Two well-qualified, energetic candidates advanced from a four-way primary race for this year’s only contested seat on the Everett School Board. Of them, we endorse Susan Kaftanski in a close call over Carol Andrews.
The winner will replace 19-year board veteran Roy Yates, who did not seek re-election.
Kaftanski is a veterinarian who grew up in Eastern Washington but has lived in the district since 1985, and the mother of twins who graduated from Everett High School last year. She says she’s running because she has had a life-long passion for education and is drawn to the challenge of improving it. She advocates finding new ways to improve student achievement by drawing the best ideas from other successful systems, either elsewhere in this country or abroad. She takes a long view, understanding that a key to increasing achievement and reducing dropout rates is to focus resources on success in the early grades. That said, she clearly understands that the district must also “put out fires” at schools that are currently struggling.
Kaftanski comes across as an open-minded candidate who will listen to the concerns of staff, students and parents and weigh them thoroughly before making decisions.
Andrews, a certified public accountant from Mill Creek, has had two children in district schools and served for eight years as treasurer of the citizens committee that runs bond and levy campaigns. She argues that the district’s southern end deserves representation on the board, a fair point. However, while she clearly has a good feel for her own part of the district, she seems less in command of the challenges facing the districts in areas with high immigrant and low-income populations.
Andrews does, however, argue strongly for keeping the primary focus on student achievement, especially in math. She also has good ideas for doing so, including approaching local businesses for volunteer staff time.
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