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Lee Michaels
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Lee Michaels was a member of the Highland Park Independent School District in Texas, representing Place 2. She assumed office in 2018. She left office on May 18, 2021.
Michaels ran for re-election to the Highland Park Independent School District to represent Place 2 in Texas. She won in the general election on May 5, 2018.
Elections
2018
General election
General election for Highland Park Independent School District (Dallas County), Place 2
Incumbent Lee Michaels defeated Renee Arumugam in the general election for Highland Park Independent School District (Dallas County), Place 2 on May 5, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Lee Michaels (Nonpartisan) | 83.5 | 1,586 |
 | Renee Arumugam (Nonpartisan) | 16.5 | 314 | |
| Total votes: 1,900 | |||
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Campaign themes
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Lee Michaels participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on April 5, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Lee Michaels' responses follow below.[1]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | 1) School Finance |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | Mental Health Awareness/Academic and Societal Pressures. Inclusiveness. Students need balance in their lives in face of the incredible academic and social pressures they face today. Schools should be safe places where students can learn in an environment that meets each student’s learning style and is free from bullying and other adverse factors.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[3]
|
” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Lee Michaels answered the following:
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
| “ | Integrity and the willingness to listen to all viewpoints.[3] | ” |
| “ | Experience and long term commitment to my community. Knowledge of the issues in my community based on years of involvement in the schools.[3] | ” |
| “ | To serve as a policy maker and focus on the high level goals of setting the curriculum, managing the budget and working closely with the superintendent. It is important not to get in the weeds and try to manage things that are not within the purview of a trustee.[3] | ” |
| “ | Learning environments for our students that will prepare them for success in higher education and life in the 21st century. A more balanced environment for our students with adequate resources to help them navigate these years.[3] | ” |
| “ | The assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. I was 5 years old.[3] | ” |
| “ | To set policy to ensure that the District meets its mission and goals and serves every student in a way that will enable each student to become a successful member of society. Our motto is Enter to Learn. Go Forth to Serve. My role as a trustee is to help ensure that each student is able to fulfill this promise.[3] | ” |
| “ | The students and staff, the parents and the taxpayers.[3] | ” |
| “ | I believe that our District tries to work with every constituent in our community. Each trustee is willing to sit down at any time to talk with our parents and community members. Additionally when issues are brought to our attention, we do our best to work with the community to solve them.[3] | ” |
| “ | We have amazing parental support in our District. I was a parent in HPISD for 15 years and worked in numerous PTA roles and worked closely with school leaders. Now that I am a trustee, I know how much we depend on our parental involvement and work hard to keep open relationships.[3] | ” |
| “ | In Texas, the biggest obstacle is the state finance system. The state has placed the burden to pay for education primarily on taxpayers and the system is detrimental to all. In our District, we have sent over $1.4 billion out of our community to be redistributed to other districts. As a result, we have to rely on private fund raising to help pay our teacher salaries. The system needs an overhaul and we try to work closely with our legislators to advocate for policy change.[3] | ” |
| “ | The District has a community-wide mental health task force that addresses the issues in our schools. Additionally, much work is being done in every school to focus on inclusiveness, bullying, academic pressures and social pressures to make sure that students have resources available. Finally, mental health and wellness seminars are included for our faculty and staff in professional learning.[3] | ” |
| “ | Technology is pervasive in our lives and has advantages and disadvantages. To address the concerns of parents in our District, HPISD recently put together a Technology Task Force that has been meeting regularly to address these issues. The Committee is composed of teachers, administrators, community members and parents and the district’s technology experts. We plan to have a comprehensive technology plan by the end of the year that covere best use, safety and procurement, and alignment with our curriculum. We also recently put a policy in place prohibiting students from bringing cell phones to school until 9th grade.[3] | ” |
See also
- Highland Park Independent School District, Texas
- Highland Park Independent School District elections (2018)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Lee Michaels' responses," April 5, 2018
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Highland Park Independent School District elections in 2018 | |
| Dallas County, Texas | |
| Election date: | May 5, 2018 |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
