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Kara DeRocha
Kara DeRocha was a candidate for District V representative on the Houston Independent School District Board of Education in Texas. DeRocha was defeated in the by-district general election on November 7, 2017.
She was affiliated with the Democratic Party, but the Houston Independent School District Board of Education and the election were officially nonpartisan.[1]
DeRocha participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Biography
DeRocha received a bachelor's degree in environmental engineering from Louisiana State University. She has worked as an independent contractor and an environmental consultant. DeRocha has been affiliated with the Leadership ISD Fellows. The 2017 election was her first time running for office.[1]
Elections
2017
Six of the nine seats on the Houston Independent School District Board of Education in Texas were up for by-district general election on November 7, 2017. Candidates in Districts I and III advanced to a runoff election scheduled for December 9, 2017, after no candidate received a majority of the vote. The District III seat was up for special election to fill an unexpired term following the death of Manuel Rodriguez Jr.[2] The incumbents in Districts VI, VIII, and IX filed for re-election, while the incumbents in Districts I and V opted not to seek additional terms.[3][4][5]
In District I, newcomer Elizabeth Santos defeated fellow newcomer Gretchen Himsl. They defeated Monica Richart in the general election. In District III, newcomer Sergio Lira won against Jesse Rodriguez in the runoff election. They defeated Carlos Perrett and Rodolfo Reyes in the general election.[6]
Newcomer Sue Deigaard defeated three other newcomers—Kara DeRocha, Sean Cheben, and Susan Shafer—for the open District V seat. District VI incumbent Holly Maria Flynn Vilaseca defeated challengers Daniel Albert and Robert Lundin for the seat with 50.42 percent of the vote. Incumbent Anne Sung defeated challenger John Luman in the District VII election. District IX incumbent Wanda Adams defeated challengers Karla Brown and Gerry Monroe.[3][4]
Results
| Houston Independent School District, District V General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Sue Deigaard |
51.40% | 5,599 |
| Susan Shafer | 16.58% | 1,806 |
| Kara DeRocha | 16.18% | 1,762 |
| Sean Cheben | 15.84% | 1,725 |
| Total Votes | 10,892 | |
| Source: Harris County, Texas, "Cumulative Report - Official," accessed November 22, 2017 | ||
Funding
DeRocha reported $19,710.00 in contributions and $11,113.02 in expenditures to the Houston Independent School District as of October 30, 2017.[7]
Endorsements
DeRocha was endorsed by the following organizations:
- Community Voices for Public Education[8]
- Houston GLBT Political Caucus[9]
- Houston Stonewall Young Democrats[10]
- Our Revolution Texas Gulf Coast Region[11]
- Texas Students United[12]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Kara DeRocha participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[13] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on October 23, 2017:
| “ | There are a myriad of issues that need to be addressed in HISD, but right now I am concentrating on the following: - Eliminate the high stakes testing culture in HISD - Overhaul the Special Education program - Target spending in the classrooms and on instruction[14][15] | ” |
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 Texas. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | I consider closing the achievement gap and improving education for special needs students to be one in the same, and I believe that expanding arts education is part of the solution to closing the achievement gap. HISD is in the process of improving relations with teachers, though we have a long way to go. I would also like to see more school choice option as far as magnet programs (not charter schools) and there is more information on this in the "On The Issues" page of my website.[15] | ” |
| —Kara DeRocha (October 23, 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. Just like vouchers, Charter Schools siphon off money and students from public education, while not having to play by the same rules as public schools. Teachers in charter schools are not required to be certified, and if students do not meet the requirements for the school - such as required parental involvement - they can be removed from the school. And if a student does not toe the line in terms of grades or behavior, then they are often made to feel unwelcome until they eventually leave the school. Charter schools are there because somewhere along the way HISD failed students. I am hopeful that the Community School Model being put in place at some schools in HISD will revitalize neighborhood schools and remove the demand for charter schools. |
| 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 tests can be an indicator of student achievement, but I do not believe that we should rely on test results from one day in a student's life to determine if he/she is achieving. The fact is that many students do not test well, and anyone can have an off day. In addition, there are many factors outside of the school day that can affect how a student performs on a test, especially in a school district the size of HISD. Beyond that, the STAAR test, the current state-approved standardized test, is a poorly written exam and results from this test are inconsistent, at best. |
| 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? |
| 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. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. Teachers need to work in a collaborative environment and merit pay fosters competition over collaboration. I would like to see a program for master teachers to provide professional development in their schools for extra pay. I would also like to see more hybrid positions for teachers that allow experienced teachers to take on some administrative responsibilities (and enhanced pay) while still remaining in the classroom for part of the day. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Vouchers siphon money and students away from public schools. I spoke to the Education Committee of the State Senate in opposition of vouchers in July 2017. This is a link to the video of that testimony: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEdw1abc1yo |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion should be the last option for any student in HISD. I believe that social emotional learning should be expanded in our district and restorative justice should be practiced consistently throughout HISD. |
| 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. Student-teacher ratio, along with quality Pre-K programs, have been shown in study after study to be the best predictors of student success. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Kara DeRocha Houston Independent School District school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted on Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form on October 23, 2017
- ↑ Houston Independent School District, "HISD trustees appoint José Leal to fill District III seat until special election in November," accessed August 21, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Houston Independent School District, "Election Information," accessed September 12, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Harris County, Texas, "Cumulative Report - Official," accessed November 22, 2017
- ↑ Houston ISD, "Three HISD incumbents prevail on election night, one open seat filled, and two open seats head to runoffs," November 8, 2017
- ↑ Harris County, Texas, "Cumulative Report - Unofficial, Joint Runoff Election," accessed December 9, 2017
- ↑ Houston ISD, "Election Information," accessed November 2, 2017
- ↑ Community Voices for Public Education, "2017 CVPE Endorsements," accessed October 20, 2017
- ↑ The Caucus GLBT, "Endorsement Announcement, Public Forum and Endorsement Vote," September 10, 2017
- ↑ Facebook, "Houston Stonewall Young Democrats on October 3, 2017," accessed October 20, 2017
- ↑ Facebook, "Our Revolution Texas Gulf Coast Region," accessed November 10, 2017
- ↑ Texas Students United, "Upcoming Elections," accessed October 20, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Kara DeRocha's responses," October 23, 2017
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
