David Craig (Minnesota)
David Craig was a candidate for at-large representative on the Wayzata School Board in Minnesota. The general election was held on November 3, 2015. Craig lost the general election on November 3, 2015.
Biography
David Craig resides in Wayzata, Minnesota. Craig earned a B.S. degree in engineering and economics from the U.S. Military Academy and an M.S. degree in information management from George Washington University. He is employed as a database administrator with Wells Fargo.[1][2]
Elections
2015
- See also: Wayzata Public Schools elections (2015)
The election in Wayzata featured four of the seven seats on the board up for at-large general election on November 3, 2015.
The seats of incumbents Linda Cohen, Jay Hesby, Carter Peterson, and Cheryl Polzin were up for election. Cohen and Polzin faced challengers Erik Brown, David Craig, Bonita Lucky, and Bindu Moram for the four at-large seats. Cohen, Polzin, Brown, and Lucky won the four seats.
Neither Hesby nor Peterson filed to run for re-election.
Results
| Wayzata Public Schools, At-Large, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Linda Cohen Incumbent |
24.1% | 1,364 |
| Cheryl Polzin Incumbent |
23.1% | 1,306 |
| Erik Brown |
19.9% | 1,128 |
| Bonita Lucky |
12.9% | 728 |
| David Craig | 11.5% | 653 |
| Bindu Moram | 8.0% | 451 |
| Write-in votes | 0.51% | 29 |
| Total Votes | 5,659 | |
| Source: Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, "Local Results in Hennepin County," accessed November 4, 2015 These election results are not official and will be updated when certified results are available. You can submit certified results by contacting us. |
||
Funding
Craig reported no contributions or expenditures to the Wayzata Public Schools administration during the election.[3]
Endorsements
Craig did not receive any official endorsements during the election.
Campaign themes
2015
Candidate website
Craig published the following on his campaign website:
| “ | 1. What is your vision for the future of the district?
My vision of the future of Wayzata School District is to maintain its excellent reputation while adding more courses that better prepare students for the academic and career challenges they will meet when they graduate from our schools. 2. What life or work experiences uniquely qualify you to serve on the District 284 board? As a parent I get a good understanding of the schools from the children’s point of view. As a homeowner and taxpayer, I appreciate the need to maintain the School District’s outstanding reputation while using the school’s budget in an efficient manner. As an Engineer, I am used to studying issues, analyzing alternatives and selecting the best solutions. Finally, as a member of the community, I am soliciting ideas to help the Wayzata School District maintain its excellence given the challenges it faces with its increasing popularity and size. 3. What is the biggest problem facing the district right now? How do you plan to address it? As we know, the District continues to face increasing enrollment. The biggest challenge will be to maintain or even increase the quality of education given to each student while absorbing this higher quantity of students into our academic system. We need to address the issue of High School students starting very early in the morning. This needs to be thought out carefully, however. I believe that just switching the start times between the Elementary students and the High School students will introduce another set of problems. There has to be a solution where no group of students, Elementary, Middle School, or High School feels their school learning experience is compromised by the constraints of the existing school transportation system. The District’s budget must be analyzed to find funding to achieve start times that benefit all students. 4. Wayzata High School is undergoing an enormous renovation. What are some specific problems that the school board may face regarding expansion? We know the Start Time issue is very contentious. I would hate for one group of students to feel that their well-being is sacrificed for the benefit of a different group of students. Expansion means hiring more school personnel, which means bringing on more teachers. We need to make sure we get the best quality of teachers possible to meet the upcoming requirements. In order to maintain the high standards of the Wayzata School District, we will need to make sure that the School Board has good communication with the State Government to make sure our funding is commensurate with the growth we are experiencing. 5. Are you involved in any other boards or organizations outside of the Wayzata district? Not at the present time. 6. What is your opinion on iPads? Do you think they were a satisfactory investment or do you think the money could have been spent in better ways? Please comment on Wayzata's technology costs in general. A very legitimate question. My 7th grade son loves his iPad, but I’m not sure it’s used in the best way. My 5th grade daughter is also looking forward to getting an iPad “full time.” Using the iPad for FaceTime or watching YouTube is certainly fun, but I’m confident that this was not the original intention of the program. I would really like to learn more about the history of how this program was started, its objectives, and its metrics for determining the success in achieving these objectives. I don’t feel I can make an educated assessment as to whether this program has been a success or not without this information. My career is in the technology field, but I will be the first to admit that technology itself cannot solve issues. Such technological investments must be made wisely with full commitment from everybody in an organization to be successful. 7. Do you consider immersion programs or schools to be a part of Wayzata's future? When our family moved to Plymouth almost eight years ago, I was confident that Wayzata School District was a leader in education programs that would prepare our children for the challenges of an ever increasing competitive global economy. I am since somewhat disillusioned by the Foreign Language programs that neighboring school districts, such as Hopkins, Minnetonka and Edina have that Wayzata does not. Quite frankly, I am not sure how our district can still be considered elite when we are so far behind in this area. This has to change immediately. Our District must offer a greater variety of Foreign Languages at an earlier age. Depending on the budget situation, it would also be worth exploring the possibility of an Immersion School in the District’s future. 8. Open enrollment has been closed. Do you see any situation where it might reopen? I think we first need to make sure we are properly addressing the immediate challenges facing this district. The growth of the student enrollment, school starting times and bringing our curriculum up to 21st century standards must be adequately solved before further increasing the attendance level in our schools. I’m not saying that open enrollment should always remained closed in the future, but I think the School Board has enough issues to solve presently before investigating the idea of lifting this moratorium. 9. Participation in activities is shown to increase success in school. Activity fees in the highs chool rose sharply this year. This has the effect of making participation harder for students. What is your opinion about raising activity fees? Perhaps I am showing my age because we never had fees for such activities when I was going to school. It’s sad that this is required. I’m not saying that I can make such fees unnecessary, but I would sincerely hope that these fees are not preventing students from participating in activities. This is a vital part of school experience. Part of my desire in running for the School Board is to see how the budget is spent and if there are ways to be more efficient so we don’t have to do things such as raise property taxes for the residents of this District or increase the monetary burden on students. 10. Wayzata is generally a wealthy district. This puts significant pressure on students and families of modest means. What can the school board do to assist students who are affected by income disparities? The School District does not have the authority to modify tax rates in the area. Discretionary grants are also not an option available to the Board. The best way for the School Board to address such issues to make sure that every student has the equal access to all of the academic resources in the District to insure they are getting the best education possible during their tenure here. 11. The late-start decision will be made before new school board members are sworn in. Whether you will be voting on this issue or not, give us an indication of which late-start plan you approve of and why. The decision on the late-start issue has been delayed. As I mentioned earlier, I am not in favor of any plan that introduces hardship to either Elementary, Middle School or High School students or their families. I think this delay provides an opportunity to find another option that has not yet been presented, but will address this issue to the benefit of all in the future. 12. Why should Wayzata students care about the school board? The School Board does things they believe are in the best interest of the students. I’m confident I can say that most families choose to live or move to this School District because they believe it will provide their children with the best background for their future. Board members do not get paid. They just serve because they want to help maintain the excellence of this School District. The difference between Board Members or candidates for the School Board is their own opinions on how to steer the direction of the schools in this District. I hope I have made my ideas and opinions for the School Board clear in the previous eleven questions, but whomever people choose to support, they should feel comforted in knowing that the School Board has the students interests placed above all others for every issue.[4] |
” |
| —David Craig campaign website (2015)[5] | ||
Craig completed a survey conducted by the Lakeshore Weekly News:
| “ | What is your view of the state of the school district?
The Wayzata School District is excellent. It demonstrates high academic standards and scholastic achievement. What is the biggest issue facing your district right now? The District continues to face increasing enrollment. We need to find a way to maintain and even increase the scholastic offerings we offer our students while absorbing this additional growth. The District must consider modifying the starting time of schools to maximize each student’s learning potential while balancing the requirement to maintain transportation costs. What skills and expertise will you contribute to the school board? As a parent I get a good understanding of the district from the children’s point of view. As a homeowner and taxpayer, I appreciate the need to maintain the School District’s outstanding reputation while using the school’s budget in an efficient manner. As an Engineer, I am used to studying issues, analyzing alternatives and selecting the best solutions. Finally, as a member of the community, I am soliciting ideas to help the Wayzata School District maintain its excellence given the challenges it faces with its increasing popularity and size. Why are you running? I am running to serve the School District. I have a vested interest in the continuing success of the School District just like everyone who resides here. While the fine reputation of Wayzata School District is well known throughout the metropolitan area, as well as the rest of Minnesota, it doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. Neighboring school districts are offering programs that are preparing their students to face the increasing challenges of the 21st century. Such programs include offering a wider variety of foreign languages at an earlier age. We owe it to our students to prepare them the best we can so that when they leave this district, they will have the necessary foundation to successfully compete in the global economy. Why should you be elected? I am committed to making this vision I described above a reality. I have exposure to groups of people that currently lack representation on the Wayzata School Board. I have a desire in letting the people in this community know who presides on this school board and how they serve them. I have an understanding that I don’t have all of the answers, but I am eager to listen to members of the community and work with other School Board members to implement solutions that benefit our children in the best way possible.[4] |
” |
| —Lakeshore Weekly News survey (2015)[2] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'David Craig' 'Wayzata Public Schools'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ David Craig for Wayzata School Board, "About David," accessed October 26, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Lakeshore Weekly News, "David Craig," September 28, 2015
- ↑ Wayzata Public Schools, "School Board," accessed November 1, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ David Craig for Wayzata School Board, "An interview on Dave Craig," accessed October 26, 2015
| 2015 Wayzata Public Schools Elections | |
| Hennepin County, Minnesota | |
| Election date: | November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: • Incumbent, Linda Cohen • Incumbent, Cheryl Polzin • Erik Brown • David Craig • Bonita Lucky • Bindu Moram |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
