Stephanie Parra
Stephanie Parra was a member of the Phoenix Union High School District in Arizona, representing Ward 3. She assumed office in 2014. She left office on November 15, 2024.
Parra ran for re-election to the Phoenix Union High School District to represent Ward 3 in Arizona. She won in the general election on November 8, 2022.
Parra completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Parra grew up in Yuma, Arizona. She was the first member of her family to graduate from college. She earned a B.S. in justice studies, a B.S. in psychology, and an M.A. in higher and post-secondary education from Arizona State University. She has worked for Teach For America’s Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation national team and has taught a course on social entrepreneurship at Northern Arizona University.[1]
Elections
2022
See also: Phoenix Union High School District, Arizona, elections (2022)
General election
General election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 3
Incumbent Stephanie Parra defeated Charles Lucking in the general election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 3 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Stephanie Parra (Nonpartisan)  | 63.0 | 22,174 |
 | Charles Lucking (Nonpartisan) | 36.3 | 12,762 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.7 | 248 | ||
| Total votes: 35,184 | |||
| = 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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2018
General election
General election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 3
Incumbent Stephanie Parra defeated Katie Gipson-McLean in the general election for Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 3 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Stephanie Parra (Nonpartisan) | 61.1 | 20,439 |
 | Katie Gipson-McLean (Nonpartisan) | 38.9 | 13,021 | |
| Total votes: 33,460 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- David Pacheco (Nonpartisan)
2014
The 2014 election for Phoenix Union High School's Governing Board was canceled due to a lack of contested races. While Benjamin Fisher filed to challenge Ward 1 incumbent Randy D. Schiller in his bid for a second-term on the board, he later withdrew from the race leaving Schiller unopposed. Newcomers Stanford Prescott in Ward 2 and Stephanie Parra in Ward 3 ran for open seats as Richard M. Gallego, the incumbent for Ward 2, and Amy Kobeta, the incumbent for Ward 3, had not filed to run for re-election as of August 25, 2014. Incumbents Laura Pastor and Linda Abril ran for re-election in Wards 4 and 5, respectively.[2]
Results
The Maricopa County Education Service Agency recommended that the election be canceled and that the unopposed candidates be appointed to the governing board by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.[3] The board of supervisors elected to do so at their September 10, 2014, meeting.[4] Parra was appointed to her first term on the governing board.
Funding
Parra reported $17,970.89 in contributions and $2,586.80 in expenditures to the Maricopa County Recorder's office, which left her campaign with $15,384.09 on hand on August 14, 2014.[5]
Endorsements
Parra did not receive any official endorsements in this election.
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Stephanie Parra completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Parra's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
| Collapse all
- Ensuring students, parents, and families in the district have a voice on the school board.
- Investing in employees ensures the district continues to attract and retain the most talented educators in the state.
- We are advancing opportunity and justice for all students who attend Phoenix Union schools so they can develop into the future leaders our community needs.
I did not run for school board as a stepping stone to run for higher office. I ran for school board because I believe that our public schools should be governed by community leaders who truly have the best interest of our students and educators at heart. I have been that leader for Phoenix Union, Ward 3 and my commitment to students and families has never waivered. I will continue to be the leader the Phoenix Union community needs to thrive.
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.
2014
Parra provided the following statement on her campaign website:
| “ | Issues
Phoenix Union High School District must become the premiere urban district it has all the potential to be, and the district is well on its way to achieving this goal. There are three specific areas that I want to focus on and champion as a Board Member for PUHSD: graduating students prepared for college, career and life, parent and teacher engagement, and maximizing our community assets and innovative strategies to move the district forward. I intend to be the connector in order to build bridges amongst Phoenix Union partner districts and higher education. Graduating Students Prepared for College, Career and Life As an instructor at ASU, I saw too many freshmen come to my classroom unprepared for college. Today, more than half of Arizona high school graduates are not eligible for admission to a state university. And nearly sixty percent of community college students require remedial classes. Our students must finish high school ready for college and careers. As your Board Member, I will work to ensure students in Phoenix Union have access and exposure to higher education resources so they graduate high school with the skills needed to be successful college students. Engaging Teachers and Parents Every PUHSD teacher should have the opportunity to have their voice heard as we strengthen our student-focused schools. Every PUHSD family must know that their child is set up for success and well positioned to achieve. As your Board Member, I will engage parents and teachers through parent-teacher forums and one-on-one talks to get input on developing district policies focused on what’s best for their students. Maximizing Community Assets and Innovation In a time of tight budgets, our schools need to be innovative to ensure they have the resources necessary for our kids to be successful. Many organizations in our community want to invest in PUHSD students, but red tape often gets in the way. As your Board Member, I will streamline the process and actively strengthen community partnerships, while developing new relationships. Additionally, I will closely partner with partner elementary districts so that our kids have every resource they need to be successful high school students.[6] |
” |
| —Stephanie Parra campaign website (2014)[7] | ||
See also
2022 Elections
External links
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Candidate Phoenix Union High School District, Ward 3 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Stephanie Parra campaign website, "Meet Stephanie," accessed September 18, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedcandidates - ↑ Maricopa County Education Service Agency, "Recommended Cancellations," September 8, 2014
- ↑ Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, "FORMAL MEETING SUMMARY, Wednesday, September 10, 2014," accessed September 18, 2014
- ↑ Maricopa County Recorder, "Campaign Finance Report: Stephanie Parra," August 22, 2014
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Stephanie Parra campaign website, "Issues," accessed September 18, 2014
