Katherine David
Katherine David was a candidate for at-large representative on the Township High School District 211 school board in Illinois. David was defeated in the at-large general election on April 4, 2017. She ran as part of a candidate slate with fellow challengers Jean Forrest and Ralph Bonatz.[1] None of the members of the slate won election to the board.[2]
David participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Elections
2017
Three seats on the Township High School District 211 school board were up for general election on April 4, 2017. Board incumbents Robert LeFevre and Anna Klimkowicz filed for re-election to their seats on the board. They were joined on the ballot by challengers Jean Forrest, Katherine David, Ralph Bonatz, and Edward Yung.[3][4] LeFevre and Klimkowicz won re-election to their seats, and Yung won the other seat on the ballot.[2] Forrest, David, and Bonatz ran together as a candidate slate.[1]
Results
| Township High School District 211, At-Large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Anna Klimkowicz Incumbent |
20.16% | 10,093 |
| Robert LeFevre Incumbent |
17.66% | 8,843 |
| Edward Yung |
16.51% | 8,267 |
| Katherine David | 16.07% | 8,045 |
| Ralph Bonatz | 14.80% | 7,412 |
| Jean Forrest | 14.66% | 7,340 |
| Write-in votes | 0.15% | 73 |
| Total Votes | 50,073 | |
| Source: Cook County Clerk, "Consolidated Election April 4, 2017 Summary Report," accessed April 19, 2017 | ||
Funding
School board candidates in Illinois were required to file campaign finance reports if they did one or both of the following:[5]
- Accepted contributions or made disbursements in an aggregate amount of more than $5,000 during the calendar year
- Accepted contributions or made disbursements in an aggregate amount of more than $5,000 during the calendar year for communication via television, radio, or internet in support of or in opposition to a candidate, political party, or public policy
The first campaign finance deadline was February 27, 2017, and the second campaign finance deadline was April 3, 2017.[6]
David reported $9,364.00 in contributions and $77.33 in expenditures to the Illinois State Board of Elections, which left her campaign with $9,286.67 on hand in the election.[7]
Endorsements
David was endorsed by Illinois Family Action and the group D211 Parents for Privacy.[8][9]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Katherine David participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[10] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on March 26, 2017:
| “ | As a board member, I will continue to ensure that we are providing the highest standard of education for our high school students. I want all stakeholders to be represented at the school board level and would ensure board members’ participation in upcoming teacher and support-staff contract negotiations in 2018. I want the board to take the necessary steps to implement the best strategies for maximizing the two unused parcels of land located in Schaumburg, both from an economic standpoint and a community viewpoint. I want to encourage community members to be actively engaged in the decisions affecting our schools and to be their voice at the school board level.[11][12] | ” |
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 Illinois. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | I feel that D211 does have high academic and post secondary education standards, I chose to focus on where I coudl make the most improvements if elected to the school board. I also know that D211 has a very high average teacher rention rate and offers myriad of arts/music opportunities available to the students. Although teacher relations and arts should be valued, my focus would be on areas of D211 that need to be improved.[12] | ” |
| —Katherine David (March 26, 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. |
| 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. Of course we need the standard metrics of grades, standardized test scores, and college entrance results to help gauge how our schools are preparing our children for higher education. But just as private companies assess performance in multiple areas (employee retention, customer satisfaction, market share, etc.), our schools should also look at a wide array of areas to measure their success. As a large school district, we have many children with diverse gifts that go beyond traditional academics. Rather than primarily focusing on the number of students going to college or analyzing standardized test scores, perhaps we need to survey our students six to ten years from high school graduation to see if they have obtained employment and are contributing to the community. |
| 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. 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? |
| Yes. Teachers who strive to provide effective solutions to students' academic challenges deserve merit pay, but keep in mind many factors go into a student's academic achievement (i.e. including parental support, having the right educational tools, diversity in learning methods, etc.). |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| Yes. In some ways, having school choice brings the benefits of free market economics to the educational realm. However in our own district, we have high-quality high schools which are ranked among Illinois’ best and our schools attract families to live in this area. My job as a school board member would be to work at providing an excellent public high school education for the children in this community. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Using expulsion in discplinary cases is a serious matter. Most serious matters are complicated and rathern than an over-arching policy, my recommendation is that the district handles explusion on a case-by-case basis. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Parent involvement I think studies show that when parental support is lacking, the student's academic potential can be greatly effected. Having a solid family environment provides stability for a student and that foundation is the backbone for a student to succeed. Of course some students can still succeed academically, despite the lack of parental support. |
Candidate slate website
David, Bonatz, and Forrest highlighted the following issues on their slate's campaign website:
| “ | WATCHDOGS FOR OUR PROPERTY TAXES
REPRESENT
|
” |
| —Ralph Bonatz, Katherine David, and Jean Forrest (2017)[13] | ||
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Daily Herald, "District 211 candidates debate finances, management," March 9, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Cook County Clerk, "April 04, 2017 Consolidated General Election Search For Results," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Cook County Clerk, "Candidate Filing for April 4, 2017 Consolidated Election," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑ Township High School District 211, "Board of Education," accessed December 20, 2016
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "A Guide to Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed January 5, 2017
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Election and Campaign Finance Calendar 2017," accessed January 5, 2017
- ↑ Illinois State Board of Elections, "Candidate Disclosure Search," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Illinois Family Action, "Candidates for School Board in Districts 211, U-46 and 15," February 21, 2017
- ↑ D211 Parents for Privacy, "Alerts and Action Steps: April 4th, 2017 - Local Consolidated Election," accessed March 30, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Katherine David's responses," March 26, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Bonatz, David, Forrest for D211 on April 4th, "Issues," accessed March 22, 2017
| Township High School District 211 elections in 2017 | |
| Cook County, Illinois | |
| Election date: | April 4, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Anna Klimkowicz • Incumbent, Robert LeFevre • Ralph Bonatz • Katherine David • Jean Forrest • Edward Yung |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
