Two more candidates have declared they’re running for the Vancouver Public Schools Board of Directors, adding to a fuller-than-usual slate of candidates for the unpaid positions.
Caressa Milgrove, a mother of two young boys in the district, and Tracie Barrows, a school psychologist for Evergreen Public Schools, announced their candidacies late last month. Both women’s campaign announcements share themes likely to be common in the aftermath of school funding battles and teacher strikes: a commitment to supporting teachers while bringing their personal experience in public education to the dais.
Milgrove, 28, is running for Dale Rice’s seat. Rice, an investment adviser, has been on the school board since 1990 — the year, Milgrove points out, she was born. Rice on Friday told The Columbian he is “absolutely going to run,” citing his background in finance.
“It’s a way to contribute to the community,” said Rice, 69. “I don’t care if I get thanked for it or not. I care about saving people money.”
Though Rice had three sons graduate from Vancouver Public Schools, Milgrove said the voice of families with enrolled students “is definitely lacking.”
“Even through I value his longtime commitment to his role, it’s time for a change,” Milgrove said.
Her two young sons attend Walnut Grove Elementary School. With her children at her side, she lobbied legislators to adopt a bill to create a pilot program with longer lunch periods for elementary school students. Milgrove was inspired by her son, Mark, whom she noticed was coming home hungry after school.
“(My son) sees how it is possible to do something when you see something wrong,” she told The Columbian last month.
The bill seemed dead in committee, but it was funded in the operations budget approved by legislators last month.
“That was the additional push to (run),” Milgrove said. “With that done, it leaves it all up to local districts to decide whether they want to implement it or not.”
Milgrove called her campaign the “natural progression” of her advocacy work. Milgrove also joined teachers on the strike lines last summer, bringing snacks, water bottles and sunscreen.
“They’re the ones out there teaching my kids every day,” she said. “They’re watching them all day long. They should be honored for that, and they shouldn’t have to be out there striking.”
Rice, meanwhile, had a different take. He pointed out the district’s multimillion deficit following school funding legislation responding to the landmark McCleary court decision, which ruled the state was failing to fund basic education. The district approved significant raises for teachers, and has pointed to that contract as partially to blame for expected deficits.
“We need to clean up after being beaten up by the union and incompetent Legislature mismanaging the McCleary thing,” he said. “We need to sort that out. I want to make sure we do that.”
Vancouver and Evergreen Public Schools are each slated to receive about $6.5 million in one-time funding to ease their deficits, but the long term implications of the state budget on school funding are still unclear.
Rice said his highest priority is in ensuring the district secures low interest rates on bond sales as it continues its $551 million construction campaign.
“I want to make sure that we get the lowest interest rates possible with the lowest costs to the taxpayers,” he said. “That’s my world.”
‘Behaviors impact the classroom’
Barrows, 40, is running for Rosemary Fryer’s seat. Fryer, a retired teacher, was elected in 2015. Fryer said she hasn’t decided whether to run for another term.
Barrows is a school psychologist working with preschool-age students in special education programs and elementary-age students.
“I’ve seen from my own experiences in the school district how behaviors impact the classroom environment, affects the building,” she said.
Barrows said she is concerned about what Vancouver Public Schools’ expected budget cuts could mean for mental health services for students. The 23,000-student school district has projected deficits as high as $17 million. That shortfall is likely to shrink with the Legislature’s one-time funding for the district.
Barrows said the current school board isn’t doing enough to solicit public comment on how to make cuts. The district will be conducting a public survey this month, but until now, the district has been announcing proposed cuts over the course of several board meetings. The approach contrasts with Evergreen Public Schools, which in March hosted a series of public forums to collect input on proposed cuts.
“It is concerning to me, more recently, with the talk of budget cuts there hasn’t been public comment or communication with the public,” she said.
As a school psychologist, Barrows is also a union-represented employee in the Evergreen Education Association. Union members, including teachers, librarians and school counselors across Clark County, were on strike for days last summer to advocate for higher pay.
“I just really think that it’s important for our schools to have high quality staff,” she said when asked how last year’s strikes may inform her campaign. “Being able to offer competitive wages is really important.”
Barrows and Milgrove join Lindsey Luis, an 18-year-old senior at Fort Vancouver High School Center for International Studies, in bids for the school board. Luis announced she was running for Michelle Giovannozzi’s seat last month. Giovannozzi has not yet announced whether she intends to run.
