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Joesiah Gonzalez
Joesiah Gonzalez was a candidate for at-large representative on the Springfield Public Schools school board in Massachusetts. Gonzalez was defeated in the at-large primary election on September 19, 2017.
Gonzalez participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Elections
2017
Six of the seven seats on the Springfield Public Schools School Committee in Massachusetts were up for general election on November 7, 2017. Incumbent Denise M. Hurst and newcomer LaTonia Naylor won election, defeating James Ferrera III and Ryan Hess for the at-large seats. Incumbent Barbara Gresham defeated Stephanie Murchison-Brown for the District 2 seat. Newcomer Maria Perez and incumbent Christopher Collins ran unopposed and won the District 1 and 3 seats, respectively. The District 4 race was won by incumbent Peter Murphy; he defeated challenger Zaida Govan.[1][2][3][4]
A primary election was held for the at-large and District 2 seats on September 19, 2017. Four candidates advanced to the general election from the at-large primary, and two candidates advanced from the District 2 primary.[1] James Anziano, LaMar Cook, Joesiah Gonzalez, and Michael Kocmiersky were defeated in the at-large primary, and Giselle Vizcarrondo was defeated in the District 2 primary.[3]
Results
| Springfield Public Schools, At-large Primary Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Denise M. Hurst Incumbent |
27.15% | 2,538 |
| James Ferrera III |
18.09% | 1,691 |
| LaTonia Naylor |
16.81% | 1,571 |
| Ryan Hess |
11.35% | 1,061 |
| LaMar Cook | 8.28% | 774 |
| Joesiah Gonzalez | 8.26% | 772 |
| James Anziano | 5.58% | 522 |
| Michael Kocmiersky | 4.23% | 395 |
| Write-in votes | 0.26% | 24 |
| Total Votes | 9,348 | |
| Source: Springfield Election Office, "Returns: Sept. 19, 2017 Preliminary Election," September 19, 2017 | ||
Funding
Gonzalez reported $4,800.00 in contributions and $2,182.30 in expenditures to the City of Springfield, which left his campaign with $2,167.70 on hand for the primary election.[5]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Joesiah Gonzalez participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[6] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on September 8, 2017:
| “ | If elected to the Springfield School Committee, I will push forth my message 'Students Before Politics' by putting forth comprehensive policies, and voting based on whether or not initiatives and or programs are for the benefit of our students. I will fight for Safety, Equity, and Student Success. For I believe that investing in Springfield Public Schools is an investment in the tomorrow of our Great City![7][8] | ” |
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 Massachusetts. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | Closing the achievement gap overrides all other priorities for me, as a candidate fro Springfield School Committee. For our school district like many urban centers across our great country has disparities when it comes to educational achievement and attainment that are parallel to race and a number of other things that should not be the determinant of a child's success.[8] | ” |
| —Joesiah Gonzalez (September 8, 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 are undoubtedly detrimental to urban districts that heavily rely on student enrollment to determine their annual budgets. Especially school district's like Springfield that operate on a per pupil ratio when it comes to budget. In addition to the economic argument, charter schools do not necessarily fix under performing districts and or students for they merely take the issue and place it in a new construct. |
| 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 test, fail to calculate the variable that it's participants are human. And the reality is that not every student does well on tests, coupled with the truth that not every student is always at the disposition to take said test. |
| 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. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. If standardized testing is used most times to evaluate a teacher's success in the classroom and often times used to reprimand under performance. Than teachers deserve to be acknowledge collectively when they are doing a great job. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Private schools are allowed to pick and choose what students they enroll. I'm advocate for educational institutions that don't discriminate and that by law have to give every child a quality education , regardless of race, ethnicity, and or zip code. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Students should only be expelled in the most serious of cases where the student has become a liability to the district, themselves and those around them. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers. The teacher sets the tone and the culture, in the classroom. In my experience in public education I have seen great teachers take a class of students that are out of control under another teachers command and teach them due to the rigid standards they uphold in their classrooms. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Joesiah Gonzalez Springfield Public Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Springfield Public Schools, Massachusetts
- Springfield Public Schools, Massachusetts elections (2017)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Mass Live, "Here's who qualified for the 2017 Springfield School Committee election," August 2, 2017
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Gladys Oyola, City of Springfield, Massachusetts," August 3, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Springfield Election Office, "Returns: Sept. 19, 2017 Preliminary Election," September 19, 2017
- ↑ City of Springfield, "Returns: Nov. 7, 2017 Municipal Election," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ City of Springfield, "Campaign Finance Reporting," accessed October 31, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Joesiah Gonzalez's responses," September 8, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Springfield Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Hampden County, Massachusetts | |
| Election date: | Primary election: September 19, 2017 • General election: November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Denise M. Hurst • James Anziano • LaMar Cook • James Ferrera III • Joesiah Gonzalez • Ryan Hess • Michael Kocmiersky • LaTonia Naylor District 1: • Maria Perez District 2: • Incumbent, Barbara Gresham • Stephanie Murchison-Brown • Giselle Vizcarrondo District 3: • Incumbent, Christopher Collins District 4: • Incumbent, Peter Murphy • Zaida Govan |
| Important information: | What's at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
