Andre Descoteaux
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Andre Descoteaux is an at-large representative on the Lowell Public Schools school board in Massachusetts. First elected in 2015, Descoteaux won a new term in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Elections
2017
- See also: Lowell Public Schools elections (2017)
Six seats on the Lowell Public Schools School Committee in Massachusetts were up for general election on November 7, 2017.[1] In their bids for re-election, incumbents Andre Descoteaux, Jackie Doherty, Robert J. Hoey Jr., and Connie A. Martin faced former candidates Dominik Hok Y Lay and Dennis R. Mercier and newcomers Timothy Blake, Noelle Creegan, Gerard Nutter, and Daniel J. Shanahan IV.[2] All four incumbents won re-election, and Hok Y Lay and Nutter won the other two seats on the ballot.[3]
All seven seats on the school committee were up for election. The seventh seat was held by the mayor of Lowell, but was not covered by Ballotpedia as the city fell outside of municipal elections coverage.[4][5]
Results
| Lowell Public Schools, At-large General Election, 2-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Jacqueline Doherty Incumbent |
12.19% | 6,385 |
| Robert J. Hoey Jr. Incumbent |
11.55% | 6,054 |
| Connie A. Martin Incumbent |
11.54% | 6,047 |
| Dominik Hok Y Lay |
10.61% | 5,558 |
| Andre Descoteaux Incumbent |
9.77% | 5,117 |
| Gerard Nutter |
9.19% | 4,817 |
| Dennis R. Mercier | 9.02% | 4,727 |
| Noelle Creegan | 8.94% | 4,684 |
| Timothy Blake | 8.63% | 4,520 |
| Daniel J. Shanahan IV | 8.39% | 4,396 |
| Write-in votes | 0.17% | 88 |
| Total Votes | 52,393 | |
| Source: City of Lowell, "Election Summary Report: Official Results," accessed November 28, 2017 | ||
Funding
The Lowell Election & Census Office does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at elections@ballotpedia.org.
2015
- See also: Lowell Public Schools elections (2015)
Six of the seven seats on the Lowell School Committee were up for election on November 3, 2015. All six seats were at-large and voted on by eligible voters in Lowell. The seventh seat was held by the city's mayor, but was not covered by Ballotpedia.[4]
Incumbents Stephen J. Gendron and Connie A. Martin won re-election, while newcomers Jackie Doherty, Robert J. Hoey Jr., Robert James Gignac, and Andre Descoteaux joined the board. They defeated challengers Patrick William Farmer, Kamara Kay, Dominik Hok Y Lay, Dennis R. Mercier, Benjamin T. Opara, and Christopher N. Roux. Gendron and Martin were the only incumbents to file for re-election.[6]
Results
| Lowell School Committee, At-large, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Stephen J. Gendron Incumbent |
12.17% | 4,790 |
| Jacqueline Doherty |
10.67% | 4,200 |
| Connie A. Martin Incumbent |
10.51% | 4,137 |
| Robert J. Hoey Jr. |
9.88% | 3,889 |
| Robert James Gignac |
9.70% | 3,820 |
| Andre Descoteaux |
9.62% | 3,789 |
| Dennis R. Mercier | 9.25% | 3,640 |
| Benjamin T. Opara | 6.12% | 2,409 |
| Christopher N. Roux | 5.79% | 2,278 |
| Kamara Kay | 5.71% | 2,249 |
| Patrick William Farmer | 5.30% | 2,087 |
| Dominik Hok Y Lay | 5.02% | 1,978 |
| Write-in votes | 0.26% | 104 |
| Total Votes | 39,370 | |
| Source: Lowell Election Commission, "Municipal Election: Official Results," November 30, 2015 | ||
Funding
Descoteaux reported $3,250.00 in contributions and $2,850.53 in expenditures to the Lowell Election Commission, which left his campaign with $399.47 on hand as of October 28, 2015.[7]
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify any official endorsements for Descoteaux in the election.
Campaign themes
2017
Candidate website
Descoteaux highlighted the following issues on his campaign website:
| “ | Andy wants to keep working on acquiring space within the city in order to accommodate our Day Students who currently have to be serviced outside the city at an exorbitant cost. He also is working on furthering the possibility of returning to neighborhood schools.
Andy wants to use technology to coordinate learning across the school district. He originally wanted the High School to remain downtown. Learning of the devastating effect of a renovation that could span from four to as many as six years, he has changed his mind. He now supports the Cawley new construction. As a lifelong educator, and understanding how easy it is for you to lose the attention of students in a classroom, how can a renovation be educationally beneficial? Further, how can we expect to be re-accredited in eight years, with the downtown site that doesn't address ALL the needs laid out by NEASC. This could have a significantly negative result for the High School, the city and most importantly, our kids. Andy wants to support teachers who may have 60% of their class two to four years below reading/math level, by finding resources to provide floating aids such as para-professionals. He'd like to review the role of guidance counselors within the high school. Consider updating the role so they are spending more time goal setting college/Scholarship applications and career planning, instead of just preparing schedules. Andy wants to ensure that kids are all exposed to the arts. This issue is one that is obviously near-and-dear to his heart. While the 3 R’s (reading, writing, arithmetic) are languages of the mind, the arts are the language of EMOTION which gets to the heart of who we are as human beings.[8] |
” |
| —Andre Descoteaux (2017)[9] | ||
Lowell Sun Q&A series
Descoteaux answered the following five questions from the Lowell Sun as part of a series for the newspaper. The questions provided by the newspaper appear bolded, and Descoteaux's answers follow below.
Should the Lowell Public School district return to neighborhood schools or retain its two-zone, citywide schools model?[10]
| “ | Sooner, rather than later. The numbers have already been worked out to secure the correct balance required for integration compliance.[8] | ” |
| —Andre Descoteaux (2017)[10] | ||
What solutions would you propose to ensure the district can reliably provide adequate services to students within its budget?[11]
| “ | We need to do a better job at getting information about state funding from our state representatives and state senator.
We should keep a watchful eye on expenditures and make every effort to overspend on things that may not have a direct impact on our children.[8] |
” |
| —Andre Descoteaux (2017)[11] | ||
Would you have voted to give Superintendent of Schools Salah Khelfaoui a new four-year contract?[12]
| “ | Yes, I proudly did![8] | ” |
| —Andre Descoteaux (2017)[12] | ||
What is the most pressing capital improvement project facing the School Department, besides the high school, and how do you propose to pay for it?[13]
| “ | Capital improvements are funded by the city. We can make suggestions but in the end, the city decides. I believe that the HVAC issues throughout the city need to be a priority along with repairing roofs that are springing leaks everywhere.[8] | ” |
| —Andre Descoteaux (2017)[13] | ||
What is your opinion on standardized testing? Do public schools do too much, too little, or just enough?[14]
| “ | Standardized testing is ruining education. We are being forced to follow directives that are hurting our children. Teaching kids in the suburbs has little resemblance to teaching kids in an urban setting. The city of Lowell shouldn't be compared to a Lexington or Belmont or Wellesley. It should more realistically be compared to Brockton or Worcester or Springfield. By putting so much weight on children needing to pass these 'high stakes' tests, we are forcing teachers to teach to the test, rather than teaching all other relevant curriculum, including the arts.[8] | ” |
| —Andre Descoteaux (2017)[14] | ||
2015
Descoteaux's campaign website listed the following themes for 2015:
| “ |
Andy wants schools to communicate the curriculum process changes to parents so they understand how to help their kids with their homework. He wants the School Committee to provide effective support to help new Superintendent succeed in the large school district of Lowell and assist in the on-boarding of the new CFO. Andy wants to use technology to coordinate learning across the school district. He wants the High School to stay downtown: The current location levels the playing field for all the students of the city, and there are assets within the old building which would not be replaced in a new location due to costs – such as the 1,500-seat auditorium. Andy wants to support teachers who may have 60% of their class 2-4 years below reading/math level, by finding resources to provide floating aids such as para-professionals. He'd like to review the role of guidance counselors within the school. Consider updating the role so they are spending more time goal setting and career planning, instead of just preparing schedules for class. Andy want to ensure that kids are all exposed to the arts. This issue is one obviously near-and-dear to his heart. While the 3 R’s (reading, writing, arithmetic) are languages of the mind, the arts are the language of EMOTION which gets to the heart of who we are as human beings.[8] |
” |
| —Andre Descoteaux (2015)[15] | ||
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Andre Descoteaux Lowell Public Schools school board. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Lowell Public Schools, Massachusetts
- Lowell Public Schools elections (2017)
- Lowell Public Schools elections (2015)
- Incumbency no guarantee of success in Nov. 3 school board elections (November 6, 2015)
- What happened in Nov.'s top board elections? (November 4, 2015)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Eda Jane Matchak, City of Lowell," January 31, 2017
- ↑ Lowell Sun, "City Council field set for preliminary," August 10, 2017
- ↑ City of Lowell Election & Census, "Election Results," accessed November 8, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lowell Public Schools, "2016-2017 School Committee," accessed August 9, 2017 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "board" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ Lowell Sun, "Preliminary city election set as 23 candidates qualify for council race," August 9, 2017
- ↑ Lowell Election and Census Office, "2015 Election Calendar," accessed March 6, 2015
- ↑ Lowell Election Commission, "Campaign Finance Reports-2015," accessed October 28, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Andre Descoteaux, "Platform," accessed October 27, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lowell Sun, "Lowell School Committee candidates answer questions on the issues," October 11, 2017
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Lowell Sun, "Lowell candidates offer solutions on school budget issues," October 12, 2017
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 Lowell Sun, "Lowell school candidates split on superintendent's contract," October 13, 2017
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lowell Sun, "Building maintenance, special ed cited as top Lowell school needs," October 14, 2017
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 Lowell Sun, "Lowell school candidates weigh in on standardized tests," October 15, 2017
- ↑ Andy Descoteaux, "Platform," accessed October 26, 2015
| 2015 Lowell Public Schools Elections | |
| Middlesex County, Massachusetts | |
| Election date: | Primary election: September 22, 2015 General election: November 3, 2015 |
| Candidates: | At-large: Incumbent, Stephen J. Gendron • Incumbent, Connie A. Martin • Andre Descoteaux • Jackie Doherty • Patrick William Farmer • Robert James Gignac • Robert J. Hoey Jr. • Kamara Kay • Dominik Hok Y Lay • Dennis R. Mercier • Benjamin T. Opara • Christopher N. Roux |
| Important information: | Key deadlines • Additional elections on the ballot |
