Ronald Gordon-Ross
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Ronald "GR" Gordon-Ross is an at-large representative on the Lawrence Public Schools school board in Kansas. Gordon-Ross won a first term in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Gordon-Ross previously ran for a seat on the board. He was defeated in the general election on April 7, 2015.
Biography
Gordon-Ross moved to Lawrence in 1996, where he attended the University of Kansas and graduated in 2002. His work experience is in healthcare information technology.[1] He is married and has five children who attend district schools. Gordon-Ross served on the Lawrence Elementary School Facility Vision Task Force in 2010. He also served on the local Boy Scout District Committee.[2]
Gordon-Ross' mother was the first woman to be elected to the Kearney R-1 School District school board in Missouri, where she served for seven years.[2]
Elections
2017
Three of the seven seats on the Lawrence Public Schools Board of Education in Kansas were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. Incumbent Melissa Johnson and newcomers Kelly Jones and Ronald "GR" Gordon-Ross defeated challengers Jill Hayhurst, James Alan Hollinger, Gretchen Alix Lister, and Steve Wallace.[3][4] Hayhurst and Wallace announced they were informally withdrawing from the race in September 2017. Because the announcement came after the candidate filing deadline, their names still appeared on the ballot.[5]
Results
| Lawrence Public Schools, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Melissa Johnson Incumbent |
28.90% | 8,824 |
| Kelly Jones |
21.95% | 6,701 |
| Ronald Gordon-Ross |
15.11% | 4,614 |
| Gretchen Alix Lister | 12.08% | 3,689 |
| James Alan Hollinger | 9.43% | 2,878 |
| Jill Hayhurst | 7.05% | 2,151 |
| Steve Wallace | 5.48% | 1,672 |
| Total Votes | 30,529 | |
| Source: Douglas County, Kansas, "Online election results (official)," accessed November 17, 2017 | ||
Funding
Gordon-Ross reported no contributions or expenditures to the Douglas County Clerk in the election.[6]
Endorsements
Gordon-Ross was endorsed by MainPAC, the political action committee for the MainStream Coalition.[7]
2015
Five seats were up for general election on April 7, 2015. Because more than three candidates filed for one position, a primary election was held on March 3, 2015.
Incumbents Bob Byers, Rick Ingram, Shannon Kimball, and Randy Masten were up for regular election. Masten was the only incumbent not to file to run for re-election. Byers, Ingram, and Kimball faced challengers Lindsey Frye, Ronald Gordon-Ross, Jessica Beeson, and Jill Fincher for the four-year terms up for election.[3] Ingram, Kimball, Beeson, and Fincher won the regular election.
An additional seat appeared on the ballot due to a vacancy on the board that was filled by appointment in 2014. Adina Morse resigned from the board in August to serve as the executive director of the Lawrence Schools Foundation. Marcel Harmon was appointed on September 8, 2014, to fill that vacancy.[8]
Because the seat would not have been up for regular election in 2015, the election for this seat was for the two years left on its unexpired term. Harmon ran to remain in the seat against challengers Mary Loveland, Kelly Spurgeon, and Norine Spears. Because more than three candidates filed for the race, a primary election was held. Harmon and Loveland advanced to the general election, where Harmon won his first full-term in the seat.[3]
Results
| Lawrence Public Schools, At-Large General Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Shannon Kimball Incumbent |
18.9% | 5,418 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jessica Beeson |
17.6% | 5,050 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jill Fincher |
17.3% | 4,951 | |
| Nonpartisan | Rick Ingram Incumbent |
16.6% | 4,758 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bob Byers Incumbent | 14% | 4,015 | |
| Nonpartisan | Lindsey Frye | 9.3% | 2,669 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ronald Gordon-Ross | 6.3% | 1,819 | |
| Total Votes | 28,680 | |||
| Source: Douglas County, "Online Election Results (official)," accessed April 16, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Gordon-Ross reported no contributions or expenditures to the Douglas County Clerk in this election.[9]
Endorsements
Gordon-Ross did not receive any official endorsements in the election.
Campaign themes
2017
Gordon-Ross highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:
| “ | There are many issues facing the district and the School Board in particular. Below are a few of the ones that are significant to me.
Adequate and Practical Technology Transparency with how the School Board functions I’ve outlined below some of my belief’s around what a School Board is, and isn’t. The school board has four main functions
All students are receiving an equitable education As I’ve visited PTO and PTA meetings and listened to the concerns of parents and seen the common thread that this community believes in the work the district is doing and is supportive of it. Let’s work together to continue moving forward and providing the education experience that every child deserves.[10] |
” |
| —Ronald Gordon-Ross (2017)[11] | ||
2015
Candidate website
Gordon-Ross described his motivations for running for the school board on his campaign website as follows:
| “ | I want to serve because of my children. My wife and I have been blessed with great teachers and experiences for our children. They have benefitted from the Lawrence Public Schools System, and I want to serve to give back so that others may benefit.
I want to serve because there are changes on the horizon. Changes in curriculum, finances, priorities, and focus. We as a district have no control over most of those changes, but we must be prepared, be proactive, and even react to those changes in a way that will benefit the entire district and not just a vocal minority. I'm not serving as a stepping stone for higher political office. I have no political ambitions. I have no specific agenda. I'm not serving to attempt to change things so that my children benefit. I will do my best to represent all the children and staff of USD 497 to the best of my ability.[10] |
” |
| —Ronald Gordon-Ross (2015)[12] | ||
He also described his beliefs about how the school board school function:
| “ | What I believe:
|
” |
| —Ronald Gordon-Ross (2015)[13] | ||
Lawrence Journal-World candidate questionnaire
Gordon-Ross participated in a candidate questionnaire from the Lawrence Journal-World. The questions and his responses are below:
| “ | What makes you the right candidate for the school board?
I have a vested interest in USD 497 as a member of the community and as a parent in the district. I believe that at this point in my life I can offer substantive help to the schools here. I have been in Lawrence for a long time; I did not grow up here but all five of my children have. I have had the privilege to watch my children mature while in the care of the USD 497. It is a great school district and I want to be able to give back what it has given my family. What issues should the school board focus on in the coming years? The most significant issues facing the board in the coming years are revenue-based. With the pending (although imminent) actions at the state level, school funding is going to change and the board needs to be prepared to respond. Discussion on capital outlay and bond projects will continue as the student body in Lawrence continues to grow. We need to focus on making sure our budget process is a bottom-up practice, instead of top-down. Budget decisions should focus on the kids in the classrooms; therefore the budget process should in large part be driven by input from teachers. How should the board address the budget issues it faces because of state cuts? The board should help the district continue to find ways to do more with less. I would prioritize funding to areas that offer direct impact within the classroom – certified staff, teaching and classroom supplies and technology. I would first look to areas such as classified staff, administration support staff and supplies, professional development and look to find enough there to not have to touch classroom dollars. I can be sure of two things: the ultimate decisions will be difficult and not everyone will agree with them. But that will not keep us from having to make those difficult decisions. Are Lawrence students shortchanged in any aspect of their education? The clearest issue that I can see where work could be done is in providing an equitable education. There needs to be a focus on those students who classify as lower socioeconomic status. This issue needs to become a greater focus as the district continues to implement programs such as blended learning classrooms and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). How do we, as a school board and district, make sure that every child has access to a device outside and within the classroom to meet the expectations that these types of instructional focuses require? Do you support Common Core standards? Why or why not? I support the concept behind Common Core, meaning that our curriculum should be held to some sort of standard that would be recognized as credible by those outside of Lawrence. I understand that Common Core is a very political issue and a great many people are very passionate about it. My only concern with Common Core is a feeling teachers must “teach to the test.” Regardless of what the standards are called or where they come from, I support creating expectations for our students’ education, as long as we continue to validate the efforts of our teachers. Should teachers have tenure rights? Is it "too hard" to fire teachers with tenure? Teachers should have tenure rights as part of being a member of a union. I do not believe it is so difficult to fire a teacher as to make it necessary to scrap the entire tenure system. They should be afforded some level of protection in their jobs. The district has adopted a due process system and is using the Danielson Group’s Framework for Teaching as a way to evaluate individual teachers to a rigid set of standards. This process with continue to help the district to determine which teachers will continue to have the privilege to teach our children. Do you support moving school board elections to November in even numbered years and/or making the elections partisan? I do not support this move for all of the reasons outlined by the School Board resolution passed on Feb. 9. It would be difficult to compete for the attention of voters while statewide and national elections were being held and it would disrupt the school year by having new board members join in the middle of a school year. I also do not support making the elections partisan. A local school board should remain a non-political entity and be treated as such when people vote.[10] |
” |
| —Ronald Gordon-Ross (2015)[14] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Ronald Gordon-Ross Lawrence Public Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Lawrence Public Schools, Kansas
- Lawrence Public Schools, Kansas elections (2017)
- Lawrence Public Schools, Kansas elections (2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Lawrence Journal-World, "School board candidate profile: Ronald Gordon-Ross," March 22, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gordon-Ross for School Board, "About Me," accessed February 10, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Douglas County Clerk, "Official City/School Candidate Filings," accessed June 1, 2017 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "candidates" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Douglas County, Kansas, "Online election results (unofficial)," accessed November 8, 2017
- ↑ Lawrence Journal-World, "Two candidates drop out of Lawrence school board race," September 29, 2017
- ↑ Douglas County, "Candidate Reports: City Current Candidates & Elected Officials," accessed December 18, 2017
- ↑ MainPac, "MainPAC Endorsements," accessed October 13, 2017
- ↑ Lawrence Journal World, "Marcel Harmon appointed to Lawrence school board," September 8, 2014
- ↑ Douglas County Clerk, "Candidate Reports," accessed May 28, 2015
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ GR Gordon-Ross USD 497 School Board, "On the Issues," accessed October 13, 2017
- ↑ Gordon-Ross for School Board, "Why I'm Running," accessed February 10, 2015
- ↑ Gordon-Ross for School Board, "What I Believe," accessed February 10, 2015
- ↑ Lawrence Journal-World, "School board questionnaire: Ronald “G.R.” Gordon-Ross," March 18, 2015
| Lawrence Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Douglas County, Kansas | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Melissa Johnson • Ronald "GR" Gordon-Ross • Jill Hayhurst • James Alan Hollinger • Kelly Jones • Gretchen Alix Lister • Steve Wallace |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
| 2015 Lawrence Public Schools Elections | |
| Douglas County, Kansas | |
| Election date: | Primary: March 3, 2015
General: April 7, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large, 4-year terms (Four seats): • Incumbent, Bob Byers • Incumbent, Rick Ingram • Incumbent, Shannon Kimball • Lindsey Frye • Ronald Gordon-Ross • Jessica Beeson • Jill Fincher
At-large, 2-year term (One seat): • Incumbent, Marcel Harmon • Mary Loveland • Kelly Spurgeon • Norine Spears |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
