Wendy Mistretta
Wendy Mistretta was a candidate for an at-large seat on the Buffalo school board in New York. She lost the general election on May 6, 2014 to incumbent Barbara Seals Nevergold and challengers Larry Quinn and Patricia B. Pierce. Mistretta also ran unsuccessfully for the North Subdistrict seat on the school board against Jason M. McCarthy on May 7, 2013.
Biography
Wendy Mistretta is a resident of Buffalo, New York. Mistretta earned her bachelor's degree in business administration with a focus on international management from Pace University, her M.S. degree in student personnel administration from Buffalo State College and her Ph.D. in higher education with a focus on comparative education from the University at Buffalo.[1]
She began her career as an assistant director of international education with Buffalo State College from 1996 to 2003. From 2004 to 2010, Mistretta served as the director of faith formation with the St. Louis Church in Buffalo. She also worked for the Buffalo school district as a parent facilitator from 2009 to 2011.[2] Since 2009, Mistretta has served on a variety of committees and parent councils for both International School #45 and Buffalo Public Schools as a whole.[3]
Elections
2014
- See also: Buffalo Public Schools elections (2014)
Wendy Mistretta lost to incumbent Barbara Seals Nevergold and newcomers Larry Quinn and Patricia B. Pierce for the three at-large seats in the general election on May 6, 2014. Candidates Bryon J. McIntyre and Daniel Rockwitz Reynolds were removed from the ballot after they did not meet the petition signature requirements.[4]
Results
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan |  Larry Quinn |
16.1% | 8,806 | |
| Nonpartisan | Patricia B. Pierce |
14.7% | 8,061 | |
| Nonpartisan | Barbara Seals Nevergold Incumbent |
13.6% | 7,449 | |
| Nonpartisan | Bernie Tolbert | 11.5% | 6,298 | |
| Nonpartisan | John Licata Incumbent | 9% | 4,930 | |
| Nonpartisan | Samuel P. Davis | 7.9% | 4,334 | |
| Nonpartisan | Sergio Rodriguez | 6.3% | 3,447 | |
| Nonpartisan | Gizelle Stokes | 5.6% | 3,059 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ralph R. Hernandez | 5% | 2,733 | |
| Nonpartisan | Wendy Mistretta | 4.4% | 2,414 | |
| Nonpartisan | Stephon Wright | 2.3% | 1,242 | |
| Nonpartisan | Adrian Harris | 1.9% | 1,066 | |
| Nonpartisan | Stephen Buccilli | 1.7% | 936 | |
| Total Votes | 54,775 | |||
| Source: Erie County, NY - Board of Elections, "Election Results Archive," accessed June 11, 2014 | ||||
Funding
Mistretta reported $825.00 in contributions and $574.44 in expenditures to the Erie County Board of Elections, which left her campaign with $250.56 on-hand. Mistretta and her husband contributed a total of $100.00 to her own campaign.[5]
Endorsements
Mistretta did not receive any official endorsements for her campaign.
2013
| Buffalo Public Schools, North Subdistrict General Election, 3-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Jason M. McCarthy Incumbent |
47.4% | 1,789 | |
| Nonpartisan | Susan Gillick | 37% | 1,397 | |
| Nonpartisan | Wendy Mistretta | 15.5% | 586 | |
| Total Votes | 3,772 | |||
| Source: Erie County, NY - Board of Elections, "Election Results Archive," accessed March 26, 2014 | ||||
Campaign themes
2014
In response to a survey published by The Buffalo News, Mistretta answered several questions outlining her campaign themes, preferred education reforms and priorities.
| “ | Cite an example of a school program (here or elsewhere) that you think should be replicated in Buffalo: In order to have neighborhood schools, we need to ensure our schools are properly administered and supported to guarantee that every child can attend a school that's healthy, safe, and high quality - from the bottom-up. Several school districts throughout the country are already successfully working on a community schools model (i.e., City Connects in Boston, Ma., and Tulsa Area Community Schools Initiative). Describe two or three specific actions the district should take to help close the projected $50 million deficit for 2014-15: Every option should be on the table to close this deficit AND ensure that every dollar is being spent directly on our children. Increasing Revenue -- The Board must actively support the elimination or reduction of the Gap Elimination Adjustment. Also, we must demand that NYSED and US Dept of Education shoulder the burden of CCLS and related assessment costs. Decreasing Costs -- We need to cut spending on administrative costs, including personnel and building usage. Lastly, we need to negotiate a new teachers' contract that relieves taxpayers of the cosmetic rider burden. List the three most important things you want to accomplish if you are elected: Parents must be meaningfully involved in school-based and district-wide decisions affecting their children. The Board can begin this by supporting the Maximizing Parent Engagement Plan developed by the DPCC and the Office of Parent and Family Engagement, which must be returned to appropriate staffing levels. ALL of our children need to be able to attend schools close to home which provide healthy, safe, and high quality learning environments. See my answer above for more information about Community Schools. The Freedom to Teach and Freedom to Learn must be returned to our schools and classrooms. The current system of school-based budgeting only allows a small portion of funds to be spent at the discretion of the SBMTs. Evaluate Pamela Brown's performance as superintendent: After one and a half years in Buffalo, Dr. Brown continues to demonstrate a lack of understanding of the urgent need of our children to receive a healthy, safe, and high quality education. While she states that her goal is to provide a"World Class Education for Every Child," she is unable to articulate a description for what this looks like, or a plan for achieving it. Her words and actions indicate that she is satisfied with the pace of improvement. Despite pleas from parents, she continues to marginalize us in decision-making, resulting in interventions from NYSED. Teachers are frustrated with the lack of classroom supports. And, she dismisses the concerns of the community, to the point that they attempted to buy out her contract.[6] |
” |
| —The Buffalo News survey (2014)[7] | ||
Mistretta published a list of her priorities on her campaign website:
| “ | PARENTS must be engaged, encouraged, and supported in their efforts to be MEANINGFULLY involved in school-based and district-wide decisions affecting their children.
ALL of our CHILDREN need to be able to attend schools close to home which provide healthy, safe, and high quality learning environments. We all have a responsibility to work together to support our CHILDREN'S and TEACHERS' efforts to learn and teach effectively.[6] |
” |
| —Wendy Mistretta campaign website (2014)[8] | ||
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Wendy + Mistretta + Buffalo + Public + Schools"
See also
External links
Additional reading
Footnotes
- ↑ PUSH Buffalo, "The Buffalo School Board Candidates: Wendy Mistretta," April 30, 2013
- ↑ LinkedIn, "Wendy Mistretta, Ph.D.," accessed April 8, 2014
- ↑ Dr. Wendy Mistretta for Buffalo Board of Education Member-at-Large, "Qualifications," accessed April 8, 2014
- ↑ The Buffalo News, "Two knocked off Buffalo School Board ballot," April 23, 2014
- ↑ The Buffalo News, "School board financial disclosures," April 12, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ The Buffalo News, "Meet the candidates," accessed April 29, 2014
- ↑ Dr. Wendy Mistretta for Buffalo Board of Education Member-at-Large, "Platform," accessed April 8, 2014
| 2014 Buffalo Public Schools Elections | |
| Buffalo, New York | |
| Election date: | May 6, 2014 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Barbara Seals Nevergold • Incumbent, John Licata • Adrian Harris • Wendy Mistretta • Larry Quinn • Sergio Rodriguez • Bernie Tolbert • Stephon Wright • Stephen Buccilli • Patricia B. Pierce • Ralph R. Hernandez • Samuel P. Davis • Gizelle Stokes |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
