Incumbents and challengers alike got a chance to talk about elementary school reconfiguration, post-COVID education and the school’s role in teaching certain curriculum at the first candidate forum of the 2023 election season, held by the League of Women Voters of Clallam County and the North Olympic Library System on Zoom on July 6.

Participating candidates included: incumbent Larry Jeffryes and challenger Jim Shepherd for Director, District Position No. 1; incumbent Maren Halvorsen and challenger Derek Huntington for Director-at-Large, Position No. 4, a two-year unexpired term; and current school board director Michael Rocha and challenger Hunter Gilliam for Director-at-Large, Position No. 5, a four-year term.

Challengers John Graham (Pos. 1) and Dean Christian (Pos. 4) did not participate, nor did Sandra Kellso — a Pos. 5 candidate who has since dropped out of the race — and board director Eric Pickens, running unopposed.

Each participant was given 90 seconds to answer each of the seven questions.

Reconfiguration

In a 4-1 vote on April 10, school board directors agreed on April 10 to a plan that shifts pre-kindergarten through second grade students to Greywolf Elementary, and the third-, fourth- and fifth-graders to Helen Haller Elementary School, starting in the 2023-24 school year. The schools currently both house students in kindergarten-fifth grade.

Candidates were asked what issues the reconfiguration is trying to address, how directors will know it is successful, and what can be done to address concerns.

Halvorsen, who along with Jeffryes and Rocha voted for the reconfiguration, said that this reconfiguration is in part response to student achievement. She said that scores have been stagnant and graduation rates have also been an issue.

According to Halvorsen, the way to test the plan’s success is to consider test scores.

“It is something we will look very closely at in this coming year,” Halvorsen said. “I think it’s going to be a great opportunity.”

According to Huntington the best way to check if the reconfiguration is working is to check in with the students, checking their test sources and making sure they are where they should be.

“If not, then we need to address it and find out what needs to be fixed so that they can be back to where they should be,” Huntington said.

This reconfiguration, Halvorsen said, can also address teacher burnout.

“I think a lot more opportunities for collaboration with all of the third-grade teachers together all of the fourth-grade teachers together, etc,” Halvorsen said.

Huntington said he thought some were upset about the change because they didn’t know the reasoning behind it.

“What they’re trying to do is get everybody to be grouped together and go to school together so that everybody knows each other,” he said.

Post-COVID education

Considering the academic struggles across the nation in the post-COVID-19 pandemic years, forum candidates were asked if they are satisfied with Sequim students’ academic performance, and if not, how they would work to improve that performance.

According to Jeffryes, the board needs to do better and communicate with the public and needs to find ways to reach out to people to receive input.

He said even with the pandemic there are amazing things going on in the school system and there is amazing teaching.

“However, the trend … is flat and we have not improved to the level we need to,” Jeffryes said.

“I hope in the future that we can keep things stable and keep things rolling and ensure the success and safety of our students,” Shepherd said.

Curriculum

Forum candidates were asked to define the role of schools in teaching children about cyber safety, wellness, voting, sex education and other topics.

“That’s to educate our children to create well-rounded people,” Rocha said. “We have our counselors, we have our outreach, but I just worry that we’re putting a little too much emphasis on some of this stuff,” such as social-emotional learning.

Rocha said that as a parent, he is more concerned with test scores, grades and core skills than how much sex education is in classrooms.

Gilliam said the district should create a safe environment for students, and that while core education is important, it won’t be effective if the environment isn’t safe.

Gilliam said he participated in assemblies such as Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E), anti-bullying and sex education as a student in the district.

“They were just wonderful and I think that without distracting away from our core learning, I think that we could really even augment some of those things,” Gilliam said.

Working with parents and using age-appropriate materials, “really would help our whole school district in our community,” he said.

‘Magic wand’’ wishes

Candidates were also asked what they would change, if they had a “magic wand” to make the district better.

Said Huntington: “I would just make it so that all the kids are successful in everything they do … And everybody would be like, ‘Well, we need to go to Sequim because they have the best school district in the entire world.’”

Jeffryes said he’d like to see Sequim be a “shining” school district “where we would have number one facilities and we would have award-winning schools recognized for their educational excellence.

“I think we have the people in the community that can get that done,” he added.

Said Shepherd: “School, even if it’s just in retrospect, should be the happiest time of the kids’ life. I think that it’s up to the teachers, the administrators and school boards to create that for students.”

Halvorsen wants to see “engagement in the classroom with our students and our teachers working together” and if funds are available “a lot more extensive field trips and going out into the world.”

Rocha said his wish would be for facilities.

“This district has had a tough time passing the bond,” he said. “I think that helps with school spirit and school pride that helps with belonging, inclusivity and it helps with the education system. If a kid is worried about how hot it is in the classroom in the summertime, it’s hard to concentrate on the lesson.”

Gilliam agreed, saying that the high school and the elementary school are both in “sorry shape, as far as facilities are concerned. The track is unsafe for events,” he said. “I think that there’s so much that even our school board can do as advocates for the community, beyond waving a magic wand, to reach out to our community in a better way and present these issues in a more relatable way and make those things happen.”

Also addressed at the forum were book-banning trends, civics education and responsibilities of board members.

Find a link to the recording of the July 6 meeting at lwvcla.clubexpress.com/forums.

Key election dates

• July 12 – Ballots for the Clallam County 2023 Primary Election will be mailed to all qualified voters in Clallam County.; a sample ballot is available at clallamcountywa.gov/elections

• Aug. 1 – Election Day; shortly after 8: p.m. results will be available in the Clallam County Courthouse lobby (223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles) and online at clallamcountywa.gov/elections

• Aug. 2 – At 9 a.m., a Random Batch Audit will be conducted in the Elections Center (Room 072) at the courthouse

• Aug. 14 – At 1 p.m., the Canvassing Board hosts an open public meeting in the Elections Center for pre-certification of the Primary Election

• Aug. 15 – At 2 p.m., the Canvassing Board will hold an open public meeting in the Elections Center to certify the Primary. Election

View an Online Voters’ Guide at votewa.gov.

Get registered

Looking to cast a ballot in the Aug. 1 Primary election? The deadline to register to vote online or by mail (received, not postmarked) is Monday, July 24. Registrations and updates can be completed at votewa.gov, or by contacting Clallam County elections department at 360-417-2221 or elections@clallamcountywa.gov.

After the deadline has passed, voters can still register to vote or update their registration and/or signature in person at the Clallam County Elections and Voter Registration Office (Room 042 in the basement of the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles) until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 1.

To be eligible to vote, you must be: a citizen of the United States; a legal resident of Washington state; at least 18 years old by Election Day; not disqualified from voting due to a court order; not currently serving a sentence of total confinement under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections for a Washington felony conviction; and,not currently incarcerated for a federal or out-of-state felony conviction.