Patrick McCaffery
Patrick McCaffery was a member of the Waukesha School District school board At-large in Wisconsin. He assumed office in 2006.
McCaffery ran for re-election to the Waukesha School District school board At-large in Wisconsin. He won in the general election on April 3, 2018.
McCaffery participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 school board candidate survey.
Biography
McCaffery is an informational technology manager for a technology company. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science, history and public administration from Carroll University. He is married and has two children.[1][2]
Governing majority
2015
From January 2015 to December 2015, the Waukesha School Board voted unanimously on 85.1 percent of the 94 motions brought forward by board members. The board approved 100 percent of the motions recorded during regular meetings in 2015. These totals exclude motions to approve board minutes or procedural votes. Because of the high rate of unanimous votes, a governing majority could not be determined.
Dissenting votes
Steve Edlund opposed 10 of the 14 measures that were not unanimously approved in 2015. Karin Rajnicek voted no on five of these non-unanimous measures, joining Edlund on four occasions. Of these four motions, one dealt with foreign language as an elective option for sixth-graders, two dealt with facilities upgrades and one sought to exceed revenue limits on a non-recurring basis. There were no board votes in 2015 where more than two members voted in opposition.
Absences
Edlund, Rajnicek, William Baumgart, Ellen Langill, and Kurt O'Bryan each missed one meeting in 2015. No board meetings in 2015 featured more than one absent member.
Issues
Votes on fiscal or budgetary issues accounted for 27 motions or 28.7 percent of all motions brought to the board in 2015. District procedures and personnel decisions accounted for 24 motions each or a total of 51 percent of all motions. The board also voted on 14 curriculum motions with a scattering of votes for athletics, board procedures, and charter schools.
Elections
2018
Three of the nine seats on the Waukesha School District Board of Education in Wisconsin were up for at-large general election on April 3, 2018. Incumbent Patricia Madden did not file for re-election, leaving one open seat. Incumbents Patrick McCaffery and Kurt O'Bryan and newcomer Diane Voit defeated candidate Cathy Kozlowicz for the at-large seats.[3][4]
General election
General election for Waukesha School District school board At-large (3 seats)
Diane Voit, incumbent Patrick McCaffery, and incumbent Kurt O'Bryan defeated Cathy Kozlowicz in the general election for Waukesha School District school board At-large on April 3, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Diane Voit (Nonpartisan) | 29.2 | 8,510 |
| ✔ |  | Patrick McCaffery (Nonpartisan) | 25.9 | 7,562 |
| ✔ |  | Kurt O'Bryan (Nonpartisan) | 23.6 | 6,884 |
 | Cathy Kozlowicz (Nonpartisan) | 21.2 | 6,185 | |
| Total votes: 29,141 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
2015
Three at-large board seats were up election on April 7, 2015. Incumbents Patricia Madden, Patrick McCaffery and Kurt O'Bryan won re-election against challengers Kari Schulte, Amanda Medina-Roddy and Paul Reese.[5]
Results
| Waukesha School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Patricia Madden Incumbent |
18.2% | 5,197 | |
| Nonpartisan | Patrick McCaffery Incumbent |
17.5% | 4,992 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kurt O'Bryan Incumbent |
16.6% | 4,738 | |
| Nonpartisan | Amanda Medina-Roddy | 16.3% | 4,649 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kari Schulte | 16% | 4,562 | |
| Nonpartisan | Paul Reese | 15.4% | 4,383 | |
| Total Votes | 28,521 | |||
| Source: Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin 2015 spring general election results," April 7, 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
McCaffery reported no contributions or expenditures to the Waukesha School District as of March 30, 2015. He filed as "Exempt from Filing Campaign Finance Records" on her campaign registration statement.[6]
Endorsements
McCaffery had not received any official endorsements as of January 9, 2015.
2012
Patrick McCaffery, Patricia Madden and Daniel Warren won re-election to the board without opposition on April 3, 2012.[7][8]
Campaign themes
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
McCaffery participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | My top priority has been and will continue to be closing the achievement gap within the Waukesha School District. Regardless of the contributing reasons for an achievement gap, necessary measures need to be taken to address it. I have been a strong proponent of personalized learning which will allow students to get more out of their education. I am also a supporter of district programs such as the AVID program which gives students the abilities needed to develop math and literacy skills which in turn improves critical thinking. These programs and initiatives are integral for college and career readiness.[9] | ” |
| —Patrick McCaffery (2015)[10] | ||
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 Wisconsin. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts 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 |
|---|---|
| "Modifications are required before they are implemented." | |
| "Yes." | |
| "Yes." | |
| "Standardized tests are one tool of many that can give be used to evaluate student achievement but should not be the only measure used." | |
| "The district insures opportunities for all students by a complimentary working relationship between students, educators, parents, and administrators. Educating a child is an effort that is best achieved through communication, collaboration, and cooperation. When communication, collaboration, and cooperation between stakeholders breaks down opportunities are lost and may not be able to be recovered." | |
| "Expulsion should be used for serious offenses to ensure the safety of other students as well as the integrity of education at district schools." | |
| "If a school is failing it is incumbent on the school board to investigate and uncover underlying issues within the learning environment and instruct administration to set about a plan to rectify issues and short comings in said school. Without specific identification, corrective measures will not be able to be effectively implemented." | |
| "Yes." | |
| "Option 1,2 and 3 all should be utilized in some respect to handle an underperforming teacher."* | |
| "The best way to improve community-board relations is through transparency. Without transparency trust and mutual respect cannot the garnered. In most cases mistrust is what sours community-board relations and effective transparency can strengthen this relationship. I feel that I have supported transparency on the Waukesha School Board and will continue this in the future." | |
| *Note: The three options McCaffery referred to were the following: Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district, offer additional training options and put underperforming teachers on a probationary period while they seek to improve. | |
See also
- Waukesha School District, Wisconsin
- Waukesha School District elections (2018)
- Waukesha School District elections (2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, "Newcomer shakes up district race," March 24, 2009
- ↑ Waukesha NOW, "Waukesha School Board race is crowded this spring," February 2, 2015
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Candidates line up for Oak Creek, other school board seats in the southern suburbs," January 3, 2018
- ↑ Waukesha County Elections, "2018 Spring Election Unofficial Results," accessed April 3, 2018
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Phone call with Waukesha School District Superintendent's Office," January 8, 2015
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Email correspondence with Sue Ettinger, Executive Assistant to the WSD Superintendent’s Office," March 31, 2015
- ↑ Waukesha School District, "Notice of Election of School Board Members," accessed September 20, 2014
- ↑ Waukesha Patch, "No Challengers Against Waukesha School Board Incumbents," January 4, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Patrick McCaffery's responses," February 6, 2015
| Waukesha School District elections in 2018 | |
| Waukesha County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 3, 2018 |
| Candidates: | At-Large: Incumbent, Patrick McCaffery • Incumbent, Kurt O'Bryan • Cathy Kozlowicz • Diane Voit |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
| 2015 Waukesha School District Elections | |
| Waukesha County, Wisconsin | |
| Election date: | April 7, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Patricia Madden • Incumbent, Patrick McCaffery • Incumbent, Kurt O'Bryan • Kari Schulte • Amanda Medina-Roddy • Paul Reese |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
