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Jennifer Simpson
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Jennifer Simpson was a member of the Wentzville R-IV School District school board, At-large in Missouri.
Simpson ran for re-election to the Wentzville R-IV School District school board, At-large in Missouri. Simpson won in the general election on April 5, 2016.
Elections
2016
Three of the seven seats on the Wentzville R-IV School District school board were up for at-large general election on April 5, 2016. No incumbents filed for re-election. A special election for a one-year term on the board featured Kurtis Daniels, Damien Pisciotta, and Lezlie Stephens. Two seats were up for regularly scheduled election; candidates Saundra Garber, Dale Schaper, Jennifer Simpson, Jackson Thompson, and Betsy Bates vied for them. Schaper and Simpson defeated the other candidates to win regular-term seats on the school board, while Daniels won the one-year term position.[1]
Results
| Wentzville R-IV School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jennifer Simpson |
25.16% | 3,548 |
| Dale Schaper |
22.48% | 3,170 |
| Betsy Bates | 21.80% | 3,074 |
| Saundra Garber | 20.48% | 2,887 |
| Jackson Thompson | 9.63% | 1,358 |
| Write-in votes | 0.44% | 62 |
| Total Votes (100) | 14,099 | |
| Source: St. Charles County Clerk, "Election Summary Report OFFICIAL," accessed May 3, 2016 | ||
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
Jennifer Simpson 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 March 13, 2016:
| “ | I plan to support the Superintendent and the Administrative team so they are able to ensure that all students are college and career ready when they graduate. I also plan to provide support in stabilizing our financial future and assisting to manage the growth in our district while providing the best education for our current students.[2][3] | ” |
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 Missouri. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | Teacher relations and special education programming are currently top notch in our district. This allows both items to be a little lower on my priority list.[3] | ” |
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. |
| 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. Not all students are good at taking tests. Student achievement should be assessed in a variety of methods, not just using standardized tests. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| Our district will make the necessary changes to bring our curriculum into compliance with the new Missouri Learning Standards. As long as the standards help our students to become global learners, I will support the Missouri Learning Standards. |
| 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? |
| 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. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. We have excellent public schools in this area. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| On very rare occasions. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers Though I am confident student -teacher ratio is very important, continual training for excellent teachers is more important. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Jennifer Simpson' 'Wentzville R-IV School District'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Wentzville School District, "2016 Board of Education candidates," accessed January 21, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Jennifer Simpson's responses," March 13, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 Wentzville R-IV School District Elections | |
| Election date: | April 5, 2016 |
| Candidates: | One-year term: Kurtis Daniels • Damien Pisciotta • Lezlie Stephens Three-year terms: Saundra Garber • Dale Schaper • Jennifer Simpson • Jackson Thompson • Betsy Bates |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
