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Rene Cope
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Rene Cope is an at-large representative on the Francis Howell School District school board in Missouri. First elected in 2014, Cope won a new term in the at-large general election on April 4, 2017.
This candidate participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Elections
2017
Three seats on the Francis Howell School District school board were up for at-large general election on April 4, 2017. Board incumbent Rene Cope was successful in her bid for re-election and was joined in her victory by newcomers Patrick Lane and Mary Lange. They defeated board member Mike Sommer and challenger Stephen Johnson.[1][2]
Results
| Francis Howell School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Mary Lange |
23.95% | 5,274 |
| Patrick Lane |
22.94% | 5,051 |
| Rene Cope Incumbent |
21.37% | 4,704 |
| Mike Sommer Incumbent | 16.20% | 3,566 |
| Stephen Johnson | 14.58% | 3,211 |
| Write-in votes | 0.96% | 211 |
| Total Votes | 22,017 | |
| Source: St. Charles County, "Election Summary Report," accessed May 25, 2017 | ||
2014
Cope faced incumbents Mike Hoehn, Mark C. Lafata, and Mike Sommer and fellow challengers Kimberlyann Granger, Chad Lange, Ralph Moore, Cory Simek, and Gary Stevenson for three at-large seats in the general election on April 8, 2014.
Sommer, Cope, and Lafata won the seats.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Rene Cope |
15.3% | 3,424 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mike Sommer |
14.6% | 3,252 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mark Lafata |
14.4% | 3,227 | |
| Nonpartisan | Chad Lange | 12.7% | 2,834 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mike Hoehn | 12.1% | 2,697 | |
| Nonpartisan | Kimberlyann Granger | 11.7% | 2,618 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gary Stevenson | 7.7% | 1,712 | |
| Nonpartisan | Cory Simek | 6.3% | 1,401 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ralph Moore | 5.3% | 1,178 | |
| Total Votes | 22,343 | |||
| Source: St. Charles County Election Authority, "April 8, 2014 General Municipal Election Results," accessed April 9, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Cope did not report any campaign contributions or expenditures to the Missouri Ethics Commission in this election.[3]
Endorsements
Cope received an official endorsement for her campaign from FHSD National Education Association.[4]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Rene Cope 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 February 26, 2017:
| “ | 1) Help Francis Howell School District continue to succeed through financially challenging times. After the School Board and the District made over 12 million dollars in cuts, we are nearly at a balanced budget. However, the Missouri State legislature is still not fully funding the educational formula. Helping Francis Howell School District do more with less, while maintaining our status as an excellent school district, is my top priority. 2) Ensuring that all of our children are college or career ready. Helping each student discover their own talents and ambitions by providing a wide variety of experiences and learning opportunities throughout their entire educational journey. 3) Be a strong advocate for public education with state and federal legislators. Helping elected officials understand the importance and value of the public education system. The public school system is the bedrock of a community. If our District deteriorates, so does the community around it.[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 Missouri. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Blank | |
| Blank | |
| Blank | |
| Blank | |
| “ | Francis Howell is one of the top performing school districts in the state.[7] | ” |
| —Rene Cope (February 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.) |
|---|
| No. |
| 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. All students excel at different rates in different ways. Too much focus on this pushes teachers to teach towards tests rather than focusing on individual student opportunities for success. |
| 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? |
| No. The system in place today in FHSD attracts high quality teachers who are held to quality standards. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Tax money should not go to for profit entities. Removing money from the already underfunded public education system will reduce educational opportunities for all children. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| FHSD has a strong policy on expulsion that includes multiple inputs and reviews. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers It takes a community of individuals to help a student succeed. High quality curriculum, attentive teachers and participating families all contribute to the success of a student. |
See also
- Francis Howell School District, Missouri
- Francis Howell School District elections (2017)
- Francis Howell School District elections (2014)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Francis Howell School District, "Board Election," accessed January 19, 2017
- ↑ St. Charles County, "Election Summary Report," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Missouri Ethics Commission, "Candidate Information," accessed February 13, 2014
- ↑ Facebook.com, "Vote4Cope," accessed February 18, 2014
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Rene Cope's responses," February 26, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Francis Howell School District elections in 2017 | |
| St. Charles County, Missouri | |
| Election date: | April 4, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-Large: Incumbent, Rene Cope • Incumbent, Mike Sommer • Patrick Lane • Mary Lange • Stephen Johnson |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
