Tuesday, April 7, 2015

Results of 2015 Columbia School Board Election

King, Preis retain seats on Columbia School Board by comfortable margins

 updated 12:51 a.m. CDT, Wednesday, April 8, 2015


Columbia School Board: Members are elected on a districtwide basis.
King’s priorities: Continue and improve communication between the community and the board, allow teachers and professional leaders to have a voice in district curriculum decisions to enhance student achievement and exercise fiscal responsibility while managing student growth.
Preis’ priorities: Encourage student achievement by offering a solid curriculum and supporting teachers, enrich students’ experiences through extracurricular activities and foreign language learning and increase opportunities for all children to succeed regardless of background or socioeconomic status.
Other positions
Common Core:
King and Preis both support Common Core. Both believe it is important to have national standards that allow the district to make comparisons across the state and nation.
Teachers’ salaries:
King said she thinks the community would like to see Columbia teachers’ salaries at levels similar to teachers in other comparable cities.
Preis said that because education is a prominent part of Columbia’s economy and workforce development, it is important to provide competitive wages to district employees.
Small autonomous schools:
King supports small autonomous schools but defers to the superintendent and assistant superintendent to decide when a school is ready to become an autonomous school.
Preis also supports small autonomous schools and supports giving parents the option to choose the type of school they think is best for their children.
Reaction:
Cheery folk music filled Broadway Brewery where King and Preis held their joint watch party. The two incumbents made their way around the restaurant smiling, hugging friends and chatting with supporters as they waited for results to be posted.
A shout of "SCHOOL BOARD!" rang out when final results popped onto a television screen and confirmed the duo’s reelection, followed by cheers and claps throughout the restaurant.
King said she is thankful for everyone who helped her in her reelection effort.
"I really feel like I did in 2009 and 2012," King said. "I'm truly grateful, and I felt like Darin and I ran a good campaign, an honest campaign."
Preis shared King’s excitement, saying it "feels good that the community has accepted that I am working hard and wants me to keep doing it."
"I am ecstatic," he said. "(Columbia) is such a great community, and it’s such an honor to be able to have a voice in the issues that are out there."

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