Ronald Higgins (Washington)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Ronald Higgins

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 4, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

California Polytechnic State University

Graduate

University of West Florida

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Marine Corps

Years of service

1969 - 1991

Personal

Profession

Substitute teacher

Contact

Campaign website

Ronald Higgins ran for election for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction. He lost in the primary on August 4, 2020.

Higgins was a candidate for at-large representative on the Richland School District school board in Washington. Higgins was defeated in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.

Higgins was a candidate for the nonpartisan position of Washington superintendent of public instruction in the 2016 election. He was defeated in the primary election.

He was also twice a candidate for the Richland school board, as well as previously a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction.

Higgins was defeated in his bid for Position 3 on the Richland school board in the general election on November 3, 2015. He sought Position 1 on the board unsuccessfully in the general election on November 5, 2013.

Prior to those campaigns, Higgins ran for Washington superintendent of public instruction in the 2012 elections. He finished second in the primary election on August 7, 2012, but did not advance to the general election ballot.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Higgins is a retired engineer who works as a substitute teacher. He earned a B.S. in chemistry from California Polytechnic State University in 1969, an M.S. in aeronautical system from the University of West Florida in 1970, and an M.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Washington in 1980. From 1969 to 1974, he was an active member of the U.S. Marine Corps; he served on reserve duty from 1974 to 1991. He was a helicopter pilot and achieved the rank of Lieutenant Colonel

In 2010, Higgins earned his Washington teaching certificate, and he earned his California teaching credential in 2015. Both of these included a mathematics endorsement. He has worked as a substitute teacher in Washington and in California. He was also a substitute bus driver for the Pasco School District in the 2010–2011 school year.

Elections

2020

See also: Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2020

General election

General election for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction

Incumbent Chris Reykdal defeated Maia Espinoza in the general election for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Reykdal (Nonpartisan)	54.6	1,955,365
		Maia Espinoza (Nonpartisan)	44.9	1,609,643
		Other/Write-in votes	0.5	17,957

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,582,965
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction

The following candidates ran in the primary for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction on August 4, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Reykdal (Nonpartisan)	40.2	898,951
✔		Maia Espinoza (Nonpartisan)	25.3	564,674
		Ronald Higgins (Nonpartisan)	20.5	456,879
		Dennis Wick (Nonpartisan)	5.4	121,425
	Submit photo	David Spring (Nonpartisan)	5.0	111,176
		Stan Lippmann (Nonpartisan)	3.2	71,395
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	9,571

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,234,071
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

2017

See also: Richland School District elections (2017)

Two of the five seats on the Richland School District school board in Washington were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. Position 1 board member Heather Cleary filed for re-election and defeated challenger Matthew Bishop. Position 2 member Rick Jansons filed for another term and defeated challenger Ron Higgins.

Results

Richland School District, Position 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Rick Jansons Incumbent	59.74%	9,556
Ron Higgins	40.26%	6,439
Total Votes		15,995
Source: Benton County, "November 7, 2017 General Election," accessed December 1, 2017

2016

See also: Washington Superintendent of Schools election, 2016

Higgins filed to run in the 2016 election for the nonpartisan position of Washington superintendent of public instruction. Eight other candidates filed to run for the seat. Higgins was defeated in the August 2 top-two primary election by Erin Jones and state Rep. Chris Reykdal.

The following candidates ran in the Washington primary for superintendent of schools.

Washington primary for superintendent of schools, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Erin Jones	25.76%	295,330
	Nonpartisan	Chris Reykdal	20.95%	240,194
	Nonpartisan	Ronald Higgins	16.65%	190,886
	Nonpartisan	Robin Fleming	13.52%	154,991
	Nonpartisan	David Spring	8.52%	97,702
	Nonpartisan	John Patterson Blair	5.59%	64,064
	Nonpartisan	KumRoon Maksirisombat	3.79%	43,491
	Nonpartisan	Al Runte	3.26%	37,386
	Nonpartisan	Grazyna Prouty	1.94%	22,265
Total Votes				1,146,309
Source: Washington Secretary of State

Funding

Ron Higgins Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
To date	As of August 2, 2016	$	$9,024.47	$(5,899.63)	$
			Running totals
			$9,024.47	$(5,899.63)

2015

See also: Richland School District elections (2015)

Three seats on the Richland School District school board were up for general election on November 3, 2015. Positions 3, 4, and 5 were on the ballot. Because more than two candidates filed for Positions 4 and 5, a primary election for those races was held on August 4, 2015, with the top two vote-recipients advancing to the general election.

A mandatory recount for Position 4 was necessary due to the narrow margin between the two candidates in the general election. Position 4 incumbent Mary Guay did not file to seek re-election. Her open seat drew the most candidate filings in the district's elections. Brett Amidan, a returning candidate from 2013, Emily Allen, and Jill Oldson appeared on the primary ballot for the seat. Amidan and Oldson triumphed over Allen in that race and competed in the general election. Certified results showed just two votes placed Oldson over Amidan, necessitating the recount for the race. After the recount, the candidates were declared tied. A coin toss was held to break the tie, and Amidan was declared the winner.

Ronald Higgins, a 2012 candidate for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction, initially filed to run for the Position 4 seat. He withdrew from that race on May 15, 2015, in order to run for the Position 3 seat, instead. He lost to Position 3 incumbent Rick Donahoe in that race.

Position 5 incumbent Phyllis Strickler saw the second highest candidate filings in her race and was ultimately unseated. Returning 2013 candidate Gordon Comfort and Donald Todd ran against her in the primary. Strickler and Comfort advanced to the general election, where Comfort defeated the sitting board member.

Results

Richland School District Board of Directors, Position 3 General Election, 4-year term, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Rick Donahoe Incumbent	57.6%	7,133
Ronald Higgins	42.4%	5,259
Write-in votes	0%	0
Total Votes		12,392
Source: Benton County, Washington, "November 3, 2015 General Election," November 24, 2015

Funding

Higgins reported no contributions or expenditures to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission as of October 30, 2015.

Endorsements

Higgins received no official endorsements in this election.

2013

See also: Richland School District elections (2013)

Higgins sought election to the board against incumbent Heather Cleary and Jimmie D. Chastain. Higgins placed second against Heather Cleary and Jimmie D. Chastain during the primary on August 6, 2013. Higgins and Cleary appeared on the general election ballot as the top two finishers in the primary. Cleary won the election.

Results

Richland School Board, Position 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Heather Cleary Incumbent	55.3%	8,571
	Nonpartisan	Ronald Higgins	44.7%	6,934
Total Votes				15,505
Source: Benton County Auditor, "Election Results," November 26, 2013

Richland School Board, Position 1 Primary Election, 4-year term, 2013
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Nonpartisan	Heather Cleary Incumbent	55.4%	4,355
	Nonpartisan	Ronald Higgins	34.9%	2,741
	Nonpartisan	Jimmie D. Chastain	9.7%	765
Total Votes				7,861
Source: Benton County Auditor, "Election Results: August 6, 2013 Primary," August 20, 2013

Funding

Higgins reported no contributions or expenditures to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission in this election.

2012

See also: Washington down ballot state executive elections, 2012

Higgins ran for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2012. He faced incumbent Randy Dorn, James Bauckman, Don Hansler, and John Patterson Blair in the blanket primary on August 7, 2012. Dorn was unopposed in the general election. The general election took place on November 6, 2012.

Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	N/A	Randy Dorn Incumbent	100%	2,164,163
Total Votes				2,164,163
Election results via Washington Secretary of State

Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction, Primary, 2012
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Randy I. Dorn	56.2%	634,314
Ronald L. (Ron) Higgins	15.3%	172,331
James Bauckman	13.2%	149,370
Don Hansler	9.2%	104,260
John Patterson Blair	6%	67,898
Total Votes		1,128,173
Election results via Washington Secretary of State.

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Ronald Higgins did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2016

Higgins outlined the following themes on his campaign website:

Value the Present
​• Ensure parents maintain the ultimate authority for the education of their children
​• Prevent our students from being bullied by well-financed special-interest pressure groups that promote and affirm unhealthy lifestyles
• Promote healthy lifestyles and sobriety
• Protect personnel from violence

Prepare for the Future
• Affirm the authority of parents to shepherd their children from childhood to adulthood
• Treat boys as boys and girls as girls
• Make required courses more relevant
• Provide educational opportunities for all
• Maintain high literary standards
​• Ensure that schools teach students the whole truth

Investigate ways to assist educators by:
​• Eliminating unneeded testing
​• Affirming educators’ rights to voluntarily join, or not join, unions
​• Reducing teachers’ administrative burden
• Enhancing teachers’ career flexibility

2015

Ballotpedia survey responses

Higgins 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:

“	Ensuring that parents have the ultimate authority as to the education of their children. Education, not Indoctrination!	”
—Ron Higgins (2015)

Ranking the issues

The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with one being the most important and seven 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 Washington.
Education on the ballot

Issue importance ranking
Candidate's ranking	Issue
1	Balancing or maintaining the district's budget
2	Expanding school choice options
3	Expanding career-technical education
4	Improving college readiness
5	Closing the achievement gap
6	Improving education for special needs students
7	Expanding arts education

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
What is your stance on implementing Common Core standards?	"They should not be implemented."
Should your district approve the creation of new charter schools?	"Yes"
Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system?	"Yes"
Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement?	"Yes"
How can the district ensure equal opportunities for high and low achieving students?	"Unless there are unusual circumstances, low achieving students and high achieving students will already have the same opportunity as other students, but their needs may be different. Schools need to identify low achieving students as soon as possible and begin the intervention process promptly to keep the low achieving student from falling hopelessly behind. Among the options to improve a low achieving student’s performance are providing additional instruction before or after school, assigning the student to a different teacher, or assigning the student to a less-demanding course that will address the students’ deficiencies. The school counselor should also be engaged to see if the home atmosphere can be made more conducive to study, or if something can be done to motivate the student if the student lacks motivation. High achieving students need to be challenged so they don’t become bored. If they learn the material quickly, they need to be assigned additional work so that they can continue to grow academically."
How should expulsion be used in the district?	"Expulsion should be used for serious offenses to ensure the safety of other students as well as the integrity of education at district schools."
If a school is failing in your district, what steps should the school board take to help the students in that school?	"The actions that school boards take to address failing schools depend upon the reason why the school is failing. Areas to investigate include the adequacy of resources given to the school; the physical condition of the school building; the frequency and effectiveness of the school administration oversight; the subject matter competence and commitment to the students by the teachers; and the involvement by the parents. If any of these areas need improvement, the school board should insist that the school superintendent take prompt action to remedy the situation and closely monitor the effectiveness of the action."
Do you support merit pay for teachers?	"Yes"
How should the district handle underperforming teachers?	"Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district."
How would you work to improve community-school board relations?	"I would allow parents and other concerned citizens to address the school board during public meetings, which is already the policy. I would also let them contact me at home if they had an issue that the school district could not address. To ensure that parents have the ultimate authority over their children’s education, I would accord them the option to have their children read other books if the parents determine that the books assigned are inappropriate, and to have their children leave class and do alternative assignments if the parents feel that the course material is inappropriate for their children. Parents who are involved in their children’s education are to be commended, not condemned."

Higgins included the following campaign statements with his survey responses, including an iteration of similar statements from his campaign website:

“	Common Core: Implement Common Sense, not Common Core. Among the problems with Common Core are: The Washington State Democratic Party passed a resolution in January 2015 against Common Core; the resolution included the following complaints: 1. Common Core State Standards were promulgated by wealthy private interests without research-based evidence of validity and are developmentally inappropriate in the lowest grades; 2. They were created by two unaccountable private trade associations–the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO)–that received millions of dollars in funding from the Gates Foundation; and 3. Their adoption effectively transfers control over public school standardized testing from locally elected school boards to the unaccountable corporate interests that control the CCSS and who stand to profit substantially. Brad McQueen, a former Common Core insider and current public school teacher, wrote a book Cult of Common Core, in which he documents the fallaciousness of Common Core propaganda: Common Core standards are not more rigorous; states did not lead in the initiative for Common Core; and the federal government is heavily involved with Common Core. Charter Schools: I would support charter schools that maintained a safe, orderly learning environment, and that provided good academic instruction in math, science, language arts and civics (US Cosntitution and Declaration of Independence). I substitute taught in both public schools and charter schools in the inner city of Los Angeles. Charter schools maintained safe, orderly learning environments, but the public schools were total pandemonium, so I tend to support the concept of charter schools in order to provide parents an educational option for their children. Two individuals most involved in sponsoring charter schools are Bill Gates and Fethullah Gulen, both of whose charter schools have been involved in controversy. I would be very hesitant to approve any charter school sponsored by either Bill Gates or Fetullah Gulen. School vouchers: I favor providing vouchers to parents so that they can pursue alternative venues for educating their children. This gives parents more educational options; helps reduce overcrowding in schools; reduce disputes by allowing parents who frequently take issue with school policies or implementation to remove their children and send them to educational institutions more to their liking; provide more money to private schools to pay their teachers, thus giving teachers as well as parents and students a choice of the schools in which to teach. Standardized Tests Accurate Measurement of Student Achievement: Standardized tests can be a good measure of subject knowledge and are one way to compare students who come from schools that have far different academic rigor. A student with a 3.0 grade point average from a school with a challenging curriculum may have better subject knowledge and than a student who has a 4.0 grade point average at a school that has a less-demanding academic setting. Expulsion: The school district needs to have a disciplinary spectrum, such as the Make Your Day program where discipline escalates depending upon the severity and frequency of the misbehavior. If a student’s behavior becomes so extreme, especially if drugs, weapons, or violence is involved, the school district must take firm action, and cannot allow students who jeopardize the safety or learning environment of others to remain in school, because the school district has a responsibility to the staff and the other students and their parents. If a student is expelled, the school district can still provide individual instruction to the student using tutors until the district personnel decide it is safe for the student to return to class. Underperforming Teachers: Mentoring for underperforming teachers is preferred, together with additional training, administrative support, and probation. If teachers are not proficient in their subject matter, they should be assigned to courses in which they are proficient; if they have no expertise in any subject, they need to find another line of work. One circumstance in which I would terminate a teacher’s contract would be for teachers who do not like children; such teachers destroy a student’s fondness for school, make it difficult for the student’s future teachers, and cause the student to become a discipline problem and possibly drop out of school. Teachers who don’t like children should find another line of work. Merit Pay: Merit pay is appropriate to attract teachers to hard-to-fill subject areas and to teachers who are assigned classes especially of difficult students. My Educational Philosophy: Build on the Past Instruct children in the principles contained in our nation’s founding documents (Declaration of Independence and US Constitution). Value the Present Promote healthy lifestyles. Protect students from bullying by well-financed special-interest pressure groups that promote and affirm unhealthy lifestyles. Promote sobriety. Protect personnel from violence. Prepare for the Future Partner with parents to shepherd their children from childhood to adulthood. Treat boys as boys and girls as girls. Make required courses more relevant. Provide educational opportunities for all. Maintain high literary standards. Investigate ways to assist educators by: Reducing teachers’ administrative burden. Enhancing teachers’ career flexibility.	”
—Ron Higgins (2015)

Voters' pamphlet

Higgins provided the following statement for the Benton County voters' pamphlet:

“	Parents have ultimate authority for their children’s education; I will protect parental rights. Final curriculum decisions need to be made locally, and teachers need to be free to teach, so I am opposed to Common Core. Children’s rights don’t end when they enter school; I will protect their Constitutional and privacy rights. Education should impart basic academic skills and convey our country’s heritage of liberty to students; I oppose fads that stray from these objectives. People with classroom experience should determine educational policy; as a certificated math teacher in Washington and California, I have substitute taught all grades/multiple subjects in six public school districts in Washington, and in inner city Los Angeles, and driven a school bus in Pasco.	”
—Ronald Higgins (2015)

Campaign website

Higgins provided the following statements on his campaign website:

“	Why is Ron Higgins running for School Board? Maintain local control of our children’s education Local control is foundational to our educational system. The federal educational hierarchy is trying to force on us a program that will override local control: Common Core Curriculum. Although sounding appealing, Common Core takes educational control away from parents and local educators and gives it to professional bureaucrats, many located thousands of miles away, and many who have never been classroom teachers. Common Core stifles local educational innovation, impeding the implementation of local improvement initiatives. Our first priority needs to be: maintain local control of our children’s education by opposing Common Core. Build on the Past Instruct children in the principles contained in our nation’s founding documents (Declaration of Independence and US Constitution). Value the Present ​• Ensure parents maintain the ultimate authority for the education of their children. ​• Prevent our students from being bullied by well-financed special-interest pressure groups that promote and affirm unhealthy lifestyles. • Promote healthy lifestyles and sobriety. • Protect personnel from violence Prepare for the Future • Partner with parents to shepherd their children from childhood to adulthood. • Treat boys as boys and girls as girls. • Make required courses more relevant. • Provide educational opportunities for all. • Maintain high literary standards. ​• Ensure that schools teach students the whole truth. Investigate ways to assist educators by: ​• Reducing teachers’ administrative burden • Enhancing teachers’ career flexibility Education: build on the past; value the present; prepare for the future	”
—Ronald Higgins' campaign website (2015)

2013

Higgins provided the following statement for the Benton County voters' pamphlet:

“	Foundational to our educational system is local control, but there is a program being pushed on us from the educational hierarchy that will override local control: Common Core Curriculum. Although sounding appealing, Common Core takes educational control away from parents and local educators and gives it to professional bureaucrats, many located miles away, and many who have never been classroom teachers. Centralized educational control not only usurps parental control and violates the US Constitution; it impugns our local educators’ competence for devising and implementing educational curricula. While teaching in many high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools, I noticed good things, as well as improvement opportunities; Common Core stifles local educational innovation, impeding the implementation of local improvement initiatives. Student safety is highest priority. While teaching in numerous schools, I noticed evidences of bullying by well-financed special-interest pressure groups promoting sexual anarchy and unhealthy lifestyles. Such bullying needs to be opposed and resisted. Inexpensive programs need to be investigated (proctors, graders, etc.) to reduce the time teachers need to spend outside of class, allowing teachers to focus more on teaching and less on administration. Education: building on the past, valuing the present, preparing for the future.	”
—Ronald Higgins, (2013)

2012

Higgins pushed for the return of teaching civics in the classroom. Not expecting to win, he stated, "Hopefully someone will plagiarize all my good ideas."

See also

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External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Richland School District
• 2015 Campaign website