Tony Burks
Tony Burks was a candidate for District 2 representative on the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education in Georgia. Burks was defeated in the by-district general election on November 7, 2017.
Biography
Burks received his B.A. in philosophy from Morehouse College, his M.Ed. in educational leadership from Trevecca Nazarene University, and his Ed.D. in educational leadership from The University of North Carolina Greensboro. He has worked as a senior associate with Great Schools Partnership and chief learning officer at LEADright. Burks has served as an area Superintendent and school principal for Atlanta Public Schools. He has been affiliated with:
- Frederick Douglass High School PTSA (2014-2016; 2017-present)
- Administrative Advisory Committee, National Center for Civil and Human Rights (2015)
- Atlanta Public Schools Advisory Committee for Operating Model and Flexibility (2014-2015)
- Atlanta Public Schools Budget Advisory Committee (2014-2015)
- Atlanta Public Schools Master Schedule Advisory Board (2014-2015)
- Douglass Cluster Planning Team (2014- 2015)
- Program Planning Committee, The College Board’s A Dream Deferred: The Future of African American Education (2013-2015)
- Atlanta Dance Connection Board of Directors (2013-2015)
- High Tech High Graduate School of Education Advisory Board (2012-2015)
- San Diego Unified School District Priority Based Budgeting Committee (2010)
- SDUSD Superintendent’s Latino Advisory Committee (2010)
- Fulbright Association (2007-present)
- Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated (1995-present)
- Morehouse College National Alumni Association (1993-present)
The 2017 election was his first time running for office.[1]
Elections
2017
- See also: Atlanta Public Schools elections (2017)
All nine seats on the Atlanta Public Schools Board of Education in Georgia were up for general election on November 7, 2017. Six seats were elected by district and three seats were elected at large. Six incumbents filed for re-election. A runoff election was held on December 5, 2017, after no candidate in Districts 2, 3, 5, and 7 won a majority of votes in the general election.[2][3][4]
District 2 incumbent Byron Amos won against newcomer Keisha Carey in the runoff election after they defeated challenger Tony Burks in the general election. As of December 5, 2017, the runoff election was too close to call. The open District 3 seat drew five newcomers, Adzua Agyapon, Lewis Cartee, Michelle Olympiadis, Antoine Raynard Trammell, and Rashida Winfrey. Olympiadis-Constant defeated Agyapon in the runoff election. Newcomer Erika Yvette Mitchell defeated Raynard Johnson in the runoff election after defeating candidates D'Jaris James, Jatisha Marsh, Bobby Montgomery, and Jackye Rhodes for the District 5 seat. In District 7, newcomer Kandis Wood Jackson won against Patricia Crayton after they defeated candidates Nathaniel Borrell Dyer, John Wright, and Micah Rowland in the general election.[5][6]
In the general election, incumbent Leslie Grant defeated challenger Ade Oguntoye to retain her District 1 seat. Incumbent Nancy Meister was the only candidate to file for the District 4 seat and won unopposed. In District 6, incumbent Eshé Collins defeated newcomers Valrie Walker Sanders, Patreece Hutcherson, and Donta McMichael to retain her seat. District 8 incumbent Cynthia Briscoe Brown won against challengers Ben Stone and Charlie Stadtlander. Incumbent Jason Esteves was the only candidate to file for the District 9 seat and won unopposed.[2][3][4]
Results
| Atlanta Public Schools, District 2 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Byron Amos Incumbent |
48.09% | 3,529 |
| Keisha Carey |
35.96% | 2,639 |
| Tony Burks | 15.49% | 1,137 |
| Write-in votes | 0.46% | 34 |
| Total Votes | 7,339 | |
| Source: Fulton County, Georgia, "Official Summary Report: Official and Complete," accessed November 17, 2017 and DeKalb County, Georgia, "Election Summary Report: Official and Complete," accessed November 17, 2017 | ||
Funding
Burks reported $11,090.08 in contributions and $8,778.10 in expenditures to the City of Atlanta Office of Municipal Clerk, which left his campaign with $2,311.98 as of November 30, 2017.[7]
Endorsements
Burks was endorsed by the Atlanta Association of Educators, Atlanta Federation of Teachers, and Georgia Equality.[8][9][10]
Campaign themes
Burks provided the following description of his political philosophy to Ballotpedia:
| “ | I’m running because I care about the students of the Atlanta Public Schools. I believe I have something to offer students and community in the City of Atlanta, specifically District 2. I have worked in education across the country since 1993. I worked in APS from 2012 to 2015. I’ve led other educators as a college instructor, a mentor, and an area superintendent twice. I started teaching when I was 22. I became an elementary school principal at the age of 27. I’ve been a classroom teacher, an elementary school principal, and a high school principal twice. I’ve served schools and districts in roles from Magnet Director to School Transformation Coach, from Principal Mentor to Executive Director of Small School Innovation, and from School Improvement Officer to Area Superintendent. I am the founding principal of The Early College at Guilford, North Carolina’s first early college high school and one of the first such schools of its type in the world.
Over the last 25 years, I’ve learned from some of the best educators, board members, and educational leaders around. I’ve helped thousands of children and their families grow and learn. I’ve also learned lots from my students. It is a combination of my personal and educational experiences as well as the policy and governance skills I have developed that would allow me to work with board members, the superintendent, and the community to make things better for our students. Together we will do great things for our children and the Atlanta Public Schools.[1][11] |
” |
| —Tony Burks, 2017 | ||
He added:
| “ | Life has a way of changing your plans. I always knew I would be working with a board of education. I just assumed I would be in the role of a superintendent which had been a lifelong goal. After a series of life changes, I reflected and asked myself “How can I continue to serve the children of Atlanta and use the skills, training, and educational experience I have accumulated over the years to benefit my community?” This led me to a decision to run for the Atlanta Board of Education District 2 seat.
I am THE choice for the Atlanta Board of Education District 2 seat because I bring to the table actual educational experience from the classroom to administration. I bring formal training in policy and governance. I have a unique perspective that will guide the way I work with fellow board members, the superintendent, and the community to make things better for our students. I am the only candidate with a 25-year career in education, a career that is defined by what Dr. John Robert Browne defines as “culturally courageous leadership” in support of today’s learners as leaders and innovators. My top three priorities are children, learning, and community. CHILDREN/SAFETY. James Baldwin was right, "These are all our children; we will benefit by or pay for what they become." I want to focus on the overall academic, social, physical, and personal wellness of students and their families to help our students achieve their dreams. LEARNING/EXCELLENCE. I want to focus on creating conditions that help educators help students. Again, when we remove roadblocks and barriers, our children succeed. We must continue trying innovative things to help our students. Likewise, we also must simply do the right things and do the right things well to help our students achieve excellence. COMMUNITY/ENGAGEMENT. I know that I can't do this work alone. In fact, none of us–not teachers and principals, parents and grandparents, the superintendent and her staff–can do this alone. It'll take us working together as an effective team. When we are visible and transparent, we can connect families to help our students be their best. Public education–at its heart–is about community. I know from my work in Tennessee, California, and North Carolina that community matters. We can have a great idea; however, if it isn't connected to the community, it won't be successful and it won't last. In the end, schools succeed when the community is informed, involved and engaged.[1][11] |
” |
| —Tony Burks, 2017 | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Tony Burks Atlanta Public Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Information submitted on Ballotpedia’s biographical information submission form on September 18, 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Atlanta, Georgia, "City of Atlanta 2017 General Municipal Election: Candidates Who Have Completed Qualifying Process," accessed August 28, 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Fulton County, Georgia, "Official Summary Report: Official and Complete," accessed November 17, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 DeKalb County, Georgia, "Election Summary Report: Official and Complete," accessed November 17, 2017
- ↑ Fulton County, GA, "December 5, 2017 General Municipal and Special Runoff - Unofficial results," accessed December 5, 2017
- ↑ DeKalb County, "Election Summary Report: Unofficial and Incomplete," accessed December 5, 2017
- ↑ City of Atlanta, GA - Easy File, "2017 Disclosure Reports," accessed January 24, 2017
- ↑ Dr. Tony Burks, "Atlanta Educators Recommend Candidates for Mayor and Atlanta School Board," September 26, 2017
- ↑ Twitter, "Ade Oguntoye 4 APS," accessed October 31, 2017
- ↑ Georgia Equality, "Endorsed Candidates," accessed October 31, 2017
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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