Monroe schools contest pits experience vs. fresh perspective

MONROE — Tom MacIntyre and Ryan Moody know the school district in Monroe on different levels.

From kindergarten through senior year, Moody attended Monroe schools. An acting sergeant in the Monroe Police Department, he now sends his three boys to class in the district.

As for MacIntyre, well, he’s held a seat on the school board for nearly 14 years, longer than anyone else now serving.

Both are seeking the Director District 1 seat on the board. The four-year term pays $50 per meeting with a limit of $4,800 per year.

Moody, 37, decided to make his first run for elected office because he feels the school board sometimes settles for average, he said.

“I think our kids deserve more,” he said. “We need to set the standard a lot higher than we are currently doing.”

Noting that MacIntyre no longer has children in the district, Moody said he can bring a fresh perspective.

MacIntyre, 69, said he decided to run for another term because he feels the board hasn’t reached consensus as often as it should. While his youngest son is now a sophomore in college, MacIntyre said his years of experience could provide consensus-building perspective.

“It takes awhile to get out of the mind-set of a certain amount of personal agenda, and get into what’s best for the school board and what’s best for the community,” he said.

Moody said the current board isn’t communicating well with parents or teachers. He wants to allow those two groups to play a greater role in offering input on decisions for the board.

With that in mind, Moody said if the budget comes up short, he would try to postpone unnecessary purchases — for example, a new reading program implemented last year — and would turn to teachers for ideas on other cuts.

“I don’t know enough to say specific areas,” Moody said. “One of the things I would do is rely more on the teachers and their expertise.”

MacIntyre, however, said the biggest component of the budget is salaries.

“One of the things we’d have to look at is class size,” he said.

MacIntyre would try to protect the district’s alternative programming, which he said offers an outlet to students who have trouble within the traditional curriculum.

“They can be easy targets when things get tough, but the alternative programs are keeping a lot of kids in school and getting a lot of kids educated,” he said.

Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com.

Tom MacIntyre

Age: 69

Occupation: Retired director of Catholic Community Services for Northwest Washington

Ryan Moody

Age: 37

Occupation: Acting sergeant in the Monroe Police Department