Ken Cavagnolo

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Ken Cavagnolo

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

May 20, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

Georgia Tech

Ph.D

Michigan State University

Personal

Birthplace

Georgia

Religion

Agnostic

Profession

Technology professional

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Twitter

Personal LinkedIn

Ken Cavagnolo ran in a special election to the Portland Public Schools Board of Education to represent Zone 1 in Oregon. He lost in the special general election on May 20, 2025.

Cavagnolo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Ken Cavagnolo was born in Georgia. He earned a bachelor's degree from Georgia Tech and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. His career experience includes working as a technology professional.

Elections

2025

See also: Portland Public Schools, Oregon, elections (2025)

General election

Special general election for Portland Public Schools Board of Education Zone 1

Incumbent Christy Splitt defeated Ken Cavagnolo and Anton Leof in the special general election for Portland Public Schools Board of Education Zone 1 on May 20, 2025.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Christy Splitt (Nonpartisan)	81.9	81,783
		Ken Cavagnolo (Nonpartisan)	16.3	16,270
	Submit photo	Anton Leof (Nonpartisan)	1.6	1,559
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	283

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source 1 Source 2 Source 3	Total votes: 99,895
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Cavagnolo in this election.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ken Cavagnolo completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Cavagnolo's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was a 100% public school kid raised by passionate educators, old textbooks, and invincible dreams. I'm a former astrophysicist working in the technology, data analytics, and AI industry. I'm not a polished career politician, and that's precisely the point: I'm stepping up to bring a blunt, unflinching focus on student achievement to the Portland School Board. My only allegiance is to the students, their families, and the educators who pour their heart and soul into this system daily.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Portland Public Schools is spending billions on new buildings — but inside those classrooms, students are falling behind in reading, math, and science. Graduation rates are up, but real learning is down. Something's broken. I will compel a relentless focus on teaching and learning in vibrant classrooms with inspired students motivated to achieve — high-dose tutoring, early literacy, learning to learn, more teachers (smaller classes), and research-backed programs.
• PPS presents massive budget books, hundreds of pages long, with complex tables and government jargon. Multiple fund categories heavily use transfers and reserves layered with vague, hidden administrative costs, resulting in revenue streams that are fragmented and conditional. I will lead the creation of a simpler, transparent, tracked budget that allows PPS to redirect wasted funds back to classrooms and inform creative financing — micro-bonds, emergency loans, energy performance contracting, misappropriated taxes.
• Educators are underpaid and demonized for systemic failures they have little control over, and we wonder why they quit. Educators are easy targets and obvious scapegoats: maybe its time leadership take responsibility. I will create the PPS resolve to cultivate a healthy, fruitful career environment that uplifts our educators and recognizes their invaluable contributions — a living wage initiative, a "Housing for Heroes" program, professional councils, an educator bill of rights.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Portland's schools are broke because Oregon's tax system is a scam. We can't “support schools" while not fairly taxing corporations and reducing the burden on individual taxpayers. That's like saying, “I love forests but hate trees.”

I will leverage the power of PPS to organize parents, educators, and students in collaboration with lawmakers to draft, propose, and push legislation that prioritizes students — ending "real-time" enrollment funding, killing predatory corporate tax breaks, reallocating unused taxes, reclaiming wasted local taxes.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

SOLIDARITY — I may not always agree with you, but we're in this together, like it or not.

HUMILITY — I’m a small part of the world; I try to act like it.

HONESTY — Science taught me to question everything and do it openly.

COMPASSION — No one can do everything alone; see and hear others in need.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

INDEPENDENT — There’s no “D” or “R” party next to my name, and there never will be.

SELF-FUNDED — I don’t take donations or endorsements. You’re voting for me to rep you.

DUTY-FOCUSED — I have a job and career; it’s not politics. There’s work to do at PPS.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I was a bagger at Kroger in high school, was there for almost a year.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

The school board sets the public education vision and strategy, manages the budget, and influences public funding efforts. The superintendent defines the mission and executes the tactical plan operationally. Done right, the board focuses on oversight and strategy rather than micromanaging. This arrangement keeps decision-making transparent, ensures public dollars are spent wisely, and maintains a clear separation between setting long-term objectives and carrying out the school's day-to-day mission.

Who are your constituents?

The parents and kids who want or need public schools because there is no other option, the parents who are toiling to get by and want their children to have a better life, and the students who just need a chance and support to go after their dreams — to fail and get back up, learn to learn, and love the feeling of asking questions about the world.

What strategies or plans would you advance to ensure the schools are properly funded?

I have a lot of them: https://www.populistconsensus.com/cavagnolo/full-platform/#aggressive-funding

What existing district policies would you like to change, or what new policies would you like to implement?

Quite a few actually: https://www.populistconsensus.com/cavagnolo/full-platform/#savvy-spending

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

None. I do not accept endorsements. I respond to requests for endorsements and interviews so people get to know me; organizations are free to endorse me of their own volition. However, I will not acknowledge or accept their support. I need the public to know without question I am working for them and them alone, whether they voted for me or not. Holding office is about defending the people and the public good.

Describe your ideal learning environment for students.

It's focused on achievement: https://www.populistconsensus.com/cavagnolo/full-platform/#students-first

What are your preferred strategies for faculty, staff, and administration recruitment?

Make teaching a good job again: https://www.populistconsensus.com/cavagnolo/full-platform/#educator-empowerment

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

See also

2025 Elections

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Candidate

Portland Public Schools Board of Education Zone 1

Website

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Personal

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