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Lezlie Stephens
Lezlie Stephens was a candidate for at-large representative on the Wentzville R-IV School District Board of Education in Missouri. Stephens was defeated in the general election on April 5, 2016.[1]
Stephens was a candidate for an at-large seat on the Wentzville Board of Education in Missouri in 2015. Stephens lost the general election on April 7, 2015.
Biography
Lezlie Stephens is a resident of St. Charles County, Mo. Stephens earned a B.A. degree in management from the University of Illinois at Springfield and an M.S. degree in executive leadership and organizational change from Northern Kentucky University. She is employed as a senior lead marketing manager with CenturyLink Technology Solutions.[2]
Elections
2016
Three of the seven seats on the Wentzville R-IV School District school board were up for at-large general election on April 5, 2016. No incumbents filed for re-election. A special election for a one-year term on the board featured Kurtis Daniels, Damien Pisciotta, and Lezlie Stephens. Two seats were up for regularly scheduled election; candidates Saundra Garber, Dale Schaper, Jennifer Simpson, Jackson Thompson, and Betsy Bates vied for them. Schaper and Simpson defeated the other candidates to win regular-term seats on the school board, while Daniels won the one-year term position.[1]
Results
| Wentzville R-IV School District, At-Large Special Election, 1-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kurtis Daniels Incumbent |
45.88% | 3,363 |
| Lezlie Stephens | 37.50% | 2,749 |
| Damien Pisciotta | 16.25% | 1,191 |
| Write-in votes | 0.37% | 27 |
| Total Votes (100) | 7,330 | |
| Source: St. Charles County Clerk, "Election Summary Report OFFICIAL," accessed May 3, 2016 | ||
2015
The election in Wentzville featured two of the seven seats on the board up for general election on April 7, 2015. Incumbents Sheryl Cox and Sandy Garber ran for re-election against challengers Natalie DeWeese, Michael Feinstein, Rebecca Flannagan, Michael Spiroff and Lezlie Stephens for the two at-large seats. DeWeese and Feinstein defeated five other candidates to win the election.
Results
| Wentzville R-IV School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Feinstein |
21.3% | 3,289 | |
| Nonpartisan | Natalie DeWeese |
21% | 3,241 | |
| Nonpartisan | Sandy Garber Incumbent | 16.8% | 2,597 | |
| Nonpartisan | Sheryl Cox Incumbent | 12.4% | 1,916 | |
| Nonpartisan | Lezlie Stephens | 11.1% | 1,713 | |
| Nonpartisan | Michael Spiroff | 9% | 1,395 | |
| Nonpartisan | Rebecca Flannagan | 7.7% | 1,194 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.6% | 93 | |
| Total Votes | 15,438 | |||
| Source: St. Charles County Election Authority, "Election Summary Report," April 20, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Stephens reported $1,810.00 in contributions and $1,060.43 in expenditures to the Missouri Ethics Commission, which left her campaign with $749.57 on hand during the election.[3]
Endorsements
Stephens received an endorsement from the St. Charles County Republican Central Committee.[4]
Campaign themes
2016
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
Lezlie Stephens participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on March 1, 2016:
| “ | I want to bring a fresh set of eyes to the decisions made. I would prefer to look at things in three ways: Mother, Business Person, and a Taxpayer. We need to be strict on the funds we spend because of the exponential growth coming.[5][6] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Missouri. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Blank | |
| “ | n/a[6] | ” |
| —Lezlie Stephens (March 1, 2016) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer nine questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| Yes. unsure |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. The test itself might be an indicator, but the journey to get there needs adjusted. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| I do not support the Common Core standards at it's defined today. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. They should be put on a probation period and mentored through a process. I am not a supporter of letting a teacher keep their job in a "protected" status just because of their length of employment. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. I believe teachers should be paid based on their performance, not on tests. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| Yes. There are some instances when the public school is not the right choice for each student. There should be additional options, but this is not a huge concern for me yet. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| There should be rules set for situations. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| The curriculum Curriclum in the number one success factor as all things will follow from there. I agree that the other options are extremely important, but the curriculum provides a foundation. |
2015
Stephens completed a voter guide profile for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
| “ | What are your top priorities for the district?
My priorities include: 1. Restoring fiscal responsibility when decisions are made in a repeatable manner. 2. Work on delivering the right curriculum to develop our students for the future. 3. Improve parent/district involvement and communication. Why are you qualified to serve in this office? I am qualified based on three things. I am a mom of two middle-school boys, a professional businesswoman and a taxpayer. I've volunteered for PTA events, serve on the PTO Board, volunteer for the curriculum review committee and have a vested interest in my child's (and your's) education. I have no conflict of interest and will make decisions based on evidence and research.[6] |
” |
| —Lezlie Stephens (2015)[7] | ||
Stephens completed a voter guide profile for the 70 West Sentinel:
| “ | Why are you are running for office?
I am running because our district is facing three primary challenges; Growth, Financial Strain, and Curriculum based on Common Core standards. I feel, based on my education, professional background, and community service that I can help ask the tough questions. I feel that I can make the decisions that are best for our students and community only after reviewing all research. If you are challenging an incumbent, what qualifies you for the position more than the incumbent? I feel that I would make my decisions based on what’s best for our students, parents, and taxpayers. I have two children currently attending school and thoroughly enjoy volunteering in the classroom. I like to stay close to what they are doing. I want to be the person that absorbs the research and makes decisions based on facts. What are you top three priorities if you are elected? 1. Priority: Work with the administration on a smart growth plan What do you think residents see as the biggest problem in the Wentzville School District? I feel that residents see the massive growth as the largest problem. With growth, comes the need purchases. Our district is fantastic. We’ve held the top rated spots for quite awhile. We have excellent teachers who have a creative mind to keep our students going. With growth comes a lot of challenges. These challenges need to be well planned and executed for the best benefit of the students. What do you think students and parents see as the biggest problem in the Wentzville School District? I feel that the students are looking for more options in courses, and Wentzville definitely offers those choices. From STEM classes to Art and Music opportunities – the students are thriving. Some feel the growth pressure more than others, but it’s still there. As a parent, it varies. One concern I’ve heard is the fact that the area is expanding so fast. Just a few years ago, there were only 2 high schools. Now – we have three. Small town Wentzville is expected to have even more growth in the next couple years. What do you think is the district’s best asset? The teachers are absolutely the district’s best asset. I can see their passion and devotion to their students. They provide an atmosphere of learning in an encouraging environment.[6] |
” |
| —Lezlie Stephens (2015)[8] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Lezlie Stephens Wentzville School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Wentzville R-IV School District, Missouri
- Wentzville R-IV School District elections (2015)
- Wentzville R-IV School District elections (2016)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wentzville School District, "2016 Board of Education candidates," accessed January 21, 2016
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Lezlie Stephens," accessed April 6, 2015
- ↑ Missouri Ethics Commission, "Candidates By Election Search," accessed March 26, 2015
- ↑ Republican Party of St. Charles County, "April Election Endorsements – St. Charles County Republican Central Committee," accessed April 6, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Lezlie Stephens's responses," March 1, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Voters Guide," accessed April 4, 2015
- ↑ 70 West Sentinel, "Lezlie Stephens: Candidate for Board of Education, Wentzville School District," accessed April 6, 2015
| 2016 Wentzville R-IV School District Elections | |
| Election date: | April 5, 2016 |
| Candidates: | One-year term: Kurtis Daniels • Damien Pisciotta • Lezlie Stephens Three-year terms: Saundra Garber • Dale Schaper • Jennifer Simpson • Jackson Thompson • Betsy Bates |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
| 2015 Wentzville R-IV School District Elections | |
| St. Charles County, Missouri | |
| Election date: | April 7, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Sheryl Cox • Incumbent, Sandy Garber • Natalie DeWeese • Michael Feinstein • Rebecca Flannagan • Michael Spiroff • Lezlie Stephens |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
