January 13, 2014
- ↑ Oregon Revised Statutes, "Chapter 260, Section 043," accessed January 13, 2014
- ↑ Oregon Revised Statutes, "Chapter 260, Section 039," accessed January 13, 2014
- ↑ Oregon Revised Statutes, "Chapter 260, Section 057," accessed January 13, 2014
- ↑ Jamila for Portland Public Schools, "Endorsements," accessed May 4, 2017
- ↑ Portland Tribune, "Our Opinion: Munson a good fit for PPS board," May 1, 2017
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Jamila for Portland Public Schools, "Priorities," accessed May 4, 2017
| Portland Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington County, Oregon | |
| Election date: | May 16, 2017 |
| Candidates: | Zone 4: Rita Moore • Jamila Munson Zone 5: Scott Bailey • Traci Flitcraft • Virginia La Forte |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
