ENDORSEMENTS: For Tacoma schools: Ushka-Hall, Bates
THE NEWS TRIBUNE
No mission of local government matters more than ensuring the education of the next generation, yet school boards, as a rule, don’t usually attract vigorous election races.
This year, Tacoma is the exception.
It’s easy, perhaps too easy, to attribute the crowded field for Tacoma School Board position 2 to the Charlie Milligan factor.
The ousted schools superintendent’s abrasive management style and dismissive attitude toward community groups left the district bruised and adrift by the time he was sent on his way with a $418,000 settlement after only a year on the job.
The debacle certainly makes incumbent Connie Rickman, who was board president during the tulmultuous time, vulnerable. But it alone doesn’t explain why so many candidates are jumping at a chance to be on the board.
The state’s second largest school district has long struggled with the issues confounding many a district: widespread poverty, high dropout rates and the “achievement gap” between white and Asian students, on the one hand, and black and Latino students on the other.
There is a growing sense that such problems are not the inevitable hallmark of an urban district nor the sole responsibility of that district to solve. That sense has motivated several of the candidates in this race.
Two rise to the top: Amy Bates and Catherine Ushka-Hall. They receive our co-endorsement.
The incumbent, Rickman, is a retired schoolteacher and principal who is seeking her second term. She enjoys meeting with federal and state legislators and bureaucrats to talk about education policies. We wish more of her attention was focused on Tacoma itself.
Rickman rarely finds fault with the district administration. She remained Milligan’s champion as his weaknesses became increasingly obvious. To this day, she remains in his camp. When asked what lessons the school board might have learned from the Millligan experience, she attributed the former superintendent’s problems to misinformation spread by reporters and community misperceptions.
Voters have better choices available this year.
• Ushka-Hall is a seasoned school and community volunteer and leader, and she has the endorsements to prove it. A former Navy reservist who now works for
Expedia.com, Ushka-Hall has served on numerous education and school district committees, is a former chairwoman of the Eastside Neighborhood Council and currently serves on the Tacoma Human Rights Commission.
Her primary objective is accountability. She thinks the school district “overfacilitates” its public meetings, which can intimidate parents from speaking up. She wants to see more open debate among school board members and more long-term planning.
Ushka-Hall has a proven track record of constructively challenging assumptions and effecting change. She knows the school district well and could hit the ground running.
• Our second pick, Bates, is a reluctant candidate, but a strong one all the same. After working on 2008 state legislation that created an advisory committee to address the achievement gap for black students, she started trying to convince others to run for school board to address the same issue in Tacoma.
When persuasion failed, Bates decided she might as well run. We’re glad she did. A prevention specialist with the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department and member of the city’s Human Rights Commission, Bates is thoughtful and energetic.
She has a laser-like focus on improving education for minorities and other at-risk children. Her advocacy would keep the issue front and center for the school board, as it should be.
Among the other candidates, Chris Van Vechten also stands out. A one-time special needs student who later graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a 3.7 grade point average, Van Vechten is driven by wanting to find new ways to motivate students.
He is a former state legislative staffer and led a campaign to get Tacoma School Board meetings televised. We hope he stays engaged and runs for office again.
Jerry Thorpe taught school in Tacoma for 33 years and is a former Metro Parks and Port of Tacoma commissioner. He has some good ideas, but is outmatched by his opponents’ energy and dedication to the district.
Deb Blakeslee, who has worked in financial analysis and is seeking a job as a volunteer coordinator, has served on the school district’s facilities advisory committee and in the PTA. She is a sincere candidate, but not as grounded in the issues as her opponents.
