Jeff Gaynor

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Jeff Gaynor

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Ann Arbor Board of Education At-large

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Jeff Gaynor was an at-large member of the Ann Arbor Board of Education in Michigan. He assumed office in 2016. He left office on December 31, 2024.

Gaynor ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the Ann Arbor Board of Education in Michigan. He won in the general election on November 3, 2020.

Elections

2020

See also: Ann Arbor Public Schools, Michigan, elections (2020)

General election

General election for Ann Arbor Board of Education At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Ann Arbor Board of Education At-large on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Ernesto Querijero (Nonpartisan)	20.7	37,552
✔	Submit photo	Krystle DuPree (Nonpartisan)	18.5	33,547
✔		Jeff Gaynor (Nonpartisan)	18.3	33,191
	Submit photo	Jamila James (Nonpartisan)	11.6	21,162
		Angie Smith (Nonpartisan)	10.9	19,840
	Submit photo	Maggi Richards Kennel (Nonpartisan)	8.4	15,180
		John Spisak (Nonpartisan)	4.2	7,719
	Submit photo	Libby Hemphill (Nonpartisan)	4.2	7,572
	Submit photo	Xan Morgan (Nonpartisan)	3.3	5,940

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 181,703
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jon Strite (Nonpartisan)
• Susan Schmidt (Nonpartisan)

2016

See also: Ann Arbor Public Schools elections (2016)

Three of the seven seats on the Ann Arbor Public Schools school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. Incumbents Simone Lightfoot and Deb Mexicotte filed for re-election, while Andy Thomas opted not to seek a new term. Lightfoot and Mexicotte ran against challengers Jeff Gaynor, Rebecca Lazarus, Jeremy Glick, Harmony Mitchell, Don Wilkerson, and Hunter Van Valkenburgh. Gaynor, Lightfoot, and Mitchell won in the election.

Results

Ann Arbor Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Jeff Gaynor	16.04%	22,258
Simone Lightfoot Incumbent	15.48%	21,487
Harmony Mitchell	14.78%	20,507
Deb Mexicotte Incumbent	14.07%	19,524
Hunter Van Valkenburgh	12.66%	17,566
Rebecca Lazarus	11.40%	15,822
Don Wilkerson	7.88%	10,940
Jeremy Glick	7.00%	9,718
Write-in votes	0.68%	940
Total Votes		138,762
Source: Washtenaw County, Michigan, "Official Election Results," accessed November 22, 2016

Funding

See also: List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2016

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.

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.

October 28 filing

Candidates received a total of $15,654.22 and spent a total of $8,378.46 as of October 30, 2016, according to the Wasthenaw County Clerk/Register.

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Cash on hand
Simone Lightfoot (incumbent)	$4,143.57	$3,282.62	$1,005.98
Deb Mexicotte (incumbent)	$2,262.30	$450.00	$1,812.30
Jeff Gaynor	$1,361.12	$0.00	$1,361.12
Jeremy Glick	$3,815.00	$3,281.60	$553.40
Rebecca Lazarus	$1,350.00	$1,364.24	-$14.24
Harmony Mitchell	$1,361.12	$0.00	$1,361.12
Don Wilkerson	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Hunter Van Valkenburgh	$1,361.11	$0.00	$1,361.11

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Jeff Gaynor did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey

Jeff Gaynor 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 October 14, 2016:

“

I'll provide independent thinking and a critical voice based on my knowledge of education through a 38-year teaching career conducted on a philosophy based on high standards and equity. I will also inform the community of issues and reach out to get their input.

”

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
1	Closing the achievement gap
2	Improving relations with teachers
3	Balancing or maintaining the district's budget
4	Improving education for special needs students
5	Expanding arts education
6	Improving post-secondary readiness
7	Expanding school choice options

“	All of the issues above are important; ranking these is misleading. Only recently has "improving relations with teachers" been an issue, as teachers now have increasing mandates and scripted curriculum, both of which are inhibiting their professional training and experience which allows them to reach and teach their students.	”
—Jeff Gaynor (October 14, 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. Innovative programs can be set up without the need for charter schools, which do not have public oversight.
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. In Michigan, the state has failed in equitably funding schools, and can not now be trusted to ensure the rights of all students.
Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement?
No. A standardized test has limited value, rarely informing teachers anything they don't know. Too many standardized tests distort education and subvert learning activities.
What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative?
As a resource they are fine. But they are complex and any attempt to use them for instruction will invariably fall short, especially if it is dictated from above. Most have not read the CCSS, and use the term to mean whatever they dislike about education.
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?
Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. All options are on the table; I checked the one with the most chance for a successful outcome.
Should teachers receive merit pay?
No. Merit Pay would invariably be based on arbitrary or biased standards, plus it won't motivate anyone to be better teachers. It will accelerate distrust and cynicism.
Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program?
No. For a just and equitable society we must support public schools.
How should expulsion be used in the district?
Extremely rarely, and only if a student poses a continued threat to himself or others.
What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration?
Parent involvement. Research has clearly shown the positive correlation between parent eduction and income with student achievement. However this factor is largely outside the influence of the school. The four other factors are indeed important.

Additional themes

Gaynor provided the following responses for the voter guide compiled by MLive.com:

“	Why are you running for office? Having recently retired after a 38-year teaching career, 32 of these with the Ann Arbor Public Schools, I recognize both the excellence of the district as well as the current challenges. A community that fully supports education, devoted parents, committed teachers and engaged students guarantee the former. Yet, along with longstanding issues - e.g., the achievement gap and equity - there is a recent and damaging trend in which the focus is now on the district producing good looking data, rather than on addressing the unique needs and abilities of individual students. The Administration and Board speak in Public Relations cliches, while shutting out the public and staff on important policy decisions. While much of the financial challenges stem from policies of our state goverment, the administration has bought into these to usurp control and resulting in low staff morale, more and more "teaching to the test," and students who work on low level lessons rather than engaging ones. What are your top three priorities? 1) The board is responsible to the community and I will inform and engage with all stakeholders above and beyond what is now standard, as I did when teaching. This includes making clear what issues are being or need to be addressed, reaching out for citizen input, and responding to concerns. 2) Privatization of the lowest paid staff may have saved the district money (though the district discloses few details) but at a cost to not only those workers, but also to students, as transportation, custodial and other services are downgraded. The district has also shut out teacher expertise from curriculum and decision making, as we head for more robotic teaching and learning. 3) Rather than aid and abet the education "reform" movement, I will actively fight against it. I have already reached out to trustees in other districts to form a unified voice in defense of all students. I will not support an 'us vs. them' strategy where Ann Arbor benefits at the expense of neighboring districts. What is the most pressing issue for this office? The board, as stewards for the community, must have open and transparent communication about issues and decision making. The guiding principle must be ethical decision making rather than expediency. Public Relations chatter must give way to an honest discussion of both successes and concerns, at board meetings and beyond. In order to teach students to become informed, capable and caring citizens, we must model treating the all members of the Ann Arbor Public School community with respect. We may not use some as sacrificial pawns, and ignore others, as we buy into policies that don't serve students well. Staff development is increasingly focused on how to use spreadsheets rather than on how to reach and support students in their myriad abilities, needs and developmental stages. Teachers must be held accountable to the highest standards, just as students are - but not to onerous teacher evaluations which not only divert time, but also subvert meaningful teaching and learning.	”
—Jeff Gaynor (2016)

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