Longtime volunteers vie for Marysville School Board seat

Published 10:25 pm Monday, October 12, 2009

MARYSVILLE — Two parents with children enrolled in Marysville schools and long track records as volunteers are squaring off for a spot on the Marysville School Board.

Chris Nation and Heather Thweatt are on the Nov. 3 General Election ballot. The winner will replace Don Hatch as a director representing Tulalip.

Nation, a business owner, received 40 percent of the votes in the primary; Thweatt, a paralegal, garnered 31.6 percent.

Nation has spent 12 years on school committees. He has led efforts to try to pass school bonds and is chairman of the 2006 bond oversight committee, which tracks progress on voter-approved construction projects. He’s also an executive officer for the Citizens for Marysville Schools bond campaign and a member of the district’s General Advisory Council that helps the district’s vocational programs.

Thweatt spent four years on the Marysville Cooperative Education Program council and volunteered in her son’s classroom. She now volunteers at his middle school and is on the district’s Citizens Planning Committee with Nation.

Thweatt, pronounced “tweet,” said she grew interested in running after attending school board meetings and realizing she could offer another perspective.

“I’m pretty opinionated,” she said. “I said, ‘OK, it’s time to put your money where your mouth is.’ ”

Nation said his years on district committees make the school board a natural step.

The candidates said they understand the logic behind school board discussions that could drastically change start times at schools, but both have reservations.

The board is considering two options for when Marysville Getchell High School opens next year. One is a more traditional morning start time: 7:10 a.m. at Marysville Getchell and 7:35 a.m. at Marysville-Pilchuck High School.

The other proposal includes a 9:25 a.m. to 4:05 p.m. school day at Marysville Getchell, and a 9:50 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. day at Marysville-Pilchuck. The change would allow high school students to get more sleep, which could help them academically.

“I wish there were some more options the transportation department could bring back to us,” Thweatt said.

“Maybe we take all three levels (elementary, middle and high school) and we shift starting times about 35 to 45 minutes,” Nation said.

Both candidates favor a bond proposal that the school board will consider placing on the Feb. 9 ballot. Among other things, the proposal of roughly $80 million would include replacing Cascade Elementary, Liberty Elementary and Marysville Middle schools.

Engineering reports make a strong case for the need, Thweatt said.

Taxpayers could save money in the long run because of a favorable bid market and the low materials costs, Nation said.

Like other parents, Thweatt said she had reservations about sending her son to middle school. Those fears disappeared when she visited the campus and spoke with members of the faculty.

That experience, she said, provided an important lesson she wants to bring to the board. The district needs to do more to reassure parents and promote the strengths of the schools, which could bolster enrollment, she said.

Nation said he, too, wants to make the district more responsive to the community. He said he supports the district’s decision to create smaller schools within its large high schools, but wishes they had been phased in more slowly to build community acceptance.

He advocates an additional night once a month when parents, staff and students could bring their questions and concerns to the school board.

Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com.

Who’s running

Chris Nation

Age: 43

Occupation: Marysville Printing owner

Heather Thweatt

Age: 38

Occupation: Paralegal with Luvera Law Firm in Seattle and Mount Vernon