Steven Knudsen
Non-Partisan | Georgia
Candidate Profile
Leans Conservative
BIOGRAPHY
Name
Steven Knudsen
Party
Non-Partisan
Election Year
2022
Election
Primary
Race
Gwinnett County Board of Education, District II
Incumbent
Yes
Links
EDUCATION
George Fox University, Newberg, Bachelor of Science, 1985
WORK & MILITARY
Candidate did not provide
AFFILIATIONS
Presbyterian Church, Elder
POLITICAL OFFICES HELD
Gwinnett County Board of Education, District 2, 2019-2022
POLITICAL OFFICES SOUGHT
Candidate did not provide
Race
ENDORSEMENTS
REPORTED BY CANDIDATE (10)
Brandon Hembree, Mayor of Sugar Hill, GA
David Still, Mayor of Lawrenceville, GA
Jimmy Burnette, Mayor of Suwanee, GA
Steven Edwards, former Mayor of Sugar Hill, GA
Taylor Anderson, Sugar Hill City Council
SELECTED CONTRIBUTIONS
CONSERVATIVE
GIVEN BY CANDIDATE (1)
WinRed (2020)
RECEIVED BY CANDIDATE (0)
SELECTED FINANCIAL SOURCE DOCUMENTS
- Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report - 12/31/2021 (received 1/18/2022)
- Please note: The following information was received by iVoterGuide after Panel Evaluations occurred and is for additional educational purposes only.
- Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report - 1/31/2022 (received 4/5/2022)
- Campaign Contribution Disclosure Report - 4/30/2022 (received 5/4/2022)
- $200.00 contribution from David Still for Mayor
- $200.00 contribution from David Still for Mayor
OTHER INFORMATION
Party Primary Election Voting History for Steven B Knudsen during time of residence in district and/or at current address:
- no voting records
During 1/20/2022 Monthly Business Meeting, voted against electing Dr. Tarece Johnson as Board Chair.
During 5/20/2021 Monthly Business Meeting, opposed motion regarding changes to Policy BCBI: Public Participation in Board Meetings. The changes included:
- limits on the number of times an individual may speak before the board at consecutive meetings
- a limit of three minutes for an individual to address the board
- a provision to allow the board chair or other officer discretion to limit the length of time for individual comments
- the number of times an individual can address the board
- the number of individuals speaking for or against a specific issue
QUESTIONNAIRE
RIGHT TO LIFE
Abortion providers, including Planned Parenthood, should not be a resource for instruction or services in the school.
Strongly Agree
Human life begins at conception and deserves legal protection at every stage until natural death.
Strongly Agree
ECONOMY
Free enterprise and the right to private property are essential elements of a productive economic system.
Strongly Agree
School districts should be able to use taxpayer money for lobbying the state legislature.
Agree
What is your position on government funding of public education from Pre-K through college?
I believe the government should continue to fund K-12 education. Until they fully fund the mandates they already have in place for K-12 they shouldn't be attempting to fund other levels of education. Two examples are IDEA funding at the federal level, which is not fully funded. And transportation at the state level, which is not fully funded.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY
At school, students should be able to speak freely and civilly about matters of conscience and faith, including Christianity.
Strongly Agree
School districts should not discriminate against individuals, organizations or small businesses because of their belief that marriage is only a union of one man and one woman.
Strongly Agree
Students should not be allowed to pray in school.
Strongly Disagree
EDUCATION
What is the function of the local school board?
The school board is responsible for the governance of the the school district. They establish the policies within which the school district operates. They hire one employee, the superintendent and hold him responsible for the operation of the school district. The superintendent is held accountable for meeting the goals established by the board based on the strategic plan of the school district. The superintended and the board operate as the governance team and work together to determine the vision and mission of the organization. The board operates above the line separating "what" the school district wants to accomplish and the "how" that the superintendent oversees.
Who should have the authority to set curriculum and determine resources used in those curricula?
The board has the authority to set the policy and process through which the curriculum is chosen. In Gwinnett County we first set the academic knowledge and skills that are necessary to graduate from our schools. But it is the superintendent that implements the process by which the supporting resources are chosen. The board ultimately approves the purchase of those resources and therefore must be comfortable with what is contained within those resources. The superintendent must maintain fidelity to the strategic plan and it is the responsibility of the board to hold them accountable for results, including the standards set by the state.
When should parents be restricted from speaking in school board meetings?
In Georgia school board meetings are meetings in public to conduct the business necessary to operate, but not with the public. That being said, recent legislation requires that school board meetings include time for parents, students and community members to address the board. There is latitude for how the board structures that time.
Please list in order the following priorities in relation to the role of a K-12 public school (omitting any that do not apply): Mathematics, Information Technology, Science, Political Activism, Personal Finances, Gender Identity, Physical Fitness, American History, Critical Race Theory, Language Arts, Art & Music, Vocational Learning, Sexuality, Foreign Language, Social Emotional Learning
Interesting that Reading is not on your list. Through third grade students are learning to read and after that they are reading to learn. So, Reading, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, American History, Information Technology, Art and Music, Vocational Learning, Foreign Language, Physical Fitness.
American civics education should emphasize our nation's founding principles of liberty and equality.
Agree
Before students are taught courses such as Comprehensive Sex Ed (CSE) or Social Emotional Learning (SEL), they must opt-in with written parental permission.
Agree
In our county we have neither Comprehensive Sex Ed or courses in Social Emotional Learning. I definitely agree with the statement, if we had CSE, that parental permission would be required. SEL, in my perspective, could be a part of Professional Development for teachers. It would have more to do with "how" a teacher might teach. It would be dependent on how it is defined for the individual school district. I don't believe the words Social, Emotional and Learning are the same everywhere.
The loss of local control in education is too high a price to pay in exchange for federal dollars.
Strongly Agree
I support the teaching of curricula (such as the 1619 Project, No Place for Hate, Second Step, etc.) that emphasizes slavery and racism as the foundation of American history.
Disagree
Parents are the ultimate authority in their child’s education and should be able to freely pursue whatever educational options they deem best for their child.
Agree
VALUES
Briefly describe your spiritual beliefs and values.
I am a Christian. I have been most of my life. I choose, in my role as a board member, to describe myself as a man of faith. When it makes sense, I have had the opportunity to share more about what that means. Gwinnett County is the 7th most diverse county in the nation. I believe people of all faiths should be able to answer questions and discuss how faith informs their lives. I believe in honesty, integrity, service and the golden rule, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." I believe we should think more highly of others than ourselves. And I believe we should all attempt to be a part of something bigger than ourselves.
I support allowing public high school students to participate in athletic competition based on the gender with which they identify instead of biological sex.
Disagree
Who is responsible for teaching sexual education to children, and what is the appropriate age when it should be taught?
I believe parents should be responsible for teaching sex ed to children. There is a place in high school health where biological reproduction can be discussed in health. In Georgia, the State Board of Education requires that to be abstinence based. I believe even with those parameters in place, parents should have the option to opt their children out of that discussion if they so desire.
If you support the teaching of Sex Ed, please answer the following question: Sexual education should include these topics (list all that apply and add your own, if needed) -- Physical and emotional health outcomes; contraceptive methods; consent; abstinence; sexual orientation and gender identity; human anatomy/the reproductive system; abortion methods and side effects; stages of pregnancy and fetal development; sex acts and pleasures of sex
Physical Education and Health are needed if we are to help our students avoid making bad decisions that could limit their future opportunities. Within Health there can be a unit on Human Sexuality. Included topics would be Human anatomy/the reproductive system; abstinence; stages of pregnancy and fetal development; physical and emotional health outcomes.
Judeo-Christian values established a framework of morality that is necessary for our system of limited government.
Agree
Without morality you can't have self government. Without a significant commitment to self government you can't hope for limited government. In the end, without morality you must have a large, imposing form of central government.
No healthcare diagnosis or treatment, whether mental, reproductive, or otherwise, should be given to a child without first receiving written consent from the parent.
Strongly Agree
No school official should be involved in the sexual transitioning of a student, including the use of alternative names and pronouns.
Choose not to answer
This question is too narrowly defined. I agree schools should not be involved in the sexual transitioning of a student. I do believe, though that there should be respect for the individual. Most teachers, in an attempt to build rapport with their students, will ask them at the beginning of class to let them know if there is a better name to use, for various reasons. So, if a student requests a name or nickname, there is nothing wrong with that. The preferred pronouns is a step too far.
ELECTIONS AND VOTING
People should be able to vote without photo identification.
Disagree
ABOUT YOU
Have you ever been convicted of a felony or been penalized in either civil or criminal court for sexual misconduct? If so, please explain.
No
A candidate's personal moral values should not be relevant when considering a candidacy for elective office.
Disagree
When you consider your views on a wide range of issues from economic and social matters to foreign policy and religious liberty, which of the following best describes you overall?
Conservative
Please provide publicly available information, including interviews and media reports, validating your answer to the previous question (other than your website).
Too spread out over the 4 years since first deciding to run for office. Anyone could watch many of the board meetings I have been involved in and available at www.gcpsk12.org and see that I take a limited government, conservative position when necessary.
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you?
I have been involved in policy for over 30 years beginning with my work for Dr. James Dobson at Focus on the Family. I ran a policy organization in Texas after leaving Focus and helped people get involved in public policy from school board to the state legislature. I also spent a short period of time at FRC as the Director for State and Local Affairs. After leaving FRC I focused on raising four children, all of whom graduated from within the school district I now serve. I wasn't looking for this position when the incumbent approached me about running. I have looked at this opportunity to serve as a way to give back to a community that has given so my to my family over the last 25 years.
2ND AMENDMENT
Teachers who are licensed to carry should be allowed to carry guns at school.
Neutral
This is an operational decision that should be made by the superintendent. I would say that various districts have approved this and there has not been significant blow back.
OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES
Under what circumstances (if any) should schools be allowed to require vaccinations?
There are a few, well documented illnesses that would significantly effect the health conditions of a school system. Those have been documented as significantly contagious and lethal. There should be a very high threshold, along those lines stated, before another vaccine would be considered. At the end of the day, real life conditions that affect the ability to accomplish our mandate of educating students should drive the operational decisions made.
I support mask mandates.
Strongly Disagree
