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Sudhir Rathod
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Sudhir Rathod was a candidate for at-large representative on the Parkway Schools Board of Education in Missouri. Rathod won a seat on the board on April 5, 2016.[1]
Rathod was a candidate for an at-large seat on the Parkway Board of Education in Missouri. Rathod lost the general election on April 7, 2015.
Biography
Sudhir Rathod is a resident of St. Louis County, Mo. Rathod was born in Gujarat, India. He earned an MBA in global management from the University of Phoenix, and he has worked as a business intelligence analyst with Berkshire Hathaway, Nestle Purina, Caterpillar and JM Family Enterprises.[2][3]
Elections
2016
- See also: Parkway Schools elections (2016)
Two of the seven seats on the Parkway Schools school board were up for general election on April 5, 2016. Incumbent Sam Sciortino filed for re-election. He was joined on the ballot by challengers B. Sophia Ford-Glanton, James (AJ) Wang, Sudhir Rathod, and Michael Bertz.[1]
Results
| Parkway Schools, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Sam Sciortino Incumbent |
31.61% | 6,990 |
| Sudhir Rathod |
22.44% | 4,961 |
| B. Sophia Ford-Glanton | 19.80% | 4,378 |
| James (AJ) Wang | 13.59% | 3,004 |
| Michael Bertz | 11.75% | 2,598 |
| Write-in votes | 0.81% | 179 |
| Total Votes (100) | 22,110 | |
| Source: St. Louis County, Missouri, "Summary Report General Municipal Election Unofficial Results," accessed April 5, 2016 | ||
Endorsements
Rathod did not receive any official endorsements during the election.
Funding
Rathod did not report any campaign contributions in the election.
2015
- See also: Parkway Schools elections (2015)
The election in Parkway featured two of the seven seats on the board up for general election on April 7, 2015. Incumbents Kim Appelbaum and Beth Feldman ran for re-election against challenger Sudhir Rathod for the two at-large seats. Appelbaum and Feldman defeated Rathod to win re-election.
Results
| Parkway Schools, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2015 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Kim Appelbaum Incumbent |
40.4% | 6,599 | |
| Nonpartisan | Beth Feldman Incumbent |
39.4% | 6,433 | |
| Nonpartisan | Sudhir Rathod | 19.5% | 3,190 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.6% | 105 | |
| Total Votes | 16,327 | |||
| Source: St. Louis County Board of Elections, "Summary Report," April 16, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Rathod reported no contributions or expenditures to the Missouri Ethics Commission during the election.[4]
Endorsements
Rathod did not receive any official endorsements during the election.
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Ballotpedia survey responses
Sudhir Rathod 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 March 27, 2016:
| “ | I only have three top priorities 1. Improve ACT & College Readiness 2. Protect school district from undue political influence 3. Encourage parent involvement and invest in our teachers[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 Missouri. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| “ | No[6] | ” |
| —Sudhir Rathod (March 27, 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.) |
|---|
| No. Parkway is a great school district and has lot of strengths and potential and therefore I do not think, at this time, new charter schools be approved in the district. |
| 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. It has both pros and cons because lot of times the schools only teach to prepare for the tests and therefore education gets compromised. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| Common Core is a politically driven issue and therefore it has very unstable future. It has more cons then pros and therefore Common Core is not my choice. |
| 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? |
| 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. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. There should be a process set up to handle this kind of situation so that everyone is given a fair amount of opportunities at the same time, it should be ensured that education is not compromised at any cost. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. It has pros and cons and this cannot be the single factor to determine the merit-pay. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. The majority of students in the US receive education through public schools. There are not enough private schools and by doing so the State will endanger education of those children receiving education from public schools. Instead of paying private schools through voucher, the same amount needs to be invested in the public school systems. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion should be used with a process so that a student is given every opportunity to improve. |
| 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 The student-teacher ratio play a big role in the classroom success as it allows enough time for teachers to focus on individual students. |
2015
Rathod completed a voter guide profile for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
| “ | What are your top priorities for the district?
Lead Parkway to be the number one district in Missouri. Improve Parkway's ACT scores and college readiness. Partner with top schools in the nation to benchmark their best practices. Invest in teachers' professional development. Safeguard our education system from unnecessary political intervention. Why are you qualified to serve in this office? I am a proud parent of a junior at Parkway North. I have accomplished higher education, professional experience, data analytic and leadership skills. I believe in nothing but the best. I am proud of my values, ethics and morals. I am determined and passionate when it comes to education, our kids and community. I am a visionary who believes in collaborative efforts.[6] |
” |
| —Sudhir Rathod (2015)[3] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Sudhir Rathod Parkway 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 Mandy Gillip, "Phone conversation with Nikki Stover, Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent and Board of Education," January 21, 2016
- ↑ Facebook, "About," accessed April 6, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Voters Guide," accessed April 4, 2015
- ↑ Missouri Ethics Commission, "Candidates By Election Search," accessed March 26, 2015
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Sudhir Rathod's responses," March 27, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 Parkway Schools Elections | |
| St. Louis County, Missouri | |
| Election date: | April 5, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Sam Sciortino • B. Sophia Ford-Glanton • James (AJ) Wang • Sudhir Rathod • Michael Bertz |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
| 2015 Parkway Schools Elections | |
| St. Louis County, Missouri | |
| Election date: | April 7, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Kim Appelbaum • Incumbent, Beth Feldman • Sudhir Rathod |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
