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John F. Monfredo
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John F. Monfredo is an at-large representative on the Worcester Public Schools school board in Massachusetts. First elected in 2005, Monfredo won a new term in the at-large general election on November 7, 2017.
Monfredo participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 school board candidate survey. Click here to read his responses.
Biography
Monfredo resides in Worcester, Massachusetts. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees in education before beginning his 20-year career as a principal at the Belmont Community School in Worcester Public Schools.[1]
Elections
2017
Six seats on the Worcester Public Schools School Committee in Massachusetts were up for at-large general election on November 7, 2017. All seven seats on the board were up for election. The seventh seat on the board was held by the mayor of Worcester, but was not covered by Ballotpedia as the city fell outside of municipal elections coverage.[2] Incumbents Dianna Biancheria, John L. Foley, Molly McCullough, John F. Monfredo, and Brian A. O'Connell won election on November 7, 2017, along with challenger Dante Comparetto. Incumbent Donna M. Colorio was defeated in the general election.[3][4]
Results
| Worcester Public Schools, At-large General Election, 2-year terms, 2017 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Brian A. O'Connell Incumbent |
15.79% | 9,097 |
| John L. Foley Incumbent |
14.98% | 8,628 |
| John F. Monfredo Incumbent |
14.76% | 8,504 |
| Molly McCullough Incumbent |
14.07% | 8,105 |
| Dante Comparetto |
13.73% | 7,906 |
| Dianna Biancheria Incumbent |
13.58% | 7,824 |
| Donna M. Colorio Incumbent | 13.08% | 7,534 |
| Total Votes | 57,598 | |
| Source: City of Worcester, "Summary Reports: Official Results," accessed November 28, 2017 | ||
Funding
The Worcester Election Commission 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 editor@ballotpedia.org.
2015
All seven seats on the Worcester School Committee were up for election on November 3, 2015. Six seats were elected by city residents at-large. The seventh seat on the board was held by the Mayor of Worcester but was not covered by Ballotpedia as the city fell outside of municipal elections coverage.[5] Incumbents Brian A. O'Connell, John F. Monfredo, John L. Foley and Dianna Biancheria won re-election, while Donna M. Colorio and Molly McCullough joined the board. They defeated incumbents Tracy A. O'Connell Novick and Hilda Ramirez as well as challengers Cotey Collins and Nicola D'Andrea.[6]
Results
| Worcester School Committee, At-large, General Election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Brian A. O'Connell Incumbent |
12.9% | 9,021 |
| Donna M. Colorio |
12.3% | 8,606 |
| John F. Monfredo Incumbent |
12.0% | 8,370 |
| John L. Foley Incumbent |
11.6% | 8,107 |
| Dianna Biancheria Incumbent |
10.6% | 7,413 |
| Molly McCullough |
9.9% | 6,891 |
| Tracy A. O'Connell Novick Incumbent | 9.0% | 6,294 |
| Hilda Ramirez Incumbent | 8.6% | 6,014 |
| Nicola D'Andrea | 7.6% | 5,304 |
| Cotey Collins | 5.5% | 3,839 |
| Total Votes | 69,859 | |
| Source: Worcester, Massachusetts, "City of Worcester Municipal Elections 11/3/2015 Official Results," accessed December 17, 2015 | ||
Funding
Monfredo began the race with an existing account balance of $2,945.64 from his previous campaign. He reported $3,175.00 in contributions and $2,639.01 in expenditures to Worcester Election Commission, which left his campaign with $3,481.63 on hand as of October 28, 2015.[7]
Endorsements
Monfredo received an official endorsement from the Educational Association of Worcester prior to the general election.[8]
2013
Monfredo won re-election against eight other candidates to one of six at-large seats in the general election on November 5, 2013.
Results
| Worcester Public Schools, At-large General Election, 2-year term, 2013 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Brian A. O'Connell Incumbent |
15.3% | 8,146 | |
| Nonpartisan | John L. Foley Incumbent |
13.9% | 7,385 | |
| Nonpartisan | John F. Monfredo Incumbent |
12.2% | 6,465 | |
| Nonpartisan | Dianna Biancheria Incumbent |
11.9% | 6,305 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tracy A. O'Connell Novick Incumbent |
11.8% | 6,247 | |
| Nonpartisan | Hilda Ramirez |
11.4% | 6,053 | |
| Nonpartisan | Donna M. Colorio Incumbent | 10.6% | 5,654 | |
| Nonpartisan | Robert J. Cohane | 7.5% | 3,981 | |
| Nonpartisan | Douglas F. Arbetter | 5.5% | 2,908 | |
| Total Votes | 53,144 | |||
| Source: Worcester, Massachusetts, "Election Summary, Municipal Election," accessed December 18, 2013 | ||||
Funding
Monfredo began the race with an existing account balance of $3,183.10 from his previous campaigns. He reported $3,535.00 in contributions and $2,138.67 in expenditures to the Worcester Election Commission, which left his campaign with $4,579.43 on hand in the election.[9]
Endorsements
Monfredo received an official endorsement for his campaign from the Educational Association of Worcester.[10]
2011
| Worcester Public Schools, At-large General Election, 2-year term, 2011 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Brian A. O'Connell Incumbent |
13.3% | 9,074 | |
| Nonpartisan | John L. Foley Incumbent |
13.3% | 9,065 | |
| Nonpartisan | Dianna Biancheria Incumbent |
12.1% | 8,258 | |
| Nonpartisan | John F. Monfredo Incumbent |
11.1% | 7,565 | |
| Nonpartisan | Tracy A. O'Connell Novick Incumbent |
10.3% | 6,974 | |
| Nonpartisan | Donna M. Colorio |
10% | 6,768 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mary J. Mullaney Incumbent | 9.9% | 6,735 | |
| Nonpartisan | Hilda Ramirez | 8.6% | 5,830 | |
| Nonpartisan | Todd Mark Salmonsen | 6.2% | 4,220 | |
| Nonpartisan | John A. Trobaugh | 5.1% | 3,486 | |
| Total Votes | 67,975 | |||
| Source: Worcester, Massachusetts, "Election Summary, Municipal Election," accessed September 25, 2013 | ||||
Campaign themes
2017
Ballotpedia survey responses
John Monfredo participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of school board candidates.[11] In response to the question "What do you hope to achieve if elected to the school board?" the candidate stated on August 6, 2017:
| “ | I have filed motions to improve the safety and the quality of education for our children. I have advocated for more parental involvement and have responded to the needs of parents and guardians. Throughout my time on the school committee, I have worked with the CCPAC (City-Wide Parent Organization) and the Worcester Educational Collaborative. As I did as a principal, I continue to address the issue of reading on grade level by the third grade and have initiated several agenda items on this issue.
I have been an advocate of working on the critical issue of chronic absenteeism, the achievement gap and how to address the academic loss in the summer time known as the 'summer slide.' In addition, I make the time to visit schools and spend time reading to our students. I have also established for twelve years a program called Worcester: the City that Reads. In addition to promoting literacy I have collected over 520,000 books through book drives and receiving books from various publishers during that time and put those books into the hands of our children within the schools and the community. My priorities will continue to address the achievement gap, reading on grade level by the end of grade three, continue to have safety as a priority, and be sure that we continue to reach out to our children’s first and most influential teacher our parents and have them as part of the learning process.[12][13] |
” |
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 Massachusetts. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Improving relations with teachers | |
| Improving post-secondary readiness | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
| “ | Relations with teachers is essential and we have a great superintendent and a school committee that does have a great relationship with our teachers. If not, that would have been one of my top two selections. However, closing the achievement gap is number one and as a school committee member I have worked tirelessly to move the district as having that as a top priority.[13] | ” |
| —John Monfredo (August 6, 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.) |
|---|
| No. At the present time we have nine innovation schools in Worcester with parents having the choice of opting in to one of those schools. In addition, we have other choices in the arts, engineering, and STEM programs for our students to select. Charter schools take away the needed resources that we have in public education. |
| 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. A partnership must exist but when it comes to local matters the school board needs to explain why their decision has been made for the district. |
| Are standardized tests an accurate metric of student achievement? |
| No. Standardized testing is an important tool in diagnosing the needs of the student and the district. However, it is not the only instrument used to effectively measure the progress of our students. Many factors are involved in the evaluation of a student include absenteeism and the motivation to achieve success. |
| 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? |
| No. Merit pay is an ineffective strategy for improving teaching and learning. Here’s why. It undermines teamwork. Teachers who are rewarded for their own students’ test-score gains are less likely to share ideas with their colleagues. |
| Should the state give money to private schools through a voucher system or scholarship program? |
| No. We need to do everything possible to improve our educational system for the money lost to private schools undermines our ability to acquire the necessary resources for the public schools. As it stands now public education, which serves all students including those with disabilities and speak another language, does not have the necessary funding. |
| How should expulsion be used in the district? |
| Expulsion should be used only if all other measure fail. If there is an issue of safety for our students there is no other choice but to go the expulsion route and look for an alternative setting for the student. |
| What's the most important factor for success in the classroom: student-teacher ratio, the curriculum, teachers, parent involvement or school administration? |
| Teachers Every issued is important for they all impact the success in the classroom. However, the most important ingredient is the teacher. We all know that teachers are the most critical factors in student achievement. Let us remember that a good teacher does more than pass on information for a good teacher inspires a thirst for learning that lasts a lifetime. Teachers continue to establish relationships with students in an attempt to make a difference in their lives and in their academic progress. A good teacher will reach out to the parent and have parents part of the learning process. |
2015
Ballotpedia survey responses
Monfredo participated in Ballotpedia's 2015 survey of school board candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:
| “ |
1. SCHOOL SAFETY … we must do everything possible to maintain safety in our schools. ON GRADE LEVEL BY THE END OF GRADE THREE… WE NEED TO STRONGLY ADDRESS THIS ISSUE |
” |
| —John Monfredo, (2015)[14] | ||
Ranking the issues
The candidate was asked to rank the following issues by importance in the school district, with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. This table displays this candidate's rankings from most to least important:
| Education policy |
|---|
|
Click here to learn more about education policy in Massachusetts. |
| Education on the ballot |
| Issue importance ranking | |
|---|---|
| Candidate's ranking | Issue |
| Balancing or maintaining the district's budget | |
| Expanding career-technical education | |
| Closing the achievement gap | |
| Expanding arts education | |
| Improving college readiness | |
| Improving education for special needs students | |
| Expanding school choice options | |
Positions on the issues
The candidate was asked to answer 10 questions from Ballotpedia regarding significant issues in education and the school district. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column of the following table:
| Question | Response |
|---|---|
| "They should be implemented." | |
| "No." | |
| "No." | |
| "No." | |
| "Need to have full day preschool programs in all of our level three schools ... additional tutoring opportunities for ELL students ... more AP courses offered... emphasis on early learning and get our students to read on grade level by the end of grade three ... have programs within the community to deal with the "summer slide" where children of low income lose between two to three months of academic growth by not engaging in summer learning ... create more partnerships within the colleges in Worcester and use the students as Big Brother/Big Sisters ... work with our inner faith and social agencies to assist our most at risk students ... more parent involvement with workshops for parents on how they can help their child at home!" | |
| "Expulsion should be used for serious offenses to ensure the safety of other students as well as the integrity of education at district schools." | |
| "We need to look at the data and work with administration on the failure rate. Do we have the right principal in place? Have we given the school the necessary resources to get the job done? Have we met with the parents and community members and involved them in the discussion?
Transparency is essential and everyone needs to be part of the action plan to get the school moving forward." | |
| "No." | |
| "Set up a mentorship program for the underperforming teacher with a more experienced teacher in the district." | |
| "Board members need to be visible within the community and be willing to serve on various community committees, attend City-wide parent group meetings and have discussions on what the needs are and how the schools can be improved." |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms John F. Monfredo Worcester Public Schools. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Worcester Public Schools, Massachusetts
- Worcester Public Schools elections (2017)
- Worcester Public Schools elections (2015)
- Worcester Public Schools elections (2013)
- 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
- ↑ Worcester Telegram & Gazette, "John F. Monfredo," October 5, 2009
- ↑ Worcester Public Schools, "School Committee," accessed May 18, 2017
- ↑ Worcester Election Commission, "2017 Municipal Candidates," accessed May 17, 2017
- ↑ City of Worcester, "Municipal Election 11/07/2017 Unofficial Results," accessed November 7, 2017
- ↑ Worcester Public Schools, "School Committee," accessed February 11, 2015
- ↑ City of Worcester, "2015 Municipal Election Candidates List," May 29, 2015
- ↑ Worcester Election Commission, "Campaign Finance Filings," accessed October 15, 2015
- ↑ GoLocalWorcester, "Teachers Union Submits Endorsements of School Committee Candidates," June 23, 2015
- ↑ Worcester, Massachusetts, "Campaign Finance Filings," accessed December 23, 2013
- ↑ Jacqueline Reis, Worcester Telegram & Gazette, "Teachers union announces endorsements," September 23, 2013
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2017, "John Monfredo's responses," August 6, 2017
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ballotpedia School Board Candidate Survey, 2015, "John F. Monfredo's responses," October 5, 2015
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