TULALIP — The night’s raucous windstorm may have knocked out the lights, but another kind of electricity filled a dark room where candidates for the Marysville School Board held a forum on Tuesday.
About 50 people huddled in a small meeting room in the Quil Ceda Village shopping center, illuminated by a half-dozen candles and the occasional light from a cell phone.
Incumbents Mark Johnson and Erik Olson drew groans and mutters, while several statements by challengers Carol Jason, Michael Kundu and Vicki Gates were welcomed with applause.
Incumbent Cary Peterson could not leave her home due to downed trees and power lines, Johnson said
The six candidates are vying for three spots on the school board in the Nov. 4 election.
The forum was Kundu’s first public appearance since e-mails he wrote three years ago criticizing some American Indian rituals surfaced. Kundu apologized for the statements in The Herald on Saturday and said they "are not something I would be proud of today."
In his opening remarks Tuesday night, Kundu said, "I’m here tonight also to answer some questions. I want to give this thing a fair shake."
But his past e-mails weren’t a focus of controversy as the forum centered mostly around the recent 49-day teachers strike and how the district will respond to it.
Johnson drew gasps when he announced that the district lost 450 to 500 students, an unofficial count.
"In some ways, this is good because it makes more room in our schools and it takes some of the pressure off," he said. "But we’re going to be looking at cutting some programs and some people this year."
The district receives $7,400 in state funding per student each year. With the loss of that many students, The Marysville School District could lose roughly $3.5 million from the state, Johnson said.
Johnson blamed many of the losses on Boeing’s recent financial woes and the dot-com bust, but the crowd appeared convinced that the strike and a lack of communication in the school district were the major factors.
The crowd’s assumption was furthered when Johnson noted that other districts in the area are experiencing similar losses, "with the exception of those that (border) Marysville."
Beyond Johnson’s announcement, "healing" and "communication" were the buzzwords of the night, particularly when candidates were asked what they learned from the strike.
Olson said he learned "not to take things lightly."
"We’re going to make mistakes," he said. "I’ve learned not to take a lot of this personally, and that it’s directed at the board and the district."
Johnson asked Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, the moderator of the forum, for help from Olympia in aiding school districts that are faced with strikes.
"I’ve learned that even a big district like Marysville is pretty helpless against a big, powerful union," Johnson said.
Gates said that, as a parent in the district, she learned that "if the school board is respectful to the community and respectful to the (district) staff, and communicate with all parties involved, things probably don’t get as bad as they have in Marysville."
Jason blasted the district for sending letters directly to parents last summer warning of a teachers strike. She also noted a more recent letter sent directly to parents regarding the revised school calendar.
"These letters were pitting parents against teachers," she said. "I’ve learned it was very nasty, and I don’t think we need to repeat that again."
Kundu said that everyone would have benefited from "full disclosure."
"In reality, digging in your heels, by both sides, isn’t going to get anybody anywhere," he said. He also criticized the school board and superintendent Linda Whitehead, saying they made themselves unavailable to the public.
"You need to communicate with people," he said, "not step away and stop all school board meetings and make yourself inaccessible."
Reporter Victor Balta: 425-339-3455 or vbalta@heraldnet.com.
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