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Mike Wiles
Mike Wiles was an at-large member of the Columbus Board of Education. He was first elected to the board in 2009 after two failed attempts at a full term on the board and five applications for unexpired terms.[1] Wiles did not win his re-election bid on November 5, 2013.
Biography
Wiles earned his GED in 1976 after serving in the U.S. Navy the previous four years. He has volunteered for MDA telethons and the SCAA Buckeyes Youth Football Association. Wiles worked as a truck driver for 32 years before joining On Demand Storage LLC as a driver. He has three children and eight grandchildren, four of whom were attending district schools at the time of his tenure.[2]
Elections
2013
- See also: Columbus City Schools elections (2013)
Wiles sought re-election on November 5, 2013 but placed fourth out of six candidates for three available seats.
Results
| Columbus Board of Education, At-large, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Michael D. Cole |
23.5% | 32,756 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ramona R. Reyes Incumbent |
18.6% | 26,016 | |
| Nonpartisan | Dominic Paretti |
16% | 22,380 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mike Wiles Incumbent | 14.9% | 20,791 | |
| Nonpartisan | Beverly J. Corner | 14% | 19,586 | |
| Nonpartisan | Hanifah Kambon Incumbent | 12.9% | 17,986 | |
| Total Votes | 139,515 | |||
| Source: Franklin County Board of Elections, "November 2013 General Election Official Results," accessed December 13, 2013 | ||||
Endorsements
Wiles was one of four candidates in the board election who received an endorsement from the Franklin County Democratic Party.[3] He earned the endorsement of the Franklin County Republican Party in his 2005 campaign.[1]
2009
Wiles first won election to the board on November 3, 2009, placing third in the race for four available seats.
| Columbus Board of Education, At-large, November 3, 2009 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Ramona R. Reyes |
32.9% | 43,411 | |
| Nonpartisan | Hanifa Kambon |
30.7% | 40,417 | |
| Nonpartisan | Mike Wiles |
29.1% | 38,385 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes |
7.3% | 9,557 | |
| Total Votes | 131,770 | |||
| Source: Franklin County Board of Elections | ||||
Campaign themes
2013
Wiles discussed his themes for the 2013 campaign in an interview with The Columbus Dispatch:[4]
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1. Do you support the Columbus schools levy and bond issue on the ballot this fall, which would share money with charter schools? Why or why not? NO! I do not support the levy for several reasons. First, I believe the voters should be allowed to vote on each initiative separately (especially the Charter/ Community School sharing item). Second, since almost the day I was elected I was told we would be going for a levy because we were going to need the money. But time after time I watched as the Board approved memberships, conference trips (the Board just approved 4 members to attend the same Conference Albuquerque, New Mexico at a cost of over $9,000 equal to the tax hike request we are asking of about 29 homeowners) , rental of facilities for meetings, etc, etc, etc. Doesn’t sound much like someone that needs money to me. Many will say well “we cut the budget every year”, which is true. But, spending has gone up almost every year despite losing students! That’s because cutting a governmental budget isn’t the same as cutting spending. In the case of when mine and most households cut their budget that generally means we don’t go out to eat as often, keep the old car a few years longer, skip the family trip and probably don’t renew our membership dues; in short we cut our spending. In government it’s basically cutting down of a wish list (you know the one we all have if we ever hit the lottery) except every few years they do hit the lottery in the form of a tax hike, and for a little while the urge is quenched until next time. No, we must first trim our spending then ask the voters for more money and offer better academic programming. Asking property owners for a 23%+ increase in taxes is asking way too much of them; many have experienced loss of wages, jobs, or are on a fixed income and it is unconscionable. The fact remains we must rely on taxpayers to fund our schools but that doesn’t mean we should take advantage of them. Our over reliance on home owners has to be reeled in. We need to start looking into other funding sources (i.e. an earned income school tax, or asking the state to allow sales tax funding). They may not work out but let’s at least discuss some new ideas. Many cite that Charter/ Community schools work (which is to some extent is debatable) because they are independent of many government regulations & are freed from the traditional bureaucratic red tape. So how would requiring contracting (presumably adding governmental parameters to operate under) and oversight (presumably adding rules and regulations aka Red Tape) to comply with those contracted regulations) with the same government entities you are trying to circumvent increase their effectiveness? Some have said if our school principals could have control over staffing, programming, & budget they too could show marked improvement. These things don’t cost a dime. 2. Do you support the ballot issue that designates an outside auditor for the school district? Why or why not? NO! It arguably displaces the only group that did its job to the utmost! No the problem isn’t with the internal auditor’s office, it’s with the Board of Education who are supposed to ensure the independence and authority of that office. Using the ill-conceived independent auditor model would cross over too many boundaries (Treasurer, Administration, & Board) meant to provide the Checks & Balances this country was founded upon. It would add cost (much more than what is proposed I believe), add to an already bloated bureaucracy with even less direct voter oversight. No-one responsible for overseeing this newly formed politically appointed position is required to even live within the Columbus City Schools District except for the School Board President meaning many non-CCS residents would be voting on 4/5 of the selection and oversight panel, where is the representation in that? 3. How will you address the issue of data manipulation in Columbus City Schools? Many of the issues have already been addressed with central registration, policy changes on when withdrawals & grade changes can be made along with who can, and can’t make them. We also have a new whistle blower policy and a hotline anyone can utilize to report wrong doing. The board must change its mindset from passenger on the bus to driving the bus, from simply being an on looker at 30,000 feet to providing oversight at the treetop level. To that end, I have developed a “Board Governance Model” to replace the current (and in my opinion the root cause of many problems we face) “Policy Governance Model” . Board Governance re-establishes the Checks & Balances, provides true and complete oversight (without micro-managing), and provides avenues for everyone to become part of the decision making process. I believe involving the whole community will build towards the success of our schools. (for more on my Board Governance model go to www.votewiles.com) 4. What can Columbus schools do to ensure that all children in the district have a spot in an effective school? There is still plenty we can and must do to ensure “all” staff, students, and schools become A+. We need to engage and allow neighborhood parents, neighborhood leaders, and neighborhood businesses to re-establish ownership of their neighborhood schools and feeder patterns (for more go to https://web.archive.org/web/2/http://votewiles.com/board-governance/ look at Columbus City Schools Region Committee). We need to hire and retain the best and the brightest staff. Allow the Principals more autonomy over their staffs . Allow Neighborhoods more influence over their academic feeder focuses Well defined Board Academic Targets and standardized grade scale. My P.R.I.D.E. Idea, Every Feeder Pattern has an PreK-College2 Academic Focus, Extend the School Day. Extend the School Year. Every Grade Guarantee. Graduation Guarantee. Community Bridge time for Parent /Community Consultants. Establish Parent Universities in each high school feeder pattern. Parent Mentorship Programs. Establish trade programs in partnership with local trade organizations. Require greater emphasis on the arts & foreign languages at all grade levels. Require that an equal number of seats on all building, regional, or district level committees be reserved for CCS parents, neighborhood residents, and neighborhood business. Better Customer Service and become more user friendly. just to name some ideas. That being said; I must point out that I think anyone can get a quality education in any of our schools. Because the PARENT is the “Silver Bullet” in obtaining the most out of any educational system. We have many amazing staff providing almost heroic efforts everyday in every one of our school buildings. Most of our students go on to lead very successful lives. Many attend and graduate college, Most go on to have productive jobs, complete military service and have full quality lives all from the same schools labeled as “ineffective”. 5. What makes you the best candidate for this job? About 20 years of educational activism. I have lived, worked, and raised a family in Columbus City Schools District. This is my destination; I feel serving as a School Board Member is the highest office one can hold. I’m an independent thinker. I try to objectively research and evaluate every issue. My sole focus is on our students, parents, schools, neighborhoods and making sure they have everything they need to thrive. I bring a working person’s viewpoint and work ethic to the board. I believe in “Leadership not Followship”. I don’t automatically vote “yes”. |
Note: The above quote is from the candidate's website, which may include some typographical or spelling errors.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Mike + Wiles + Columbus + Schools"
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Columbus Monthly, "The Wiles Way," October 2011 (dead link)
- ↑ Mike Wiles for School Board Committee, "Meet the Candidate," accessed September 16, 2013 (dead link)
- ↑ The Columbus Dispatch, "Democrats endorse 4 for 3 Columbus school-board seats," September 13, 2013
- ↑ Mike Wiles for School Board Committee, "Q&A with Mike Wiles," accessed October 31, 2013 (dead link)
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