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Michelle Walker (Missouri)
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Michelle Walker is an at-large representative on the Francis Howell School District Board of Education in Missouri. Walker won in the general election held on April 5, 2016.[1]
Biography
Walker's experience includes owning STL Buy & Sell Realtors. She was the 2016 president-elect of the St. Charles County Association of Realtors. She obtained her bachelor's degree in business administration from Columbia College after graduating from Francis Howell High School. Walker also served in the U.S. Navy and received an honorable discharge in 1995. Walker is married and has three children attending schools in the Francis Howell School District.[2]
Elections
2016
Two of the seven at-large seats on the Francis Howell School District school board were up for general election on April 5, 2016. Incumbent Cynthia Bice filed for re-election. Incumbent Amy McEvoy filed in the race but formally withdrew on January 22, 2016. Bice faced challengers Michelle Walker, Kimberlyann Granger and Mike Hoehn, a former board member.[1] Walker and Hoehn were successful in securing seats on the board.
Results
| Francis Howell School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Michelle Walker |
29.48% | 6,181 |
| Mike Hoehn |
24.84% | 5,208 |
| Kimberlyann Granger | 23.66% | 4,960 |
| Cynthia Bice Incumbent | 21.70% | 4,550 |
| Write-in votes | 0.32% | 67 |
| Total Votes (100) | 20,966 | |
| Source: St. Charles County, "Election Summary Report," accessed April 5, 2016 | ||
Endorsements
Walker was officially endorsements by the Francis Howell Educators Association, the Tri-County Labor Association and the St. Charles County Association of Realtors.[3]
Campaign themes
2016
Candidate website
Walker's campaign website listed the following campaign themes for 2016:
Why am I running?
| “ | Professionally, I bring real estate industry and community credibility with an educated insight that will guide my school board decisions. Affordable home ownership, GREAT Schools, and an engaged community will help keep us successful. I want to ensure our tax dollars are spent wisely and our HOME VALUES continue to rise![4] | ” |
| —Michelle Walker VoteforMichelle (2016)[5] | ||
Quality education
| “ | Personally, I have three kids attending school in the district. A middle school daughter, walking the same halls I walked nearly 30 years ago. A first grade son, that adores his teacher, and another son learning to read in a district early childhood center. When my youngest starts kindergarten this fall, I want him to to enjoy the quality education that fortunate students have enjoyed in Francis Howell for generations.[4] | ” |
| —Michelle Walker VoteforMichelle (2016)[6] | ||
Ballotpedia survey responses
Michelle Walker participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on February 14, 2016:
| “ | [7][4] | ” |
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 Missouri. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | -[4] | ” |
| —Michelle Walker (February 14, 2016) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer nine 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. - |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| Tests aren't a good way to measure success. |
| 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? |
| 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. - |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. They can't control the external factors in their students lives. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. - |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Extreme Cases Only |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'MIchelle Walker' 'Francis Howell School District'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Francis Howell School District, "Board of Education Election," accessed January 20, 2016
- ↑ Vote for Michelle, "Meet Michelle," accessed February 16, 2016
- ↑ Vote for Michelle, "Endorsements," accessed February 15, 2016
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ Vote for Michelle, "Meet Michelle," accessed February 16, 2016
- ↑ Vote for Michelle, "Meet Michelle," accessed February 16, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Michelle Walker's responses," February 14, 2016
| 2016 Francis Howell School District Elections | |
| St. Charles County, Missouri | |
| Election date: | April 5, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Cynthia Bice • Michelle Walker • Kimberlyann Granger • Mike Hoehn |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
