Paul Schneider

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Paul Schneider

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Spokane Public Schools Board of Directors Position 4

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Personal website

Paul Schneider was the Position 4 representative on the Spokane Board of Directors in Washington. He won the general election on November 3, 2015.

Schneider participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. To read his responses, check out his 2015 campaign themes.

Elections

2015

See also: Spokane Public Schools elections (2015)

One of the five seats on the Spokane Board of Directors was up for primary election on August 4, 2015. Incumbent Rocky Treppiedi and Jerrall Haynes defeated Donald Dover and advanced to the general election on November 3, 2015. Haynes then defeated Treppiedi in the general election. The Position 4 seat also joined the ballot in November, since only two candidates filed for the seat. Candidates Paul Schneider and Patricia Kienholz went head-to-head for the open seat, and Schneider won the election. Incumbent Jeffrey Bierman did not file for re-election.

Results

Spokane Public Schools Board of Directors, Position 4 General Election, 6-year term, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Paul Schneider	54.5%	24,532
Patricia Kienholz	44.5%	20,045
Write-in votes	0.98%	440
Total Votes		45,017
Source: Spokane County, Washington, "Election Results: 11/03/2015-General Election," November 24, 2015

Funding

Schneider reported $8,772.89 in contributions and $549.17 in expenditures to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission, which left his campaign with $8,223.72 on hand as of August 4, 2015.

Endorsements

Schneider was endorsed by the Spokane Education Association, the Washington Education Association, the Spokane County Democrats, Spokane City Council President Ben Stuckart and ESD 101 Superintendent Mike Dunn.

Campaign themes

2015

Ballotpedia survey responses

Schneider 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 on the board will be to work hard to ensure that the 15% of kids who are not on track for graduation have the support and systems in place to help them get back on track. I will also work hard to identify programs that are seeking to intervene early in the lives of struggling families to better ensure success in the long term for those families.	”
—Paul Schneider (2015)

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 Washington.
Education on the ballot

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Closing the achievement gap
2	Expanding school choice options
3	Improving college readiness
4	Balancing or maintaining the district's budget
5	Expanding career-technical education
6	Improving education for special needs students
7	Expanding arts education

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
What is your stance on implementing Common Core standards?	"Modifications are required before they are implemented."
Should your district approve the creation of new charter schools?	"They already have."
Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system?	"No."
Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement?	"No."
How can the district ensure equal opportunities for high and low achieving students?	"District dollars and programs need to be equitably distributed among all student populations. Further, the school district needs to invest in community partnerships that intervene in the lives of struggling families before their kids arrive in public schools. This investment should start in a pre-k setting."
How should expulsion be used in the district?	"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 in your district, what steps should the school board take to help the students in that school?	"They should ensure that the building has proven and motivated leadership beginning with the building principal. This principal, in concert with the superintendent should work hard to recruit and retain first class teachers who are willing to commit to a standards based approach that emphasizes growth mindset for student learning."
Do you support merit pay for teachers?	"No."
How should the district handle underperforming teachers?	"Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district."
How would you work to improve community-school board relations?	"District meetings should rotate in terms of location. Board meetings should be community based events that are inviting to the public. Further, board members and the superintendent have an obligation to be visible public figures. This includes being part of community boards and organizations. Finally, board members need to use both social media and more conventional means to reach out to various constituencies throughout the district."

See also

• Spokane Public Schools, Washington
• Spokane Public Schools elections (2015)
• Incumbency no guarantee of success in Nov. 3 school board elections (November 6, 2015)
• What happened in Nov.'s top board elections? (November 4, 2015)

External links

• Search Google News for this topic