Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey
Rebecca Hitchcock
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This board member is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.
Rebecca Hitchcock is an at-large representative on the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District school board in California. Hitchcock won a first term in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Hitchcock participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Elections
2017
Three of the five seats on the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District board of trustees in California were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. No incumbents filed to run in this race, which guaranteed three new members were elected to the board. Noelia Corzo, Alexander Haislip, Rebecca Hitchcock, Shiraz Zack Kanga, Thomas Morgan, Jacob Thiel, and Shara Watkins ran for the open seats. Corzo, Hitchcock, and Watkins won the election.[1][2][3]
Results
| San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Shara Watkins |
25.35% | 7,201 |
| Noelia Corzo |
21.46% | 6,095 |
| Rebecca Hitchcock |
15.83% | 4,497 |
| Shiraz Zack Kanga | 12.12% | 3,441 |
| Thomas Morgan | 11.36% | 3,225 |
| Alexander Haislip | 6.96% | 1,977 |
| Jacob Thiel | 6.92% | 1,965 |
| Total Votes | 28,401 | |
| Source: San Mateo County Elections, "My Results: SAN MATEO-FOSTER CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT MEMBERS, GOVERNING BOARD," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
Funding
Hitchcock reported no contributions or expenditures to the San Mateo County Elections as of October 27, 2017.[4]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Rebecca Hitchcock participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[5] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on October 26, 2017:
| “ | Candidate did not respond to this question.[6][7] | ” |
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 California. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | It is hard to prioritize these issues. I think a lot of them related, we can't focus on one without considering the other, such as improving relations with teachers, and maintaining the district's budget, as well as closing the achievement gap, and improving the education for special needs students.[7] | ” |
| —Rebecca Hitchcock (October 26, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight 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. |
| 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 defer to school board decisions in most cases. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. |
| 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? |
| Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion should be the last resort. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Rebecca Hitchcock San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District, California
- San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District elections (2017)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ San Mateo County Elections, "Candidates Roster," accessed August 17, 2017
- ↑ San Mateo County Elections, "November 7, 2017 Consolidated Municipal, School and Special District Election," accessed August 12, 2017
- ↑ San Mateo County Elections, "My Results: SAN MATEO-FOSTER CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT MEMBERS, GOVERNING BOARD," accessed November 8, 2017
- ↑ San Mateo County Elections, "Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed October 27, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Rebecca Hitchcock's responses," October 26, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District elections in 2017 | |
| San Mateo County, California | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Noelia Corzo • Alexander Haislip • Rebecca Hitchcock • Shiraz Zack Kanga • Thomas Morgan • Jacob Thiel • Shara Watkins |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
