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Shawn Gullixson
Shawn Gullixson was an at-large member of the Colorado Springs School District 11 school board. He assumed office in 2016. He left office on December 1, 2021.
Gullixson ran in a special election for an at-large seat of the Colorado Springs School District 11 school board. He lost in the special general election on November 2, 2021.
Gullixson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. Click here to read the survey answers.
Elections
2021
See also: Colorado Springs School District 11, Colorado, elections (2021)
General election
Special general election for Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education At-large
Al Loma defeated incumbent Shawn Gullixson in the special general election for Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education At-large on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Al Loma (Nonpartisan)  | 52.4 | 24,621 |
 | Shawn Gullixson (Nonpartisan) | 47.6 | 22,349 | |
| Total votes: 46,970 | |||
| = 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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2017
Four of the seven seats on the Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education in Colorado were up for nonpartisan election on November 7, 2017. Three of those seats were up for general election to regular four-year terms. The fourth seat was up for special election to an unexpired two-year term due to a vacancy on the board.[1] The race for the four-year terms included incumbents Jim Mason and Shawn Gullixson and challengers Morgan Chavez and Julie Ott. Gullixson and Mason won re-election to their seats, and Ott won the other four-year term on the board. Incumbent Mary Coleman ran unopposed and won the two-year term.[2][3][4]
Results
| Colorado Springs School District 11, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Julie Ott |
32.27% | 27,943 |
| Jim Mason Incumbent |
28.26% | 24,467 |
| Shawn Gullixson Incumbent |
23.91% | 20,706 |
| Morgan Chavez | 15.56% | 13,473 |
| Total Votes | 86,589 | |
| Source: El Paso County Elections Office, "Official Results: COLORADO SPRINGS SCHOOL DISTRICT 11 DIRECTOR (4 YEAR TERM)," accessed November 27, 2017 | ||
Funding
Gullixson reported $2,950.00 in contributions and $2,648.18 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left his campaign with $301.82 on hand in the election.[5]
Endorsements
Gullixson was endorsed by the following organizations:[6][7][8][9]
- Colorado Springs Education Association (CSEA)
- Unite Colorado Springs
- Colorado Springs Independent
- Pikes Peak Association of REALTORS®
Campaign themes
2021
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Shawn Gullixson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Gullixson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
That is why I am running for re-election. Since my appointment to the Board of Directors in 2016, and election in 2017, I have seen significant momentum towards a new future for education in Colorado Springs' oldest school district.
With a renewed focus on personalized learning, community partnerships, career path connections and bringing our facilities into the 21st Century, I firmly believe that D11 is at a tipping point.
We have all the right ingredients to create a brighter future for the District than we've ever experienced.- As a businessman and community advovcate, I am focused on accountability and performance for our District.
- I believe in the power of personalized learning in our District, and creating more pathways to diverse careers and higher education.
- I believe in the power of each student to profoundly impact the world, and it's our job to give them to tools to do so.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Shawn Gullixson participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[10] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on September 26, 2017:
| “ | Work with the board and district to address all needs of every student and employee, while graduation the best talent into our community and increased engagement in the classroom, administration, parents, and the business community.[11][12] | ” |
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 Colorado. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | Many of those should be a top priority. Arts should be in every school, and if we do 1-7 effectively we should not need school choice, our schools will provide a well rounded education and address all needs of the student and teacher.[12] | ” |
| —Shawn Gullixson (September 26, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight 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.) |
|---|
| Yes. Only if they provide education that cannot be delivered in our public schools. I believe charters are an asset to any school district when there is synergy and partnership in serving our students and families. |
| 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. Each of us learn and test differently. Competency and mastery is how we should determine if a student is learning and ready for the workforce. |
| 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? |
| Offer additional training options. Offer additional training options. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. Understanding the competitive environment for great teachers, its important for there to be a structure in place that ensures our best and brightest educators are recognized for their value and incentivized to continue their teaching careers in D11. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Only in extreme cases where intervention is not an option and a student could bring harm to others. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers. If our employees are taken care of they will be far more effective in educating our kids. They will deliver the curriculum in a way that address each students unique learning style, and parents will feel more welcome and engaged in the process. Its the administrations job to provide teachers and students the tools to be successful. |
Candidate website
Gullixson highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:
| “ | Career Readiness
As an employer in Colorado Springs, I seek to ensure that our students are ready for the workforce when they graduate - no matter what path they choose. I have spearheaded several efforts to help our students gain access to apprenticeships, job-shadowing, and community projects to expose them to real world challenges and opportunities. I look forward to continuing to expand the diversity of experiences for our students so that they can make a quicker, more efficient transition into their futures. Tailored Learning As the father of two, I experience a broad range of learning styles firsthand. I know that each student has a unique set of skills and interests. I want to equip our teachers and classrooms with the tools to ensure that our children's learning styles are incorporated in their education so that they become masters of learning. Our teachers are some of our children's greatest advocates, and I want to continue to invest in their professional development. And we need our classrooms to reflect the innovative age we live in. Building Bridges Colorado Springs is a unique community with an extensive network of resources in the business, government, and non-profit sectors. I have created partnerships in each arena throughout my 13 years of community service. I am excited to leverage those partnerships, and continue building bridges in the community to complement the breadth and depth of resources available for our families. We will be a stronger community with stronger schools as we improve our engagement with businesses and organizations that provide additional services and opportunities for our students.[12] |
” |
| —Shawn Gullixson (2017)[13] | ||
See also
2021 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education At-large |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Colorado Springs School District 11, "Board of Education," accessed February 27, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Springs School District 11, "2017 Board of Education Candidates for Election," accessed September 7, 2017
- ↑ El Paso County Elections Office, "Unofficial Results: COLORADO SPRINGS SCHOOL DISTRICT 11 DIRECTOR (4 YEAR TERM)," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ El Paso County Elections Office, "Unofficial Results: COLORADO SPRINGS SCHOOL DISTRICT 11 DIRECTOR (2 YEAR TERM)," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "TRACER: Candidate Search," accessed December 15, 2017
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Julie Ott," September 14, 2017
- ↑ Unite Colorado Springs, "2017 Coordinated Election Endorsements," accessed October 17, 2017
- ↑ Colorado Springs Independent, "The Indy's picks for the 2017 Coordinated Elections," October 11, 2017
- ↑ Pikes Peak Association of REALTORS, "2017 November Coordinated Election," accessed October 17, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Shawn Gullixson's responses," September 26, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Gullixson for D-11, "Platform," accessed October 24, 2017
| Colorado Springs School District 11 elections in 2017 | |
| El Paso County, Colorado | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-large (4-year terms): • Incumbent, Shawn Gullixson • Incumbent, Jim Mason • Morgan Chavez • Julie Ott At-large (2-year term): • Incumbent, Mary Coleman |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
