Jennifer Borcherding
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This board member is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.
Jennifer Borcherding is the District 3 representative on the Cedar Rapids Community School District school board in Iowa. Borcherding won a first term in the by-district general election on September 12, 2017.
This candidate participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to view her responses.
Biography
Borcherding graduated from DePaul University with bachelor degrees in English and psychology and was credentialed by the Substitute Teacher Association. She has worked as a substitute teacher. She has been affiliated with the Cedar Rapids Community Schools Foundation. The 2017 election was her first time running for office.[1]
Elections
2017
Three of seven seats on the Cedar Rapids Community School District Board of Education in Iowa were up for general election on September 12, 2017. One seat is up for at-large election and two seats, District 2 and District 3, are up for by-district election. All three incumbents filed to retain their seats.[2]
At-large incumbent Gary Anhalt defeated newcomers Theodore Collins and Christopher Gehrke. District 2 incumbent Nancy Humbles was the only candidate to file for the seat and was re-elected. In District 3, newcomer Jennifer Borcherding defeated incumbent Keith Westercamp.[3]
| Cedar Rapids Community School District, District 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jennifer Borcherding |
59.70% | 2,041 |
| Keith Westercamp Incumbent | 39.92% | 1,365 |
| Write-in votes | 0.38% | 13 |
| Total Votes | 3,419 | |
| Source: Linn County, Iowa, "9/12/17 School Elections - Linn County, State of Iowa - Official Results," accessed September 18, 2017 | ||
Endorsements
Borcherding had received official endorsements for her campaign from Hawkeye Area Labor Union, Iowa State Education Association, Cedar Rapids Education Association, and Cedar Rapids Organization of Teacher's Assistants as of August 17, 2017.[1]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Jennifer Borcherding participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[4] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on August 17, 2017:
| “ | My decision to run for the Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) Board of Education (BOE) is the result of years of personal commitment to public education. I value innovation, collaboration and student achievement. I believe I have the background to join our other invested CRCSD board members to promote further success in these areas.[5][6] | ” |
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 Iowa. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | The CRCSD and the city would benefit by helping high school graduates be job ready if college is not an option. We have the opportunity to collaborate with local businesses to help develop opportunities for our graduates in the skilled trade fields.
The state of Iowa needs to fully fund education as it traditionally has. Our budget will be solvent if historic funding is maintained. If not we can be creative about developing alternate sources of revenue. What needs to NOT happen is shorting staff and supplies to classrooms. We must maintain manageable class sizes. This is our most critical area in need of reliable funding. When teaching staff have more involvement in curriculum development staff have an increased level of engagement and students learn better. Teaching staff are also the most able to provide clear knowledge about what will and won't work. We can reduce decreased learning time when we are not making adjustments to modify curriculum when a disconnect between theory and application occurs.[6] |
” |
| —Jennifer Borcherding (August 17, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight 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. Charter schools, voucher schools, ESAs have no evidence of sustainable improved student achievement. These type of institutions are nothing more than an opportunity for private investors to make public tax money private and force education to become a commodity - not a service. When privatization of education occurs financially accountability and academic achievement accountability disappears. The only ones who benefit from the privatization of education are the private investors. |
| 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. Some students do not test well. Some areas like spatial manipulation are not covered on standardized tests. Whole child approaches are best. However testing is required to be able to set a teaching goal and re-testing is needed to understand growth. |
| 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? |
| 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. Merit pay creates environments of unfair competition where there needs to be collaboration. In a merit pay system you are holding teaching staff accountable for areas outside of their control that can influence student performance. What if a student performs poorly due to illness, sleepiness, hunger, need to use the bathroom, etc. Teachers should not be rewarded or punished for these items. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Public tax dollars are designated toward public schools. When public tax dollars are used to benefit private schools we open the door for a lot of misappropriation. Also when public money is used to fund private schools an opportunity for public discord exists as well. What if the private school is religious? What if it is the School of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster? |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion should be used as a last resort after all grievance procedures are followed or when a student is a threat to his/herself or others if they remain in the schooling system. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Student-teacher ratio. Large classrooms don't allow teaching staff the ability to focus on whole child and develop differentiated curriculum accordingly. |
In a Ballotpedia questionnaire, Borcherding said,
| “ | My decision to run for the Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) Board of Education (BOE) is the result of years of personal commitment to public education. I value innovation, collaboration and student achievement. I believe I have the background to join our other invested CRCSD board members to promote further success in these areas.[1][6] | ” |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Jennifer Borcherding Cedar Rapids Community School District school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Cedar Rapids Community School District, Iowa
- Cedar Rapids Community School District elections (2017)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Information submitted on Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form on August 17, 2017
- ↑ Marielle Bricker, "Email communication with Laurel Day, Cedar Rapids Community School District Board Secretary," August 4, 2017
- ↑ Linn County, Iowa, "9/12/17 School Elections - Linn County, State of Iowa - Unofficial Results," accessed September 12, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Jennifer Borcherding's responses," August 17, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Cedar Rapids Community School District elections in 2017 | |
| Linn County, Iowa | |
| Election date: | September 12, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Gary Anhalt • Theodore Collins • Christopher Gehrke District 2: Incumbent, Nancy Humbles District 3: Incumbent, Keith Westercamp • Jennifer Borcherding |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
