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Mark Bateman

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Mark Bateman
Image of Mark Bateman

Education

High school

McKay High School

Bachelor's

Johns Hopkins University

Graduate

George Washington University

Personal
Profession
Values-based investing
Contact

Mark Bateman was a candidate for Zone 1 representative on the Salem-Keizer Public Schools school board in Oregon. Bateman was defeated in the by-district general election on May 16, 2017.

Biography

Bateman's professional experience includes working in the values-based investing field and as a legislative aide to Sen. Mark Hatfield. He earned his master's degree from George Washington University and his bachelor's degree from Johns Hopkins University. Bateman graduated from McKay High School.[1]

Elections

2017

See also: Salem-Keizer Public Schools elections (2017)

Four seats on the Salem-Keizer Public Schools school board in Oregon were up for by-district general election on May 16, 2017. In Zone 1, Kathy Goss defeated Mark Bateman, Kathleen Harder, and Ross Swartzendruber. Sheronne Blasi defeated Jonathan Baker to win the open Zone 3 seat. In Zone 5, Jesse Lippold defeated Levi Herrera-Lopez. Zone 7 incumbent Paul Kyllo won re-election after running unopposed.[2][3]

Results

Salem-Keizer Public Schools,
Zone 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2017
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.png Kathy Goss 41.35% 14,014
Kathleen Harder 38.82% 13,155
Mark Bateman 14.45% 4,898
Ross Swartzendruber 4.87% 1,652
Write-in votes 0.5% 169
Total Votes 33,888
Source: Polk County Elections, "Final Election Results," accessed June 12, 2017 and Marion County, Oregon, "May 16, 2017 Special District Report," accessed June 12, 2017

Funding

Campaign Finance Ballotpedia.png
See also: Campaign finance requirements in Oregon and List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2017

The filing deadline in Oregon for a campaign transaction is typically no later than 30 calendar days. However, beginning on the 42nd day before an election day and through the date of the election, a transaction is due no later than seven calendar days after the date it occurred. The dates for the beginning and ending of the seven-day reporting period for the 2017 Oregon school board elections were:[4]

  • April 4, 2017 (Seven day campaign finance reporting begins)
  • May 16, 2017 (Seven day campaign finance reporting ends)

A school board candidate in Oregon must form a candidate committee unless he or she meets all of the following conditions:[5][6]

  1. The candidate elects to serve as his or her own treasurer.
  2. The candidate does not have an existing candidate committee.
  3. The candidate does not expect to receive or spend more than $750 during a calendar year (including personal funds).

A candidate committee must file a Statement of Organization with the Elections Division of the Oregon Secretary of State within three business days of first receiving or spending money. A form including campaign account information must accompany the Statement of Organization.[5][7]

Candidate committees that expect to receive or spend $3,500 or more in a calendar year are required to report all transactions. A committee that does not expect to receive or spend this much is still required to file a Statement of Organization and designate a campaign bank account, but does not have to file transactions. Instead, they must file a Certificate of Limited Contributions and Expenditures.[5][8]

Campaign themes

2017

Bateman posted the following on his campaign website:

My professional background is as a researcher. I ask questions and seek answers. Over my career, I have learned to apply those skills in organizational leadership. In senior company positions, international work groups, non-profits, and church organizations at the local and regional levels, I’ve applied these skills to help develop strategies for each organization.

I believe that the role of the school board is to provide oversight and strategic direction to the school district superintendent and senior school district staff. Such oversight requires an ability to ask probing questions and help staff think creatively about new directions.

I want to use this critical thinking approach to help increase the dialogue between the community and the school district. Some of this means helping school district staff communicate to the community the challenges that face our schools. Some of this means helping to provide times and places for the people in the community to communicate to the school district their expectations of our schools.

Funding and classroom space are obviously significant challenges. The Facilities Task Force is currently working through the issues associated with needed classroom space in a growing community. Additionally, state budget issues, including questions about the future of PERS, will have a significant impact on the planning our school district can do about programs we think are important and improvements we’d like to make.

I would like to see effort made in each of the following, but know that budgets make significant changes in these areas very difficult.

  • smaller class size
  • increased career and technical programs
  • more language programs
  • more art
  • more Advanced Placement and college prep programs

I know from my professional work that you can only manage what you measure. Therefore, my goal in serving on the school board will be to:

  • Focus on community engagement
  • Focus on the results policy and the metrics used to evaluate district performance
  • Focus on fiscal management

I also want to encourage the school board to think creatively about the future of education and how it fits into Salem-Keizer, as well as our national and global context. Education is going to have to change significantly over the coming decades—demographics and a variety of political and economic issues guarantee it. Salem-Keizer should be at the forefront of thinking about that future, rather than only reacting to changes as they happen. It will take some creative and collaborative thinking on the part of the school board, the business community, local colleges and universities, parents, retirees, and students to imagine the future we want.[9]

—Mark Bateman (2017)[10]

See also

External links

Footnotes