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Margaret Wright (Colorado)
Margaret Wright was a candidate for at-large representative on the Pueblo City Schools school board in Colorado. Wright was defeated in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Elections
2017
- See also: Pueblo City Schools elections (2017)
Two of the five seats on the Pueblo City Schools Board of Education in Colorado were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. C. Dennis Maes and Taylor Voss won the election, defeating appointed incumbent R. Kenneth O'Neal and fellow challengers Dottie Calhoun and Margaret Wright.[1][2]
Results
| Pueblo City Schools, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 C. Dennis Maes |
42.66% | 17,281 |
| Taylor Voss |
20.14% | 8,158 |
| Margaret Wright | 15.04% | 6,091 |
| R. Kenneth O'Neal Incumbent | 12.52% | 5,070 |
| Dottie Calhoun | 9.64% | 3,906 |
| Total Votes | 40,506 | |
| Source: Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder, "2017 Pueblo County Coordinated Election Official Results," accessed November 27, 2017 | ||
Funding
Wright reported $3,705.23 in contributions and $4,518.55 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left her campaign with $813.32 in debt in the election.[3]
Campaign themes
2017
Wright participated in the following survey conducted by The Pueblo Chieftain. The survey questions appear bolded, and Wright's responses follow below.
Why are you running for school board?
| “ | I believe that I am the 'WRight person at the WRight time.' I have the experience, education, commitment, tenacity, passion, foresight and integrity to get the job done.
Having served as an educational consultant/advocate, principal, assistant principal, teacher (English, performing arts, ESS-gifted education, ESL), paraprofessional and teacher substitute, I bring insight from multiple directions. I want to see Pueblo City Schools (D60) succeed and become the educational beacon and flagship that it can be for our community, state and world-at-large.[4] |
” |
| —Margaret Wright (2017)[5] | ||
Why do you feel people should vote for you?
| “ | I am an 'informed change agent' who brings a fresh and broader perspective to the board. I am able to critically look at how we are currently serving our students and make the hard decisions necessary to bring the change needed to support our current needs and projected growths.
For the past few years, I have been serving our students in D60, identifying areas of strengths and areas needing change in our schools through first hand observations. I have been working with administrators, teachers, students, parents, grandparents, foster parents and kinship parents, collaborating together in the best interest of our students' education. I have been fighting for the educational rights of our students with special needs to increase the parity and quality of service.[4] |
” |
| —Margaret Wright (2017)[5] | ||
What problems, if any, does the board need to fix?
| “ | 'Where there is instability, the students suffer.' In order to improve student achievement and to reduce the attrition rate of staff and students, first, we need to stabilize the infrastructure: operating budget, communication practices, leadership retention, foundational organization structure, and safe buildings.
We need to ensure that our budget is fiscally prudent and supports the current needs and the future projections for growth. We need to ensure that teachers, administrators, support staff have the tools, materials and professional development necessary to support our diverse student population. We must provide competitive salaries commensurate with the education level and responsibilities of our administrators, teachers and support staff in order to recruit and retain certified and qualified personnel. We need a system-wide master plan that supports the renovation and new construction of schools. We must communicate to our stakeholders in the community, providing a clear vision of our educational philosophy and the future direction for our school district. I believe the board should respond to public questions with honesty and integrity. Although there are legal parameters that the board must adhere to when addressing certain matters in the public arena, the board should work to improve the public's level of trust and competency in the board by ensuring that we inform our stakeholders of our position and the directions we are going. We must identify key stakeholders in our community who can partner with us and help us achieve our goals. We need to examine our current policies to ensure that we do not impede the effectiveness of the school program and school staff in carrying out their duties. We need to examine the discipline policies: school suspension, zero tolerance and its impact on the truancy and dropout rates. Find ways that increase a student's access to educational services. We need to increase the 'parity' and 'equity' in service for all schools and students, inclusive of those with special needs and supportive services. Adopt policies that are beneficial, practical and fair, which improves the outcome and productivity and ensures the wellbeing of our students and staff.[4] |
” |
| —Margaret Wright (2017)[5] | ||
How can you help in this regard?
| “ | I have the experience of working with interagency collaborations bringing various entities (with different viewpoints) together for a common cause and the common good.
It will take a 'village' to save our children. So, as board members, we must bring our strengths to the table to help accomplish our common goal while respecting our differences. We must make the hard decisions necessary to bring about the needed changes. Keep what is strong; change what is needed. We must be real. We must open our eyes to truth and integrity and walk in it.[4] |
” |
| —Margaret Wright (2017)[5] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Margaret Wright Pueblo City Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Pueblo Chieftain, "Consultant seeking D60 board seat," September 6, 2017
- ↑ Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder, "2017 Pueblo County Coordinated Election Unofficial Results," accessed November 8, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "TRACER: Candidate Search," accessed December 18, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 The Pueblo Chieftain, "Candidate: Margaret Wright," October 14, 2017
| Pueblo City Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Pueblo County, Colorado | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Appointed incumbent, R. Kenneth O'Neal • Dottie Calhoun • C. Dennis Maes • Taylor Voss • Margaret Wright |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
