Finishing Lakewood High School top priority for two board candidates
Published 7:50 pm Wednesday, July 8, 2015
LAKEWOOD — Two women competing for a seat on the Lakewood School Board see finishing the community’s new high school as their top priority and preserving a small-town atmosphere in a fast-growing area as their biggest challenge.
The Lakewood School District, located west of I-5 between Smokey Point and Lake Goodwin, serves about 2,300 students from Marysville, Arlington, Stanwood and rural Snohomish County.
Candidates Jahna Smith and Amy Williams, agree that schools are the heart of the community.
Smith, 47, is hoping to hang on to the position she took over two months ago. She was appointed to the school board in May after David Kiefer stepped down.
Smith has lived in Stanwood for 13 years and her youngest son just graduated from Lakewood High School. She’s a network account manager for the health insurance company Aetna Inc.
A longtime volunteer with the school district, she said it was a natural transition to join the board. She has coordinated fundraisers for the sports booster club, planned senior graduation events and 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.
She plans to support new administrators, gather fresh ideas and work to keep a tight-knit community as the area grows.
Hundreds of new apartments, a senior living center and several new businesses are set to open soon near Lakewood Crossing. Meanwhile, more rural areas farther from the interstate are unlikely to grow much more due to water restrictions around the Seven Lakes area. That means there could be a spurt of growth, but stagnant or declining enrollment in the long run.
“I have just a real passion for our small community, and with the growth that’s expected I really want to focus on keeping those small-town values,” Smith said.
Williams, 46, is familiar with Lakewood’s close community. She was a student in the district from kindergarten through high school and now has four children who attend Lakewood schools, ages 9, 12, 14 and 17.
Williams works as an office manager and is part-owner of Country Living Productions in Stanwood. She’s lived in Arlington for 12 years and volunteers at Lakewood schools, mostly in the classroom with her kids but also at parent-teacher association functions or as a chaperone on field trips.
Williams said she has wanted to be on the school board for years and feels she finally has the time to dedicate to the position.
Her priority is keeping students in the district and helping schools manage the area’s growth. The new high school is an important piece of that. She also wants to focus on hiring and keeping good teachers and administrators, noting that a great teacher can make a world of difference in a student’s life. She’d like to see higher test scores and add more extracurricular activities to keep students in the district. Some choose to transfer to larger schools in Arlington or Marysville so they can play sports or join clubs that may not be offered in Lakewood, she said.
“I’d like to see Lakewood be a stand-out district and a place people really want to bring their children,” Williams said.
Smith and Williams are expected to advance to the November general election. The Aug. 4 primary is to narrow the number of candidates to two, and though there were originally three contenders, one has dropped out.
Karl Fitterer’s name still appears on the ballot. He filed to run but changed his mind because he felt voters had a good choice with either Smith or Williams.
Four of the five Lakewood School Board seats are up for election this year. None of the other positions are contested. Catherine “Sandy” Gotts, Gregory Jensen and Larry Bean all are incumbents running unopposed.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com
The job: A two-year term on the Lakewood School Board. The office is nonpartisan and pays $50 per meeting, training or other board-related business, no more than $4,800 per year.
The candidates:
Jahna Smith (incumbent)
Age: 47
Residence: Stanwood
Experience: Health insurance account manager, school district volunteer, sports booster club treasurer, graduation event coordinator
Email: jjmn@wavecable.com
Amy Williams
Age: 46
Residence: Arlington
Experience: Business owner, office manager, school district volunteer, former Lakewood student
Email: amyalysew@frontier.com
