John DeVantier

John DeVantier

Personal

Profession

Customer services director

Contact

Personal website

John DeVantier was a candidate for an at-large seat on the Appleton Board of Education in Wisconsin. He lost election to the board in the general election on April 1, 2014.

Biography

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At the time of his candidacy, DeVantier was working as a customer services director for Oracle. He previously worked as the director of IT infrastructure and operations at School Specialty Inc. from 2005 to 2011. DeVantier and his wife, Melissa, have three children.

Elections

2014

See also: Appleton Area School District elections (2014)

John DeVantier ran against incumbents Diane Barkmeier and Sharon Fenlon and challenger Barry O'Connor in the general election on April 1, 2014.

Results

Appleton Area School District, At-large General Election, 3-year term, April 1, 2014

Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Sharon Fenlon Incumbent	27.3%	4,183
	Nonpartisan	Diane Barkmeier Incumbent	27.2%	4,172
	Nonpartisan	Barry O'Connor	27.2%	4,164
	Nonpartisan	John DeVantier	17.8%	2,731
	Nonpartisan	Write-in votes	0.5%	80
Total Votes				15,330
Source: Information submitted to Ballotpedia through email from Kimm Smith on May 12, 2014.

Funding

DeVantier began the pre-election reporting period with an existing account balance of $35.00 from a previous report. He reported $1,125.00 in contributions and $609.93 in expenditures to the school board secretary by March 24, which left his campaign with $550.07 on hand.

Endorsements

DeVantier did not receive any official endorsements for his campaign.

2013

Appleton Area School District, At-large General Election, 3-year term, April 2, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Jim Bowman	28.8%	5,002
	Nonpartisan	Julie Baker Incumbent	26.7%	4,632
	Nonpartisan	John DeVantier	23.9%	4,155
	Nonpartisan	Elizabeth Panzer	20.6%	3,586
Total Votes				17,375
Source: Appleton Post-Crescent, "Election results: School boards and referendums," April 3, 2013

Campaign themes

2014

DeVantier described his major themes for 2014 on his campaign website:

“	Why are you running? It would be beneficial to have more parents of school aged children on the School Board. It takes a serious commitment of time and effort to do a good job in this role, and that is not always easy when juggling family time and work obligations, but I am convinced it is worth it. The decisions made by the school board affect my children, their teachers, friends, and classmates so I decided to take action by running for the position myself. What do you see as the top priority of the Board? As the only candidate that is a parent of school aged children, I believe the Board of Education must be focused on student achievement. The Appleton Area School District is fortunate to be part of an active and involved community, and we have outstanding educators and administrators. I know that technology can play a role in improving student achievement and I would like to bring my over 15 years of Information Technology management experience to the school board. Finally, I know that the budget challenges facing the district must be addressed carefully or student achievement will suffer. As a fiscal conservative, I am anxious to bring a fresh perspective to the district’s financial needs. As a parent who will have children in the district until 2031, l have a vested interest in making sure that we provide the children with the best possible education. What's the biggest change you'd like to see to improve education in the district? I have been pleased to watch my children’s exposure to great technology in the classroom and computer lab, but I understand that this is not available in every classroom in our district. Our schools are constantly looking for ways to enhance the use of technology. If the proposed referendum is approved, the additional investments in student technology will need to be carefully made. With my background in Information Technology, I can help the board determine cost-effective ways to promote the increased use of technology. This will allow students to have more hands-on learning experiences, and will allow teachers to more easily share successful techniques with other educators throughout the district.	”
—John DeVantier's campaign website, (2014)

Stance on February 18 referendum

District voters approved a referendum requesting $25 million in new funds on February 18. DeVantier explained his views on the referendum on his campaign website:

“	As you may be aware, the Appleton Area School District is proposing a referendum which will be on the February 18th ballot. This two-part referendum consists of 1) a one-time capital request of $25 million and 2) an annual increase to the operating budget of $5 million. I have attended each informational session and board meeting related to this topic over the last 3 months, and have decided to support the proposal. The capital project list will directly benefit student achievement and safety, and includes the following: Nearly $2 million to secure school entrances. In some cases this includes relocating school offices near main entrances to ensure proper registration of all school visitors. Over $4 million for student use technology. This will include a tablet/laptop for each high school student and a 1 to 4 ratio for students in grades 3-8. Nearly $6 million to modernize and improve hands-on science labs and industrial technology instructional areas. Over $8 million to address space needs at several school buildings. The remaining $5 million dollars will be spent on overdue building maintenance projects. The $5 million increase in the annual operating budget will be used to maintain the technology investments. It is important to note that these two questions are completely dependent on one another so I encourage you to at least vote consistently on the two questions. While I support this referendum, I am frustrated that we, as taxpayers and parents, have been put in this position. I believe that if the board had better managed the district’s finances, we would have more available from current tax revenue to address these needs. For example, the board has been invading the building maintenance budget to pay for, among other things, unspecified “programs”, thereby requiring this referendum to pay for anticipated maintenance needs. I can only assume that it is easier for the board to request funds for building maintenance than it would have been to ask taxpayers for additional money for these “programs”. However, at this point a “No” vote on this referendum only hurts students; it does not improve the fiscal responsibility of the board and administration. I believe that we need to focus on the students in our district and make a decision based on what is best for them. The next step is to address the underlying issue of budget mismanagement. Please remember that we will have the opportunity to bring a fiscally responsible voice to the board on April 1st by voting for John DeVantier.	”
—John DeVantier's campaign website, (2014)

Recent news

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John DeVantier News Feed

See also

• Appleton Area School District, Wisconsin
• Appleton Area School District elections (2014)

External links

Suggest a link

• Campaign website
• LinkedIn profile
• Appleton Area School District