Meredith Exline

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Meredith Exline

Prior offices

Edmond Public Schools school board, District 5

Successor: Marcus Jones

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Education

High school

Putnam City West High School

Bachelor's

Oklahoma State University

Personal

Religion

Christian: Baptist

Meredith Exline was a member of the Edmond Public Schools school board in Oklahoma, representing District 5. Exline assumed office on February 1, 2015. Exline left office on September 10, 2021.

Exline won re-election to the Edmond Public Schools school board to represent District 5 in Oklahoma outright in the general election on April 7, 2020, after the primary and general election were canceled.

Biography

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Exline graduated from Putnam City West High School and Oklahoma State University. She previously served as the president of the Northern Hills Parent Teacher Organization. She has also been a member of the Parent Legislative Action Committee, a nonpartisan group which works to increase awareness of legislative issues facing public education.

Elections

2020

Incumbent Meredith Exline was the only candidate to file and won the position by default when the election was canceled.

2015

See also: Edmond Public Schools elections (2015)

Exline faced John Coburn in the election for the District 5 seat on February 10, 2015. Incumbent Kemp Cole did not run for re-election.

Results

Edmond Public Schools, District 5 General Election, 5-year term, 2015
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Meredith Exline	58.9%	851
	Nonpartisan	John Coburn	41.1%	595
Total Votes				1,446
Source: Oklahoma State Election Board, "Official Results: Special Elections—February 10, 2015," accessed February 17, 2015

Funding

Exline reported no contributions or expenditures to the Oklahoma Ethics Commission in this election.

Endorsements

Exline was endorsed by The Edmond Sun on February 6, 2015.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Meredith Exline did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2015

Campaign website

Exline provided the following statements on her campaign website:

“	My engagement, experience and effectiveness make me the best candidate for Edmond Public Schools Board of Education. ● Engaged: ○ In the last 11 years, I’ve served as homeroom mother, on PTO/SPO committees,chaired PTO/SPO committees, and presided as PTO President for two years. ○ Participated in Edmond’s Parent Advisory Council for the last 4 years. ○ Founded and currently preside over the Oklahoma Central Parent Legislative Action Committee (PLAC) since January 2013. The PLAC is a nonpartisan group with the goal of increasing parent and community awareness about legislative issues impacting public education in Oklahoma. ○ Attend Henderson Hills Baptist Church. ● Experienced: ○ Led meetings across the metro area regarding education issues. ○ Worked closely with metro area administrators, teachers, parents and other education stakeholders to support legislation that will best benefit all children. ○ Part of High Stakes Testing Summit that is collaborating with all stakeholders to formulate suggested policy for education. ○ Oklahoma Business & Education Coalition EPCC committee member. ○ Served on the board of Mother to Mother, an organization that assists struggling mothers by pairing them with a mentor, for several years. ○ Have paid career experience as Scholastic Book Fair Representative, Education Director for Consumer Credit Counseling, Program Manager for Bethphage, and Recreation Therapist. ○ Bachelor of Science Degree in Therapeutic Recreation from Oklahoma State University. ● Effective: ○ Lobbied legislators at the state Capitol for two years on issues impacting our children and public education. ○ Provided key advocacy to include parents and teachers in retention decisions under the third grade reading law and will work to make this permanent in 2015. ○ Recognized by local media as an education advocate and as a reliable source on education issues	”
—Meredith Exline's campaign website (2015)

The Oklahoman interviews

Exline stated that state and federal testing and other education mandates need to be addressed by the board in an profile of the candidates published by The Oklahoman just after the filing deadline for the race closed. She also voiced concerns about a teaching shortage, saying, "We also need to improve morale. It’s crucial."

In a later candidate survey, Exline provided the following responses to questions from the paper:

"Growth has been a constant for the Edmond school district. What special challenges does that present to the school board now and in the future?"

“	The growth Edmond Public Schools has experienced over the years and continues to witness is enough to open one elementary school every year. Edmond has done a responsible job of keeping up with the growth as well as preparing for future growth. The district has effectively addressed the student growth with the support of the Edmond community by the passage of bonds. Our community embraces great public schools; without the bond money, classrooms would be extremely overcrowded. Along with growth comes redistricting and securing additional staff. The result is some growing pains for everyone. However, it is necessary to relieve overcrowded schools. The primary challenge with our student growth and new schools will be securing qualified teachers for the classrooms.	”
—Meredith Exline (2015)

"What specifics about your background qualify you best to be a school board member?"

“	There are three words that stand out to me regarding my qualifications: engaged, experienced and effective. I have been actively engaged over the last 11 years both in my children’s classrooms and through leadership positions in the PTO/SPO (parent and school organizations), including PTO president for two years. I was instrumental in establishing and currently preside over the Oklahoma Central Parent Legislative Action Committee, a nonpartisan group with the goal of increasing parent and community awareness about legislative issues impacting public education. The experience I have gained leading meetings across the metro area regarding education issues along with collaborating with all stakeholders to support legislation that will best serve all children has made me knowledgeable on the issues our schools face. The interactions and relationships I have developed with parents, teachers, administrators, higher ed, other education advocacy groups, legislators and businesses provide me with valuable assets to serve our schools in Edmond. I have extensive knowledge of school finance and the issues surrounding Edmond’s budget. I effectively provided key advocacy to include parents and teachers in the retention decisions under the third-grade reading law and will work to make this permanent in 2015. Both my business career and volunteer service have allowed me to develop the qualities necessary to lead our district into the future.	”
—Meredith Exline (2015)

"What are the first few serious challenges facing the next superintendent of Edmond Public Schools?"

“	One issue at the forefront facing the new superintendent is the teacher shortage and the continued student growth. The growth and teacher shortage has directly impacted Edmond schools. The number of qualified applicants is slim at best, and many positions have gone unfilled for a period in our district. It has become necessary to look to alternative solutions in securing teachers. This is a crucial issue as we are faced with opening two new schools in the upcoming years. The district is faced with the possibility of a flat or decreased funding this legislative session. This will continue to be a challenge.	”
—Meredith Exline (2015)

Demographics

Oklahoma County outperformed the rest of Oklahoma in terms of higher education achievement and median household income in 2012. The United States Census Bureau found that 29.3 percent of its residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree compared to 23.2 percent for Oklahoma as a whole. The median household income in the county was $45,082 compared to $44,891 for the state of Oklahoma. The poverty rate in Oklahoma County was 17.8 percent compared to 16.6 percent for the entire state.

Racial Demographics, 2013
Race	Oklahoma County (%)	Oklahoma (%)
White	71.7	75.4
Black or African American	15.8	7.7
American Indian and Alaska Native	4.2	9.0
Asian	3.2	2.0
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.1	0.2
Two or More Races	5.1	5.8
Hispanic or Latino	16.0	9.6

Oklahoma County Party Affiliation, 2013
Party	Registered Voters	% of Total
Democratic	168,098	41.32
Republican	180,350	44.33
Independent	58,358	14.34

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

See also

2020 Elections

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External links

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Additional reading

• Oklahoma Gazette, "PODCAST: Capital City, Ep. 16," January 10, 2015
• The Oklahoman, "Two people seek open seat on Edmond School Board," December 6, 2014
• The Edmond Sun, "Two candidates file for Edmond School Board Seat 5," December 3, 2014
• The Edmond Sun, "Pair of candidates enter ring for Edmond School Board Seat 5," December 3, 2014