Karen Mauhs Karath
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Karen Mauhs Karath was an at-large representative on the Wappingers Central School District Board of Education in New York. She won election to the seat in the general election on May 19, 2015. Her first term on the board began on July 1, 2015.[1]
Karath participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. To read her responses, check out her 2015 campaign themes.
Biography
Karath moved to the Wappingers Central School District in 1987. She works as a senior program assistant and specification writer for Dutchess County. Karath earned her bachelor's degree from Colgate University. She and her husband have two grown daughters, both of whom graduated from the district.[2]
Elections
2015
Three of the nine at-large seats on the Wappingers Central School District Board of Education were up for general election on May 19, 2015. The election shared the ballot with the school district's annual budget vote. Voters could vote for all three seats in this election on a joint ballot. The three candidates who received the most votes were elected to the board.
The seats held by incumbents Ved Shravah, Robert Rubin and Douglass Bitteker were on the ballot. Bitteker did not file to run for re-election, ensuring at least one newcomer would join the board. Shravah and Rubin faced four challengers—Deborah Torres Henning, Karen Mauhs Karath, Anne LaValle and Babu Munusamy—in their bids for re-election.
Ultimately, Rubin retained his seat while Shravah was defeated. Returning candidate LaValle and newcomer Karath won the other two seats up for election.
Results
| Wappingers Central School District, At-Large General Election, 3-year term, 2015 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Robert Rubin Incumbent |
19.5% | 2,549 | |
| Nonpartisan | Anne LaValle |
18.5% | 2,422 | |
| Nonpartisan | Karen Mauhs Karath |
16.3% | 2,136 | |
| Nonpartisan | Deborah Torres Henning | 15.9% | 2,087 | |
| Nonpartisan | Babu Munusamy | 15.9% | 2,083 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ved Shravah Incumbent | 13.9% | 1,825 | |
| Total Votes | 13,102 | |||
| Source: Wappingers Central School District, "Jun 01, 2015 - Board Workshop/Special Board Meeting Agenda," accessed June 8, 2015 | ||||
Funding
Karath reported no contributions or expenditures to the New York State Board of Elections in the election.[3][4]
Endorsements
Karath was endorsed by the Wappingers Congress of Teachers.[5]
Campaign themes
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
Karath participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display her responses to the survey questions. When asked what her top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ | Follow the law as it relates to the duties i have been elected to do and educate the public as to the importance of doing just that.[6] | ” |
| —Karen Mauhs Karath (2015)[7] | ||
Ranking the issues
Karath was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in New York. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
Positions on the issues
Karath was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column, and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| "Modifications are required before they are implemented." | |
| "No" | |
| "only if it is not at the expense of public education" | |
| "not in and of themselves, they are simply 1 part" | |
| "Build more Schools. Divide districts to reflect the needs and wants of residents living in their rural into urban communities." | |
| "Practices such as positive behavior strategies should be used before expulsion is considered." | |
| "support the principals, teachers and staff of that school by maintaining constructive communication with the district superintendent's office." | |
| "i do not know enough about how it should be implmented at this time." | |
| "1, 2, 3 above in order of action"* | |
| "Look into creating active citizens advisory committees." | |
| *The "1, 2, 3" Karath mentions relates to the multiple choice answers she could choose from on the survey. Those answers were as follows: 1: "Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district." 2: "Offer additional training options." 3: "Put underperforming teachers on a probationary period while they seek to improve." | |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Karen Mauhs Karath Wappingers Central School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Wappingers Central School District, New York
- Wappingers Central School District elections (2015)
- Embroiled incumbents see differing outcomes in May 19 school board elections across five states (May 21, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Abbey Smith, "Email communication with Susan Penney, District Clerk/Administrative Assistant to the Superintendent, Wappingers Central School District," May 7, 2015
- ↑ Wappingers Central School District, "Spring Newsletter: 2015-2016 WCSD Budget," accessed May 19, 2015
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Campaign Financial Disclosure: Expenditure Search Page," accessed July 8, 2015
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Campaign Financial Disclosure: Contribution Search Page," accessed July 8, 2015
- ↑ Wappingers Congress of Teachers, "BOE Candidates," accessed October 23, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "Karen Mauhs Karath responses," May 9, 2015
| 2015 Wappingers Central School District Elections | |
| Dutchess County, New York | |
| Election date: | May 19, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Robert Rubin • Incumbent, Ved Shravah • Deborah Torres Henning • Karen Mauhs Karath • Anne LaValle • Babu Munusamy |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
