Louise Dodson
Louise Dodson was a candidate for Trustee Area 6 representative on the ABC Unified School District school board in California. Dodson was defeated in the by-district general election on November 7, 2017.
Dodson participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Elections
2017
Three of the seven seats on the ABC Unified School District school board in California were up for by-district general election on November 7, 2017. In her bid for re-election to the Trustee Area 2 seat, incumbent Soo Y. Yoo ran unopposed and did not appear on the ballot. She was re-elected to the board by default. Newcomer H. Ernie Nishii won the Trustee Area 3 seat, defeating incumbent Lynda Johnson, former candidate Daniel Fierro, and former member Armin Reyes. The race for the Trustee Area 6 seat included former candidate Louise Dodson and newcomer Olga Rios. Rios won the seat.[1][2][3]
Results
| ABC Unified School District, Trustee Area 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Olga Rios |
64.46% | 292 |
| Louise Dodson | 35.54% | 161 |
| Total Votes | 453 | |
| Source: Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Local and Municipal Consolidated Elections November 7, 2017," accessed November 21, 2017 | ||
Funding
At the time of this election, the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk did not publish school board candidate campaign finance reports online. Ballotpedia staffers requested this information, but the only free method of viewing the files was at their office.
The Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk targeted the end of 2018 to make school board candidate campaign finance reports available online for free. From that point forward, Ballotpedia began including campaign finance data for Los Angeles County school board candidates.[4][5][6]
Endorsements
Dodson was endorsed by the following elected officials:[7]
- State Rep. Mike Gipson (D-64)
- Cerritos Mayor Pro Tem Mark Pulido
- Lakewood Vice Mayor Steve Croft
- ABC Unified School District school board member Olympia Chen
- ABC Unified School District school board member Maynard Law
Dodson was also endorsed by former officials. Click here for a list of her supporters.
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Louise Dodson participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[8] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on October 13, 2017:
| “ | If elected to the School board, I hope to raise student achievement by creating more opportunities for students to succeed through the academic pipeline or career technical education. A 21st Century education for ALL students will prepare students to compete and succeed in the global market.[9][10] | ” |
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 California. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | Student success for ALL is the goal.[10] | ” |
| —Louise Dodson (October 13, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight 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.) |
|---|
| No. |
| 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. |
| 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? |
| Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| As a tool to redirecting negative behavior. An intervention plan should be included for accountability. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| The curriculum. |
Candidate website
Dodson highlighted the following issues on her campaign website:
| “ | I come from a proud family that has been involved in public education for as long as I can remember. We need to create more opportunities for students to succeed through the academic pipeline or career technical education from middle school to college. As well as improve our schools so that our students can receive 21st Century education that will result in all students are prepared to compete and succeed in the Global market. I know what it takes to find solutions and I want to work for you
LIST OF ISSUES 1. Student Success for All on the College or Career Readiness Path 2. Develop a Plan to bring 21st Century Education to All Students 3. Increase Parental Involvement and Community Engagement[10] |
” |
| —Louise Dodson (2017)[11] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Louise Dodson ABC Unified School District school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Final List Of Qualified Candidates Whose Name Will Not Appear On The Ballot," August 28, 2017
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Candidate List: Local And Municipal Consolidated Elections 11/7/2017," accessed August 12, 2017
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Local and Municipal Consolidated Elections November 7, 2017," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed July 2, 2014
- ↑ Daniel Anderson, “Email communication with Brenda Duran, Los Angeles County Public Information Officer," October 7, 2016
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Brenda Duran, Los Angeles County Public Information Officer," January 2, 2018
- ↑ Louise Dodson 4 ABC Board of Education TA 6, "Endorsements," accessed October 20, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Louise Dodson's responses," October 13, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Louise Dodson 4 ABC Board of Education TA 6, "Platform," accessed October 20, 2017
| ABC Unified School District elections in 2017 | |
| Los Angeles County, California | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | Trustee Area 2: • Incumbent, Soo Y. Yoo Trustee Area 3: • Incumbent, Lynda Johnson • Daniel Fierro • H. Ernie Nishii • Armin Reyes Trustee Area 6: • Louise Dodson • Olga Rios |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
