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Michelle Witte
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Michelle Witte is an at-large representative on the South Washington County School Board in Minnesota. Witte sought another term in the general election on November 3, 2015. Michelle Witte won the general election on November 3, 2015.
Witte was first appointed to the board on June 12, 2014.[1]
Biography
Michelle Witte resides in Washington County, Minnesota. Witte received an undergraduate degree in psychology.[2] She is employed as the director of the Merrill Community Arts Center.[3]
Elections
2015
The election in South Washington County featured three of the seven seats on the board up for at-large general election on November 3, 2015.
The seats of incumbents Ron Kath, Joe Slavin, and Michelle Witte were up for election. Kath, Slavin, and Witte defeated challengers Dean Barton, Patricia Driscoll, Molly Lutz, and Andrea Mayer-Bruestle for the three at-large seats. Lutz previously ran unsuccessfully for a board seat in 2013.
Results
| South Washington County Schools, At-Large, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Ron Kath Incumbent |
18.4% | 5,382 |
| Michelle Witte Incumbent |
17.2% | 5,028 |
| Joe Slavin Incumbent |
15.1% | 4,431 |
| Molly Lutz | 14.1% | 4,120 |
| Dean Barton | 12.1% | 3,547 |
| Patricia Driscoll | 11.3% | 3,297 |
| Andrea Mayer-Bruestle | 10.9% | 3,186 |
| Write-in votes | 0.94% | 276 |
| Total Votes | 29,267 | |
| Source: Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Local Results in Washington County," accessed November 4, 2015 These election results are not official and will be updated when certified results are available. You can submit certified results by contacting us. |
||
Funding
The South Washington County Schools administration does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Endorsements
Witte received an endorsement from the United Teachers of South Washington County.[4]
Campaign themes
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
Witte participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display her responses to the survey questions. When asked what her top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | Ensure educators have the resources they need to serve our students, through passage of our levy referendums, and budgeting driven by evidence of what supports student achievement; To recruit and retain excellence in our workforce through support of more competitive compensation, professional development, and efforts to diversify; Support curriculum re-design that meets changing student needs.[5] | ” |
| —Michelle Witte (2015)[6] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Minnesota. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| "They should be implemented, with adequate professional development for teachers." | |
| "No." | |
| "No." | |
| "I think some are, though they don't provide the FULL metric for student achievement." | |
| "Use evidence-based methods to address the challenge." | |
| "Expulsion cases must be viewed on a case-by-case basis rather than the district having an overarching policy." | |
| "Work in collaboration with teachers and administrators to develop evidence-based steps." | |
| "Yes." | |
| "First step: Develop a consensus on what "performing" means and what standards are being use to measure performance." | |
| "Continue to provide meaningful ways for the community to be involved in the schools and also district-wide issues so they can learn more about all that is involved." |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Michelle Witte' 'South Washington County Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ South Washington County Schools, "School Board selects Michelle Witte of Woodbury as appointed member through Dec. 31, 2015," June 13, 2014
- ↑ South Washington County Schools, "Witte, Michelle," accessed October 26, 2015
- ↑ South Washington County Bulletin, "District 833 School Board election profile: Michelle Witte," October 22, 2015
- ↑ United Teachers of South Washington County, "Home," accessed October 29, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's school board candidate survey, 2015, "Michelle Witte's Responses," October 3, 2015
| 2015 South Washington County Schools Elections | |
| Washington County, Minnesota | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Ron Kath • Incumbent, Joe Slavin • Incumbent, Michelle Witte • Dean Barton • Patricia Driscoll • Molly Lutz • Andrea Mayer-Bruestle |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
