The candidates for the Evergreen Public Schools District 5 school board seat are district parents and volunteers hoping to make a more significant difference for the district’s children and families.
That was the message shared in common by candidates Janelle Tuominen, Park Llafet and Ginny Gronwoldt to The Columbian’s Editorial Board on Wednesday. A fourth candidate, James Taylor, declined to attend the meeting. Michael Parsons, who currently holds the school board seat in Clark County’s largest district, is not running for re-election this year.
Tuominen, a 33-year-old mother of three, touted her experience as the parent-teacher organization fundraising coordinator for Endeavour Elementary School and on the parent advisory team with Family and Community Resource Centers, which coordinate resources for low-income families at the district’s highest-need schools.
“I have worked in the schools on the front lines of the teacher and the students,” she said.
Gronwoldt, 38, is the former president of the Evergreen School District Foundation as well as a member of the Educational Opportunities for Children and Families board, which administers state and federal preschool programs for low-income students. She is also president of the York Elementary School parent-teacher association, and has two children in the Evergreen district.
“I wanted to make a bigger impact on the district than I already have with my smaller roles,” she said.
Llafet, meanwhile, has a 16-year-old son and daughter who recently graduated from Mountain View High School. Llafet has been involved in the parent-teacher organizations at his children’s schools, as well as with the Evergreen School District Foundation as a fundraiser. Llafet said his experience volunteering with the Vancouver Heights Neighborhood Association put him on a path to volunteering.
“I could be a part of something and help do something in my community,” he said.
The new school board, whose members will take office in January, will grapple with significant changes for Evergreen Public Schools. Deputy Superintendent John Steach will be in the middle of his first year as district superintendent following the retirement of John Deeder later this summer, and the board will have to face a new funding mechanism for schools as a levy swap outlined in the McCleary budget takes effect over the next four years, lowering local levy rates while hiking state levy rates on area property taxes. The district estimated in a news release last week that taxes will decrease by $240 for district homeowners of a $300,000 home.
“To be able to have adequate funding is the first time that we should be able to start making some significant strides in our education,” Llafet said when asked about school funding.
Gronwoldt and Tuominen, however, said they wanted more information about how Friday’s budget deal will affect schools to decide whether the Legislature’s decisions will adequately support schools.
“There still a lot of things that are unclear,” Gronwoldt said. “I’m just waiting to see more definitive information at this point.”
Ballots go out July 14 for the Aug. 1 primary election. The top two candidates will go on to the November general election.
