School board elections draw few willing to step up

EVERETT — The issues are many, the candidates are few.

Forty-four school board races are on Snohomish County’s Nov. 3 general election ballots.

Just eight are contested and, in Mukilteo, incumbent Ron Johnson couldn’t get his name withdrawn in time to get it off the ballot. He has endorsed his opponent Kyle Kennedy.

The dearth of competitive races mirrors other parts of the state where just 22 percent of school board openings are contested this fall.

The Herald covered two contested Everett School Board races Oct. 14. To find the story, go to bit.ly/1GkqnJs.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the other races.

Edmonds School District

Bill Willcock and Carin Chase are running in District 1 to replace Kory DeMun.

Willcock, who had three children graduate from Edmonds-Woodway High School, became involved in school issues in 2008 when the district was considering budget cuts to music, art and athletic programs. The more he listened, the more he began to understand the complexity of challenges the district was facing and the more he wanted to help. He was a founder of a booster club at Edmonds-Woodway High School and served as president. He also tutored math and serves on a districtwide group supporing levies and bonds.

Volunteering opened his eyes to a spectrum of learning needs.

“It’s not just about looking out for your own kids,” he said. “I saw how all the dots are connected.”

Chase also has a long track record of involvement in schools as a volunteer, PTA member and sustitute educational assistant. She has a son at Mountlake Terrace High School in the Science, Technoloy Engineering and Math program.

She opposes high-stakes testing and picked up the endorsement from the Edmonds Education Association.

She said district decisions should reflect the needs of different school communities and aim to help every student fulfill their potential. “We need to invest in better curriculum, less testing,” she said.

In the District 3 race, incumbent Gary Noble and Mary Murphy advanced after an August primary.

Noble said one of his priorities is reducing class sizes. While the Legislature provided money for smaller class sizes in kindergarten through third grade, that doesn’t help the remaining students, he said. “We still have lab courses with 35 kids,” he said.

Noble said he’ll emphasize continued improvement in test scores and graduation rates.

Murphy, who graduated from Edmonds schools, has two children enrolled in the district. She is making her first run for public office. The school district is “doing a great job and I just want to be part of a good team,” she said.

Refurbishing and upgrading schools “is really important for education” and the district must help students better understand how important it is to stay in school, she said.

“I would hope the school district can help them see they have potential and graduation is very, very important,” Murphy said.

Lakewood School District

Two school volunteers are vying for the District 3 opening in the Lakewood School District.

Jahna Smith was appointed to the board in May to replace David Kiefer.

Smith, who has had two children graduate from Lakewood High School, coordinated fundraisers for the sports booster club and planned senior graduation events. She also campaigned for the $66.8 million bond that’s paying for a new Lakewood High School.

Smith said she wants to see the high school project through, from passing the bond to opening the doors. It’s the biggest thing on the board’s agenda now, and her project management and people skills could be useful, she said.

Amy Williams was a student in the district from kindergarten through high school and now has four children who attend Lakewood schools. She said she long wanted to serve on the board and finally has the time to dedicate to the position.

It’s important to keep students from transferring out of district by offering comprehensive academic and extracurricular programs while managing the area’s growth, she said.

Northshore School District

Two incumbents chose not to run.

In District 2, a retired firefighter-turned-teacher faces an accountant-turned-professor.

John Hammond works with special education students aged 18 to 21 in the Edmonds School District. He was endorsed by the Northshore Education Assosciation.

“We must continue to focus on the whole student, not just that portion of the student assessed through the current system of mandated testing,” he said.

Closing the achievement gap and technical education are priorities. “So often students have to find their passion before they can be successful,” Hammond said.

Ken Smith, who has two children attending Northshore schools, said he wants to make the district more transparent, responsive and able to help students of all abilities.

With a doctorate in government accounting, Smith proposes the district hire a certified internal auditor or put together an audit committee of local people to advise the school board. He’d also push to collect impact fees on development.

“When school districts have financial problems, it’s the kids who suffer,” he said.

David Cogan and Berta Phillips square off in the District 3 race.

Both have personal connections to Northshore schools. Cogan’s wife has taught special education in the district for 20 years and his children attend the schools. Phillips attended Northshore schools as did her children and now her grandchildren. Both also believe there is too much standardized testing.

Cogan calls for a “smarter balance” between education and standardized testing.

Phillips said she would like to put more resources now used on testing to meet the needs of students from special education to Advanced Placement college-level classes.

Cogan said his experience as a sales representative for a biomedical technology company has provided him solid judgment to spend tax dollars. He picked up an endorsement from the Northshore teachers union.

Phillips once was an educational assistant for the district, operated a daycare and climbed the ranks as a school and PTA leader. She said she is concerned with overcrowding in the north end of the school district, particularly in the middle grades.

“We are going to need to do something on the junior high,” she said.