Vonetta Clark was a candidate for an at-large seat on the Detroit Public Schools Community District Board of Education in Michigan. Clark was defeated in the at-large general election on November 8, 2016.
Biography
Clark has been a teacher and literacy specialist for the Marvin L. Winans Academy of Performing Arts since 2007.[1]
Elections
2016
- See also: Detroit Public Schools elections (2016)
Seven seats on the Detroit Public Schools Community District Board of Education were up for general election on November 8, 2016. There was no primary. A total of 63 candidates filed for the election including 10 of the 11 incumbent board members. The top two vote recipients will serve six-year terms, the next three winners will serve four-year terms, and the remaining two winners will serve two-year terms.[2][3] The winning candidates were Angelique Nicole Peterson-Mayberry, LaMar Lemmons, Georgia Lemmons, Sonya Mays, Misha Stallworth, Deborah Hunter-Harvill, and Iris Taylor.
A June 2016 state reorganization bill split Detroit Public Schools into two entities. The existing district will collect taxes to pay down debts, while a new district overseen by the school board was created to oversee school operations. This bill reduced the school board's membership from 11 to seven after the November 2016 election. The state-appointed Detroit Financial Review Commission will oversee the new district's financial dealings.[2]
Results
Detroit Public Schools Community District,
At-Large General Election, 2016 |
| Candidate |
Vote % |
Votes |
 Angelique Nicole Peterson-Mayberry |
4.47% |
37,886 |
| Georgia Lemmons |
4.14% |
35,126 |
| Iris Taylor |
3.87% |
32,835 |
| Misha Stallworth |
3.65% |
30,961 |
| Sonya Mays |
3.39% |
28,709 |
| Deborah Hunter-Harvill |
3.29% |
27,883 |
| LaMar Lemmons (former DPS member) |
3.25% |
27,584 |
| Tawanna Simpson (former DPS member) |
3.17% |
26,909 |
| Yolanda Peoples |
2.83% |
23,975 |
| Keith Linnaeus Whitney |
2.81% |
23,811 |
| Ida Carol Short (former DPS member) |
2.77% |
23,514 |
| Wanda Redmond (former DPS member) |
2.74% |
23,240 |
| Penny Bailer |
2.30% |
19,528 |
| Reverend David Murray (former DPS member) |
2.22% |
18,817 |
| Herman Davis (former DPS member) |
2.11% |
17,922 |
| Leslie Andrews |
2.03% |
17,249 |
| Karen White |
1.93% |
16,317 |
| Ryan Charles Mack |
1.86% |
15,759 |
| Kimberly Jones |
1.84% |
15,597 |
| John Telford |
1.81% |
15,363 |
| Patricia Johnson Singleton (former DPS member) |
1.78% |
15,102 |
| Vonetta Clark |
1.72% |
14,611 |
| Elena Herrada (former DPS member) |
1.71% |
14,521 |
| Nicole Latrice Vaughn |
1.66% |
14,034 |
| Kevin Turman |
1.61% |
13,641 |
| Mary Brenda Smith |
1.59% |
13,510 |
| Markita Meeks |
1.33% |
11,313 |
| Tonya Renay Wells |
1.28% |
10,827 |
| Phillip Caldwell II |
1.24% |
10,548 |
| Charmaine Johnson |
1.24% |
10,534 |
| Annie Pearl Carter (former DPS member) |
1.24% |
10,522 |
| Valerie Elaine Massey |
1.22% |
10,332 |
| Andrew Jackson Jr. |
1.20% |
10,202 |
| Betty Alexander |
1.16% |
9,834 |
| Mary Kovari |
1.11% |
9,399 |
| Valencia Robin Grier |
1.07% |
9,068 |
| Victor Gibson |
1.05% |
8,898 |
| Kathy Montgomery |
1.05% |
8,885 |
| Juvette Hawkins-Williams (former DPS member) |
1.03% |
8,722 |
| Phyllis Berry |
1.03% |
8,712 |
| Joann Jackson |
0.99% |
8,362 |
| Steven Miller |
0.98% |
8,295 |
| Theresa Mattison |
0.93% |
7,889 |
| Brandon Brice |
0.93% |
7,862 |
| Rita McFadden Carpenter |
0.93% |
7,854 |
| Victor Robinson |
0.92% |
7,801 |
| Gwendolyn Britt |
0.89% |
7,518 |
| Ryan Townsend |
0.81% |
6,898 |
| Ben Washburn |
0.81% |
6,885 |
| Charles Hale |
0.78% |
6,630 |
| Miriam Keyes |
0.73% |
6,228 |
| Willetta Ann Ramey |
0.66% |
5,633 |
| Tamara Perrin |
0.66% |
5,621 |
| Stephen Czapski |
0.66% |
5,590 |
| Carol Pratt Farver |
0.64% |
5,386 |
| Norma Galvan |
0.61% |
5,156 |
| Ryan Williams |
0.57% |
4,853 |
| Aaron Renaldo Smith |
0.56% |
4,747 |
| Ingrid Walton |
0.56% |
4,708 |
| Anthony Zander |
0.53% |
4,505 |
| Renae Micou |
0.53% |
4,463 |
| Christopher Pompey |
0.53% |
4,458 |
| Ronald Diebel |
0.44% |
3,743 |
| Write-in votes |
0.51% |
4,343 |
| Total Votes |
843,123 |
| Source: Wayne County, Michigan, "Elections Division-Results," November 22, 2016 |
Funding
- See also: List of school board campaign finance deadlines in 2016
School board candidates in Michigan were required to file pre-election campaign finance reports with their county election offices by October 28, 2016. Post-election reports were due by December 8, 2016.[4]
In Michigan, candidates are prohibited from receiving contributions from corporations or labor organizations. Within 10 days of becoming a candidate, candidates must form a candidate committee. Following the creation of the committee, candidates have an additional 10 days to register the committee with the school district filing official by filing a statement of organization. A candidate committee that does not expect to receive or spend more than $1,000 during the election cycle is eligible to receive a reporting waiver, which allows that committee not to file pre-election, post-election, and annual campaign statements.[5]
October 28 filing
Candidates received a total of $164,533.68 and spent a total of $100,234.02 as of October 30, 2016, according to the Wayne County Clerk.[6] Angelique Nicole Peterson-Mayberry led the field with $57,980.00 in contributions and $40,364.82 in expenditures for the reporting period. Her biggest donor through October 28, 2016, was the United Auto Workers Michigan V-PAC, which contributed $27,500.00 to her candidate committee. Sixteen of the 63 candidates filed campaign finance statements by October 30, 2016. The remaining candidates had not filed their reports or qualified for exemption from reporting.
| Candidate
|
Contributions
|
Expenditures
|
Cash on hand
|
| Tawanna Simpson
|
$1,200.00
|
$996.38
|
$203.62
|
| Ida Carol Short
|
$1,409.15
|
$975.00
|
$434.15
|
| Herman Davis
|
$0.00
|
$0.00
|
$0.00
|
| Angelique Nicole Peterson-Mayberry
|
$57,980.00
|
$40,346.82
|
$17,633.18
|
| Kevin Turman
|
$5,038.99
|
$3,555.84
|
$1,483.15
|
| Deborah Hunter-Harvill
|
$3,950.00
|
$4,387.83
|
-$577.83
|
| John Telford
|
$19,000.00
|
$5,341.52
|
$13,658.51
|
| Markita Meeks
|
$100.00
|
$25.00
|
$75.00
|
| Mary Kovari
|
$14,383.54
|
$16,883.54
|
$4,315.86
|
| Ben Washburn
|
$500.00
|
$0.00
|
$500.00
|
| Iris Taylor
|
$10,725.00
|
$6,311.16
|
$4,413.84
|
| Sonya Mays
|
$20,935.00
|
$15,450.49
|
$0.00
|
| Charmaine Johnson
|
$0.00
|
$1,939.68
|
$0.00
|
| Phillip Caldwell II
|
$2,915.00
|
$2,713.37
|
$201.67
|
| Leslie Andrews
|
$16,114.00
|
$0.00
|
$6,500.00
|
| Penny Bailer
|
$10,283.00
|
$1,307.39
|
$8,975.61
|
2016
Clark answered the following questions from 482Forward:
| “
|
What are the top 3 priorities you hope to accomplish during your tenure?
My top 3 priorities during my tenure as school board member will be to 1) bring highly qualified and dedicated teachers back to Detroit classrooms 2) ensure competitive wage, benefit and incentive packages for those teachers 3) support Detroit families with wrap around services that will transform destructive cycles that present barriers to students' academic success.
What do you think the role of the school board is?
I think the role of the school board is to act as an advocate for students and families in the education system. I also think the school board is responsible for ensuring accountability from the district and the state to provide students with an exceptional educational experience that prepares them for future college and career readiness opportunities including internships, externships, apprenticeships, skilled trades or college education from the local level through Ivy League. The job of the board is to ensure that students can seize the opportunities they desire to propel their future.
What is your vision for student well-being and success?
My vision for student well being and success begins with an end to the physical, mental, verbal, emotional and educational abuses that children endure at the hands of adults. My vision of student success will be realized when students can articulate for themselves the importance of education as a game changer in their lives. When students love learning anything becomes possible. School has to be the place that inspires children to dream of what they can accomplish and who they can become. It is the board's job to work with the district, the state and with families to make the vision live.
What experience do you have that prepares you for this role?
The experience I possess the to prepare me for this role begins with my childhood. My grandmother was a functional illiterate. She worked and kept a clean home but she could not read or write. I am driven by her limitation. As a poor kid in the city of Detroit, I knew the only way to live better than my grandparents and my parents would be through education. Now that I am living that dream, I have a responsibility to empower others to be able to live a similar dream, one that affords them a comfortable life of which they can be proud. I've done that, through education.
[7]
|
”
|
| —Vonetta Clark (2016), [8]
|
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Vonetta Clark Detroit Public Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Vonetta Clark," accessed September 26, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wayne County, Michigan, "Elections Division-Election Information," accessed August 30, 2016 Cite error: Invalid
<ref> tag; name "list" defined multiple times with different content
- ↑ The Detroit Free Press, "72 people seek seven Detroit school board seats," July 26, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Bureau of Elections, "2016 and 2017 Campaign Finance Filing Schedule," January 12, 2016
- ↑ Genesee County, "Filing Requirements under Michigan's Campaign Finance Act," February 7, 2014
- ↑ Wayne County Clerk, "Wayne County Campaign Finance Information System," accessed October 30, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 482Forward, "DPS Board Answers: Vonetta Clark," accessed September 26, 2016
| 2016 Detroit Public Schools Community District Elections |
| Wayne County, Michigan |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | Incumbent, Annie Pearl Carter • Incumbent, Reverend David Murray • Incumbent, Elena Herrada • Incumbent, Tawanna Simpson • Incumbent, Wanda Redmond • Incumbent, LaMar Lemmons • Incumbent, Juvette Hawkins-Williams • Incumbent, Ida Carol Short • Incumbent, Patricia Johnson Singleton • Incumbent, Herman Davis • Rita McFadden Carpenter • Keith Linnaeus Whitney • Tonya Renay Wells • Stephen Czapski • Renae Micou • Angelique Nicole Peterson-Mayberry • Andrew Jackson Jr. • Gwendolyn Britt • Kevin Turman • Deborah Hunter-Harvill • John Telford • Ronald Diebel • Markita Meeks • Christopher Pompey • Victor Gibson • Nicole Latrice Vaughn • Mary Kovari • Joann Jackson • Ryan Charles Mack • Tamara Perrin • Charles Hale • Anthony Zander • Ben Washburn • Misha Stallworth • Ingrid Walton • Norma Galvan • Kathy Montgomery • Iris Taylor • Yolanda Peoples • Miriam Keyes • Valerie Elaine Massey • Sonya Mays • Betty Alexander • Karen White • Kimberly Jones • Aaron Renaldo Smith • Ryan Townsend • Theresa Mattison • Charmaine Johnson • Carol Pratt Farver • Phillip Caldwell II • Valencia Robin Grier • Leslie Andrews • Victor Robinson • Vonetta Clark • Ryan Williams • Georgia Lemmons • Penny Bailer • Phyllis Berry • Mary Brenda Smith • Willetta Ann Ramey • Brandon Brice • Steven Miller |
| Important information: | What was at stake? |
