.333 Is a Good Batting Average in Baseball...

Election results are in for the St. Helens School Board.

Kellie Smith wins with a plurality of nearly 38%  in the most closely contested race, Position 1. Jeff Howell and Gordon Jarman win with 53% and 52% majorities  for positions 3 and 4 respectively.

Mr. Howell is the only candidate for whom I voted that won in these races. That's batting .333 for me.

Incumbents Matt Freeman and Alan King were the third-place vote-getters in their respective races. I was surprised that Mr. Freeman was defeated so soundly as Ms. Smith did not strike me as a particularly strong candidate and Mr Briggs has not been active in school issues since he last served on the board, to the best of my knowledge. There was clearly anti-incumbent sentiment in the electorate.

Mr. King's defeat for Position 4 is not as surprising to me as that of Mr. Freeman for Position 1. The winner of Position 4, Mr. Jarman, is a former long-time educator with the St. Helens School District. Name recognition certainly helped his candidacy. The same is true for former St. Helens teacher Mr. Howell. The nearly identical number of votes that they received could indicate that they had many of the same supporters.

Even though two of my candidates did not win, I am not disappointed by the results. I think that Ms. Smith, Mr. Howell, and Mr. Jarman can be effective school board members.

I would have been disappointed--and worried--if Traci Brumbles had won election. During her campaign she expressed concern about "indoctrination" in public schools. She was not able to provide any specific examples of institutionally sanctioned indoctrination when I asked her about this in an email. Ms. Brumbles has concerns about the Common Core State Standards. I have concerns about these as well, but not because I think that they will be used to "dumb down" curriculum as she expressed at the April candidate forum. These two positions reflect a view of educational issues that I think might be shared by current board members Ray Biggs and Marshall Porter who are members of the Constitution Party. I don't know if Ms. Brumbles is a member of the Constitution Party, but she said at the candidate forum that she had its endorsement in this election. I am glad that we will not have a majority of St. Helens School Board members who are proponents of the positions of the Constitution Party.

Melissa Dueck for St. Helens School Board Position 4

Position 4 is the position for which I had the most difficulty deciding who to vote for in the race for St. Helens School Board. This is the strongest set of candidates. My vote will go to Melissa Dueck.

Ms. Dueck presented herself at the April candidate forum as an analytic thinker, already actively engaged in school activities and issues as a parent and volunteer. As she does, I believe that the residents of the St. Helens School District must look beyond state and federal sources of funding to restore and grow educational programs. I was concerned that Ms. Dueck and two of the other candidates had joined to create campaign signs and posters that featured all three of their names. My first (negative) reaction was that the three candidates shared an "agenda" and  if all three were to be elected, they might try to enact that agenda irregardless of the views of district administration and other stakeholders. Ms. Dueck and the other candidates stated at the forum that his was decision to share campaign publicity was primarily a financial decision to minimize expenses. I take them at their word.

Jeff Howell for St. Helens School Board Position 3

Jeff Howell will receive my vote for St. Helens School Board Position 3. He ran a write-in campaign for a board position in 2011 and he has participated in school board and school district budget committee meetings since then. He presented himself well at the public forum in April by providing focused and concise responses to the questions posed. I think that he can bring an important perspective to school board deliberations due to his experience as a long-time teacher. While this experience is sure to make him sympathetic to the positions of teachers, Mr. Howell impresses me as having the integrity not to make decisions based only on what teachers want.*

Although I will vote for Mr. Howell, I believe that Kellie Smith could also serve as an effective board member.

I cannot say the same for Tracie Brumbles due to what I believe are her unfounded and unsupported concerns about "indoctrination" in public schools. Further, while I think that there are aspects of the Common Core State Standards that can be criticized, I do not share her concern that they are a "dumbing down" of academic standards. Finally, she claims not to be beholden to special interests, yet she claimed that she has received the endorsement of the local Republican and Constitution parties. I thought that school board positions were non-partisan and I am troubled that political parties would involve themselves in this election.

*I served one four-year term on the St. Helens School Board, two years as board chair. For one-and-a-half years of that term I was training to be a teacher and for the last year of the term I was a teacher in another school district. The district and teachers union negotiated a contract during this time period. I put my responsibilities as a board member above my inclinations as a teacher while negotiating.

Matt Freeman for St. Helens School Board Position 1

I am casting my vote for incumbent Matt Freeman for Position 1 of the St. Helens School District School Board. I do not agree with all of his positions, but I believe him to be a well informed, thoughtful, and conscientious member of the board. There is no reason to replace him.

It's Time to Tell the Truth

Many, if not most, people in positions of educational leadership lie. The lie that they tell is that we must and can meet the needs of every student with the resources that are currently available. No, we won't and we can't. Of course, no superintendent, principal, instructional coach or anyone else who is in a leadership position will admit this. They would lose their jobs, but they would have spoken the truth.

Vote in Local School Board Elections - Revised May 2, 2013

I mistakenly referred to position 5 rather than position 4 in the original post.

Democracy works only when the demos (common folk) are active participants in the political process. Inform yourself about the qualifications, positions, and views of your local school board candidates....and vote.

There are three school board positions being contested in St. Helens. Three candidates are running for each position. I have made up my mind for Position 1. I am leaning toward one of two candidates in Position 3, having definitely deciding against the third. I am having difficulty choosing between two of the candidates for Position 4.

I will name names and my reasons for my decisions after the ballots arrive in the mail.

Why I Don't Believe That "Reforms" in Education Will Be Effective

The main reason that education reforms will be ineffective is that the money necessary to implement them will not be allocated.

This post has scans of a document that filled me with hope as a parent as I anticipated the entry of my children into the public school system. The contents of this document inspired me to be actively engaged in the education of my children as a classroom volunteer, site council representative, school board member, and to become a teacher. The document is a summary of  HB 3565: Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century. It was passed in 1991. The goals of this 21st Century Education Act were not met because the Oregon State Legislature failed to provide adequate funding to implement it.

Read it and weep for what might should have been.