Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Kayleen Whitelock
Kayleen Whitelock was the Precinct 4 representative on the Jordan School District school board in Utah. She was first elected in 2013. Whitelock lost a re-election bid in the general election on November 8, 2016.
Whitelock participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Elections
2016
- See also: Jordan School District elections (2016)
Four of the seven seats on the Jordan School District school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held for the Precinct 5 seat on June 28, 2016. In Precinct 1, Darrell Robinson defeated Robyn Bishop after incumbent Lynn Crane did not run for re-election. Precinct 4 incumbent Kayleen Whitelock lost to challenger Marilyn Richards. Candidate Bryce Dunford defeated Chip Dawson for the Precinct 5 seat after defeating incumbent Richard Osborn in the primary election. Precinct 6 incumbent Janice Voorhies ran unopposed and won re-election to her seat.[1][2]
Results
| Jordan School District, Precinct 4 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Marilyn Richards |
56.93% | 6,809 |
| Kayleen Whitelock Incumbent | 43.07% | 5,152 |
| Total Votes | 11,961 | |
| Source: Salt Lake County, Utah, "Official Election Results," accessed December 5, 2016 | ||
Funding
Whitelok reported $1,450.00 in contributions and $1,282.46 in expenditures to the Office of the Salt Lake County Clerk, which left her campaign with $167.54 on hand as of November 1, 2016.[3]
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Kayleen Whitelock 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 13, 2016:
| “ | I hope to continue the work I have been doing to help our district have a voice at the state Capitol and the state board. I will continue to be fiscally responsible with tax payers money and ask the district staff to think and do things differently at times. I will continue to engage with the community to better our schools and the lives of the children. I am dedicated and have experience working in collaboration with others to find the best result.[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 Utah. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | A high quality teacher is the most beneficial thing you can have in the classroom. All of these items are important to children succeeding but with out a great teacher and money spent wisely nothing else can happen.[5] | ” |
| —Kayleen Whitelock (October 13, 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. But only if they fill a need not otherwise be provided. |
| 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? |
| No. They only measure one metric of a complex human being. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| While we need high standards for our students, we don't need federal intrusion in our schools. I want the standards for my state to be vigorous and see the benefits to having them be similar to other states who also have high standards. |
| 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? |
| Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. I am for allowing teachers the flexibility to earn more by doing more. I see too many terrific teachers leave the classroom to go into administration to earn more. I would like to provide a way for them to earn more and stay in the classroom. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| This should be a last resort for any child, education is to important to the child and society to take a back seat. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers Research shows the most important thing is the teacher. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Kayleen Whitelock' 'Jordan School District'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Salt Lake County, Utah, "Candidate Filing List," accessed March 18, 2016
- ↑ Salt Lake County, Utah, "Official Election Results," accessed December 5, 2016
- ↑ Salt Lake County Clerk's Office, "Candidate and Office Holders," accessed November 2, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Kayleen Whitelock's responses," October 13, 2016
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
