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Stephen Jones Jr.
Ballotpedia provides comprehensive election coverage of the 100 largest cities in America by population as well as mayoral, city council, and district attorney election coverage in state capitals outside of the 100 largest cities. This board member is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive scheduled updates.
Stephen Jones Jr. was a candidate for District 1 representative on the Calvert County Board of Education in Maryland. Jones ran for the seat in the primary election on April 26, 2016. Jones lost to Dawn Balinski in the general election on November 8, 2016.[1]
Elections
2016
Three of the five seats on the Calvert County Board of Education were up for general election on November 8, 2016. A primary election was held on April 26, 2016, with the top two vote recipients in each district advancing to the general election. Challengers Stephen Jones Jr. and Dawn Balinski advanced to the District 1 general election by defeating incumbent James Piatt. Balinski defeated Jones in the election. The District 2 race featured incumbent Tracy McGuire and challenger Nancy Vaeth Highsmith after Casey Smith was defeated in the primary. McGuire won re-election against Highsmith. In District 3, incumbent Kelly McConkey defeated challenger Erin Knowles. McConkey and Knowles defeated Monica Lee Silbas in the primary.[1]
Results
| Calvert County Public Schools, District 1 General Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Dawn Balinski |
58.34% | 21,949 |
| Stephen Jones Jr. | 41.12% | 15,472 |
| Write-in votes | 0.54% | 202 |
| Total Votes | 37,623 | |
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "2016 Presidential General Election Results," accessed December 14, 2016 | ||
| Calvert County Public Schools, District 1 Primary Election, 4-Year Term, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Dawn Balinski |
51.15% | 8,296 |
| Stephen Jones Jr. |
25.01% | 4,056 |
| James Piatt Incumbent | 23.84% | 3,867 |
| Total Votes | 16,219 | |
| Source: Maryland State Board of Elections, "Unofficial 2016 Presidential Primary Election results for Calvert County," accessed April 26, 2016 | ||
Funding
Candidates for public office in Maryland had until March 22, 2016, to submit their first contributions and expenditure report of the primary campaign. The final campaign finance deadline of the 2016 campaign was November 22, 2016.[2] State law allows candidates to file Affidavits of Limited Contributions and Expenditures (ALCE) if their campaigns did not accept $1,000 in contributions or spend $1,000 in a particular reporting period.[3]
October 28 filing
Candidates received a total of $935.00 and spent a total of $928.85 as of October 30, 2016, according to the Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System.[4]
District 1
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Jones Jr. | $400.00 | $413.69 | -$13.69 |
| Dawn Balinski | ALCE | ALCE | ALCE |
District 2
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tracy McGuire (incumbent) | ALCE | ALCE | ALCE |
| Nancy Vaeth Highsmith | $0.00 | $14.00 | $1,204.01 |
District 3
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly McConkey (incumbent) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $6,560.56 |
| Erin Knowles | $535.00 | $501.16 | $33.84 |
March 22 filing
Candidates received a total of $3,395.00 and spent a total of $1,492.15 as of April 19, 2016, according to the Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System.[5]
District 1
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Piatt (incumbent) | ALCE | ALCE | ALCE |
| Stephen Jones Jr. | ALCE | ALCE | ALCE |
| Dawn Balinski | ALCE | ALCE | ALCE |
District 2
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tracy McGuire (incumbent) | ALCE | ALCE | ALCE |
| Nancy Vaeth Highsmith | $1,000.00 | $905.99 | $94.01 |
| Casey Smith | $2,395.00 | $586.16 | $1,808.84 |
District 3
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures | Cash on hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kelly McConkey (incumbent) | ALCE | ALCE | ALCE |
| Erin Knowles | ALCE | ALCE | ALCE |
| Monica Lee Silbas | ALCE | ALCE | ALCE |
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
Stephen Jones Jr. 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 February 10, 2016:
| “ | I believe everyone wants to do a good job but many times there are impediments preventing their success. I want to involve the teachers, administrators, staffs, parents, and unions in identifying the impediments developing plans of action and removing the impediments so Calvert County schools, already amongst the best can be better.[6][7] | ” |
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 Maryland. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| “ | No additional comments[7] | ” |
| —Stephen C. Jones, Jr. (February 10, 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.) |
|---|
| Yes. |
| 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 defer to school board decisions in most cases. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. Too many times preparation for standardized tests becomes the curriculum. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| I support the original concept of the Common Core but the implementation has been poor coupled with a complete lack of explanation to the parents. |
| 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. Terminating a teacher, except for an egregious act, is the last step. A teacher improvement plan should be developed which identifies the weaknesses, provides additional training opportunities under the leadership of a mentor is my preferred approach. If the under performing teacher then continues to under perform, it is time for them to find a new career which might be more suitable to their talents. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. Merit pay must be dependent on reliable goals which are directly tied to student success. The challenge is defining student success in such a manner the teachers are working toward the student's better good and merit pay is the result of the the [sic] student success. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion is a final disciplinary action which should only be used when the student endangers themselves, other students or teachers. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers Teachers are the most important but a good student-teacher ratio significantly contributes to the success of the teacher. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Stephen Jones Jr.' 'Calvert County Public Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Maryland State Board of Elections, "Calvert County 2016 Presidential Primary Election Local Candidates List," February 10, 2016
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "Reporting Schedule," accessed February 10, 2016
- ↑ Maryland State Board of Elections, "EAffidavit Filing," accessed February 10, 2016
- ↑ Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System, "View Filed Reports Information," accessed October 30, 2016
- ↑ Maryland Campaign Reporting Information System, "View Filed Reports Information," accessed April 19, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Stephen Jones Jr.'s responses," February 10, 2016
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 Calvert County Public Schools Elections | |
| Calvert County, Maryland | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | District 1: Dawn Balinski • Stephen Jones Jr. • James Piatt District 2: Incumbent, Tracy McGuire • Nancy Vaeth Highsmith • Casey Smith |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
