Richland School Board candidates seek to be a new voice for parents

The two candidates vying for outgoing Richland School Board member Mary Guay’s seat have some divergent views.

Brett Amidan says documented student progress is important in determining a teacher’s effectiveness, but Jill Oldson says it isn’t fair to evaluate teachers on student test scores.

Oldson also doesn’t think public contract negotiations between the district and its employees would be necessarily beneficial, while Amidan sees a benefit to the public having greater access to employee contract talks.

“As a taxpayer, it should be more open,” Amidan told the Herald editorial board, which recently met with both candidates.

“I also wouldn’t mind a law prohibiting professional negotiators,” Amidan added, referring to the use of outside counsel by the Pasco School District and its teachers union during their recent contract talks.

Both candidates hold far more in common, however.

They think testing has taken over too much of students’ and teachers’ time. They value the educational opportunities offered through Delta High School, the collaborative science- and technology-centric program Richland shares with the Kennewick and Pasco school districts, but are wary of the Running Start program for students wanting to get a jump start on college coursework.

And they believe Richland’s board has become too well-oiled of a machine that rushes through decisions and lacks fresh perspective, particularly from parents who have students in the district’s schools.

“There comes a time when you lose your passion,” Oldson said. “There needs to be new voices.”

Ballots for the election will be mailed Oct. 14 and must be postmarked, in the Benton County Auditor’s Office or in a designated dropbox by 8 p.m. Nov. 3.

Amidan, who lives in West Richland, grew up in Richland, graduated from Richland High School and holds a master’s in statistics from Brigham Young University. He returned to the Tri-Cities 18 years ago and works as a statistician at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and as adjunct faculty at Washington State University Tri-Cities. He has four children, with two sons still attending Richland schools.

Oldson moved to Richland 17 years ago with her husband, a Richland High graduate. She holds a degree in psychology from the University of California at Fullerton and previously worked in the hospitality industry before becoming a stay-at-home mom to her two children, who attend Richland High and Carmichael Middle School. She has been active in the parent-teacher associations at her children’s schools and began working as a substitute teacher last year.

Amidan cited an example of a board meeting where the district was considering using Apple iPads for instruction. When he questioned their selection of the tablets instead of another option, “their answer was that the Apple salesman said they need to use iPad,” he said.

Oldson said the board is too willing to alter course under criticism, referencing the decision to not close Jefferson Elementary School and instead rebuild part of it with the 2013 bond after some of the school’s parents complained.

The original plan was to close the school, possibly converting it to a home for alternative program Three Rivers HomeLink.

“If you base decisions on sound data and information, you shouldn’t change course,” Oldson said. “I’m not afraid to stick to my guns if I know my decision is right. I’m willing to listen, but you can’t bow to special interests.”

Neither candidate would enroll their children in the Running Start program, with Amidan saying students he knows who’ve participated haven’t benefited much from the experience. Oldson wondered if it’s worth the additional stress college-level courses can put on a high school student.

They also praised Delta High, though Amidan wasn’t sure using a lottery system to select students is the best way.

They said there’s too much testing in schools, and Amidan added that the district doesn’t properly analyze test results, but they differ on the use of testing data.

Oldson said using test results to evaluate teachers would be convoluted, noting that teachers don’t choose the students they teach and that some standardized test results are unreliable.

Amidan said test data should be used to evaluate educators, particularly when it comes to showing how far a student has progressed under a specific teacher. He’s annually evaluated as faculty at WSU Tri-Cities and pointed to Pasco using test scores as part of their teacher evaluation process as a good example.

Amidan also said greater transparency would help in contract negotiations, as it would give taxpayers a better idea of the process and any disagreements between the district and employees, such as what led to the teacher strike in Pasco.

“It was hard to get a good feel for what the union was asking for,” he said.

Oldson, though, was reluctant to say public contract negotiations are what is needed to avoid such conflicts. She wasn’t happy last spring when teachers walked out during one school day to protest the state’s lack of support of education, but she was surprised Pasco’s teachers didn’t strike sooner based on her knowledge of their grievances.

“It’s amazing how we devalue someone who teaches every other profession,” she said.

This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Richland School Board candidates seek to be a new voice for parents."