Ghazel and Paulsen Present Their Cases for School Board Seat

Tony Ghazel, left and Justin Paulsen vie for a seat on the School Board of Directors

by Margie Doyle

At the School Board Election Forum sponsored by the Parent-Teacher-Student Association (PTSA) Monday, Oct. 14, Tony Ghazel referred to his experience and outreach in serving the School District;
Justin Paulsen spoke of the need for a new voice on the board, for increased accountability and public input.

Current members of the Orcas Island School District (OISD) Board of Directors who are running unchallenged in their position, are Chris Sutton and Scott Lancaster, who  also spoke to the gathering of about three dozen people in the Eastsound Fire Hall.

Moderator Cathy Faulkner of the PTSA introduced the candidates with prepared comments regarding each candidate’s past:
Ghazel as an 8-year board member, parent of three Orcas School District graduates, engineer, businessman and technology consultant. He also mentioned his service on for-profit and non-profit boards;
Paulsen as a board member of several Orcas non-profits, parent of five children aged 2 to 20, local contractor and businessman.

Paulsen spoke of the “arduous task [of] sitting through board meetings” in recent years and thanked the community – “Music Advocacy Group, Education Foundation … the people in our community who have stepped up and filled that gap [of school district funding.]”

He spoke of the need to “increase our fund balance and put supplemental funds into even better use — programs that accentuate what we’re already doing very well.”

Ghazel recalled his first years on the board when, in 2006, the fund balance was under $5,000, through “trying financial times and eroding state confidence…. when 16 of the 59 high school seniors did not graduate.”  He spoke of the improvements since then, noting that, “Today we graduate almost every senior, the high school is the top two percent of the nation’s 21,000 high schools. This board and I are on the right track.”

He thanked the community for its support during times when “the budget is tight,” and spoke of his present efforts to “improve facilities and staff compensation.”

Moderator Cathy Faulkner posed questions formulated with input from OISD teachers, principals and  school board directors.

Paulsen repeatedly answered that more transparency and accountability were needed with input from the community. “[The public] gives input and hits the blank stare [from] board members. You need to respond to the community.”

Paulsen suggested additional forums or town halls so that the public could “speak up to the board in a manner that is not rote. I would love to see everyone at the meeting tonight show up at school board meetings.”

He added that this year he was motivated to run for the board, considering that $7-$8 million will be spend on the school’s reconstruction projects, because “It’s critical to me that those funds are spent correctly; knowing that we are moving the process forward correctly.

“We need to change the  way we bring information in from the public, teachers and staff. The school board needs to actively gather [information]. Currently, processes don’t exist for the board to adequately represent the community.”

Ghazel said that he was motivated to continue on the board because, “In coming years, board decisions have to come from experience,…Free and public education is the cornerstone of any community.  Our job is at state level, since most funding comes from state.” He spoke of his position as a legislative liaison and as an officer on the state board of school directors, “working with colleagues on other school boards.

“At the end of the day, we need to create the conditions so students and staff can succeed,” Ghazel said.

Paulsen emphasized that his tendency to speak out, his “skill set and perspective, … will allow fresh ideas to come forward.” He spoke of his experience in business operations and project management: “I love spreadsheets and charting goals and  milestones. The Board needs to set them and assess if they are met regularly, and change course appropriately.”

He agreed that Washington State needs to fully fund education, and pointed out, “Currently that responsibility is being administered by the State Supreme Court until 2018.”

He cautioned against, “falling back on dependable funders… that can be a real fallacy in your budgeting process.

“The harder decision is to budget appropriately and use extra funding to fund programs you already have. I intend to address the disconnect so we’re constantly working the feedback loop and making sure we have all the information before making decisions.”

Ghazel countered by pointing out that in part due to his efforts lobbying the legislature, communities were allowed to increase higher levy amounts from 24 to 28 percent. He said the challenge ahead is to balance the budget  in coming years (even while the state increased funds to the school district this year by $1 million) so that “by 2018, the funding we need will be in place.”

In speaking to the fiduciary responsibilities of school board members, Paulsen brought up management, safety and liability. “I believe we have failed in that,” he said, “We need a broad understanding of those liabilities and how to solicit input from the public to make sure we’re not putting the school at risk.”

When asked to explain his comment in light of the “lessons learned” in previous projects, Paulsen said that district administration had allowed construction workers to live on campus improperly, and had failed to meet state regulations regarding wages and identification.

Ghazel referred to the five construction projects that were completed during his tenure on the school board, saying all five projects were “within budget, and four were completed on time.”

“Honorable people can disagree: I disagree that the construction crew was illegal, or improperly paid. Mahlum [Architects] and hired project managers have overseen these projects. [Last fall] the contractor and his wife lived on campus; when we found that out, the administration asked them to leave.” Ghazel added that the project was delayed due to windows installation [which was added to the original project scope].

When the questions turned to improvement of  student learning, Ghazel  said that next year, a new “teacher-principal evaluation system will be implemented. It will take time for staff and administration to be comfortable with it; as a school board director, I’ll bring maturity and experience to that task.”

Paulsen addressed improved student learning by saying he would “improve communication within teacher, staff and labor, to empower them to help guide their growth. It’s the board’s job to look at budget and say ‘What can we be giving to better our  teachers, and the experience for children?’

“The board needs to “make sure we’re putting resources in the right place. We’re seeing a huge increase in the need for support services.”

Ghazel agreed that the board should be focused so that “Every child can get a free education as robust as we can give them to succeed in the future. We need to continually offer programs …. in athletics or music or Advance Placement or whatever keeps them in school ; narrow the gap between local and state; and be able to take information and make decisions to progress campus forward so our kids are successful.”

In closing statements, Paulsen said he hopes the board will welcome more input in their discussion. “We need to empower people to speak out.”

Ghazel said he would “continue to work as hard as I can that board decisions are properly developed, properly advanced.  I’m proud of what we’ve done and happy that we can do more; but our work is not done.”

(Note: Editor Margie Doyle is a part-time employee of the Orcas Island School Distrcit).