The Other Election

Another election quietly took place in Whatcom County this week, one which had very little attention. For the most part, the candidates wanted it that way.

School board directors. Not counting the Concrete School District, which is more a part of Skagit than Whatcom County, fifteen positions in seven school districts were filled. Of those fifteen positions, fourteen were filled by acclamation. Fourteen candidates ran unopposed. Position four of the Bellingham School District saw three candidates vie for the position. The incumbent, Steven Smith was re-elected.

Okay, did you get that? Fifteen positions, fourteen unopposed candidates. The children seem to be high on the priority list. Now, of the fifteen positions, thirteen candidates were incumbents. Only one position in the Mt. Baker school district saw a retiring school director, where Brian Kelly replaces the retiring Gary Chadwick.

Our family home schools. Why should we care? Well, we pay taxes, like everyone else. And, we file the required registrations with our school district superintendent’s office, and have access as we wish to a number of school district programs and classes, as we wish.

Our family also teaches after school clubs in an elementary school near us. More about that in a minute.

July 24, 2013, our family started an election season project. Our teenage girls agreed to carry out interviews with the prospective school director candidates, to allow the directors to connect with the voting public, answering questions that frame issues important to many parents.

Of eighteen candidates, we were given three interviews. We e-mailed, made phone calls, and sat through meetings in five of the seven school districts. Basically, candidates who run unopposed don’t want to break silence. Would you? Would you speak to contentious issues that people have forgotten to follow?

I would encourage you to read our questionnaire. We asked about:

• graduation and dropout rates
• curriculum supervision and choice
• Common Core State Standards
• ancillary learning programs such as Running Start and charter schools
• parental involvement
• Bellingham International Baccalaureate school results
• school choice vouchers
• union restrictions on teacher assignments
• performance based pay systems
• new teacher salary packages
• use of levy funds to enhance non teacher wages and benefits
• federally funded school meals requirements
• the director candidate’s past accomplishments and future goals for the school district

Would you as a parent or neighbor not want to know about these things?

After five meetings, we had some interesting observations. Does one meeting give an accurate assessment of a school board and its schools? No. But, each school board has its flavor, and it was highly educational and interesting for our teenage “reporters” to see how other schools plan and prioritize.

Blaine: a sour taste. Up for re-election, school board director and chairperson Susan Holmes tartly addressed our questionnaire, telling us that school board directors are non-partisan postions. The inference? Our questions were party driven, not relevant to the whole community. Really! My take? Blaine was the most focused on implementing the Common Core program. Common Core is a progressive initiative, driven by Democrats and shilled by Republicans.  Read the story on how Common Core has been challenged in the state of Indiana.

A Blaine school director told me, sotto voce, after the meeting, that the students are third rate citizens in Blaine. It is all about teachers, administrators and staff. He was not a happy camper. Parents, do you know what is being planned for your children? Not just what is happening today, but what is coming tomorrow?

Our Ferndale school board meeting experience was like watching a smooth machine. Well set up, five or more support staff, reports on school meal programs and Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Definitely a professionals environment. And, a somewhat vocal envy of Meridians new buildings.

Meridian school board meeting. We met in the library. You had to sit in the front row to hear anything. A very active, inquisitive board (in comparison to Blaine, where some directors looked so bored and ready to fall asleep). A high energy discussion of new construction. I was really impressed by the quality of director attention and input.

Bellingham. Very short meeting.

Nooksack. This is the “rural” school district. It has the highest tax mill rate in the county. This was our home district. Again, significant discussion of the Common Core implementation. The teachers are really getting assessed by CCSS. A five year program of performance reviews. The feds are serious about taking over the system. Wake up, parents!!

Was it worth our effort? Yes. Did we change any outcomes? No.

I finish with a cameo of progressive activism. A friend of mine visited a book review and discussion at Village Books this last Wednesday. See the link for the advertisement. After a discussion of Christian abuses in the culture, the group finished off with discussing how Christianity could be removed from Whatcom County. The first item? Remove Christian clubs from schools.

Wake up, Whatcom County. There is a national tug of war over what your children will learn. Whether it is schools, water, business, medical—what once was predictable in local government is no longer predictable. This means another job, sad to say, but an important job. Go to meetings. Question the bureaucracy. Don’t take the media reports at face value. Discover the back stories and take action. Now.