Steve Crump

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Steve Crump

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Unaffiliated

Elections and appointments

Last election

March 23, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Illinois State University, Normal, 1970

Graduate

Meadville Lombard Theological School, 1978

Personal

Birthplace

Bloomington, Ill.

Religion

Unitarian Universalist

Profession

Minister

Contact

Campaign website

Steve Crump (unaffiliated) ran in a special election to the East Baton Rouge Parish School System to represent District 8 in Louisiana. He lost in the special primary on March 23, 2024.

Crump completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Steve Crump was born in Bloomington, Illinois. Crump's career experience includes working as a minister. He earned a bachelor's degree from the Illinois State University, Normal in 1970, a graduate degree from the University of Chicago in 1976, and a graduate degree from Meadville Lombard Theological School in 1978.

Elections

2024

See also: East Baton Rouge Parish School System, Louisiana, elections (2024)

Louisiana elections use the majority-vote system. All candidates compete in the same primary, and a candidate can win the election outright by receiving more than 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate does, the top two vote recipients from the primary advance to the general election, regardless of their partisan affiliation.

Nonpartisan primary election

Special nonpartisan primary for East Baton Rouge Parish School System, District 8

Emily Soulé won election outright against Steve Crump in the special primary for East Baton Rouge Parish School System, District 8 on March 23, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Emily Soulé (R)	54.8	2,872
	Submit photo	Steve Crump (Unaffiliated)	45.2	2,373

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 5,245
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Crump in this election.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Steve Crump completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Crump's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a teacher and community leader I am Minister Emeritus, Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge where I served as lead minister for 36 years. I can give this job full-time. Plus, I am un-bought an not beholden to favors or gifts. I come from a farm-family of educators --all my siblings and I became teachers and all of us earned graduate degrees.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• *Crump is unbought now and will be unbought in the future. Crump is No Party affiliated.

  
  

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• *Crump, a bridge-builder in the community, comes with an open mind to hiring a permanent superintendent to lead the next chapters of our school system.
• *Crump is an educator, a secondary-ed teacher, who will pay attention to postponed teacher pay in our school system.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Developing better systems for communication with stakeholders in the EBR school system.
Applying transparent accountability standards for evaluating both traditional and charter schools,

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My maternal great grandparents are buried in the same cemetery where Adlai Stevenson is buried. He was a famous Bloomington, IL citizen, the same city where I was born. When he ran for president, a woman said that every thinking American would be voting for him. And with his famous wry sense of humor, he replied, "Madam, I will need more votes than that."

When I'm asked about religious faith, I often refer to my hero and friend, Sister Helen Prejean. "If I were to be a Catholic, I'd want to be one like Sister Helen Prejean."

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Democracy and Education by John Dewey is still a classic.
And for those who enjoy the humanness of a school setting, I recommend Abbot Elementary on ABC each Wednesday evening.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Wouldn't it actually be ideal if party affiliation were not the bumper-sticker litmus test when electing school board members? That would mean voters would respond more to qualifications, character, and reputation of candidates rather than looking merely at party label. When I arrived in Baton Rouge, I establish a No Party affiliation because I thought that unaffiliated status would be characterize how I would best serve a congregation comprised of Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians etc. That No Party affiliation has served me well in my career. Furthermore, in winning the District 8 open seat, I plan not to use "reverend" as my title. I am entering public service where allegiance should first be placed in serving the diversity of constituents, including those who did not vote for me of course.
Having said that, I have a strong orientation to public education. Teaching was regarded by my parents as an honorable profession and thus, all of their children went to a state teacher college (Illinois State University) and all of us became teachers. All of us went on to earn graduate degrees. One brother actually became a superintendent of schools. Horace Mann, the Father of Public Education in America, is still my hero. He spent much of his life promoting universal, co-ed, and tax supported education. Not until after his death, did Massachusetts in 1852 pass legislation for free and compulsory education for children. I still believe in public education in what it can achieve but we must combat the real opponent in the current school board race, cynicism.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

+I'm a bridge-builder in the community.

+I'm independently minded.

+I read stuff and do my homework.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

*Being rational and open-minded.

Being able thoughtfully to address colleagues on the board and the public at large.

• Able to act with civility with those who disagree.
  
• Having some work experience in a public school.

What legacy would you like to leave?

That I instilled and practiced civil dialogue between members of the school board would be an honorable legacy.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

The big event in my childhood was the election of John Kennedy and his assassination three years later when I was 14.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first job was helping my father do chores on the farm. But my first paying job was working at a commercial radio station. I started out as a custodian, but became an announcer and DJ in my teen years.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl is a short book but expresses precisely the conditions in which meaning is sought and found.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

The Little Engine That Could that said, "I think I can, I think I can."

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

"Guide My Feet," while I run this race is the lyric of an old spiritual that has become my theme song for this election. " 'Cause I don't want to run this race in vain."

This spiritual suggests that an important race is not

run alone, but is supported by others in community.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Contemplating the harsh reality of homeless people and people living in poverty in this city and in so great a nation as ours has always been a struggle for me.

What is the primary job of a school board member in your view?

To show up, do the homework, and put in the extra time that a board member, a public servant, would be expected to do.

Who are your constituents?

All stakeholders of the EBR school system are my real constituents and that includes those who pay real estate taxes into EBR, as I do, and those who pay rent. It includes those who have children in the system and those who do not. Furthermore, families with children in private schools would also want a strong public school system that serves all students well, making it an imperative that a qualified and non-ideological would be the ideal public servant in this regard.

How would you support the diverse needs of your district’s students, faculty, staff, and community?

In time, and with invitations from the principals, I intend to visit all the schools in the parish. Certainly, I will work to the best of my ability to respond to constituents.

How will you build relationships with members of the broader community? Which groups, organizations, stakeholders will you specifically target?

I will be interested in establishing a good relationship with PTOs and PTAs. I look forward to those invitations. Any organization and citizen in EBR with a need or issue they deem important should expect a response from me.

What constitutes good teaching? How will you measure this? How will you support advanced teaching approaches?

Because I'm open to various learning environments,
I'd prefer not to impose my own style, but learn myself about strategies that are currently working.

In what areas would you like to expand curriculum? For example, do you see a need for advanced technical training or apprenticeships? What sort of innovative programming would you advance if given the opportunity?

I'm deferring to the central office educators to inform me and my colleagues on the school board as to effective programs and studied initiatives.

What strategies or plans would you advance to ensure the schools are properly funded?

My school board colleagues and I need to watch expenditures with the future realities in mind. Post-Covid, we have more fiscal constraints imposed upon us.

What principles drive your policies for safety in schools?

Cameras on busses would be good for drivers and children. Metal detectors at schools are being installed but must be tested.

How might you support the mental health needs of students/faculty/staff?

I want to know if there is sufficient social worker coverage in the schools.
I want to know how principals and teachers assess the impact of restrictions on cell phone use in the schools. Are restrictions working?

Tell us your favorite joke.

Currently my favorite joke is: Two ministers are running for the District 8 School Board seat proving that surely God has a sense of humor.

What existing district policies would you like to change, or what new policies would you like to implement?

It is time for the huge geographical 9-district school board system be divided into small and more numerous districts. The school Board needs to adopt one of the maps nearly adopted several years ago.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Describe your ideal learning environment for students.

Because I'm open to various learning environments,
I'd prefer not to impose my own style, but learn myself about strategies that are currently working.

How do you feel like your school district handled the coronavirus pandemic? What, if anything, would you do differently in the future?

The data show that truancy increased during Covid.
Anecdotally, I heard from elementary teachers that virtual education was not very effective especially with elementary children.

What will you do to build a relationship with parents in the district?

I have already started listening to parents and voters in District 8. The principals, the school visits, the PTOs and PTAs are also on my list.

What are your preferred strategies for faculty, staff, and administration recruitment?

I'm learning about teacher recruitment. One obvious feature of current teacher migration and shortage is salary. Our school system is in competition with other school systems, so it is good business strategy to bear these realities in mind as we think about fair pay and pay equity.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

One of the first things I examined in the EBR school budget was the cash on hand, the rainy day fund. I think the fund is less than it should be. Recently, the school board has granted ITEP tax exemptions, in my opinion, without an eye on, or at least no public statement about, future financial needs of the school system, post Covid. The school bus fleet must be update and postponed teacher/staff salary issues are pending and will require transparency and fiscal responsibility.

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Candidate

East Baton Rouge Parish School System, District 8

Website