Joel McDonald
Joel McDonald was a member of the Virginia Beach City Public Schools, representing District 3 - Rose Hall. McDonald assumed office in 2012. McDonald left office on January 1, 2020.
McDonald ran in a special election to the Virginia Beach City Public Schools to represent District 3 - Rose Hall. McDonald lost in the special general election on November 5, 2019.
McDonald participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Biography
McDonald owns and operates a communications and information technology company. He previously worked for the Virginia Beach City school district as the data support specialist at Luxford Elementary. He eventually became the school improvement coordinator for that school. He left his position in 2012 to start his own company. McDonald obtained an associate degree in information technology from the University of Phoenix. He went on to earn a bachelor's degree in political science from Old Dominion University.[1]
Elections
2019
See also: Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Virginia, elections (2019)
General election
Special general election for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, District 3 - Rose Hall
Incumbent Jessica Owens defeated Robert Dean, Joel McDonald, and Stephen Johnston in the special general election for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, District 3 - Rose Hall on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jessica Owens (Nonpartisan) | 46.3 | 49,688 |
 | Robert Dean (Nonpartisan) | 23.3 | 24,975 | |
 | Joel McDonald (Nonpartisan) | 16.3 | 17,470 | |
 | Stephen Johnston (Nonpartisan) | 13.6 | 14,600 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.5 | 538 | ||
| Total votes: 107,271 | |||
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2016
Five of the 11 seats on the Virginia Beach City Public Schools school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. In the Kempsville District, incumbent Dan Edwards ran unopposed and won re-election to his seat. Rose Hall District incumbent Joel McDonald also won re-election by defeating Stephen Johnston. Trenace Riggs defeated Eric Wray to win the open seat in the Centerville District. Incumbent Beverly Anderson and Victoria Manning defeated Kristine Caalim, Ken Falkenstein, and Frances Knight Thompson for the two at-large seats up for election.[2]
Results
| Virginia Beach City Public Schools, Rose Hall District General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Joel McDonald Incumbent |
52.89% | 75,493 |
| Stephen Johnston | 46.29% | 66,075 |
| Write-in votes | 0.81% | 1,161 |
| Total Votes | 142,729 | |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections, "2016 November General Official Results," accessed November 30, 2016 | ||
Funding
McDonald reported $6,285.60 in contributions and $4,909.47 in expenditures to the Virginia Department of Elections, which left his campaign with $1,376.13 on hand as of October 17, 2016.[3]
Campaign themes
2019
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Joel McDonald did not complete Ballotpedia's 2019 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Joel McDonald 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 18, 2016:
| “ | People know that Virginia Beach has great schools and that they do great things for students. I believe that the school division is going to do even greater things. I want to help shape the future of a forward thinking school division. I want to ensure that Virginia Beach is a place where every student has the opportunity to succeed.[4][5] | ” |
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 Virginia. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| “ | We need to focus on the needs of our students above all else. Every student needs to have the opportunity to succeed.[5] | ” |
| —Joel McDonald (October 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. I'm answering yes because I feel that, under the right conditions, charter schools can be effective partners with local school divisions. For example, I was proud to support the formation of Green Run Collegiate here in Virginia Beach, a public charter school that is only successful due to the close partnership it has with our school division. In turn, this school provides additional opportunities to our students. |
| 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? |
| Yes. I know there's a lot of negative sentiment about standardized tests, especially about Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL) tests, but I think it's important for the public to have a standard measure of academic achievement within the schools and school divisions they are funding with their tax dollars. The issue with testing from an instructional standpoint is how the data is used. Statewide standardized tests tend to be only a summative snapshot of academic performance and the data collected should only be used understanding this limitation. Standardized tests scores are one measure of school performance, but they certainly don't paint the whole picture of how schools are struggling or succeeding. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| Virginia opted out of Common Core, so I don't have any first hand experience on which to base an opinion. |
| 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. I think most teachers go into teaching with the goal of helping students succeed. Sometimes, probably most often, the transition into the classroom is difficult. Mentoring, professional development, and timely feedback and support from their administration can be a big help. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. I would answer differently if there was an unlimited amount of funding available for merit pay, but there isn't. Having teachers compete over a limited pot of money creates a scenario where success doesn't get rewarded after the funding is depleted. Instead, I favor rewarding teachers for experience, higher degrees, and additional study and training that will aid them in being more effective teachers. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. I do not support any effort that reduces funding for our public schools. Our goal should be to provide a quality education and opportunities for success to every student, not just the few who might get a voucher or scholarship funded by public tax dollars to private schools. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Rarely. In fact, we've made a significant investment in alternative education to allow students to continue their education even after committing an expulsion worthy violation. We need to keep students in the classroom and learning. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers Without a doubt, highly qualified and dedicated teachers have the largest impact on student success. |
See also
2019 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Joel McDonald Virginia Beach School Board, "About Joel McDonald," accessed October 28, 2016
- ↑ The Virginian-Pilot, "11 people file to run for Virginia Beach School Board," June 15, 2016
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed October 18, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Joel McDonald's responses," October 18, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
