Mark Stanoch

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Mark Stanoch

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Marist High School

Bachelor's

St. Peter's College, 1974

Personal

Birthplace

Jersey City, N.J.

Religion

Christian: Catholic

Profession

Business executive

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Mark Stanoch ran for election to the School District of Manatee County school board to represent District 1 in Florida. He lost in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Stanoch completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Mark Stanoch was born in Jersey City, New Jersey. He earned a high school diploma from Marist High School. He earned a bachelor's degree from St. Peter's College in 1974. His career experience includes working as a business executive for IBM Global Services and Dell Inc. Stanoch has been affiliated with the Manatee County Republican Executive Committee; the Manatee Patriots; the Lakewood Ranch Republican Club; the East Manatee Republican Club; Victims of Communism Manatee, Inc.; and the Knights of Columbus.

Elections

2024

See also: School District of Manatee County, Florida, elections (2024)

General election

General election for School District of Manatee County school board District 1

Heather Felton defeated Mark Stanoch in the general election for School District of Manatee County school board District 1 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Heather Felton (Nonpartisan)	57.7	29,051
		Mark Stanoch (Nonpartisan)	42.3	21,275

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 50,326
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for School District of Manatee County school board District 1

Heather Felton and Mark Stanoch defeated Alex Garner in the primary for School District of Manatee County school board District 1 on August 20, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Heather Felton (Nonpartisan)	39.3	6,416
✔		Mark Stanoch (Nonpartisan)	31.4	5,135
	Submit photo	Alex Garner (Nonpartisan)	29.3	4,784

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 16,335
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Stanoch in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Mark Stanoch completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Stanoch's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a resident of Manatee County having moved here in 2008 from New Jersey with my wife of 50 years, Annette. I hold a BS degree in Psychology from St. Peter’s College, and pursued graduate degrees in Management Science and Statistics at Stevens Institute of Technology and Rutgers University. We have three grown sons and two grandchildren who are students in the School District and my primary motivation for running for the School Board. I bring experience, knowledge and skills historically lacking on the Board. As a successful Executive, Manager, Leader and entrepreneur, I have the business acumen to understand data and financial models and I know how to work with groups of stakeholders to bring about results. I successfully unified conservative Dell with liberal Microsoft leading to a successful strategic partnership where I received 5 consecutive “Enterprise Partner of the Year” awards. I am also an innovative entrepreneur who created 2 technology startups both of which were sold to publicly traded corporations. And, I have been a teacher. I am active in many community and civic organizations. In 2023 I was the organizer of the Victims of Communism, Manatee, scholarship fund that awarded $8,000 in scholarships to four high school students in Manatee County for describing the evils of Communism. I am active with my church and the Knights of Columbus. I volunteer at Feeding Empty Little Tummies (FELT) and I am a mentor in the “Dive Into Reading” program for kindergarteners.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Focus on the Fundamentals Nearly half of our students are not reading at grade level and there are "D" rated schools. This needs to be addressed at the lower grades. ELA scores must improve. The Board should direct Administration to evaluate successful programs in other districts to help fast-track our own programs. We must enhance current initiatives like the Early Learning VPK programs and address the needs of our English Language Learners (ELL’s). Innovative solutions that potentially engage retirees and other volunteers to provision various supplemental programs may be one of the most cost-effective ways to complement the classroom work of our professional staff, and accelerate results. All stakeholders must be involved
• Enhance School/Community Collaboration Our Manatee County School Board should be representative of the stakeholders in our community. We should encourage input from various school committees and forums. The board is the decision-making body to which all educational needs and recommendations are conveyed, considered and evaluated. Curriculum and programs to enhance the educational success of our students are the focus. All initiatives must have the participation of professional staff, administrators, parents and guardians, students, and taxpayers. The board must have a full perspective of issues, challenges and needs. It is also crucial for our board to reach out and partner with other elected officials as well as local employers.
• Invest Wisely, Spend Smartly .Financial oversight does not provide financial insight. We need to ensure that every budget item is providing appropriate value and supporting desired results. Measuring student success is a key performance indicator. Once budgets are established, the process of how and why products and services are acquired should be reviewed at length. All assumptions and forecasts used in developing the annual budget should be carefully reviewed and shared with the stakeholders. Spending smarter by identifying improvement opportunities will allow us to ensure our teachers are paid competitively, attracting and retaining the best talent. Spending smartly will also help to have well equipped and supplied classrooms.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am a strong advocate of Parental Rights. I believe that public schools must engage with parents in the delivery of instruction. Teachers should always communicate with parents in discussing their concerning with their child’s behavior. I am also a strong advocate of charter schools. These schools do not have the same construction requirements as public schools and are therefore much less costly to build. So, charter schools are a low-cost alternative to addressing the overcrowding issues currently plaguing our schools. And charter schools provide a wonderful opportunity of enhancing the curricula currently being offered.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I find great inspiration in the past Presidents of the United States. I am particularly moved by George Washington who when his job was complete he returned to being a private citizen rather than retain power. He was a model of a true Patriot Citizen.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty and transparency should be the core principles of every school board member. A willingness to actively listen to constituents is also of utmost importance. Every School board member should realize that their first duty should be to represent their constituents and not be beholden to any special interests.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

I am honest in all my dealings and I am an active listener. I have a proven track record of achieving joint goals among diverse organizations. This is perhaps best illustrated in my role of Microsoft Alliance Manager at Dell. Microsoft (based in Redmond, Washington) and Dell (based in Round Rock, Texas) possess very different corporate cultures and organizational climates. By establishing and adhering to a set of joint goals, I was able to drive more joint revenue than any other business partner, for 5 consecutive years. More recently, I have applied these skills to enhancing community engagement. During the last election cycle I organized a voter registration drive which resulted in registering over 100 new voters in Manatee County. Last year, I conceived and organized the “Victims of Communism” scholarship program which in its first year awarded $8,000 in scholarships to high school students in Manatee County for their work on exposing the evils of Communism. As part of the program, community members who had suffered under Communism shared their experiences with over 60 high school students during a workshop. Success was achieved through the collaborative efforts of the program participants which included members from groups as diverse as the League of Women Voters and Manatee Patriots. These experiences, along with many others, have given me the ability to listen to all sides and determine what works best.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

An an elected representative, a school board member must be able to listen to the community and be able to understand their needs. This should be proactive.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to improve our ELA scores by at least 10% and incorporate policies to make our school district more effective.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I have vivid memories of learning about President John F Kennedy's assassination while in class at grammar school. I was 11 years old at that time.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was a part-time position assisting in taking inventory at a retail store. I worked that assignment for about a month during a summer recess.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

Article IX, section 4(b) of the Florida Constitution states, “The school board shall operate, control and supervise all free public schools within the school district and determine the rate of school district taxes within the limits prescribed.”

The Manatee County School Board is primarily a policy setting body, not a legislative body. In short, it is where leadership is exercised, and decisions related to educational policy are made.

But often, decisions are made in a vacuum without engaging the community. Frequently major decisions are influenced by just a handful of people representing special interests.

Therefore, I see that the primary role of the school board is to represent the values, views and desires of all community members within the school district and focus on the educational outcomes of ALL students. The school board achieves this by:

•Setting policy and ensuring that it is followed by the administration
•Analyzing and evaluating academic performance of the district
•Recruiting and evaluating the district superintendent based on defined measurements of district success
•Ensure that the educational system is functioning properly and complies with State and Federal laws

•Direct strategic plan development and hold fiduciary authority for funding and all expenditures

Who are your constituents?

My constituents are the taxpayers of Manatee County.

How will you build relationships with members of the broader community? Which groups, organizations, stakeholders will you specifically target?

Community involvement is the key to representation. There are several strategies which can be employed to increase community involvement and representation which I will champion as a school board member:

-Focus Groups - I found these to be an important component of my campaign. Meeting with groups of stakeholders including teachers, administrators, parents, taxpayers and students has proven invaluable to my understanding of our challenges.

-Townhalls - I feel that the time allotted for public comments during school board meetings is insufficient and that the lack of interaction does little to increase community involvement and representation. Establishing and formalizing a schedule of Townhall meetings would provide a forum for every voice to be heard. And these must be conducted with decorum, focusing on Commonsense Academic Excellence and not distractions that only serve to devalue the educational mission of our district and our teachers.

In what areas would you like to expand curriculum? For example, do you see a need for advanced technical training or apprenticeships? What sort of innovative programming would you advance if given the opportunity?

Having spent an entire career in Information Technology, I would like to see our curriculum expanded to include topics in IT Infrastructure (Networking, Virtualization), Database Design (SQL Server, MySQL) and Coding (C#, JavaScript). We should also engage with technology firms in the area to foster apprenticeships and work/study programs in these areas.

Nearly 19% of the School District of Manatee County (SDMC) are English Language Learners (ELL’s). Because English is their second language these students typically score much lower on English Language Arts (ELA) tests. To address this issue, I would like to see a charter school (or even a "Microschool") dedicated to these students. In this way, Spanish-speaking students would be taught English in their native language thus accelerating their learning and improving their ELA scores. This would also provide an opportunity for non-ELL students to become immersed in Spanish thereby providing them with an avenue for learning a second language.

Civics and American History are essential to becoming good citizens. I would like to see our curricula enhanced by incorporating the 1776 program from Hillsdale College.

Finally, I see a need to provide courses dedicated to building basic life skills including basic finance (balancing checkbooks, opening and closing bank accounts, etc.), meal preparation, etc. We used to refer to these types of courses as “Home Economics”.

What existing district policies would you like to change, or what new policies would you like to implement?

I would like to amend School Board Policy 2520 so that the board can consider additions to the current curricula.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Manatee County, Richard Tatem, School Board member for District 5 and candidate for Florida House seat for District 72.

What will you do to build a relationship with parents in the district?

I plan on holding a series of Townhalls and make myself available for individual meetings. If the budget and time permits, I plan on creating and maintaining a newsletter for District 1 parents.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

I strongly believe that all financial information should be fully disclosed to all constituents. And I believe that any interests which school board members have which may have an impact on the operations of the District's business should also be fully disclosed.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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