Kevin Cox (Colorado)
Kevin Cox was an at-large member of the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education in Colorado. Cox assumed office on December 5, 2017. Cox left office on November 30, 2021.
Cox ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education in Colorado. Cox won in the general election on November 7, 2017.
He was affiliated with the Democratic Party, but the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education and the election were officially nonpartisan.[1]
Biography
Cox attended the University of Houston. He has been affiliated with the Aurora Education Association, Our Revolution Metro Denver, Denver Area Labor Federation, Aurora Police Association, and APWU Local 6315. The 2017 election was his first time running for office.[1]
Elections
2017
- See also: Aurora Public Schools elections (2017)
Four of the seven seats on the Aurora Public Schools Board of Education in Colorado were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. The race included incumbent Barbara Yamrick and challengers Kyla Armstrong-Romero, Jane Barber, Kevin Cox, Debra Gerkin, Marques Ivey, Miguel In Suk Lovato, Gail Pough, and Lea Steed. Armstrong-Romero, Cox, Gerkin, and Ivey won the spots on the board.[2]
Results
| Aurora Public Schools, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kevin Cox |
16.58% | 12,636 |
| Debra Gerkin |
16.26% | 12,391 |
| Kyla Armstrong-Romero |
15.13% | 11,527 |
| Marques Ivey |
12.9% | 9,830 |
| Gail Pough | 9.76% | 7,441 |
| Miguel In Suk Lovato | 8.91% | 6,793 |
| Jane Barber | 7.15% | 5,447 |
| Barbara Yamrick Incumbent | 7.07% | 5,385 |
| Lea Steed | 6.25% | 4,760 |
| Total Votes | 76,210 | |
| Source: Arapahoe County, Official Results," accessed August 28, 2023 and Adams County Elections Office, "Official Results," accessed August 28, 2023 | ||
Funding
Cox reported $2,785.54 in contributions and $2,993.07 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left his campaign with $38.22 in debt as of December 8, 2017.[3]
Endorsements
Cox was endorsed by the Aurora Education Association, the Aurora Sentinel, Our Revolution Metro Denver, and the Denver Area AFL-CIO.[4][5][6][7]
Campaign themes
2017
Cox provided the following description of his political philosophy to Ballotpedia:
| “ | I believe that if we, as a society can uplift our youth and it will pay off in the grand scheme of things. The next Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein, George Washington Carver or Stephen Hawking is out there. I want to help make sure they have the proper tools to achieve their full potential.[1][8] | ” |
| —Kevin Cox, 2017 | ||
He added:
| “ | I am the hard-working citizen who feels the need to stand up and fight the good fight for the sake of our children.[1][8] | ” |
| —Kevin Cox, 2017 | ||
Chalkbeat questionnaire
Cox participated in the following questionnaire conducted by Chalkbeat. The questions provided by the news organization appear bolded, and Cox’s responses follow below.
Tell us a bit about yourself. How long have you lived in the school district? What do you do for a living?
| “ | I am originally from Houston, TX. I grew up in a single parent household without child support and our family struggled regularly. I grew up helping my mother keep the household going. When I received an honors engineering scholarship, I knew it wouldn't work out because there would be no way to cover everything else besides tuition when we still needed my help at home. I missed out on my higher learning and began driving tractor trailers a few years later until today. I am a huge advocate for the children knowing that if they can't afford the massive debt of college, they can learn a trade (HVAC, Plumbing, CDL Driver, etc) and become a well paid success story or even start their own business. After living here in the APS district for three years, I want to get involved in the fight to help our students find success, in the way that suits them best. This message can change so many lives if we just communicate with our students and let them know how much potential they have as soon as they complete K-12.[8] | ” |
| —Kevin Cox (2017)[9] | ||
Tell us about your connection to the school district.
| “ | I am simply a concerned citizen that wants to bring the voice of hard working families to the Board of Education. There seems to be a disconnect at times. Many feel unqualified to voice their opinions about the system if they are not a teacher or college educated. I want to be the voice of our community to help steer APS in the right direction. My connection to the school district is that I care and I believe I can make a difference.[8] | ” |
| —Kevin Cox (2017)[9] | ||
The district’s state test scores improved this year, enough to lift the district’s state quality rating and get APS off the accountability clock. Why do think the district was able to achieve this, and do you think APS is on the right track?
| “ | I truly believe the district was able to do this because we have loving teachers and staff who really care about the outcomes of our children in APS. They have been behind the 8-ball for a while and continued to persevere. Every APS teacher I have spoken to was genuinely concerned for the future of the students more than the future of the district in the current predicament. The teachers have gotten involved on every level; working tirelessly, donating, making calls on our behalf and even volunteering to walk with us candidates who were endorsed by AEA, spreading the word about the candidates they trust to continue the fight to keep APS on the right track.[8] | ” |
| —Kevin Cox (2017)[9] | ||
Some candidates have said they would like the school board to have more accountability or transparency. What would you say to that, and should anything change on that issue?
| “ | I believe accountability is a virtue. This is a core principle we are all trying to teach our children daily so we should hold the people overseeing our schools to this standard. Our board members should disclose how much money they have received from pro-charter organizations to show how dedicated to fighting for our public schools they are. I have not and will not lie about my accomplishments or credentials. I gladly submit to any background check and once elected, I will represent APS faithfully and with respect to the community.[8] | ” |
| —Kevin Cox (2017)[9] | ||
Aurora has sought to increase school quality by recruiting the high-performing charter school network DSST. Is this a sound strategy and was the process sound, or would you have done anything differently?
| “ | I would have loved to hear the inner workings of the decision making process but I did not. In my opinion, DSST is not a bad institution, but as I have stated many times in the past and in my website, we should focus on building our public schools up to the desired level before trying to replace them with charters. With that being said, this is not a black and white issue. I understand there may be many positives to DSST and others, but for the students who will not be able to access DSST, the public schools need to be improved upon and that task will become harder with a lowered headcount and diverted funding as a result of DSST entering the equation. Without the inside scoop, I cannot say what I would have done differently, but I can say that I stand behind APS schools and will fight tooth and nail for them every chance I get.[8] | ” |
| —Kevin Cox (2017)[9] | ||
What role do you believe local school boards should have in reviewing, approving or managing charter schools that wish to open in the district?
| “ | I believe charter schools should be held to the exact same standards as public schools if they are going to report statistics alongside public schools. Public schools don't have waivers or drop students they feel underperform and we should have a level playing field if we are comparing apples to apples.[8] | ” |
| —Kevin Cox (2017)[9] | ||
Aurora Public Schools is likely to continue facing budget issues. What funding do you think ought to be cut, and how should the district go about deciding what should be cut?
| “ | I am concerned that this question is framed in an extremely conservative manner. I'm not an accountant, but in our nation's history we have had to spend money intelligently to reverse budget shortfalls and cuts have rarely solved the problems at hand. After the Great Depression, we took on a hefty financial burden to spur our economy because we understood that "a rising tide lifts all ships" and our nation entered the Golden Age of Economic Expansion. I believe this mindset needs to be explored in reference to APS. There are programs that need to be started and some current programs that need to be expanded that will, in time, turn APS around along with the budget. I have seen no information that cutting the budget will stop APS parents from removing their children from the district or improve learning conditions, which are essential to a successful education model.[8] | ” |
| —Kevin Cox (2017)[9] | ||
Do you agree with the resolution the school board passed earlier this year to support immigrant and refugee students? How would you judge what the district is doing to respond to the concerns of those communities?
| “ | I do agree with the resolution. I believe EVERY CHILD deserves a quality education. I stand against any person trying to deprive a child of a quality education because their parents may have gotten them here without following the rules. I would judge the district with one factor: are the teachers being teachers or becoming ICE agents? We can surely agree that teachers are not paid enough as it is. We should not add another job to their list. For the children, there is enough fear and anxiety in their household because of their citizenship status and we all know a scared student cannot learn as well as a student who feels safe. Let's all just focus on making sure APS is a place of safety and stability so the children are not afraid to come to school and learn. What if their parents become fully documented in a year or two and the child's learning has been stifled? The schools should stay out of the immigration argument. ICE and APS are two distinct entities for a reason.[8] | ” |
| —Kevin Cox (2017)[9] | ||
What do you see as the biggest issue facing Aurora schools today and how do you hope to have an impact on said issue as a school board member?
| “ | I think the budget and the graduation rate are equally important so I must speak on both.
I want to address the budget issue first. Like any industry, we must provide competitive wages if we want the best and brightest educators; thereby improving the education our children receive. Parents who feel as though their children can get a better education elsewhere will take their child elsewhere if they can. If we can improve the quality of learning by attracting and retaining quality teachers, we can stop the student flight and drastically improve the budget because so much of it is based on how many students are in the district. This is a vicious cycle. We may have to spend a little more and compensate our teachers better to break this cycle. If so, I am willing to invest in our wonderful teachers. I have met many of these teachers; they deserve medals of honor, not just a raise. The graduation rate can be greatly improved if we show our children there are many paths to success besides college. I want to form a task force to talk to the children about Professional Technical Education like apprenticeship programs and vocational schools. The cost of living here is making it really tough to afford college, especially once you consider student loan debt and the fact that students' families may be currently struggling before college is even mentioned. With PTE, students can earn while they learn. They can contribute to the household while learning a trade and building a future. Single parent households will greatly benefit from this. In a few years, they can earn upwards of $30 per hour as a master electrician, plumber, etc. and will come out virtually debt free. This is a life changing message that needs to be heard by as many students as possible. I want to bring union representatives in to show the kids that the algebra equation they thought they would never use in real life can actually help purchase their first home as a Pipefitter (if they so choose). The key is they must graduate. If we make the path to success real to them, they would be less likely to give up along their journey and our graduation rate would climb.[8] |
” |
| —Kevin Cox (2017)[9] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Kevin Cox Aurora Public Schools 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 1.2 1.3 Information submitted on Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form on September 26, 2017
- ↑ Aurora Public Schools, "APS Board of Education Election," accessed September 7, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Campaign Finance Database: Political Race Search," accessed December 8, 2017
- ↑ Aurora Education Association, "2017 Board of Education Endorsements," September 5, 2017
- ↑ Aurora Sentinel, "Endorsements: 2017 Aurora City Council, APS elections promise change — our picks to ensure it," October 12, 2017
- ↑ Facebook, "Our Revolution Metro Denver," accessed October 31, 2017
- ↑ Denver Area Labor Federation, "2017 Municipal Endorsements," June 29, 2017
- ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 Chalkbeat, "We asked the 2017 Aurora school board candidates nine questions. Here are their responses," October 5, 2017
| Aurora Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Arapahoe County, Colorado | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Barbara Yamrick • Kyla Armstrong-Romero • Jane Barber • Kevin Cox • Debra Gerkin • Marques Ivey • Miguel In Suk Lovato • Gail Pough • Lea Steed |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
