Sultan Cole
Sultan Cole was a candidate for the District 2 seat on the Fort Worth Board of Trustees in Texas. He lost the general election on May 9, 2015.
Cole participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. To read his responses, check out his 2015 campaign themes.
Biography
Cole is the founder and senior pastor of Revealed Word Ministries in Fort Worth. He earned a bachelor's degree in engineering technology from Texas Tech University, a master's degree in human services from Liberty University and an honorary doctorate of divinity from the St. James The Elder Theological Seminary in Jacksonville. He and his wife, Kandice, have five children.[1]
Elections
2015
The general election on May 9, 2015, in the Fort Worth Independent School District featured four seats up for election. In the District 2 race, incumbent Tobi Jackson faced challengers Joel Aguilar and Sultan Cole. District 5 incumbent Judy Needham ran against Linda LaBeau. Challenger Cecelia Speer aimed to unseat incumbent Ann Sutherland in District 6. Incumbent Christene Chadwick Moss ran unopposed in District 3. Incumbents Jackson, Moss, Needham and Sutherland won re-election to the Districts 2, 3, 5 and 6 seats, respectively.
Results
| Fort Worth Independent School District, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Tobi Jackson Incumbent |
66.4% | 1,264 | |
| Nonpartisan | Sultan Cole | 23.4% | 446 | |
| Nonpartisan | Joel Aguilar | 10.2% | 195 | |
| Total Votes | 1,905 | |||
| Source: Tarrant County Clerk, "Official Results," accessed June 1, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Cole reported $14,360 in contributions and $10,222.69 in expenditures to the Texas Ethics Commission, which left his campaign with $4,137.31 on hand as of April 9, 2015.[2]
Texas school board candidates and officeholders must file semiannual reports, which were due on January 15, 2015, and July 15, 2015. In addition, candidates in contested elections were required to file 30-day and 8-day pre-election reports, unless the candidate chose modified reporting.[3]
Candidates in contested elections who did not intend to exceed $500 in contributions or expenditures, excepting filing fees, were eligible for modified reporting. If they exceeded the threshold before the 30th day prior to the election, candidates were required to submit the 30- and 8-day reports. If they exceeded the threshold after the 30th day prior to the election, they were required to file a report within 48 hours of exceeding the threshold and participate in regular reporting for the rest of the election cycle.[4]
Endorsements
Cole was endorsed by the following:[5]
- Fort Worth City Councilwoman, Gyna Bivens
- Dr. Danna Diaz, former Fort Worth director
- Franchesca Cain, former district principal
- Robert Ray, retired Fort Worth deputy superintendent
- Dr. Marva Dixon, former executive director
- Reby Cary, former Fort Worth trustee
- Carlos Puente, former Fort Worth trustee
Campaign themes
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
Cole participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | 1. Reestablish public "trust" in the "Trustee" 2. Parents will know that the needs of their children are "FIRST" above any personal agendas or nepotism. |
” |
| —Sultan Cole (2015)[7] | ||
Cole also included the following statement with his responses:
| “ | As the next FWISD Trustee - District 2, I will support a superintendent who has a plan to take FWISD to a place of EXCELLENCE! I will work with fellow Trustees (respectfully in the spirit of collaboration) to accomplish this goal of making our district the one of Choice in Texas. Our children deserve better. I believe that our students are capable as any student in America to learn and compete in a global society. As a Trustee, I will work hard to ensure that our students are always the #1 priority. I grew up in east Fort Worth; am the product of a single parent home; graduated from Green B. Trimble Technical HS. Voted "Most Likely To Succeed" by my peers. Obtained an engineering degree from Texas Tech. Had a very successful career; married for nearly 20 years; father of students in FWISD. I am that child in District 2 that needed hope. I want to provide that hope and opportunity for them to achieve their goals in life. I have more than 10 years of volunteering my time, treasures, and talents to students and families of FWISD because I believe that every child should be afforded the same opportunities I had in life. I am passionate about "paying it forward" and continuing my support of FWISD through public/elected service![6] | ” |
| —Sultan Cole (2015)[7] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in Texas. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| "Texas is currently not a state that functions under common core standards. Districts are free to use materials that align with common core. This will have to be evaluated in the future if there are challenges with our current materials if there are challenges for students taking the SAT or ACT college entrance exams that are aligned with Common Core. Our state education agency has developed standards that meet needs of our community and prepares our students to meet the needs of a global society." | |
| "I believe the strength of a community is the public school. However, if there are situations where traditional curriculum or other opportunities exist that are not available, the "Public Charter Schools" in partnership with traditional public schools may have merit. However, the overwhelming population of students should be served in traditional public schools." | |
| "No." | |
| "No." | |
| "1. Design a curriculum that addresses the needs of the learners, both high and lower achieving students. Cookie cutter approaches do not work. The curriculum must be flexible so that it addresses or focuses on the student's weaknesses and enhances their strengths. 2. A structure must be put in place to measure student progress, not just a report card. Student should learn to track their own success and set goals. | |
| "Expulsion cases must be viewed on a case-by-case basis rather than the district having an overarching policy." | |
| "1. Ensure the Superintendent is proactive and have a plan in place to address and assess the academic healthiness of every campus particularly the one's that have the potentiality of challenges. 2. Develop a reporting system of consistently monitoring schools that are struggling. These reports must be formative and summative to ensure that process and/or effective intervention is in place to assist the schools in becoming successful." | |
| "Yes." | |
| "1) Identify underperforming teachers as quickly as possible. 2) Provide resources and training 3) Determine level of competency 4) Establish timeline of development with a sense of urgency as the children's education is at stake." | |
| "1. Town hall meetings throughout "all of District 2" 2. Establish Parent and Teacher Committees |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Sultan Cole Fort Worth Independent School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Fort Worth Independent School District, Texas
- Fort Worth Independent School District elections (2015)
- Decreased success for school board incumbents in Texas; 1/3 defeated in largest districts (May 11, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Vote Sultan Cole, "About Sultan Cole," accessed April 2, 2015
- ↑ Fort Worth Independent School District, "Sultan Cole Campaign Finance Report," accessed April 28, 2015
- ↑ Texas Ethics Commission, "2015 Filing Schedule for Elections Held on Uniform Election Dates," accessed January 21, 2015
- ↑ Texas Ethics Commission, "Campaign Finance Guide for Candidates and Officeholders Who File with Local Filing Authorities," September 1, 2013
- ↑ Vote Sultan Cole, "Endorsements and Thank You's, accessed May 7, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Sultan Cole responses," April 10, 2015
