Jami Lund Commentary: Contested Centralia School Board Election Is Good News

Posted

This year, more than half the members of school boards statewide are seeking office. Most of the time, only one person applies for each position even though the members of the school board of directors are the most powerful controllers of education for our public schools.

 The Centralia School District has two positions to be decided in the November election, and three candidates applied for each position. That’s right, three each. I believe the unusual interest is a signal that some believe it’s time for Centralia School District to step up its service to the community.

 As an education policy analyst, I examine school leaders’ efforts to provide services and effective education all around the state. I have noted some possible reasons that new leadership might be sought in Centralia.

 Let me distinguish between education leadership and the work of educators themselves. My sister is a teacher, and I have many friends among the educators in Centralia and elsewhere. I know that teachers serve children faithfully regardless of the policies — good, bad or goofy — that govern their work. The task of quality leadership is to provide educators with the framework and tools to be effective, and to let them practice their craft.

 I find several policies and priorities that might be the reasons so many seek to replace the current school directors.

First is the demonstration that employee wages are more important than student services. In 2011, the Washington State Legislature decided to reduce the wages of most employees by 2 percent as the least harmful way to manage costs in the harsh economy of that time.

 At the same time, the board faced a funding reduction for full-day kindergarten at one of the schools. The current Centralia School Board decided to cut the full-day kindergarten but to make up the wage reduction using the only discretionary funds a school district has — the levy. 

In a similar way, needed roof repairs at the high school drag on unfinished while the wage enhancement got funded.

 This practice of diverting levy funds from services to wages is still happening today. According to the union contracts approved by the school board, levy-funded wage enhancements have increased from 4.2 percent to 7.2 percent of each employee’s wage from 2011 to 2014. Each year this increases, the school board must find additional levy funds and apply them to the wages of employees rather than services to the community.



 Another example is seen in the recent efforts by Adrianna Garibay and Nate Yanez to press for improved English language learning and other services. Earlier this year, the group called a meeting to discuss how the district might improve services to the Hispanic community. This concern is justified, because in Centralia, students spend about one year longer in the program compared to the typical time statewide of 2.8 years. Since one in 10 students in Centralia are English language learners, this is not a small concern.

 Throughout Washington, even liberal regions such as Seattle and Tacoma, are embracing changes in school services that require improved ways to serve families. Centralia, like most school districts, does not use student learning growth as a factor in evaluating and providing feedback to teachers. Leaders on the Seattle school board have departed from this mistake.

 Likewise, Centralia does not allow administrators to make thoughtful decisions about the optimal placement of educators. Instead, seniority or a random drawing determines who works where. This can result in the least experienced educators working in the neediest areas of a district. The school board in Tacoma took bold steps to address this problem.

 Our community stands out in Western Washington as one with reasonable people who live by principles of responsibility, independence and hard work. I am excited to see the positive changes that a public debate about school board elections can prompt in our school district. So write to the candidates. Ask them the hard questions, and make them describe the vision they have for improving services and effectiveness.

I believe Centralia School District can become a beacon for the whole state about how to improve services.

•••

 Jami Lund lives in the Centralia area. He and his wife have raised three sons in Lewis County. Lund is a project manager for the Freedom Foundation and has spent his professional life in public policy. He can be reached at libertylund@gmail.com.

 

The brief bio piece used in earlier columns: Jami Lund lives in the Centralia area. He and his wife have raised three sons in Lewis County. Lund is a project manager for the Freedom Foundation and has spent his professional life in public policy. He can be reached at libertylund@gmail.com.