Wynne Coleman
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Wynne Coleman is the District 1 representative on the Rio Rancho Public Schools school board in New Mexico. Coleman won a first term in the by-district general election on February 7, 2017.
Elections
2017
Three of the five seats on the Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education were up for by-district general election on February 7, 2017. District 1 incumbent Don Schlichte did not file to run for re-election, guaranteeing a new member was elected to the board. The race to fill the open seat featured candidates Wynne Coleman, Margretta Franklin, and Natalie Nicotine, and Coleman won the election. In her bid for re-election to District 3, incumbent Martha Janssen defeated challenger William Dunn. District 5 incumbent Catherine Cullen ran unopposed and won another term. Catherine Jabar initially filed to challenge her, but she withdrew from the race.[1][2][3]
Results
| Rio Rancho Public Schools, District 1 General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Wynne Coleman |
46.41% | 265 |
| Natalie Nicotine | 41.33% | 236 |
| Margretta Franklin | 12.26% | 70 |
| Total Votes | 571 | |
| Source: Sandoval County Bureau of Elections, "Election Held in Sandoval County for Rio Rancho Public School District No. 94 on February 7, 2017," accessed February 22, 2017 | ||
Funding
Coleman reported $2,240.01 in contributions and $1,586.36 in expenditures to the New Mexico Secretary of State, which left her campaign with $653.65 on hand in the election.[4]
Endorsements
Coleman was endorsed by the Rio Rancho Observer.[5]
Campaign themes
2017
Coleman participated in the following questionnaire provided by the Albuquerque Journal. The Albuquerque Journal's questions appear in bolded text, and Coleman's responses appear below.
Please explain what factors compelled you to run for a seat on the Rio Rancho Public Schools Board of Education.
| “ | I have been involved with public education for years, and I firmly believe a great school district is the foundation for a great community. As a volunteer in our schools, and a parent of two daughters at Cleveland High School, I want to continue to work to make our district all the better. As I regularly attend school board meetings, I have familiarized myself with the issues and concerns that face the district, and with my previous service on another school board, I have every confidence that I have the experience and vision to help make the overall best decisions for our schools.[6] | ” |
| —Wynne Coleman (2017)[7] | ||
Please describe your understanding of the current challenges faced by RRPS regarding student use of illicit drugs, and outline the policy formulations you would advocate to address this concern.
| “ | Rio Rancho schools have seen an increase in illicit drug use, so first of all, it is imperative to be proactive. I will collaborate with staff, community partners and healthcare professionals to coordinate an active, on-going campaign to educate students about the dangers of drug use. Regarding other policy, I want to explore expanding the district’s current program of randomly testing student athletes and consider including more co-curricular participants – students who are not athletes, but rather are members of school clubs. Additionally, I support the high schools, and possibly middle schools, having Naloxone available for emergency drug overdose situations.[6] | ” |
| —Wynne Coleman (2017)[7] | ||
What are the top three priorities for your four-year term, and how you will accomplish them?
| “ | Attract and retain quality faculty: I will maintain on-going conversations with the staff to understand their concerns and listen to their valuable suggestions. Additionally, I want to see us recruit “non-traditional” individuals – those professionals initially trained in other fields.
Make every penny count during tight financial times: This is a critical time for our district, with extremely tight state dollars. I have the experience to do the job, having helped successfully structure district finances during my previous service on a school board. I commit to review all our options, talking to all stakeholders – administrators, teachers, community members, students – and supporting the best possible decisions for the overall good. Support programs to make our students both college and career-ready: Expand dual-credit programs that offer college credit, and track our graduates to understand what happens post-graduation. Also, explore vocational and technical training, in addition to college-track work.[6] |
” |
| —Wynne Coleman (2017)[7] | ||
How would you work to improve parental and public involvement in the education process?
| “ | Research shows that students do much better in school when parents are actively involved in their children’s education. As a board member, I will encourage and support school initiatives that get parents involved. In addition, I will attend school site meetings to connect with, listen to, and work to implement ideas and programs that support our parents, staff and community.[6] | ” |
| —Wynne Coleman (2017)[7] | ||
What criteria would you use to determine if a school district has been successful in the education process? Please compare/contrast with NMED’s reform and accountability efforts.
| “ | The efforts currently in place suffer from various weaknesses. The A-F grading system is weighed toward school improvement, so that high-performing districts like ours are penalized, because there is not as much room for improvement. The PARCC testing amounts to over-testing, as it has been added on top of our other testing already in place. It overburdens our staff, our computer facilities, and takes away from instructional time in the classroom. Finally, the Teacher Evaluation System, although its intentions are good, was simply mandated from the state, without input from our schools, and is underfunded and burdensome. All of these various programs have some merit, but need to be changed such that they are implemented with input and buy-in from the schools. We should not reinvent the wheel by duplicating efforts due to lack of communication throughout the district staff or parents.[6] | ” |
| —Wynne Coleman (2017)[7] | ||
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ rrobserver.com, "The candidates for Rio Rancho and Bernalillo school board are in," December 21, 2016
- ↑ rrobserver.com, "District 5 candidate Jabar drops from RRPS board race," January 11, 2017
- ↑ Rio Rancho Public Schools, "Voters Elect Board Members in Districts 1, 3, and 5," February 7, 2017
- ↑ New Mexico Campaign Finance Information System, "Public Reports: Search Candidates," accessed April 4, 2017
- ↑ Rio Rancho Observer, "OUR VIEW: Our picks for the school board," February 5, 2017
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Albuquerque Journal, "Meet the RRPS Board candidates for Districts 1 and 3," January 28, 2017
| Rio Rancho Public Schools elections in 2017 | |
| Sandoval County, New Mexico | |
| Election date: | February 7 |
| Candidates: | District 1: • Wynne Coleman • Margretta Franklin • Natalie Nicotine District 3: • Incumbent, Martha Janssen • William Dunn District 5: • Incumbent, Catherine Cullen |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
