Ralph Molina
Ralph Molina was a candidate for the District 6 seat on the Cumberland County Schools school board in North Carolina. Molina was defeated in the by-district general election on November 8, 2016.
Biography
The following is the biography Molina submitted to Ballotpedia:
| “ | Ralph enlisted the ranks of the US Army in 1989. His first duty assignment in Fort Bliss Texas where he deployed to Desert Shield and Desert Storm to fight for the liberation of Kuwait. He then joined the Army Reserves and began his college education. Upon graduation he re-enlisted and later competed for the US Army Officer Candidate School. As a commissioned officer he served in multiple positions of leadership, management, instructing and staff. He successfully completed multiple deployments to Iraq (2) and Afghanistan (3) in support of the fight against terrorism, the enemies of freedom and the American way of life. He is a recipient of multiple decorations for his service and dedication to Country; to include four (4) Commendation Medals and two (2) Bronze Star Medals.
Units served: 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Fort Bliss Texas. 2nd Infantry Division, Republic of South Korea. 448th Engineer Battalion, US Army Reserves. 36th Engineer Group, and the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) Fort Benning Georgia. Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq (MNSTC-I). The 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), US Army Special Forces Command, Fort Bragg North Carolina. International Security Assistance Force - Afghanistan (ISAF-A).[1] |
” |
| —Ralph Molina (2016) | ||
In addition to this, Molina stated that he is as business owner. He has also worked as a transportation officer and unit movement officer for the U.S. Army Transportation School. In addition, he served as a multi-functional logistics officer for the U.S. Army Logistics Management College (ALMC) and as an instructor for the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command.
Elections
2016
Six of the nine seats on the Cumberland County Schools school board were up for general election on November 8, 2016. One candidate filed for and won each of Districts 1 through 5: board incumbent Alicia Chisolm, newcomer Porcha McMillan, incumbent Carrie Sutton, incumbent Donna Vann, and incumbent Susan Williams, respectively. The open District 6 seat was much more contested, with nine candidates vying to win it: Joseph Gilreath, Patricia Griffin, Peggy Hall, Sheryl Lewis, Carmela McKeller, Ray Miller, Ralph Molina, Tina Odom, and Ron Ross. Hall won election to the seat. There was no primary.[2][3]
Results
| Cumberland County Schools, District 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Peggy Hall |
21.96% | 4,688 |
| Patricia Griffin | 21.29% | 4,545 |
| Ralph Molina | 17.14% | 3,660 |
| Sheryl Lewis | 15.71% | 3,354 |
| Carmela McKeller | 8.02% | 1,713 |
| Tina Odom | 5.95% | 1,271 |
| Joseph Gilreath | 3.52% | 752 |
| Ron Ross | 3.05% | 651 |
| Ray Miller | 2.98% | 636 |
| Write-in votes | 0.38% | 82 |
| Total Votes (100) | 21,352 | |
| Source: North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Official General Election Results-Cumberland," accessed December 5, 2016 | ||
Funding
Molina did not file a campaign finance report with the Cumberland County Board of Elections as of November 3, 2016.[4]
School board candidates in North Carolina were required to file campaign finance reports to their county's board of elections unless the candidate:
(1) Did not receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in contributions, and
(2) Did not receive more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) in loans, and
(3) Did not spend more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).[5]
The third quarter campaign finance deadline was October 31, 2016, and the fourth quarter deadline was January 11, 2017.[6]
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Ralph Molina participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on August 26, 2016:
| “ | I have been working with a team of parents, teachers and administrators to develop a solid plan with positive attitude and a vision of success for our school district. This plan can be summarized in My Five Key Points. Safety: It is my commitment to ensure that every day, our children are provided with an environment where they can feel safe to learn. Our teachers, administrators and parents alike need to feel that the policy makers care about our children’s safety. I will not rest until everyone in our district can confidently say they feel safe, every day. Increase Parental Involvement: I have listened to the teachers, to the principals and administrators and they all agree. In many cases the biggest challenge to successful education is parental involvement. Nationwide studies show that one of the biggest challenges in education is the lack of parental involvement, our district is not exempt form that problem. As a parent who is involved in my children’s education I know we can do better. I have the vision to help improve parental involvement creating a user friendly environments we all can share. Improve Professional Development: As a certified US Army instructor, I learned that to teach you have to stay current and be able to adjust to your environment. Evolution and change is good as long as it meets the requirements of our community, I want to share that mentality in our Board of Education to help develop great teachers! Promote Excellence: Students need to be praised for their success, it is their education. I am 100% committed to promote excellence in the classroom, as well as athletics and extracurricular activities. Seek Partnerships With Industry: Many times we hear that funds have been cut, there’s not enough books or that materials are scarce or non existent, that budgets are being cut. I understand what is is to do a lot with a little, I also understand how private industry can benefit through partnerships with our schools. The greatest asset a society has is their workforce, a prepared workforce. My plan involves schools, students and multiple industries to help bring the necessary items the schools need to successfully teach our children.[7][1] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in North Carolina. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| “ | One of the main factors in achieving student satisfaction and getting the most out of your lessons is positive teacher-student relations.[1] | ” |
| —Ralph Molina (August 26, 2016) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer nine questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| Yes. Open the schoolhouse doors and let parents choose the best school for their children. Education reformers call this school choice, charter schools, vouchers, even opportunity scholarships. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. Standardized tests measure only a small portion of what makes education meaningful and are an unreliable measure of student performance. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| I believe districts should be able to democratically opt out of Common Core if they chose to. No one knows, and understands the children's best interest and learning needs better than the members of that community. Bureaucrats have no business telling communities how to teach their children. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. The secret to stellar grades and thriving students is teachers. One American study found that in a single year’s teaching the top 10% of teachers impart three times as much learning to their pupils as the worst 10% do. The idea of improving the average teacher could revolutionize the entire profession. Around the world, few teachers are well enough prepared before being let loose on children. Improving the quality of the average teacher would raise the profession’s prestige, setting up a virtuous cycle in which more talented graduates clamored to join it. But the biggest gains will come from preparing new teachers better, and upgrading the ones already in classrooms. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| Yes. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion should be used very carefully and only in extreme cases of misconduct. Leaders should be able to look at all the conditions leading to the wrongdoing and be able to provide rehabilitative alternatives prior to consider expulsion of a child from the system. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Parent involvement Students with parents who are involved in their school tend to have fewer behavioral problems and better academic performance, and are more likely to complete high school than students whose parents are not involved in their school. Positive effects of parental involvement have been demonstrated at both the elementary and secondary levels across several studies, with the largest effects often occurring at the elementary level. A recent meta-analysis showed that parental involvement in school life was more strongly associated with high academic performance for middle schoolers than helping with homework. |
Candidate statement
Molina submitted the following statement about his bid for election the Cumberland board:
| “ | I seek a position on the Board of Education to serve the children of Cumberland County. I believe that the future of our nation rests in the quality of education we provide our children and the environment we create to deliver a positive learning experience. As a father of three attending elementary, middle and high schools I have vested interest in the success of our education system. I want to share my commitment with all the families of this community I so much love and respect.
The current tenor of the discussion, around public education, has become quite divisive and less than productive. I hope to aid in turning the discussion in a more positive direction. My experiences in the military, a business owner and above all a father raising children today, keep me in-touch with the current needs and concerns of all families. I listen to all stake holders, I observe the environment we live and I feel what it is to face the challenges of educating children, I will be your hardest working representative in the Board of Education.[1] |
” |
| —Ralph Molina (2016) | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Ralph Molina Cumberland County Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Cumberland County, "August 5, 2016 Candidates," accessed August 8, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Unofficial General Election Results-Cumberland," accessed November 8, 2016
- ↑ Cumberland County Board of Elections, "Campaign Finance Reports," accessed November 3, 2016
- ↑ General Assembly of North Carolina, "Chapter 163: Elections And Election Laws, Article 22A - Regulating Contributions and Expenditures in Political Campaigns," accessed February 11, 2016
- ↑ North Carolina State Board of Elections, "Reporting Schedules," accessed October 11, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Ralph Molina's responses," August 26, 2016
