Jason Downey
Jason Downey is a former District 6 representative on the Bibb County Board of Education in Georgia. Downey sought another term in the general election on May 24, 2016. Downey advanced to a runoff election on July 26, 2016, but withdrew from the ballot prior to the election.[1]
Biography
Downey graduated from South Charleston High School. He obtained a B.A. in communication studies from Marshall University and a J.D. from Mercer University. Downey is a private practice attorney. He also works as a mediator for South Georgia ADR Service.[2]
Elections
2016
Six of the eight seats on the Bibb County Board of Education were up for general election on May 24, 2016. A runoff election was held on July 26, 2016, in Districts 5 and 6. Sundra Woodford and James Timley defeated Jerome Collins but neither candidate received a majority in the District 5 general election. Woodford defeated Timley in the runoff. Bob Easter defeated fellow challenger Valerie Wynn for the District 6 seat in the runoff. Incumbent Jason Downey placed second to Easter in the general election but withdrew prior to the runoff.[1]
In District 2, incumbent Thelma Dillard defeated challenger Tina Dennard. District 4 incumbent Lester Miller won re-election against Jeff Moody. District 1 incumbent Ella Styles Carter and District 3 incumbent Susan Sipe were unopposed in the election.[1]
Results
| Bibb County School District, District 6 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Bob Easter |
48.61% | 2,605 |
| Jason Downey Incumbent |
39.50% | 2,117 |
| Valerie Wynn | 11.89% | 637 |
| Total Votes | 5,359 | |
| Source: Georgia Secretary of State, "General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election May 24, 2016," accessed December 14, 2016 | ||
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Jason Downey 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 April 18, 2016:
| “ | I am running for re-election after three of the most successful years in Bibb County Schools. We increased graduation rates 36 percent, we improved teacher morale, balanced the budget without raising property taxes, and brought in a new Superintendent. Moving forward, in my next term, we will continue to see the successes of the school system as other school systems take notice of our success. We will continue to be fiscally responsible with money while giving our teachers the resources they need to be effective educators. Our graduation rate will continue to increase as we trying our students to be college or career ready. And we will continue to work with our superintendent Dr. Curtis Jones, who indicates he is satisfied with our board, so our system will continue to move toward excellence.[3][4] | ” |
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 Georgia. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | Under Georgia Law, a school board is tasked with 1) hiring a superintendent, 2) balancing a budget, and 3) passing policies that enable the superintendent to handle the day to day operations of the school system. Thus, of the choices listed, balancing and maintaining a budget should be the priority for a school board.[4] | ” |
| —Jason E. Downey (April 18, 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. If a new Charter School concept brings something new to the table, then by all means, enable it to flourish. |
| 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. Standardized testing is not the most accurate way to measure success. The totality of a student's work throughout the entirety of a school year must be considered, rather than a hyper-focus on one test. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| I believe the US Department of Education should be abolished, as should any Federal level of measurement in education. As such, the Common Core Standards should be reviewed for effectiveness to determine if ANY of it is salvageable. Unfortunately, I believe much of the Initiative should be scrapped altogether. |
| 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. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. It actually depends on what the concept of "merit pay" is, in this circumstance. But tying pay to performance on a test is absolutely a mistake. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| Yes. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion should be used only in extreme circumstances of misbehavior and/or threat to other students. However, a system should not shy away from using this as a way to ensure that students in the classrooms who WANT to be there, can learn without distraction. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Parent involvement Education is not am 8am-3pm endeavor. Our students must have parental or guardian involvement once they leave our schools. It is critical that parents stay engaged in the education process, and encourage their children to study, participate, and learn. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Jason Downey' 'Bibb County Board of Education'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Georgia Secretary of State, "Qualifying Candidate Information," accessed April 18, 2016
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Jason Downey," accessed May 13, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Jason Downey's responses," April 18, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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