Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Nicole Carr
Nicole Carr was a member of the Pinellas County Schools school board in Florida, representing District 3. She assumed office in 2019. She left office on November 22, 2022.
Carr ran for re-election to the Pinellas County Schools school board to represent District 3 in Florida. She did not appear on the ballot for the primary on August 23, 2022.
Biography
Nicole Carr earned a Ph.D. in counselor education from the University of Florida in 2010. Carr’s career experience includes working as an assistant principal at Lakewood Elementary, senior coordinator of accountability and research specialist for Pinellas County Schools, school counselor for multiple schools in Florida, and teacher. She has received Florida Certification in Educational Leadership, Florida School Counselor Certification, and National Counselor Certification.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Pinellas County Schools, Florida, elections (2022)
General election
General election for Pinellas County Schools school board District 3 At-large
Dawn Peters defeated Keesha Benson in the general election for Pinellas County Schools school board District 3 At-large on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Dawn Peters (Nonpartisan) | 52.1 | 184,244 | |
| Keesha Benson (Nonpartisan) | 47.9 | 169,700 | ||
| Total votes: 353,944 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Pinellas County Schools school board District 3 At-large
Keesha Benson and Dawn Peters defeated Carl Zimmermann in the primary for Pinellas County Schools school board District 3 At-large on August 23, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Keesha Benson (Nonpartisan) | 40.1 | 81,019 | |
| ✔ | Dawn Peters (Nonpartisan) | 38.0 | 76,762 | |
 | Carl Zimmermann (Nonpartisan) | 21.8 | 44,056 | |
| Total votes: 201,837 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Nicole Carr (Nonpartisan)
2018
General election
General election for Pinellas County Schools school board District 3 At-large
Nicole Carr defeated incumbent Peggy O'Shea in the general election for Pinellas County Schools school board District 3 At-large on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Nicole Carr (Nonpartisan) | 53.9 | 195,863 |
 | Peggy O'Shea (Nonpartisan) | 46.1 | 167,280 | |
| Total votes: 363,143 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Pinellas County Schools school board District 3 At-large
Incumbent Peggy O'Shea and Nicole Carr defeated Carl Zimmermann in the primary for Pinellas County Schools school board District 3 At-large on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Peggy O'Shea (Nonpartisan) | 42.5 | 76,074 |
| ✔ | | Nicole Carr (Nonpartisan) | 31.3 | 56,098 |
| Carl Zimmermann (Nonpartisan) | 26.2 | 46,929 | |
| Total votes: 179,101 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Nicole Carr did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
Nicole Carr participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on August 30, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and Nicole Carr's responses follow below.[2]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
| “ | Safe Schools: As a mother of two school age children, I understands the need for safe schools. As a former school administrator, I have an understanding of how to secure our campuses and still provide a welcoming environment for our communities.
Better Schools: I have worked in elementary, middle, and high schools. My focus is on recruiting and retaining high quality teachers by fostering a climate that recognizes and rewards their hard work and dedication. Accountable Spending: I will eliminate wasteful spending from our 1.5 billion dollar budget. Seven of my twenty years in education were spent working as our accountability coordinator. I understands our budget. I believe we should pay teachers and staff and not spend millions of dollars on outside consultants and testing companies or waste money on programs that have no evidence of working.[3][4] |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
| “ | I am passionate about the climate in our district. Students, educators, parents, and community need to be allies in the common goal of learning. Too often the current policies and practices result in adversarial relationships between groups that really need to work collaboratively. Our district is still failing to meet the needs of our most struggling schools in high poverty high minority neighborhoods. The district continues to implement plans that fail to address the foundational problems.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[4]
|
” |
Ballotpedia also asked the candidate a series of optional questions. Nicole Carr answered the following:
What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?
| “ | I think it is important for elected officials to be hard working, solution focused, and actively seek input from those who are impacted by the policy before making decisions.[4] | ” |
| “ | People who know me know I ask tough questions to find solutions, I work very hard and I tell the truth.[4] | ” |
| “ | I think the core responsibility of a school board member is ensure the district is meeting the needs of children.[4] | ” |
| “ | I'd rather not sit on a School Board for so long that I leave a legacy. I think School Board should be a public service and not a life long career. I hope while serving on the School Board I am known as a member who works hard for the students and is responsive to issues and concerns of the families, educators, and community[4] | ” |
| “ | My first job was as a waitress in high school. I worked at Chelos in Cranston, RI. They were known for the great pie display.[4] | ” |
| “ | My family is my favorite thing in my house, they are what makes it a home.[4] | ” |
| “ | We have been singing the popular song ""If It's Meant to Be"" to keep us motivated as we navigate the campaign trail.[4] | ” |
| “ | The primary job of a school board member is to do what is best for children.[4] | ” |
| “ | I believe School Board members are elected by the voters to represent the students.[4] | ” |
| “ | I believe it is important to reach parents where they are and not always expect them to come to school. As a mom of two, I know life is busy and making a meeting at school can be difficult but that doesn't mean I don't want to be a part of my of their school. A key part of family engagement is the engagement part. Too often we attend a school function and are talked at rather than sought information from. Successful events are interactive to build the relationship, not sit and get. You can sit and get at home in an email.[4] | ” |
| “ | I do believe it is important to be intentional and work to recruit for diversity. I also think it is important to retain our teachers and administrators. It is important to seek input and understand why teachers are leaving the profession and specifically address those issues.[4] | ” |
| “ | Standardized testing, Value Added Measures (VAM), Common Core, accountability and corporations profiting from schools are factors that decrease the quality of our education system. Being grounded in the fact that schools are places for children to learn is the way increase the quality of our schools.[4] | ” |
| “ | Good teaching results in highly engaged students.[4] | ” |
| “ | In order to be prepared for the 21st century, students need to have a strong foundation in reading, writing and math. Students need to be equipped with critical thinking skills and develop a love of learning so they can be successful in our rapidly changing world.[4] | ” |
| “ | We need to continue to expand career technical education opportunities. Additionally, we need to support a strong foundation at the elementary level so students have every opportunity to choose the direction of their education.[4] | ” |
| “ | I think we need to stop spending on programs that have no evidence of working.[4] | ” |
| “ | We need a secure campus. However, we still want our schools to provide a welcoming environment. Some of the new security policies may have the unintended consequence of students feeling more isolated and less secure in their school. It is important that we get input from students (especially in our high schools) teachers, and families about the impact the new security rules are having on the climate of the school.[4] | ” |
| “ | As a former school counselor, I think the mental health of our students and staff is paramount. In order to support the mental health, we need to have a climate where educators are valued and treated like professionals and students are more than a test score. Additionally, the mental health service providers need time to provide services and should not be spending so much time administering standardized district assessments.[4] | ” |
| “ | We are utilizing a lot of technology in our district and it is important that we fully evaluate the effectiveness of some of the programs as well as the privacy safeguards in place for our students and families.[4] | ” |
The candidate completed Ballotpedia's biographical information submission form:
| “ | What is your political philosophy?
Nicole has worked in elementary, middle, and high schools. She will focus on recruiting and retaining high quality teachers by fostering a climate that recognizes and rewards their hard work and dedication. Nicole will eliminate wasteful spending from our 1.5 billion dollar budget. Seven of Nicole’s twenty years in education were spent working as our accountability coordinator. She understands our budget. Nicole believes we should pay teachers and staff and not spend millions of dollars on outside consultants and testing companies or waste money on programs that have no evidence of working. As a mother of two school age children, Nicole understands the need for safe schools. As a former school administrator, she has an understanding of how to secure our campuses and still provide a welcoming environment for our communities. Is there anything you would like to add? Nicole will bring badly needed fresh ideas and experience the school board.[4] |
” |
| —Nicole Carr[1] | ||
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Information submitted on Ballotpedia’s biographical information submission form on July 14, 2018
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "Nicole Carr's responses," August 30, 2018
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
