Laddie Guy Shane
Laddie Guy Shane was a candidate for at-large representative on the Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board in Arizona. He was defeated in the general election on November 4, 2014.
Biography
Shane is from Peoria, Illinois, and moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2001 with his parents and siblings. He attended Pueblo Elementary School, Mohave Middle School and Saguaro High School in the SUSD. Following his high school graduation in 2011, he became a secondary education major at Arizona State University.[1]
In 2013, Shane was involved in the effort to stop House Bill 2060. The bill, which was defeated, would have allowed governing boards to censure board members with a two-thirds vote. According to the proposed bill, the grounds for censure would have been "limited to noncompliance of approved board policy, violation of conflict of interest and open meeting laws, or excessive absences as prescribed in policies adopted by the governing board and not in violation of federal law."[2] Shane characterized the bill as attempting to "limit freedom of speech for school board members".[1]
Elections
2014
Two four-year terms were up for general election on November 4, 2014. Three newcomers, Francesca Thomas, Kim Hartmann and Laddie Guy Shane, challenged incumbent Pam Kirby in the at-large election. The other incumbent, Denny Brown, did not file to run for re-election by the general filing deadline.[3]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Pam Kirby Incumbent |
32.9% | 28,096 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kim Hartmann |
29.9% | 25,546 | |
| Nonpartisan | Francesca Thomas | 22.2% | 18,987 | |
| Nonpartisan | Laddie Guy Shane | 14.9% | 12,762 | |
| Total Votes | 85,391 | |||
| Source: Maricopa County Recorder, "General Elections Election Results," accessed December 29, 2014 | ||||
Endorsements
Shane was endorsed by the following:[4]
- Christine Meyer Schild, former SUSD board member
- Jim Lane, mayor of Scottsdale
- Steve Chucri, Maricopa County Supervisor
- Sal DiCiccio, Phoenix City Council member
- Chuck Schmidt, Arizona Interscholastic Association
Campaign themes
2014
Shane provided the following statement on his campaign website:
| “ | The school system of a community affects all aspects of life. Right now the Scottsdale School District Board, Superintendent, administrators, teachers, and staff have hit a wall when it comes to raising student achievement and building a system that will deliver consistent excellence to all Scottsdale students. I have found over the last year of campaigning that Scottsdale Schools have a great community and amazing teachers, but we have a breakdown in communication. I pledge to:
- Rebuild Trust: Many in the community feel that SUSD has let them down or that there is a better option. We must show our residents that SUSD is a great place by addressing our shortfalls, making sure our schools fit their communities, and competing with the other choices in Scottsdale instead of doing the same old thing and expecting a different result. My first 90 days will consist of visiting schools and working with our teachers. I attended Scottsdale Schools and I am currently working on a teaching degree, so I have experience as a student as well as training that I will use in the field with our superstar teachers. Once we know what our teachers are seeing in the classroom we can address those issues. We must then hold community forums all over the district in each neighborhood to answer questions and let the residents know where their tax dollars are going. This will show transparency and begin to repair our community and staff morale. - Empowerment: We must build trust with our teachers and in the process allow them to discuss how they want to teach and then determine whether there is a way we can help. This is the type of communication that must happen. Many teachers don’t have the tools they need and we must address this issue. We must go through all tools in the SUSD toolbox and make sure every teacher is trained on what we have so they can use them to help every child achieve success - Accountability in and out of the classroom: When the override failed the last thing we should have done is hurt the classroom. We should have gone to the public and shown accountability regarding where the money had been going when the override was in effect. The community wants to know where its money is going and the only time it hears from the district is when the district needs it to vote on something. As a board member my job is to govern, while continuing to speak to the electorate and represent your concerns. I have heard loud and clear that we must shrink district administration, push the money to the classroom, stop cutting programs, and establish an academic standard across the district. I will accomplish this by doing a complete audit of our administration and making sure it is running efficiently. I will demand we stop taking last year’s budget s and just adjusting percentages. We must establish a budget built on priorities and the first priority is the classroom. Once we take care of our teachers and students then we can take care of everything else. This includes the arts and vocational programs. These programs must actually be expanded across the district and enhanced according to the desire of each of our communities. These are the programs that enhance and improve social interaction, which is crucial in the world we live in today. We must work with our teachers to establish standards that are higher than the other states’ so we are always setting the bar in Arizona. Having done this we must then set the benchmarks in each grade to make sure every child is not just reaching the standards but showing growth in all areas. SUSD should not just focus on how students perform on a state standardized test. We must focus on academic and social growth. We must produce good citizens and understand that not every child has to go to college. I will fight to build a SUSD that provides pathways to a four-year university, community college, vocational school, and the military, or right into the workforce. If we do this, students will pass any test because they will enjoy learning. Our schools must fit our communities, and our communities demand that our schools be as unique as the children who fill their halls. As a board member I am accountable to you and will always answer to you. - Set the plan: Right now we go from year to year just trying to get by. I will stop this type of thinking and bring together our school board, city leadership and legislators to draw the blueprint for the SUSD ten years from now. We must establish an academic standard that is rigorous across the district. A unified Scottsdale Unified School District is important but that doesn’t mean what works at one school will work at another. Each school must find a way that fits students to enable them to reach that standard. We must break down our district into complexes and have each complex build the stepping-stones that fit the neighborhood. If we are going to bring our community back and improve morale, we must become community schools again. This way we will be able to market what we do and be competitive. I also plan to bring Scottsdale Community College and Arizona State University into the planning process. I will work to build a partnership with the colleges so that they may bring vocational and college degree programs into our schools. We have some of the best college institutions in our backyard and we must work with them for the future of Scottsdale. We must also look at how many schools we have and whether we are using our facilities effectively. I vow that, as a board member, I will set a plan for our facilities that will repair the community, provide an education to all students, and will not displace anyone. This is what I want to do after talking to so many of my fellow Scottsdale residents. We must stop the divide between the district and our schools, between the northern and the southern complexes, between right and left, and make the ultimate choice. This November we will not just make a choice if we should be renewing the override or on choosing board members. We must make a choice between right and wrong. I believe the right thing to do is to rebuild trust, empower the community, and demand accountability. The right choice is to put the children of Scottsdale first. I am a “Children First“ candidate, and I ask you to be a “Children First” voter![5][6] |
” |
| —Laddie Guy Shane's campaign website (2014) | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Laddie + Guy + Shane + Scottsdale + Unified + School + District"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Laddie Guy Shane for Scottsdale Schools, "About," accessed September 29, 2014
- ↑ Arizona State Legislature, "First Regular Session: House Bill 2060," accessed September 29, 2014
- ↑ Maricopa County Education Service Agency, "Filed Candidate Listing," August 25, 2014
- ↑ Laddie Guy Shane for Scottsdale Schools, "Endorsements," accessed September 29, 2014
- ↑ Laddie Guy Shane for Scottsdale Schools, "Children First," accessed September 29, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2014 Scottsdale Unified School District Elections | |
| Maricopa County, Arizona | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent Pam Kirby • Kim Hartmann • Laddie Guy Shane • Francesca Thomas |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
