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Patricia H. Phelps
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Patricia H. Phelps is a member of the Conejo Valley Unified School District Board of Education.[1] She ran for re-election against one fellow incumbent and five challengers in the nonpartisan general election on November 4, 2014.[2] Patricia H. Phelps won the general election on November 4, 2014.
Biography
Phelps has held a number of leadership roles since her election to the board in 1998, including board president, board clerk and member of the budget, technology and family life committees. A self-identified Republican, Phelps also serves on the executive board of the Conejo Coalition for Youth and Families, the Tri-county Education Coalition and the Ventura County School Boards Association.[3][4][5]
Phelps earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from St. Lawrence University before working for IBM as a software programmer. She later worked for the Mobil Chemical Company as a systems analyst. She and her husband Barry live in Thousand Oaks, California. They have three children, all of whom graduated from schools in the Conejo Valley Unified School District.[3][4]
Elections
2014
Three seats on the Conejo Valley Unified School District Board of Education were up for general election on November 4, 2014. Two at-large incumbents, Mike Dunn and Patricia H. Phelps, ran for re-election against challengers John Andersen, Tony Dolz, David Fox, Bill A. Gorback and Brian T. Sullivan.
Dunn and Phelps won their bids for re-election, and Andersen won the third at-large seat.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Patricia H. Phelps Incumbent |
18.6% | 16,284 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mike Dunn Incumbent |
18.3% | 16,078 | |
| Nonpartisan | John Andersen |
14.9% | 13,064 | |
| Nonpartisan | David Fox | 13.4% | 11,727 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bill A. Gorback | 13.2% | 11,566 | |
| Nonpartisan | Brian T. Sullivan | 11.9% | 10,441 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tony Dolz | 9.5% | 8,327 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.3% | 270 | |
| Total Votes | 87,757 | |||
| Source: Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Gubernatorial General Election, November 4, 2014, Official Results," accessed December 22, 2014 | ||||
Funding
As of September 9, 2014, Phelps had not reported any contributions or expenditures to the Ventura County Registrar of Voters for the 2014 general election.[6]
Endorsements
Phelps received endorsements from Conejo Valley Unified Board of Education members Betsy Connolly, Peggy Buckles and Tim Stephens, as well as former superintendent Mario Contini. She also received the endorsement of Jeff Gorell (R), member of the California State Assembly.[7]
2010
Results
| Conejo Valley Unified School District, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Patricia H. Phelps Incumbent |
24.5% | 22,250 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mike Dunn Incumbent |
22.7% | 20,644 | |
| Nonpartisan | Timothy G. Stephens Incumbent |
21.5% | 19,540 | |
| Nonpartisan | Pete Peterson | 17.4% | 15,827 | |
| Nonpartisan | Marlon Delano Williams | 13.3% | 12,052 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.5% | 447 | |
| Total Votes | 90,760 | |||
| Source: Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Election Results for 11/2/2010," accessed September 9, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Phelps received contributions from local community members, the Ventura County Women's Political Council and the Unified Association of Conejo Teachers.[5]
Campaign themes
2014
Phelps highlighted the following goals on her campaign website:
| “ | Maintain and modernize schools to facilitate student success and campus safety We must continue to upgrade and repair our schools. Students need labs and classrooms that are equipped with the modern technology tools they need to compete for college and careers. Classrooms and campuses require upgrades that reflect today's expectations for health and safety. This is why I support passage of a new facilities bond, Measure I. Our schools are our responsibility. It makes sense to use local money to keep them great. Enhance technology infrastructure to support innovative teaching and learning strategies Technology has changed our lives. The chances are good that you are reading this on a computer or smart device that is connected to the internet. It's a great way to get up to date information. Our teachers and students use technology everyday and the infrastructure needs to be robust and reliable. A portion of the proposed school facilities bond, Measure I, will be dedicated to extended technology support during the life of the bond. Join with me in supporting Measure I! Sustain best practices and policies in curriculum, testing and textbook adoptions There's been a lot of hysteria over the shift to Common Core. Special interests seem to be using the issue to get out the vote and don't appear to care that the reputation of Public Education is damaged in the process. The truth is that the demands for teaching and learning accountability began decades ago. Most of us grew up taking some kind of standardized test in school. The idea behind standardized testing was to have a way to check that schools were actually teaching effectively. The reality of standardized testing has been a mixed bag. When "No Child Left Behind" was adopted, districts were forced to reveal how well, or poorly, students from disadvantaged circumstances were doing on the tests. Many districts confronted a painful reality, that not all students were learning what they were being taught. That reality drove changes that were, in many ways, good for students. On the flip side, pressure to improve on the standardized tests caused a shift of attention away from non-tested subjects and the attention on multiple choice "fact-type" questions reduced the time that could be spent on discussion, collaboration and creativity. That was not a good thing. Common Core is an attempt to mitigate some of the problems created during the high-stakes testing decades of "No Child Left Behind." In the CVUSD, we were able to avoid many of those testing pitfalls. Our students are already experiencing a classroom environment that doesn't focus on the facts-based drill-and-kill that some districts adopted in a desperate attempt to raise scores. I am confident that our highly qualified teachers and talented leadership team will ensure that this shift in assessment results in benefits for our students. During the Great Recession, the CVUSD put on hold all non-essential textbook adoptions. We recognized that publishers would be modifying their materials to reflect a changing emphasis and we wanted to wait to see what the new products had to offer. When materials are chosen in the Conejo, teachers pilot those materials and meet to discuss the pros and cons. They are the experts and they know what works in their classrooms. I am confident that the curriculum adoption procedures are rigorous and focused entirely on meeting the educational needs of our students. There are certainly places in the U.S. where politics has crept into curriculum decisions but the Conejo has not fallen prey to these sorts of special interest groups. Enhance teacher effectiveness through programs such as Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BITSA) and Peer Led Professional Development Research has shown that the most important thing we can do for students is to provide them with effective and caring teachers. Although great teaching requires certain talents, training and experience play an even greater role. We have a robust program for new teacher training and have recently begun focusing on peer led professional development as an alternative to hiring experts to come in from outside for presentations or workshops. This gives our teachers a chance to share special skills and passions while building stronger collaborative relationships amongst our educators. Provide all students with hands on learning opportunities Strengthen the district’s commitment to programs focused on character and leadership development Empower parents with clear policies and frequent opportunities to become involved Continue our strong relationships with our Police, City Council and Conejo Recreation and Parks District[8] |
” |
| —Patricia H. Phelps' campaign website (2014)[9] | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Patricia + Phelps + Conejo + Valley + Unified + School + District"
See also
- Conejo Valley Unified School District, California
- Conejo Valley Unified School District elections (2014)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Conejo Valley Unified School District, "CVUSD Board of Education Members," accessed July 16, 2014
- ↑ Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Candidate List Gubernatorial general Election," accessed August 20, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Conejo Schools Foundation, "Board Members," accessed September 9, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Pat Phelps 4 School Board, "About Pat," accessed September 9, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Email submission from Patricia H. Phelps to Ballotpedia on September 4, 2014
- ↑ Ventura County Registrar of Voters, "Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed September 9, 2014
- ↑ Pat Phelps 4 School Board, "Endorsements," accessed September 9, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Pat Phelps 4 School Board, "Goals," accessed September 15, 2014
| 2014 Conejo Valley Unified School District Elections | |
| Ventura County, California | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Mike Dunn • Incumbent, Patricia H. Phelps • John Andersen • Tony Dolz • David Fox • Bill A. Gorback • Brian T. Sullivan |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
