In Our View: Bradford For School Board

When the Great Recession of the past decade presented school districts with unprecedented challenges, Evergreen Public Schools responded with aplomb.

As school board member Victoria Bradford notes, the district formed a citizen budget committee to assist with navigating four consecutive years of budget cuts; managed to establish full-day kindergarten; refinanced bonds to take advantage of lower interest rates; and used no-interest federal loans to create Henrietta Lacks High School and construct a building for the bioscience and health care magnet school.

The list of accomplishments goes on, and because of that, Bradford warrants another term on the Evergreen Public Schools board. The Columbian’s Editorial Board recommends a vote for Bradford in her race against challenger Frank Decker.

As always, this is merely a recommendation. The Editorial Board expects voters to examine the candidates and the issues before making an informed decision. To that end, we direct voters to video of our interview with Bradford (www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC9lpcfHMDI). Decker declined an invitation to take part in that forum.

Through 16 years on the board, Bradford has helped Evergreen establish a reputation as a district that has well-respected schools, along with strong and effective leadership. She notes that 72 percent of the district’s budget goes directly to teaching and teaching support, the highest percentage of any large district in the state. The district also leads the way with an on-time graduation rate of 80 percent — an increase from 76 percent in 2009-10.

One of the keys to success in a diverse community is to offer a variety of educational options. Bradford says that nearly 2,500 high school students this year enrolled in Advanced Placement courses designed to help prepare them for college course work. At the same time, more than 8,000 students at the middle school and high school levels were served by the district’s Career and Technical Track educational program. As Bradford writes in her campaign materials: “We are proudly continuing these programs and meeting students where their interests and abilities intersect, to give each of them the broadest opportunity possible.”

Decker, a longtime educator who previously worked in Evergreen schools, takes issue with claims of adequacy regarding the district’s graduation rate and technical courses. For the Voter 411 guide, he wrote, “High school graduation rates is the most urgent area of need in Evergreen.” He also suggested the need for a full vocational high school in the district. Looking to the future, Decker writes, “It is likely that the school board members of this election cycle will be responsible for hiring a replacement for the current superintendent.” He also writes about his time working in Evergreen schools: “I witnessed a shift in the leadership direction from collaborative to a very top-down approach.”

Bradford, meanwhile, lists growing poverty as the primary issue facing the district, saying, “When you have children in poverty, it comes into the classroom.” For the Voter 411 guide, she wrote, “While Evergreen PS has gone against the trend of declining graduation rates that follow rising free and reduced lunch rates, the challenge of overcoming this obstacle is critical to accomplishing our goal of a 100 percent graduation rate.”

Yes, modern school districts are faced with complex modern problems. Through her thoughtful leadership, Bradford has helped Evergreen Public Schools to effectively navigate those problems, and voters should retain her on the board.