By Leslie Moriarty
Herald Writer
SNOHOMISH — The needs of a growing school district are of concern to the candidates for Snohomish School District Position 5.
Incumbent Jay Hagen will face newcomer Bill Edgar in the only Snohomish district race that has competition.
Hagen said as a school board member for four years, he has focused on helping the district get back on a sound financial basis. He said the board has gotten the district operating in the black and has several good administrators in place to keep expenditures lean, including superintendent Neal Powell.
Hagen supports a second high school and wants to see another elementary school built. Having seen bond levies for new schools fail in the district, Hagen said better communication with constituents is needed.
"When we go out to the people, we have to have something to show them," he said. "We need to be ready with exact locations and designs for these schools so that taxpayers know what they are buying."
Hagen also wants to see better teacher salaries and smaller classrooms, as the district’s resources allow.
"It’s a delicate balance," he said. "Salaries and benefits make up 82 percent of the district’s budget. There are a lot of other things that have to come out of the 18 percent remaining, including transportation and curriculum costs."
The recent teacher salary negotiations have set a tone of trust for future negotiations, he said.
Hagen’s opponent, Edgar, also is concerned about growth and the inability of the district to get bond measures passed for new school buildings.
"I see a board that needs to improve in its communication with its patrons," he said. "That’s the only way we will get a commitment to new schools."
His experience in the Coast Guard has given him the skills to work on long-range plans, he said, and he thinks the school district needs to think more in terms of long-range goals.
"We need to do our homework and work with the county and other pieces of the community to map out where the growth is going to happen," he said.
Edgar said his real interest in being on the school board is to work on strategic plans.
"I have a personal interest in the district because I have children attending schools in Snohomish," he said. "Our schools need to be given the best management of resources that is possible so that we can do the most possible with the scarce funds we have."
Hagen says his experience is the reason voters should return him to the board.
"I’m a life resident of Snohomish and a former business owner," he said. "I attended school here. When the elections are over, we will have two new board members and two with only two years experience. We need to have some people on the board who have experience."
School board positions are for four years. Board members serve without pay other than child care reimbursement.
You can call Herald Writer Leslie Moriarty at 425-339-3436
or send e-mail to moriarty@heraldnet.com.
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