Ralph Johanson
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Ralph Johanson is an at-large member of the Davenport School Board in Iowa. He won re-election to his seat in the general election on September 8, 2015.[1]
Johanson participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates.
Biography
Johanson runs his own engineering consulting business. He is also a farmer. He earned his bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Iowa State University.[2]
Elections
2015
Four of the seven seats on the Davenport School Board were up for election on September 8, 2015. The seats that were up for election represented the district at-large.
Incumbent Ralph Johanson, incumbent Linda Hayes and challenger Daniel Gosa filed for the four open positions by the filing deadline, and therefore, won three of the four seats. Incumbents Nikki DeFauw and Ken Krumwiede did not file to run for re-election.[3][4]
Only three candidates ran for four seats. The fourth seat was filled by write-in candidate, Julie DeSalvo.[5][6]
Results
This election was held September 8, 2015.
| Davenport Community Schools, At-Large, 4-Year Term, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Linda Hayes Incumbent |
29.4% | 873 |
| Daniel Gosa |
27.1% | 804 |
| Ralph Johanson Incumbent |
27.0% | 801 |
| Julie DeSalvo |
16.1% | 478 |
| Write-in votes | 0.4% | 12 |
| Total Votes | 2,968 | |
| Source: Scott County, Iowa, "Election Summary Report, Official Results," accessed September 14, 2015 | ||
Funding
Johanson reported no contributions or expenditures to the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board during the election.[7] Any candidate spending, receiving or incurring debt in the amount of $1,000 or less was not required to file the disclosure form for campaign finances.[8]
Endorsements
Johanson received no official endorsements during the election.
2011
| Davenport Community Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2011 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | William Lee Sherwood |
24.4% | 1,484 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ken Krumwiede |
22.6% | 1,371 | |
| Nonpartisan | Nikki DeFauw |
18.5% | 1,125 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ralph Johanson Incumbent |
18.2% | 1,104 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tyla Cole | 15.3% | 930 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 1% | 58 | |
| Total Votes | 6,072 | |||
| Source: Scott County Auditor, "Scott County School Election Summary Results," accessed August 17, 2015 | ||||
Campaign themes
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
Johanson 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:
| “ | Reading proficiency, especially at 3rd grade[9] | ” |
| —Ralph Johanson (2015)[10] | ||
Johanson also included the following statement with his responses:
| “ | Money matters. We need everyone engaged to try to get the legislature to prioritize educational funding in a different way.[9] | ” |
| —Ralph Johanson (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 Idaho. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| 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." | |
| "No" | |
| "No" | |
| "No" | |
| "Provide individualized instruction, and especially develop individual relationships between an adult and every single student. Help each student realize the significance of education, and that we really do want them to succeed- we will help them all the way. " | |
| "Expulsion cases must be viewed on a case-by-case basis rather than the district having an overarching policy." | |
| "Focus more resources into that school. Assist the Superintendent to prioritize resources, and especially highly-qualified teachers into that school." | |
| "Yes" | |
| "Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district." | |
| "Frequent interactions with the community, and collaborative and colleagial relationships with other community organizations, including the city, NAACP, Lulac, trades organizations, churches. Understand THEIR needs." |
What was at stake?
2015
Four seats were up for election, but only three candidates ran. A write-in candidate won the fourth seat. Two incumbents won re-election, and two newcomers joined the board in the election.[11][12]
As of August 2015, the board continued to deal with budget shortfalls due to cuts in state funding, especially as it pertained to the creation of the district's 10-year master plan. Funding shortfalls led the board to officially consider closing an elementary school.[13]
Board preparing for budget deficits
In August 2015, Iowa schools were faced with cuts in funding leading to budget deficits. The Davenport Community Schools Board of Education considered plans that prepared them for future budget deficits. As members of the board worked on the district's 10-year master plan, they realized the need for major cuts. The district's superintendent, Dr. Arthur Tate, presented the board with multiple solutions, but the board felt that the closing of a local elementary school was worth considering.
J.B. Young Elementary School served 308 students in the 2014-2015 school year. The students used approximately 34 percent of the building, and enrollment was at 57 percent capacity. Closing the school would save the district $11 million on the repairs that would be required to bring the building up to the standards set in the district's master plan. The board voted in August 2015 to officially consider the closing of the school.[13]
As for more short-term solutions to budget problems, Tate announced his plan to tap into the district's reserve funds by the 2016-2017 school year. School districts are not allowed to do this without permission from the state, but Tate said he was willing to do it.[14]
| “ | The year after is when we have no more authority from the state to spend, and that’s when I would be breaking the state statute. I’m just willing to do it. I mean, I’m not afraid. I’ve got a lot of options in my life. Someone’s got to put a stake in the ground and be willing to do this.[9] | ” |
| —Dr. Arthur Tate, Davenport Community Schools Superintendent, [14] | ||
The board held one community meeting in August 2015 regarding the closing of the elementary school.[13]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Ralph Johanson Davenport Community Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Davenport Community Schools, Iowa
- Davenport Community Schools elections (2015)
- Newcomers and incumbents share the victories in Iowa's largest school district elections (September 9, 2015)
- Analysis of incumbency advantage in the 2014 school board elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Scott County, Iowa, "Candidate List," accessed August 3, 2015
- ↑ Quad-City Times, "GOP has six in supervisor primary," May 21, 2014
- ↑ Davenport Community Schools, "School Board Members," accessed March 10, 2015
- ↑ Scott County, Iowa, "Candidate List," accessed August 3, 2015
- ↑ Quad City Times, "Voters elect write-in candidate to Davenport School Board," September 9, 2015
- ↑ Tiffany Rouse, Email correspondence with Scott County Iowa Election Supervisor Richard Bauer," August 4, 2015
- ↑ Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, "State/Local Campaign Disclosure Forms," accessed February 2, 2016
- ↑ Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board, "Reporting Dates," accessed August 13, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Ralph Johanson responses," August 24, 2015
- ↑ Tiffany Rouse, Email correspondence with Scott County Iowa Election Supervisor Richard Bauer," August 4, 2015
- ↑ Quad City Times, "Voters elect write-in candidate to Davenport School Board," September 9, 2015
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 KWQC, "Davenport school leaders to consider closing JB Young," August 24, 2015
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 KWQC, "Davenport community schools continue to plan for budget short falls," August 5, 2015
| 2015 Davenport Community Schools Elections | |
| Scott County, Iowa | |
| Election date: | September 8, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Linda Hayes • Incumbent, Ralph Johanson • Julie DeSalvo • Daniel Gosa |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
