Andy Jones
Andy Jones ran for election to the Douglas County School District Board of Directors to represent District A in Colorado. He lost in the general election on November 7, 2023.
Jones completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Andy Jones was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1984 to 2014. Jones earned a bachelor's degree in political and naval science from the University of Mississippi in 1984 and studied at the Naval Postgraduate School. His career experience includes working as an airline pilot and flight instructor. Jones has been affiliated with the Airline Pilots Association (ALPA).[1][2]
Elections
2023
See also: Douglas County School District, Colorado, elections (2023)
General election
General election for Douglas County School District Board of Directors District A
Incumbent Susan Meek defeated Andy Jones in the general election for Douglas County School District Board of Directors District A on November 7, 2023.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Susan Meek (Nonpartisan) | 52.9 | 66,740 | |
| Andy Jones (Nonpartisan) | 47.1 | 59,536 | ||
| Total votes: 126,276 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Jones received the following endorsements.
2019
See also: Douglas County School District, Colorado, elections (2019)
General election
General election for Douglas County School District Board of Directors District A
Susan Meek defeated Andy Jones in the general election for Douglas County School District Board of Directors District A on November 5, 2019.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Susan Meek (Nonpartisan) | 51.1 | 47,566 | |
| Andy Jones (Nonpartisan) | 48.9 | 45,526 | ||
| Total votes: 93,092 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2023
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Andy Jones completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Jones' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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My name is Andy Jones and I am running for school board director in District A to be one of the architects of this district’s future.
I am currently a captain at a major airline and a retired Navy Captain who served my country honorably for 30 years. I am a highly decorated Iraq War veteran who flew off of aircraft carriers, commanded several units, planned and executed major maritime exercises, and led volunteer heroes, men and women in some of the most hostile environments and conditions. After 30 years in the military, I just can’t turn off the passion to serve my country or county. So, I desire to share my extensive leadership experience with our School District team. I have a full understanding of the role and scope of a highly effective board including: upholding basic fiduciary principles while looking at key challenges through the prism of “risk.” Additionally, as a parent of three kids who were educated in our public schools, my focus areas will be: excellence in academics, student safety & success, and teamwork between parents, teachers and the community!
I am qualified on day one to step into the role of Board Director and lead this school district to new heights.- Excellence In Education
- Student safety and success
- Teamwork between parents, teachers and the community
You see, I speak the language of safety and security, and our community is seeking a higher sense of urgency when it comes to addressing our most critical safety needs. I certainly have ideas from 30 years of military experience, plus over 26 years of airline safety experience, but I will take the hours, weeks and months necessary to learn more about our districts strengths and weaknesses and help create the positive culture and climate necessary for a safe and caring environment.
I am a highly decorated Iraq War veteran who flew off of aircraft carriers, commanded several units, planned and executed major maritime exercises, and led volunteer heroes, men and women in some of the most hostile environments and conditions. After 30 years in the military, I just can’t turn off the passion to serve my country or county.
So, I desire to share my extensive leadership experience with our School District team. I have a full understanding of the role and scope of a highly effective board including: upholding basic fiduciary principles while looking at key challenges through the prism of “risk.” Additionally, as a parent of three kids who were educated in our public schools, my focus areas will be: excellence in academics, student safety & success, and teamwork between parents, teachers and the community!
We pay every professional a flexible and competitive compensation that honors the employee’s contribution to our kids.
As one board member, I will empower our superintendent to ensure that every level of management is prepared to evaluate authentically, provide professional growth opportunities and that every employee has reasonable means to address his or her grievances.
Embedded in your question is the impossible task of parents feeling that our kids are safe unless they are wrapped in our arms in the secure four walls of our homes. If my daughter goes to the mall with friends, as a dad, I worry about her safety. We will never feel that you are completely safe.
While it is impossible to address everything in the short time we have, I have very specific recommendations that come from years of experience in both non-combat military and post 9/11 airline operations.
In addition to improving our mental health capabilities, I have over 16 years of complex exercise creation, planning, execution and evaluation experience. Exercising our very complex pre and post event plans are critical to find gaps and seams in those plans. We must do more to collaborate with our first responder teams like the event I witnessed in Parker over this past summer.
In addition, we must continue to work with our SRO teams and local jurisdictions to ensure that children with invisible disabilities, or on IEP and 504 plans are known to them and their specific conditions are accounted for during any incident.
All 3 of my children before they reached the age of 12, have known at least 2 to 3 fellow students or friends who have committed suicide.
The crisis of teen suicide is bigger than we want to imagine, especially when we look at the issues that are under the surface. Societal, performance, parental and education pressures and their cumulative effects are more than some children have the capacity to cope with.
We have addressed decreasing the student to counselor ratio, but we have to define the metrics of successful employment. Merely adding numbers will not ensure successfully addressing the myriad mental wellness and health issues that plague our society today.
As a part of bringing additional mental health resources to bear, WE MUST address resiliency issues with our children and help them to deal with the modern day pressures.
As a firm believer in parental rights, we need to create an environment where parents and staff are on the same page about supporting kids. Sometimes a counselor is needed; sometimes it’s a supportive teacher with a kind word. Or it is all of the above, but the parent needs to be involved at all levels.
Truthfully, sometimes it is just empowering a kid to tackle some of life’s tough issues and with perseverance and resilience, overcome them on their own. These are extraordinary important life lessons to learn- feeling empowered to tackle your own problems not only helps solve your problems, but also makes you feel better about yourself in general.
Free from indoctrination.
Mitigate safety concerns.
No cell phone use during time of instruction.
Safe and caring staff and teachers.
Small children were not getting sick and yet forced to wear masks even though the science said it was useless to stop the spread.
They deserve all of the support systems and training that enable them to accomplish their jobs.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2019
Andy Jones completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2019. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Jones' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I am running to strengthen the two most important contracts in the district: that between the student and the teacher and the parents and the school. I want the best teachers to fulfill that contract with the highest levels of support and compensation. I also want the parents to feel like the school honors their choices, values and expectations.
I am extremely qualified to do so. My distinguished service record and leadership experience is unrivaled among the candidates and current board members. My service in the schools and the district is unparalleled. Leadership skills honed during 30 years of military service including three command and five executive officer tours. A respected volunteer in the district for over 18 years including: vice chair of the District Accountability Committee and charter school board president. I am a servant leader with integrity and compassion.
I have led a board with a 6 million dollar budget. I was responsible for signing teachers pay checks and hiring a school principal. I am a leader on the District Accountability Committee going into my 3rd year.
More than ever we need balance on this board and our community is tired of the pendulum swing back and forth.
- The safety of our children in this school district is not a political game to play. The consequences of all stakeholders not coming together for real solutions are a risk I will never take. For a true discussion to take place we must be able to speak openly and honestly about every potential solution and that nothing should be off the table. With 30 years of military and airline experience, I bring a never seen level of expertise to the board. A specific security plan should never be openly discussed, but I do have an extremely detailed list of initiatives.
- From top to bottom, the value of "Every Employee, Every Day" will ensure that Douglas County schools are the desired and final destination for every employee.
- Truly engaged parents are not just serving on the School or District Accountability Committees, Parent Teacher groups or Charter governing boards, but are woven into each day's events for a child.
• Safety for our children is not a political game to play. The serious consequences of all sides not coming together for real solutions is a risk I will never take.
• While it is impossible to address everything in this short space, I have very specific recommendations that come from years of experience in both non-combat military and post 9/11 airline operations.
• Exercising our very complex pre and post event plans are critical to find gaps and seams in those plans. We must do more to collaborate with our first responder teams.
• We must continue to work with our SRO teams and local jurisdictions to ensure that children on IEP and 504 plans are known to them and their specific conditions are accounted for during any incident.
• I have a more comprehensive plan developed by industry leading security professionals that I will further develop with the district staff.
- We must come prepared to every engagement with the knowledge gleaned from available resources, yet be life-long learners seeking to know more.
- We must be prepared to make difficult decisions even when they make members of the community angry. This means not looking out for our political careers, but for the best interests of the kids, school district and community.
- We must always be kind and respectful to the staff that supports the Board's efforts and understand that they are working incredibly long hours.
- We must be fiscally conservative, ensuring that every available tax dollar goes into education programs and teaching professionals and not unneeded administration.
- Budgets are value statements. Safe and caring environments will by my primary value.
"Most valuable contributions to the workplace may include your acceptance of others, your dependability, and your ability as a team player. "
I am a long time student of history and when I wanted to know more about the war my father fought in, this turned out to be an amazing choice. It is like reading a Ken Burns documentary with letters home and journal entries by privates to generals. Reading it also coincided with my military service in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and Germany and i was actually able to walk the same grounds where the battles were taking place which further enriched the experience.
Studies show that there is a direct correlation between parent involvement in the child's education and successful outcomes. Mental health, confidence and performance are all areas that are directly impacted in a child's day when they see moms and dads, especially their mom or dad, involved with their education.
We should adopt the Epstein Framework on Involvement noted in a NEA study from 2008 that focuses on:
• Parenting - assist in developing effective parenting skills
• Communicating - two way communications about the students performance and progress
• Volunteering - improve recruitment and training, plus opportunities
• Learning at Home - involve parents in the child's academic learning
• Decision Making - participants and stakeholders in the school decisions and governance
• Collaboration with the Community - coordinate resources and services
When we look at District-wide best practices, one glaring example is in our charter public school volunteer program. Creating a culture of support and volunteerism is not going to happen overnight, but with the proper nurturing and support, this can and will be a game changer in our schools and in the lives and well-being of our children.
The balance or achieving high levels of motivation while decreasing the factors that de-motivate is where your employees at all levels feel valued, satisfied and happy. A detailed plan is not limited to, but will include:
� We pay every professional a flexible and competitive compensation that honors the employee's contribution to our kids.
o It is a given that we treat our employees fairly and well, but this is the only acceptable culture and climate with the example set by my actions.
� The Employee Council is a unique, professional, and effective way to ensure all of our 8,000 employees are heard.
o We will empower our superintendent to expand the Employee Council across the district, with periodic regional meetings with all employee groups and/or targeted meetings with certain groups, where discreet issues need to be worked through. If done well, this will be a shining example of true, authentic management-staff relations.
� We will empower our superintendent to ensure that every level of management is engaged in growing every one of their employees.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2023 Elections
External links
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Candidate Douglas County School District Board of Directors District A |
Footnotes
- ↑ Highlands Ranch Herald, "Candidate Q&A Highlands Ranch Metro District — Andy Jones," March 22, 2023
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 11, 2023
