John Clarke (Colorado)
John Clarke was a candidate for District C representative on the Poudre School District school board in Colorado. Clarke was defeated in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Clarke participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Elections
2017
- See also: Poudre School District elections (2017)
Three of the seven seats on the Poudre School District Board of Education in Colorado were up for nonpartisan general election on November 7, 2017. In their bids for re-election, incumbents Christophe Febvre and Carolyn Reed ran unopposed to the District D and E seats, respectively. Kristen Draper defeated John Clarke in the race for the open District C seat.[1][2]
Results
| Poudre School District, District C General Election, 4-year term, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Kristen Draper |
65.29% | 27,831 |
| John Clarke | 34.71% | 14,796 |
| Total Votes | 42,627 | |
| Source: Larimer County Clerk, "Election Summary Report: 2017 Larimer County Coordinated Election," accessed November 27, 2017 | ||
Funding
Clarke reported $9,965.00 in contributions and $9,965.00 in expenditures to the Colorado Secretary of State, which left his campaign with a $0.00 balance in the election.[3]
Endorsements
Clarke was endorsed by the Coloradoan Editorial Board and Fort Collins City Council member Ray Martinez.[4][5]
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
John Clarke participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[6] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on September 26, 2017:
| “ | Educating children is an honorable thing to do. I owe a debt of gratitude to the Poudre School District for providing a good education for my 5 children and 6 of my grandchildren (K-12). My 5 kids all have a masters degree or better and were well prepared by the Poudre School District for higher education. I currently have 3 grandchildren in the system and two sons who teach in PSD. I have gained a lot of experience in making public policy as a member of the Fort Collins City Council and as a Larimer County Commissioner. I want to use that expertise to help keep our school district great and to show my appreciation for the education my family has received from the excellent teachers who have taught my kids and grand kids. Very simply put, I hope to achieve the same education my family received for other parents who look to the Poudre School District to educate their children.[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 Colorado. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| “ | I put teacher relations last because I don't think in PSD we have a problem in that regard and if that changes, I would make that a higher priority. As to school choice, PSD already has choices.[8] | ” |
| —John Clarke (September 26, 2017) | ||
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer eight 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. In Colorado, there are two routes to having a charter school approved. One is through the local school district and the other is through the state. If a new charter school shows considerable parental support, I would be inclined to approve it. In my experience, an active parent group can make a charter school highly successful. |
| 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 defer to school board decisions in most cases. Local decisions are best suited to the unique situations that occur through a diverse state like Colorado. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| Yes. In my discussions with education experts, it seems that certain tests are more reliable and appropriate than others. One I hear good things about is MAP testing. I believe we need to have standards but I am not convinced that all tests provide reliable results in measuring achievement. |
| 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? |
| Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district. |
| Should teachers receive merit pay? |
| Yes. I would like to develop a system wherein outstanding teachers can receive financial rewards through private philanthropy. I don't want to use tax dollars to provide financial rewards. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. I understand the argument that taxpayers who send their children to private schools are not receiving the same benefit from their taxes as taxpayers who send their children to public schools, however senior citizens and those without children also pay their taxes to educate other people's children. Parents who opt for private schools need to pay for having made that choice. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| When a student exhibits behavior that is dangerous and/or threatening to the safety of other students, teachers or school staff, expulsion is appropriate. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers. Teachers have been shown to be critical when measuring educational quality. However, parents who don't support their kids make a teacher's job more difficult so I wish I could have checked both the "Teachers" and "Parental involvement" boxes. An informal study by an expert educator showed that among students earning A or B grades, 80% of those parents attended parent/teacher conferences. Among those receiving F or B grades, the parental attendance rate was 0%. Parents are responsible for the education of their children and while it is appropriate to delegate that educational process to professionals (teachers), parents must support that process. We should encourage parents to provide study time and a study place for their kids. Along with that, busy parents should be encouraged to participate in conferences and other communication with those who teacher their children. |
Candidate website
Clarke highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms John Clarke Poudre School District school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Poudre School District, "Board of Education Election," accessed September 2, 2017
- ↑ 2017 Larimer County Election Results, "Final Unofficial Results," accessed November 8, 2017 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available.
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "TRACER: Candidate Search," accessed December 18, 2017
- ↑ Coloradoan, "Endorsement: John Clarke an intriguing choice for Poudre School District," November 2, 2017
- ↑ Coloradoan, "Letter: Clarke will make a difference on PSD board," October 15, 2017
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "John Clarke's responses," September 26, 2017
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
| Poudre School District elections in 2017 | |
| Larimer County, Colorado | |
| Election date: | November 7, 2017 |
| Candidates: | District C: • John Clarke • Kristen Draper District D: • Incumbent, Christophe Febvre District E: • Incumbent, Carolyn Reed |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
