Funding at heart of issues for school district candidates
Three contested races are listed on the ballot for the Rochester School District.
However, incumbent Ben Elkins is now unopposed for Director District No. 3 because challenger Liana White withdrew from the election with a health issue.
White’s name remains on the ballot because she dropped out of the race after the deadline, according to the Thurston County Auditor’s Election Division.
Rochester School Board members are volunteers, and they oversee a 2,370-student public school district that’s about 20 miles south of Olympia. The district’s 2011-12 general fund budget was about $19.24 million.
Here are the candidates vying for seats:
PIPER LYON
Seeking: Director District 4.
Age: 49
Occupation: Flavorist (develops flavors for oral care products, candy and gum) for Essex Laboratories Inc.
Family: Single with two children ages 13 and 16.
Education: Diploma from Rochester High School, and bachelor’s degree in animal biology from Washington State University.
Contact information: 360-273-3406 or PiperLyon@aol.com.
Political experience: None.
What are the top 3 issues facing your school district?
The budget, the upcoming levy and meeting educational standards.
If elected, what would you deliver by the end of your term?
I would serve our community, working with the other board members, to create a working budget in these difficult economic times and offer our children the best education possible.
How are you different from the other candidate?
Having graduated from Rochester myself, I have seen what progress has been made, yet there is always room to improve. Reviewing our schools’ results of the state standardized tests, reading and science are our weak areas. I’d like to see where and how we can improve our district scores. I also have an interest in our special education. Are we meeting these kids’ needs? What programs can we keep in these tough economic times?
What are some other ways you would suggest trimming your school district’s budget, given that the state will most likely expect more cuts in K-12 funding?
Personally, I don’t want to trim anything, but that probably isn’t realistic. This is a serious issue, and if elected, I promise to work with the other board members to weigh every option available. We need to prioritize the educational portion, but don’t discount the importance of extracurricular activities. Some kids need these activities to motivate them to stay in school.
GLEN MORGAN
Seeking: Director District 4.
Age: 40.
Occupation: Project manager for Stop Taking Our Property (S.T.O.P.) Thurston County.
Family: Married with four children ages 3 to 6.
Education: Diploma from Thomas Jefferson High School in Federal Way and bachelor’s degree in international affairs from Columbia University.
Contact information: 360-791-6556 or glen@stopthurstoncounty.com.
Political experience: Placed second in a race for Thurston County Assessor in 2010. (He received about 48 percent of votes).
What are the top 3 issues facing your school district?
Budget issues, student test scores and communication between district and local citizens.
If elected, what would you deliver by the end of your term?
I would work to focus on significant improvement in test scores – particularly at high school level, and to reduce or eliminate some of the costs imposed on the school district by Thurston County Commissioners.
How are you different from the other candidate?
I have private business and more direct management background. I am focused on how our schools are impacted by policies enacted by our local government and will strive to make those policies more friendly to our school districts and for our children.
What are some other ways you would suggest trimming your school district’s budget, given that the state will most likely expect more cuts in K-12 funding?
Eliminate the “fees” imposed by Thurston County on the Rochester School District. These do not help education, they only take levy money away from the schools.
VIKI DRAPER
Seeking: Director District No. 2.
Age: 67.
Occupation: Retired educator.
Family: Married with two grown children.
Education: Diploma from Rochester High School, bachelor’s degree in English and elementary education from Seattle Pacific College and master’s degree in education from Elmira College in New York.
Contact information: 360-273-5768 or draper431@aol.com.
Political experience: Elected to current school board position several times.
What are the top 3 issues facing your school district?
Funding – state and federal funding is decreasing; passing a necessary levy in the current economic climate; being able to give our teachers the necessary tools to continue to increase student performance and finding ways to inform the community about the student accomplishments that are happening in our district.
If elected, what would you deliver by the end of your term?
I want to continue to keep our district solvent as state and federal governments continue to cut education funding.
Even with the cuts, I want to see that our students are receiving a top-rate education and that our teachers, staff members and administrators have the tools they need to give a quality education to our students. I want to see that our schools truly belong to the community – to be theirs to use and take pride in.
How are you different from the other candidate?
I have deep roots in Rochester School District, having gone to school here for 12 years, taught in the district and watched my sons get a quality education here. I have experience; I’ve been on the board for 25 years and continue to educate myself about school governance and educational issues.
What are some other ways you would suggest trimming your school district’s budget, given that the state will most likely expect more cuts in K-12 funding?
That’s a question to be decided by the full board. Any cuts need to be made with the question in mind, “How will this affect student safety and learning?” Before implementing more deep cuts, we need to seek advice and input from our employees and community.
LAURIE WILSON
Seeking: Director District No. 2.
Age: 56.
Occupation: School bus driver and self employed.
Family: Married with two children ages 16 and 18.
Education: Diploma from West Seattle High School.
Contact information: 360-970-4884 or laurie wilson4rsdkids@live.com.
Political experience: I was elected to the Rochester School Board in 2003. When I purchased a new home that was in another board member’s district, I had to relinquish my position.
What are the top 3 issues facing your school district?
Staying focused on meeting and exceeding the challenges that continue to increase for youth and their education, being great stewards of our children’s health and safety and scrutinizing funding to ensure we continue to fulfill every student’s right to a high standard of learning and achievements.
If elected, what would you deliver by the end of your term?
I know that there are a lot of unforeseen things that will face our district as well as all districts this coming year and each year to follow. We together, the board of directors as a whole, with the support of the staff, administrators and community will deliver what is in the best interest for our district given the challenges and resources we have.
How are you different from the other candidate?
When it comes to the importance of children, I’m just like the others; we all want the best for our youth. We want to provide every opportunity to each and every child so that our future leaders can be successful and recognize that the value of their learning can lead them to a healthy stable life and they will go on to instill this for generations to come.
What are some other ways you would suggest trimming your school district’s budget, given that the state will most likely expect more cuts in K-12 funding?
Each educational department will need to be looked at equally. It’s unfortunate that education is not funded as it should be with our state. We are expected to deliver more with less and less every year.
This isn’t an answer to this question I know, but really, when you are already squeezing everything you have out of the budget how can you possibly take anything more away from providing a quality education.
Lisa Pemberton: 360-754-5433 lpemberton@theolympian.com www.theolympian.com/edblog
This story was originally published October 27, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Funding at heart of issues for school district candidates."