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Jim Long
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Jim Long was an at-large seat on the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District school board in California. Long won the seat in the at-large general election on November 8, 2016.
Though Long identified as a Republican, the school board seat was nonpartisan. The 2016 election was his first time running for office.[1] Long participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Biography
Long's professional experience includes working as a real estate broker and a certified negotiation expert. He served as the CEO of his own real estate brokerage, beginning in 2011. Long has also worked in human resources, has served as a member of the PTA at Fletcher Hills Elementary School, and as a member of the PTSA at the La Mesa Arts Academy. Long earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of California at San Diego and an M.B.A. from Point Loma Nazarene University.[1]
Elections
2016
Two of the five seats on the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District Board of Education were up for at-large general election on November 8, 2016. In her bid for re-election, incumbent Emma Turner ran against former school board member Jerry Lecko and challengers Jim Long and Jay Steiger.[2] Turner won re-election, and Long won the other seat on the ballot.[3]
Results
| La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, At-large General Election, 4-year terms, 2016 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Emma Turner Incumbent |
29.12% | 19,771 |
| Jim Long |
25.64% | 17,405 |
| Jerry Lecko | 23.98% | 16,281 |
| Jay Steiger | 21.25% | 14,429 |
| Total Votes | 67,886 | |
| Source: San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "Presidential General Election - Tuesday, November 8, 2016," accessed December 9, 2016 | ||
Funding
Long reported $4,155.51 in contributions and $4,155.51 in expenditures to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, which left his campaign with a $0.00 balance in the election.[4]
Endorsements
Long was endorsed by the following organizations and elected officials:[1][5][6]
- Republican Party of San Diego County
- The DeMaio Report on NewsRadio 600
- City of La Mesa Mayor Mark Arapostathis
- La Mesa-Spring Valley School District Board of Education member Steve Babbitt
- La Mesa-Spring Valley School District Board of Education member David Chong
- La Mesa-Spring Valley School District Board of Education member Rick Winet
Campaign themes
2016
Ballotpedia survey responses
Jim Long participated in Ballotpedia's 2016 survey of school board candidates. In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on September 30, 2016:
| “ | I think our district - the teachers, staff, administration, and board - have done an outstanding job in our district. My wife and I value their hard work, and we see it daily in our involvement in the schools where our boys attend. My goal is to see us continue the great work, because our educational system should be structured so that these children grow up to be productive members of our society. We have the greatest country in the world, so we need to have the best educational system in the world. Because, it's all about the kids.[7][8] | ” |
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues based on how they should be prioritized by the school board, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. Each ranking could only be used once.
| Education policy |
|---|
 |
Click here to learn more about education policy in California. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| “ | This ranking reflects my mantra...it's all about the kids. At the same time, none of these things are even possible without having a great relationship with teachers AND staff AND administrators, as well as balancing the budget. Ultimately, all these important things need to be done within the budget.[8] | ” |
| —Jim Long (September 30, 2016) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer nine questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are highlighted in blue and followed by the candidate's responses. Some questions provided multiple choices, which are noted after those questions. The candidate was also provided space to elaborate on their answers to the multiple choice questions.
| Should new charter schools be approved in your district? (Not all school boards are empowered to approve charter schools. In those cases, the candidate was directed to answer the question as if the school board were able to do so.) |
|---|
| Yes. Yes but... I think charter schools are a great option for children and families. However, they need to be held to the same standards as the schools in our district. We've introduced several academies in our district to give children and families a choice, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive. I believe we can do education better than charters, but I wouldn't stand in the way of a good charter school concept. |
| Which statement best describes the ideal relationship between the state government and the school board? The state should always defer to school board decisions, defer to school board decisions in most cases, be involved in the district routinely or only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| The state should only intervene in severe cases of misconduct or mismanagement. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| Yes. Standardized tests can be an accurate metric of student achievement. It's all about how the tests are written. There is a lot of research on the field of testing. One cannot just sit down and make up a test; it needs to be done following the research, and then it needs to undergo validation testing to ensure that the results are really measuring what the test was designed to measure. I believe that the new standardized testing for CCSS have been designed to better measure student achievement. |
| What is your stance on the Common Core State Standards Initiative? |
| I actually like the CCSS as it's called. The good things about it are that it creates consistency across our country, which has been difficult for children with families that relocate, specifically military families, and we need to support them. Second, the focus is not just on getting the answer right, it's also on ensuring the child understands how they arrived at their answer. This is a skill that they will need as they get into college and the workplace. As adults, we all need to substantiate what we say, not just say it and believe it. Now, there are things that need to be improved, such as ensuring that the curriculum teaches concepts, but doesn't get into things that should be taught at home, such as religion and politics, at younger ages. They should be reserved for later in a child's life, when they have more life experience and can reason how they believe versus just adopt what others believe without any critical thinking. |
| How should the district handle underperforming teachers? Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students, offer additional training options, put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve or set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district? |
| Terminate their contract before any damage is done to students. Offer additional training options. Put them on a probationary period while they seek to improve. Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. I believe that virtually every teacher works hard every day to do his or her very best. As humans, I believe virtually all of us do. So, if any of us has performance that falls short of what's expected, we should be given every opportunity to improve, including training options and mentorship programs. These steps need to be done in partnership with the teacher, not just assigned by administrators. When those don't work and developmental options have been used, then that's the time to go to a higher level with regard to the process, meaning probation. Yet, I think there are a minute number of teachers, as there are in any profession, for which a more extreme approach is needed, so termination of a contract is an option that should exist. However, this is for those very extreme situations. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. Yes, and we should assume that every teacher is doing their very best. The evaluation of teachers shouldn't be on the success of the students only. Teachers don't get to choose their students. Their should be a balanced assessment of teacher success and then a professional developmental approach for teachers to improve their craft. Teaching is hard work! I think everyone should imagine themselves as teachers. How many of us could do it? Teachers need to keep the attention of young people for 6-7 hours per day, focusing them on the topic at hand, helping them learn a new concept. Oh, and everyone learns at a different pace, so some kids have the subject down before it's even taught while other kids are struggling with it throughout the year. So, yes, they should receive merit pay, but we need to pay them all at the level of an excellent teacher and then support them in their continued professional development. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. This is a tough one. I went to a private school, so I understand this concern. My mind is open to considering a plan, but it would have to be very well written for me to support it. I would not support a plan that would provide an amount equivalent to what the district gets per student. Again, it would have to be well written and ensure that it wasn't just a blank check. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| I believe that our district's use of Restorative Practice is the best first approach to disciplinary action. Once implemented, if that doesn't work and all other options are exhausted, then there may be no choice. Certainly, there are extreme cases that should not go through the restorative process. Students who commit very violent acts or attempt them should be dealt with very seriously. This also includes threats of violence, especially upon teachers, staff, and other students. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers Teachers, by far, are the most important factor. BUT, we also have to give the teachers the tools to do their jobs. Those tools are the other items on this list - reduced student-teacher ratios so they can focus more on students individually; solid curriculum that is a solid tool for them to use; parent involvement, because we know that when parents support teachers and learning, the students learn; and school administration who does everything possible to provide the teachers with everything else on this list. We are blessed to have the very best teachers in the world in our district, and I'm proud to support the work they do every day. |
Political philosophy
Long described the following as his political philosophy.
| “ | Ten years ago, my wife, Kristin, and I moved to Fletcher Hills specifically because we wanted our children to attend school in the La Mesa/Spring Valley School District. It has been one of the best decisions for our family. Today, our son, Kyle, is in 8th grade at the La Mesa Arts Academy and Keaton is in 3rd grade at Fletcher Hills Elementary.
Since graduating with my undergraduate degree from UCSD and my MBA from Point Loma Nazarene, I've started my own business and have served on the boards of two nonprofit organizations. Our family has been extensively involved in school field trips, volunteering in the classroom, and supporting the PTA. It’s given us tremendous exposure to the teachers, staff, and administrators who have invested in our kids. And we’ve seen the amazing results in our children, and in yours. The number one focus for me is our children. Whether it's class size, technology, facility maintenance, or school safety, I see the great work those in our district are doing. As a school board member, I will continue to support, encourage, and invest in our district to see the results of our hard work continue.[8] |
” |
| —Jim Long (September 3, 2016)[1] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Jim Long La Mesa-Spring Valley School District. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, California
- La Mesa-Spring Valley School District elections (2016)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Ballotpedia's Biographical Information Submission Form, "Jim Long's responses," September 3, 2016
- ↑ San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "Candidate List: 2016 General Election," accessed August 19, 2016
- ↑ San Diego County, "Presidential General Election - Tuesday, November 8, 2016," accessed November 9, 2016
- ↑ San Diego County Registrar of Voters, "CampaignDocs eRetrieval: Search by Candidate's Last Name," accessed February 24, 2017
- ↑ The Republican Party of San Diego County, "2016 General Election: Local Endorsements," accessed October 13, 2016
- ↑ NewsRadio 600, "San Diego Voter Guide: SCHOOL CANDIDATES," October 4, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2016, "Jim Long's responses," September 30, 2016
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| 2016 La Mesa-Spring Valley School District Elections | |
| San Diego County, California | |
| Election date: | November 8, 2016 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Emma Turner • Jerry Lecko • Jim Long • Jay Steiger |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
