Kimberly Little
Kimberly Little was a candidate for District 3 representative on the Williamson County Board of Education in Tennessee. The general election was held on August 4, 2016.[1] He lost the election[2]
Biography
Little has five children, all of whom graduated from Williamson County Schools, and two grandchildren.[3]
Elections
2016
Seven of the 12 seats on the Williamson County Schools Board of Education were up for by-district general election on August 4, 2016.[4] The District 1, 3, and 11 seats were left open for newcomers when incumbents Kenneth Peterson, PJ Mezera, and Mark Gregory, respectively, did not file to run for re-election. Richard Davis and Angela Durham ran for the District 1 seat, and Durham won the election. The District 3 race featured candidates Christy Coleman, Kimberly Little, and Eliot Mitchell. Mitchell was elected to the seat. The District 11 race featured candidates Stuart Cooper and K.C. Haugh, and Haugh won the election. In the race for the unexpired term in District 4, incumbent Anne McGraw defeated challenger Joey Czarneski. In District 5, incumbent Gary Anderson defeated challenger Julie Ellen Mauck to win another term on the board. District 7 incumbent Robert Hullett won re-election against challengers Jennifer Luteran and Christopher Richards. The District 9 race featured incumbent Rick Wimberly and challenger Denise Boothby. Wimberly was re-elected to the seat.[1][5][2]
Results
| Williamson County Schools, District 3 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Eliot Mitchell |
45.60% | 477 |
| Kimberly Little | 31.74% | 332 |
| Christy Coleman | 22.56% | 236 |
| Write-in votes | 0.1% | 1 |
| Total Votes | 1,046 | |
| Source: Williamson County Election Commission, "Summary Report: Primary and General Election August 4, 2016," accessed August 5, 2016 | ||
Funding
Little reported $2,160.00 in contributions and $1,028.64 in expenditures to the Williamson County Election Commission, which left her campaign with $1,131.36 on hand as of June 30, 2016.[6]
Endorsements
Little was endorsed by the Williamson County Republican Party and by Spring Hill Mayor Rick Graham.[7][8] Click here for a list of Little's endorsements in this election.
Campaign themes
2016
Candidate website
Little highlighted the following statement on her campaign website:
| “ | I am running for Williamson County School Board because I believe whole heartedly that children that can discover their talent, their passion and their potential, can move on to do great things. We are not only raising children, we are raising leaders. One way for a child to discover their abilities is to have someone believe it them. I truly believe that our educators can be those people for our children. We need to retain the great educators that help a child to discover their abilities and can assist them in pushing themselves to greater levels. Imagine a classroom full of children that has a teacher that has helped them to realize their potential, not only as students, but as members of society. As leaders. As doctors.....it only takes one person to believe in a child to change that child's life.
We need to focus on retaining educators that change children's lives. We need to remember that standardized testing isn't always successful for children that do not learn in standardized ways. Our public schools in Williamson County are some of the best in the entire country. Let's work together to continue to provide a quality education and always remember that we can improve. I appreciate your support.[9] |
” |
| —Kimberly Little (2016)[10] | ||
Franklin Home Page interview
The Franklin Home Page asked Little the following bolded questions. Little's responses are shown below.
| “ | Rezoning is one of the first issues the new board will deal with together as the Nolensville schools open and a Thompson's Station one is on the horizon. What's your philosophy on school rezoning, grandfathering and the anticipation of future growth for rezoning.
Rezoning is a necessary evil. No one wants to uproot their kids, especially where they are established. We all have to endure it. I just want to make it as painless as possible for the children. If they have one more year within that school and the siblings of those students are already there, it would be great to extend that grandfathering. I am a big advocate on stability, and if you uproot them so many times, you are eliminating the stability. As far as District Three, we are built out, and they are building a new school. But I don't know that we will be shifting those children around. There's just not room. I could be completely wrong, but that's just thinking of where they going to put another school. What is your position on standardized testing - is there too much, too little? I think it's too much and too much pressure. I don't know the answer, but there needs to be options when they don't do well. Maybe it's oral or cumulative grading - that's going to be a trial to see what works. There's too much and too much pressure put on teachers. I have two students who are seniors. My son is a great test taker, and my daughter is a horrible test taker. I think there needs to be happy medium. What is your position on Common Core and the state phasing it out? I think there are some really good elements about Common Core, but for the younger students, it's frustrating. You're taking the long way. But older students, you have that critical thinking and that competitiveness within themselves and in their schools. It's going to have to be something they do all of their lives and figure out what to do instead of running to Google or mom or dad. I feel that element of Common Core is a good thing. What do you think of current state education standards? I think they are fine, but I want to make sure they are reviewed. I want us to compare our state to other states. That would be something that would need to be studied. As long as it's reviewed annually or bi-annually to make sure we are on tasks with other state. Do you think world religions should be part of history or social studies curricula? I am cool with it being a part of history, but not cool with it being proselytizing. I am a Christian, but if you open it up for proselytizing, you have to open it up for all it. My sons would have told me if they didn't like it. They have had good educators. It was presented historically, and had they had an issue, they would have told me. It's all in the presentation. What is your opinion of the current state of WCS and the current leadership? I personally don't know Dr. [Mike] Looney. But I do know he does put the right people in the right positions. I don't envy him with his job, and I look forward to getting to know him better and working as a team. I can't really say anything about him. With the principals and administration I've dealt with I've always had good experiences. I've always been pleased with who I've developed relationships with. What is the best thing about WCS? It is No. 1 in the state, and I do like that. I feel like we an have exceptional education system here. I love the open door policy and sit down environment. You can have conversations with anyone at any time, and I want to be a part of keeping it that way. What needs attention and what aspect of it could need adjustment? I think there is a lot of rivalry between education and sports. I would rather see them become collaborative. I think there is room for improvement every single day. I don't have an issue as far as educating my children, but I want to be progressing always doing better. I want to be always challenging educators and administrators. I want to get up every morning and ask what can I do better. I think there is some communication, and we do get newsletters on a weekly basis, but I would like to see teachers sending individualized newsletter and more communications between educators and individual parents. I understand they have a lot on their plate, and it would be nice to know what they are doing weekly in class.[9] |
” |
| —Kimberly Little (2016)[11] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Kimberly Little' 'Williamson County Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Williamson County Election Commission, "Candidate List-August 4, 2016-State Primary/County General Election," accessed April 8, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Williamson County Election Commission, "Summary Report: Primary and General Election August 4, 2016," accessed August 5, 2016
- ↑ Kim 4 School Board, "About Kimberly," accessed May 25, 2016
- ↑ Tennessee Secretary of State, "Election Calendar 2016," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ Williamson County Schools, "Board Members," accessed March 31, 2016
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Chad Gray, Williamson County Administrator of Elections," July 29, 2016
- ↑ The Tennesseean, "Williamson County Republican Party endorses school board candidates," July 19, 2016
- ↑ Kim 4 School Board, "Home," accessed May 25, 2016
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Kim Little for Williamson County School Board, "About," accessed May 25, 2016
- ↑ Franklin Home Page, "Election 2016: Williamson mom wants District Three board seat," May 15, 2016
