Shane Hodgson
Shane Hodgson was an independent candidate for District 9 on the St. Tammany School Board in Louisiana. He was defeated in the November 4, 2014, general election by Sharon Lo Drucker (R).
Biography
Hodgson is a St. Tammany native. He graduated from Covington High School in 1986. He then attended Southeastern Louisiana University where he earned a B.A. in general studies in 1994 and an M.A. in history in 1998.[1][2]
Currently, Hodgson is employed as an independent IT consultant with his own company HogsonTech and as an application support specialist for RPS First Premium. He was previously a substitute teacher in the parish district. He has also held the following positions at Tulane University: chief of information services, information systems coordinator and library technician.[1][2]
Hodgson is a member of the St. Tammany District PTA and St Tammany Parish Hospital Parenting Center. He has also volunteered as a coach for youth football and soccer. His family includes his wife, Melissa, and their children.[1][2]
Elections
2014
Fifteen seats on the St. Tammany Parish School Board were up for election on November 4, 2014. Incumbents for all districts were up for re-election. In uncontested races, candidates were considered elected without opposition as soon as the filing deadline passed.
Just one of the seats was contested in the election: Districts 9. Incumbent John C. Lamarque (D) of District 13 also did not file to run for re-election. Robin Mullett (R), the District 9 incumbent, was elected without opposition to the open seat. Sharon Lo Drucker (R) and Shane Hodgson (I) faced each other in the contest to fill Mullett's vacated seat.[3]
District 6 incumbent Roanne V. Tipton (R) did not file to run for re-election. Newcomers Michael C. Nation (R) and Mike Rivault (R) both filed in the race to fill her seat, but Rivault later withdrew from the race. Nation was automatically elected to the District 6 seat. The remaining seats were all retained by the following incumbents who were elected without opposition: Neal M. Hennegan (R) in District 1, Elizabeth B. Heintz (R) in District 2, Michael "Mike" J. Dirmann (D) in District 3, Stephen "Jack" J. Loup III (R) in District 4, Charles T. Harrell (R) in District 5, Willie "Coach" Jeter (D) in District 7, Peggy H. Seeley (R) in District 8, Ronald "Ron" Bettencourtt (R) in District 10, Robert "Bob" R. Womack (R) in District 11, James "Ronnie" Panks Sr. (R) in District 12, Ray Anthony Alfred (D) in District 14 and Mary K. Bellisario (R) in District 15.
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Sharon Lo Drucker |
64.5% | 4,297 | |
| Independent | Shane Hodgson | 35.5% | 2,367 | |
| Total Votes | 6,664 | |||
| Source: Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Results," accessed December 5, 2014 | ||||
Funding
As of October 30, 2014, Hodgson reported $3,455.00 in contributions and $1,655.67 in expenditures to the Louisiana Ethics Administration Program, which left his campaign with $1,799.33 on hand.[4]
Endorsements
Hodgson was endorsed by NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune.[5]
What was at stake?
While all 15 seats were up for election, 12 of those were filed by incumbents elected without opposition. An additional seat was filed by an incumbent switching districts, leaving just two contested races in the election. After Mike Rivault (R) withdrew from the District 6 race, just one seat was left undecided. Prior to the election, the board was comprised of 11 Republicans and 4 Democrats. Democrats lost one seat, which could have become Republican or independent. The District 9 race between Drucker (R) and Hodgson (I) determined the new board's partisan makeup. The board remained solidly Republican.
However, the long tenure of several of these returning incumbents now had a definite end guaranteed after a 2012 vote which instated term limits on school board members. The new term limits took effect with terms won in this election.
While much stayed the same in terms of board membership, several issues faced the district. Like much of the country, Common Core was a topic of interest in the district, as well as a controversy about the school board's financial arrangement with Assistant District Attorney Harry Pastuszek.
Issues
Issues in the district
Term limits
Terms won in this election were the first to be affected by the imposition of term limits on school board members in the parish. On November 6, 2012, St. Tammany Parish voters elected by a strong majority to instate term limits.
The question appeared on the ballot as follows:
| “ | LOCAL OPTION ELECTION
Within St. Tammany Parish School District: Shall the number of terms of office that any member of the school board may serve be limited to three consecutive four-year terms?[6] |
” |
| —Louisiana Secretary of State's website (2014)[7] | ||
Election results
| Parishwide School District Local Option Term Limits Proposition (2012) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 87373 | 84.94% | ||
| No | 15496 | 15.06% | ||
Starting with terms that began on or after January 1, 2015, any member who, at the end of his or her term, has served more than two and one-half terms in the last three consecutive terms cannot be re-elected in the following term. However, they can be re-elected following the one term break. The limit does not apply retroactively to incumbents, thus allowing them to potentially serve up to 12 more years.[8][9]
ADA Harry Pastuszek controversy
Spending on legal counsel by the school board to Assistant District Attorney Harry Pastuszek came under criticism following the revelation that the district had paid more than $500,000 for the services in the last year. The practice of assistant district attorneys providing legal counsel to school boards is common in Louisiana. However, the payment for those services is a complicated manner. Whether these deals are seen as a public service that is compensated through the district attorney's office or a private arrangement that is compensated directly with the lawyer providing the services varies.[10]
In the case of the St. Tammany School Board, the school board has paid Pastuszek directly for legal services. The district paid him $440,666 in 2011, $475,194 in 2012 and $545,399 in 2013.[10]
Common Core
- See also: Common Core State Standards Initiative
Although the school board approved a resolution calling on the state to drop the Common Core standards in October 2013, the topic was not closed. At the September 11, 2014, school board meeting, 10 people spoke to the school board to express their dissatisfaction with the mathematics curriculum being taught under the Common Core. While Governor Bobby Jindal (R) has sued the federal government over Common Core, Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White has been a strong supporter.[11][12]
Campaign themes
2014
Hodgson provided the following platform on his campaign website:
| “ | High Standards and Academic Excellence for All Students
Challenging all students and educators, helping them reach their full potential
Partnership with Community
Using Fiscal Resources Wisely
Smart Growth
|
” |
| —Shane Hodgson campaign website (2014)[13] | ||
Hodgson also provided the following issue statements on his campaign website:
| “ | On school choice
As a parent myself, I know the decision about which school setting is best for a child is a deeply personal and highly complicated issue. Because of my near decade of involvement in the current school system, and because of my long history with it over my lifetime, I believe in the STPSB mission to engage all students in high-quality education to become lifelong learners. That said, I also respect that sometimes parents find the best arrangement for their child in private, parochial or home school settings, and I admire parents who take the time and energy to find their child’s best path to success. I believe the combination of our exceptional public school system that includes a pathway for home schooling plus the strong private and parochial influence evident in our parish today are a high performing team of educational institutions well suited to prepare our young for life’s challenges. Charter schools may be of value in school systems that need a reboot, but I don’t believe they have a promising role in our parish.[6] |
” |
| —Shane Hodgson campaign website (2014)[14] | ||
| “ | On standardized testing
Whether PARCC or LEAP or another standardized test, these packaged systems are not the best way to assess individual achievement. A one-size-fits-all test cannot accurately judge how well individual students are learning. Aside from the shortcomings of the metrics themselves, there is also a hidden peril in the pressure placed on teachers and schools to measure their achievement via their students’ test scores. This is essentially a prescription for too much temptation to “teach to the test.” If their jobs depend upon their students test scores, how else are we to expect human beings to react? We must find accurate and fair ways to measure student achievement without expecting all students to perform on the same metric and all teachers and schools to measure success on their students’ scores.[6] |
” |
| —Shane Hodgson campaign website (2014)[15] | ||
| “ | On Common Core Standards
[...] Implementation of the Common Core State Standards in Louisiana has been, at best, haphazard. Teachers and parents were excluded from the adoption process and not prepared when changes were made. Changing standards while also changing other aspects of education in the state (tenure, funding for schools, teacher and school evaluation procedures) was the wrong way to do this. Possible improvements include changing the standards and maintaining status quo for a period of time, or establishing new rules on tenure, funding and evaluations before implementing new standards. I believe a great deal of the controversy, the problems and legal issues we’ve dealt with over the last couple of years could have been avoided with a more patient, judicious and inclusive process. Allowing students, parents, teachers and administrators to steer changes may have created a better system and won more constituents over, making the program something all stakeholders would understand and enthusiastically implement. [...][6] |
” |
| —Shane Hodgson campaign website (2014)[16] | ||
| “ | On college and career readiness
The purpose of public education should be to create lifelong learners, not to create automatons who perform well on tests and matriculate into empty-minded “mcjobs.” The aim of our exceptional public education system is to develop productive, engaged citizens who are able to think independently and who are willing to contribute to society, bearing its burdens and making its next life-changing discoveries. Today, 30 percent of St. Tammany students start college taking remedial courses. I believe this metric is an indicator we can and must improve. College isn’t for everyone, but college and career readiness is. It is our responsibility as parents, as educators, as administrators and leaders to foster a great school system that lifts up each student and enables him or her to achieve life’s ambitions.[6] |
” |
| —Shane Hodgson campaign website (2014)[17] | ||
| “ | On the Importance of the Arts in Schools
As schools focus more and more on English and Math, too often Arts Education is diminished or eliminated entirely. Through the arts, children develop so many skills that can be used throughout their lives, including creativity and confidence, problem-solving and discipline. They learn how to communicate with others and work in groups. Whether its music, visual or media arts, drama or other disciplines, St. Tammany has long had a strong commitment to creative pursuits, one that should be protected and encouraged.[6] |
” |
| —Shane Hodgson campaign website (2014)[18] | ||
| “ | On childhood obesity
As we strive to ensure every minute of our children’s school day is filled with educational value, we must also remember that their growing bodies need exercise, and their restless (and sometimes immature!) souls need to run and play. We must find constructive opportunities for physical activity throughout the school day. Many of our country’s most accomplished stars learned the self-discipline and perseverance that saw them to their greatest achievements in physical education or team sports as school age children. National organizations from the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association to the NFL, in its Play 60 program, recognize the vital need for youth health and fitness campaigns, focused on increasing wellness by encouraging physical activity and healthy food choices.[6] |
” |
| —Shane Hodgson campaign website (2014)[19] | ||
| “ | On poverty in public schools
The greatest challenge to educating children is poverty. Until the effects of poverty are mitigated, at a minimum, we’ll always have trouble educating, or even training, our young citizens for the life that awaits. St. Tammany is a “good” school system. We can be, we should be, “great.” We need to give kids every opportunity to succeed, to achieve, to strive, to become the best they can be, and most importantly, to become the lifelong learners they must be to compete in the global economy of the 21st century.[6] |
” |
| —Shane Hodgson campaign website (2014)[20] | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Shane + Hodgson + St + Tammany + Parish + Public + Schools"
See also
External links
- St. Tammany Parish Public Schools
- Campaign website
- Facebook campaign page
- Twitter feed
- LinkedIn profile
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 LinkedIn, "Shane Hodgson," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Shane Hodgson campaign website, "About Shane," accessed September 12, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Candidate Inquiry," accessed September 3, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Ethics Administration Program, "Louisiana Campaign Finance Reports," accessed October 30, 2014
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, "Warren Montgomery for DA and other St. Tammany election recommendations: Editorial," October 28, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "Official Election Results," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "HOW ARE CANDIDATES ELECTED?" accessed September 2, 2014
- ↑ Louisiana Secretary of State, "QUALIFICATIONS OF CANDIDATES," accessed September 2, 2014
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 The New Orleans Advocate, "Tammany DA’s arrangement with School Board raises questions," September 4, 2014
- ↑ The Times-Picayune, "Common Core opposition again visits St. Tammany Parish School Board," September 11, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "Bobby Jindal sues federal government over the Common Core," August 27, 2014
- ↑ Shane Hodgson campaign website, "Platform," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ Shane Hodgson campaign website, "On school choice," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ Shane Hodgson campaign website, "On standardized testing," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ Shane Hodgson campaign website, "On Common Core Standards," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ Shane Hodgson campaign website, "On college and career readiness," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ Shane Hodgson campaign website, "On the Importance of the Arts in Schools," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ Shane Hodgson campaign website, "On childhood obesity," accessed September 12, 2014
- ↑ Shane Hodgson campaign website, "On poverty in public schools," accessed September 12, 2014
