Northshore School District’s direction divides school board candidates

BOTHELL — Two contested races for the Northshore School Board pit challengers against incumbents on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.

In District 1, which straddles the King-Snohomish county line in the Bothell area, incumbent Sue Buske and substitute teacher Julia Lacey square off after finishing first and second in a four-candidate primary election in August.

In District 5, which includes the Woodinville area, school board president Cathy Swanson is challenged by businessman Todd Banks.

Here’s a look at each race:

District 1

Buske, the incumbent, touts her experience while Lacey argues that the current school board has “lost touch” with its school communities.

“I am running for re-election because in these difficult economic times experience is vital,” Buske said.

Buske said the district’s former long-time superintendent, Karen Forys, used to say it takes 18 months on average for a school board member to get up to speed.

“It’s not an easy job to learn,” Buske said.

School funding is the biggest issue facing the district, she said.

Buske said she was an early supporter on the school board to join with other school districts in suing the state to enforce the state’s constitutional duty to make ample resources for the education of all children. The judge’s decision should be announced in January, she said.

“To ensure adequate funding for basic education I will continue to communicate with our legislators that the formulas for funding education need to be updated,” she said.

Lacey said the current school board has focused so much on the business side of education, it has “lost touch with our school communities and grown ineffective at meeting their needs.”

She said the district needs to rely more on its residents to address the issues, such as a challenging curriculum, school closure proposals and large class sizes.

“I believe that to be truly effective, a board member must make efforts to not only inform the community of its intended actions but to also actively solicit their opinions and measure the impact of any board decision on teachers, support staff, families, students and the community in order for our school district to achieve and maintain its high academic standards,” Lacey said.

Buske’s campaign Web site is sites.google.com/site/reelectsuebuske; Lacey’s campaign Web site is www.julialacey4nsd.com.

District 5

In seeking a third term, Swanson is facing her first contested race.

Swanson said the board made a good choice in hiring Superintendent Larry Francois, who is now in his second year in Northshore.

“I would say that is one of greatest accomplishments, being part of the team that hired him,” she said.

Swanson said budget cuts, brought on by declining enrollment and state spending reductions, are making for tough decisions. She said the district needs to put pressure on state lawmakers to provide adequate school funding and consider the effect of unfunded mandates.

“It is vital for me and all citizens to constantly be giving our senators and representatives information about how crippling these mandates are, how many valuable programs have to be cut because of these costs and to encourage them to provide full funding for any programs or policies they mandate,” she said.

Banks, general manager of Kenmore Air Harbor, said he believes his business experience would help the board.

Banks said he became interested in running for the school board when the district was considering closing Woodin Elementary School in 2008 because of declining enrollment. The board eventually decided against closing Woodin, but Banks said he felt the district could have been more receptive to sitting down and talking with residents to search for solutions.

Banks said he would focus on three areas: increasing board transparency, developing and communicating a three- to five-year strategic plan and financial stability.

“The issues drove my decision to run,” he said.

The Web site for Banks is www.toddbanks4nsd.com.

Swanson’s campaign Web site is www.reelectcathyswanson.com.

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