Susan Griffin
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Susan "Sue" Griffin is the former at-large representative on the Middletown Township School District school board in New Jersey. Griffin was initially appointed to the position in 2011. First elected in 2012, Griffin lost a re-election campaign in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
This candidate participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to view her responses.
Biography
Griffin attended Dominican College where she earned a B.S. in nursing in 1988. Her professional experience includes working as a substitute school nurse at Holmdel Township Public Schools.[1]
Elections
2017
Three of the nine seats on the Middletown Township School District school board in New Jersey were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. All three board members—Ernest Donnelly, Susan Griffin, and Andrew Nicholes—filed for re-election and were ousted from their seats by newcomers Nicholas DiFranco, Robin Stella, and Pamela Rogers. These winners also defeated fellow challengers Adam Gentile and Frank Higgins.[2]
Results
| Middletown Township School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Pamela Rogers |
15.72% | 5,474 |
| Robin Stella |
15.18% | 5,287 |
| Nicholas DiFranco |
13.94% | 4,855 |
| Susan Griffin Incumbent | 13.73% | 4,781 |
| Frank Higgins | 10.97% | 3,819 |
| Adam Gentile | 10.55% | 3,674 |
| Ernest Donnelly Incumbent | 10.33% | 3,599 |
| Andrew Nicholes Incumbent | 9.29% | 3,234 |
| Write-in votes | 0.29% | 102 |
| Total Votes | 34,825 | |
| Source: Monmouth County, "General Election, November 7, 2017: Official Results," accessed March 22, 2018 | ||
Funding
Griffin did not report campaign contributions or expenditures in this election as of October 23, 2017, according to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.[3]
2014
While three incumbents were up for re-election, only two—Susan Griffin and Ernest Donnelly—filed to run to retain their seats. Incumbent Gerald Wexelberg did not file to run in the election. Helene Henkel, Mark Bouthillette, and former officeholder Christopher J. Aveta challenged Griffin and Donnelly in the general election. Griffin, Donnelly, and Henkel won the election.[4]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Susan Griffin Incumbent |
24.6% | 6,330 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ernest Donnelly Incumbent |
20.4% | 5,253 | |
| Nonpartisan | Helene Henkel |
20.2% | 5,192 | |
| Nonpartisan | Christopher J. Aveta | 18% | 4,634 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mark Bouthillette | 16.3% | 4,203 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.6% | 144 | |
| Total Votes | 25,756 | |||
| Source: Monmouth County Clerk, "GENERAL ELECTION 11/04/2014 OFFICIAL RESULTS," November 24, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Griffin reported $720.00 in contributions but no expenditures to the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission as of October 16, 2014, which left her campaign with $720.00 on hand as of October 16, 2014.[5]
Endorsements
Griffin had not received any official endorsements as of October 16, 2014.
2012
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan | Susan Griffin Incumbent |
53.4% | 14,259 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ernest Donnelly |
46.6% | 12,439 | |
| Total Votes | 26,698 | |||
| Source: Monmouth County, New Jersey, "Election Information," accessed October 28, 2013 | ||||
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
Susan Griffin participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[6] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on September 27, 2017:
| “ | If elected I hope to continue to serve Middletown's children, families, and taxpayers by making decisions that put the children's needs first. I will follow process and procedure to achieve this. I look forward to continuing my own professional development through New Jersey School Boards Association from Master School Board Member on to Certified Board Leader. I hope to help advocate within the state for changes to keep more funding in Middletown similar to the Resolution I presented at the Monmouth County School Board Association and the New Jersey School Board Association Delegates Assembly Subcommittee.[7][8] | ” |
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 New Jersey. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | Improving post secondary- readiness, closing the achievement gap, and improving special ed programs are vital for the needs of the children. Balancing and maintaining the districts budget is an area the board must actively participate in. We are very fortunate to enjoy good relations with our teachers at this time making this a lower priority on this particular survey although it is always a high priority to maintain that relationship.[8] | ” |
| —Susan Griffin (September 27, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight 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. |
| 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. Standardized tests are one measure of the whole child. There are many other measures needed to "get the whole picture". Similar to going to the doctor and getting your physical. You need height, weight, blood pressure, temperature, pulse, and blood work for the doctor to evaluate you plus his physical exam. He can't state that your blood pressure alone without the other data is an accurate metric of your health. |
| 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. 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. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| No. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| I feel expulsion should be used as a last resort for safety issues. If we can keep children in school we can model and teach better ways of problem solving. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers. We are very fortunate to have a great district with tremendous parent involvement, great class sizes, and our curriculum and administration are top notch. At the end of the day it's the teacher in front of the room who effects the students most directly. |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Susan Griffin Middletown Township School District school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Middletown Township School District, New Jersey
- Middletown Township School District elections (2017)
- Middletown Township School District elections (2014)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Middletown Patch, "Susan Griffin, Candidate for Middletown Board of Education," October 7, 2012
- ↑ Elisabeth Moore, "Email exchange with Grace Soden, Senior Technical Assistant for the Office of the Monmouth County Clerk," August 8, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "Filings," accessed October 23, 2017
- ↑ Margaret Koenig, "Telephone call with Monmouth County Clerk of Election's office," September 8, 2014
- ↑ New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, "View a Candidate or Election Related Committee Report," accessed October 16, 2014
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "Susan Griffin's responses," September 27, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Middletown Township School District elections in 2017 | |
| Monmouth County, New Jersey | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | At-Large: Incumbent, Ernest Donnelly • Incumbent, Susan Griffin • Incumbent, Andrew Nicholes • Nicholas DiFranco • Adam Gentile • Frank Higgins • Pamela Rogers • Robin Stella |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
| 2014 Middletown Township School District Elections | |
| Monmouth County, New Jersey | |
| Election date: | November 4, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Susan Griffin • Incumbent, Ernest Donnelly • Helene Henkel • Mark Bouthillette • Christopher Aveta |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
