Rosemary Smithfield
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Rosemary Smithfield represents the Trustee Area 1 seat on the Vista Unified School District school board in California. Smithfield won the seat in the by-district general election on November 8, 2016.
Smithfield participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Elections
2016
Three of the five seats on the Vista Unified School District Board of Education were up for by-district general election on November 8, 2016. In her bid for re-election to Trustee Area 1, incumbent Elizabeth Jaka was defeated by challenger Rosemary Smithfield. Trustee Area 4 incumbent Angela Chunka ran against challengers Heather Emaus and Cipriano Vargas, and Vargas won the seat. The Trustee Area 5 race featured incumbent Richard Alderson and challenger Roland Balmer. Alderson won re-election to the board.[1][2]
Results
| Vista Unified School District, Trustee Area 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Rosemary Smithfield |
62.84% | 6,156 |
| Elizabeth Jaka Incumbent | 37.16% | 3,641 |
| Total Votes | 9,797 | |
| Source: San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "Presidential General Election - Tuesday, November 8, 2016," accessed December 9, 2016 | ||
Funding
Smithfield filed an exemption form detailing she would not spend or receive more than $2,000 for this campaign. Because of this, she did not have to file additional campaign finance reports.[3][4]
Endorsements
Smithfield was endorsed by the Vista Teachers Association.[5]
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Rosemary Smithfield 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 October 29, 2016:
| “ | I want students to be the focus of all decisions.[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 |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| “ | Students should be at the very soul of every decision made in the district![7] | ” |
| —Rosemary Smithfield (October 29, 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.) |
|---|
| No. My district currently houses 5 successful charter schools. |
| 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. Filling in bubble testing does not measure a child's knowledge. Children should be assessed in ways that measure what they truly know. Different testing for different styles? I don't think we have found the best way to do this. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| Aligning the basic standards throughout the states seems just. |
| 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? |
| Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. The current system in place allows different avenues for the handling of under-performing teachers. Administrators have two years to observe and evaluate new teachers. During this time a teacher may be let go without just cause. If after this time a teacher is under-performing they are offered due process. Due process includes a plan and opportunity to improve with support. At this point, if there is no improvement, a teacher may be dismissed. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Separation of church and state is derived from our constitution. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| According to the existing guidelines such as the ed code, school board policies, penal code etc. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Student-teacher ratio Teacher - student ratio is proven to benefit the student in many ways. This is important for all students at all levels. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Rosemary Smithfield Vista Unified School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "Candidate List: 2016 General Election," accessed August 17, 2016
- ↑ COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO, "PRESIDENTIAL GENERAL ELECTION," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "CampaignDocs eRetrieval: Search by Candidate's Last Name," accessed October 5, 2016
- ↑ California Fair Political Practices Commission, "Filing Schedule for Candidates and Controlled Committees for Local Office Being Voted on November 8, 2016," accessed September 30, 2016
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with pemausff@yahoo.com," August 24, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Rosemary Smithfield's responses," October 29, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 Vista Unified School District Elections | |
| San Diego County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | Trustee Area 1: • Incumbent, Elizabeth Jaka • Rosemary Smithfield Trustee Area 4: • Incumbent, Angela Chunka • Heather Emaus • Cipriano Vargas Trustee Area 5: • Incumbent, Richard Alderson • Roland Balmer |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
