Roy Rocklin
Roy Rocklin was an at-large member of the Fremont Union High Board of Education in California. Rocklin assumed office in 2016. Rocklin left office on March 19, 2023.
Rocklin won re-election for an at-large seat of the Fremont Union High Board of Education in California outright after the general election on November 3, 2020, was canceled.
Rocklin participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Elections
2020
The general election was canceled. Incumbent Jeff Moe and incumbent Roy Rocklin were elected without opposition to two at-large seats on the Fremont Union High Board of Education. Their names did not appear on the general election ballot.
2016
Two of the five seats on the Fremont Union High School District board of trustees were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. In his bid for re-election, incumbent Jeff Moe ran against challengers Roy Rocklin and Jenny Yuan.[1] Moe won re-election, and Rocklin won the other seat on the ballot.[2]
Results
| Fremont Union High School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Roy Rocklin |
46.08% | 48,032 |
| Jeff Moe Incumbent |
28.96% | 30,188 |
| Jenny Yuan | 24.95% | 26,008 |
| Total Votes | 104,228 | |
| Source: Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Official Final Results," accessed December 7, 2016 | ||
Funding
Rocklin reported $21,882.19 in contributions and $21,882.19 in expenditures to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, which left his campaign with a $0.00 balance in the election.[3]
Endorsements
Rocklin was endorsed by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party.[4]
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Roy Rocklin did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Roy Rocklin 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 7, 2016:
| “ | Fremont Union High School District is successful and well managed. We provide top quality programs in all academic subjects. Our excellence in science and math has received national recognition. My goal will be to maintain and improve this quality while ensuring fiscal responsibility. I am committed to the success of all students, to maintaining our schools as comprehensive high schools and to maintaining our schools as neighborhood schools.[5][6] | ” |
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 |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | My top priorities are to deliver a first class education to all students while maintaining a balanced budget. The ranking above makes it appear as if certain issues are not important. Most are. I ranked "Improving relations with teachers" low because relations are already good.[6] | ” |
| —Roy Rocklin (October 7, 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. I am absolutely opposed to using public funds for for-profit charter schools. Public charter schools do serve a purpose in being laboratories for alternative methods of education so I am not opposed to charter schools in principle. However, I don't see the need for a new charter high school in the Fremont Union attendance area. |
| 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. This question is phrased in a black-and-white manner that leaves no room for what the truth really is. Standardized tests are not accurate but they are reasonably good. They are an important indicator of student achievement and should be used but with an awareness of their limitations. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| Common core is both a philosophy of learning through inquiry and a series of standards. I am a strong believer in the philosophy but the extent of implementation of the standards should be left to teachers and schools. |
| 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. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. From what I have observed, I feel that the vast majority of teachers in the district are either excellent or at least very good. I would favor terminating contracts with underperforming teachers only after a probationary period. Decisions based on short-term evaluation have a high probability of being wrong. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. This is a difficult question. I can see arguments on both sides. I need to study the issue more before I could go for merit pay. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Public funds should be used ONLY for public education. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Only for the most serious violations, such as violence or selling drugs on campus. In our district, a student who is expelled is offered special classes at the district headquarters to complete high school. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Parent involvement Being a teacher myself, I have seen the strong influence that teachers have on students. However, the most reliable indicator of student success is the educational attainment of the parents. |
See also
2020 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "Contest/Candidate Proof List," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Santa Clara County, "November 8, 2016 Presidential General Election Summary," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, "County of Santa Clara Public Portal for Campaign Finance Disclosure," accessed February 17, 2017
- ↑ Santa Clara County Democratic Party, "Endorsements," accessed October 17, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Roy Rocklin's responses," October 7, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
