Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Shirley Jefferson
Shirley Jefferson was a candidate for District 6 representative on the Wichita Public Schools school board in Kansas. Jefferson was defeated in the by-district general election on November 7, 2017.
Jefferson participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read her responses.
Elections
2017
- See also: Wichita Public Schools elections (2017)
Four of the seven seats on the Wichita Public Schools Board of Education in Kansas were up for general election on November 7, 2017. In her bid for re-election to the District 1 seat, incumbent Betty Arnold was defeated by Ben Blankley. District 5 incumbent Mike Rodee defeated challenger Peter Grant to win another term. District 2 incumbent Joy Eakins and District 6 incumbent Lynn Rogers did not file to run for re-election, which left their seats open for newcomers. Julie Hedrick, Trish Hileman, and Debra Washington ran for the District 2 seat. Walt Chappell, Shirley Jefferson, and Ron Rosales ran for the District 6 seat. Hedrick and Rosales won election to the board.[1][2]
Results
| Wichita Public Schools, District 6 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Ron Rosales |
48.23% | 7,339 |
| Walt Chappell | 28.10% | 4,276 |
| Shirley Jefferson | 23.32% | 3,549 |
| Write-in votes | 0.35% | 54 |
| Total Votes | 15,218 | |
| Source: Sedgwick County Election Office, "November 7, 2017 General Election Official Results," accessed November 17, 2017 | ||
Funding
Jefferson reported $3,815.00 in contributions and $2,698.24 in expenditures to the Sedgwick County Election Office, which left her campaign with $1,116.76 on hand in the election.[3]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Shirley Ann Jefferson participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[4] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on October 20, 2017:
| “ | Enhance family support and student learning by creating new pathways to family engagement. Work diligently to ensure that education and community stakeholders collaborate to prepare students for future success. Make strategic decisions to ensure that every dollar is utilized for student achievement and support systems.[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 Kansas. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Blank | |
| Blank | |
| Blank | |
| Blank | |
| Blank | |
| “ | I feel that we have a responsibility to educate all children no matter what their ability.[6] | ” |
| —Shirley Ann Jefferson (October 20, 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.) |
|---|
| No. Need more information to make an informed, strategic decision. |
| 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? |
| Yes. Only if they are reliable and inclusive of diverse student populations. |
| 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? |
| Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. There are many excellent, committed teachers who are performing above and beyond what is expected of them everyday and they should be rewarded the positive impact that they have on student achievement. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. Not at this time I need to review policies, revenue streams, guidelines, and state statutes, etc. to make an informed decision. I believe that all children should have access to quality education which is equitable, inclusive and prepares them for future success. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| For most egregious actions. Students cannot learn when they are not in the classroom. If a student must be removed from a classroom, there should be alternative learning environments within the schools and/or the community. |
| 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. All of the above are important, however, in my opinion large classrooms of students prohibits the ability of the teacher to be fully engaged in student learning. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Shirley Jefferson Wichita Public Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Sedgwick County Election Office, "Current Candidate Listings: School District 259," accessed June 1, 2017
- ↑ Sedgwick County Election Office, "November 7, 2017 General Election Unofficial Results," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ Sedgwick County Election Office, "Public Access Search," accessed December 18, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Shirley Ann Jefferson's responses," October 20, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Wichita Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Sedgwick County, Kansas | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | District 1: • Incumbent, Betty Arnold • Ben Blankley District 2: • Julie Hedrick • Trish Hileman • Debra Washington District 5: • Incumbent, Mike Rodee • Peter Grant District 6: • Walt Chappell • Shirley Jefferson • Ron Rosales |
| Important information: | What's at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
