PAGE A2, KEIZERTIMES, MARCH 15, 2019
6 questions with Keizer’s school board candidates
Keizer will have a choice grader and fi fth grader I am
when it comes to who rep- invested in the daily needs and
resents the city on the Sa- opportunities our students and
lem-Keizer School Board this educators face and deserve. As
an active, tenured, communi-
May.
Longtime Board mem- ty volunteer I feel the pres-
ent and con-
ber
Chuck
stant need for
Lee is seek-
support. With
ing
re-elec-
more than 15
tion to the
years of com-
post he’s held
munity, busi-
since 2007. His
ness and policy
contender this
experience, I
time around
bring a level
will be Dan-
of comfort in
ielle Bethell,
knowing my
executive di-
c o m m u n i t y,
rector of the
the challenges
Keizer Cham-
we are facing
ber of Com-
and the desire
merce.
to charge on
Keizertimes
for greater op-
sent both can-
portunity.
didates
the
Chuck Lee
same questions
— Danielle Bethell
(CL): I bring
and asked for
to the School
their respons-
Board 48 years
es. We are pre-
of experience
senting them
and expertise
here in a ques-
at the elemen-
tion-and-an-
tary, secondary
swer format so
and
Career
voters can get
Technical Edu-
to know them
cation levels. I
and the issues
they are contemplating in the bring 12 years of commitment
to the Board that has touched
run-up to the election.
Keizertimes (KT): What every aspect of our District
skills and expertise do you and students. I was a leader in
bring to the role of school the fundraising and passage of
two successful bond measures.
board director?
Danielle Bethell (DB): I was the leader in the creation
As a current Keizer/Salem of the Career and Technical
parent I have a proven record Education Center (CTEC),
showing my commitment to a national model of a public/
bettering my community. As private partnership that has a
a graduate of McKay High 98 percent graduation rate and
School, and a current parent grows a workforce for our re-
of a Keizer area junior, seventh gion. I have demonstrated my
“Mental
health
instability
is a serious
issue we are
facing at all
levels of our
educational
system.”
commitment to Keizer and
public service as an elected
public offi cial for 19 years.
KT: What motivated you to
seek election/re-election?
DB: I want to bring the
voice of my fellow parents
and our current educators to
the forefront, highlight their
challenges and work towards
solutions. I want to shout their
successes and praise a commu-
nity committed to every child’s
successes. I believe waiting for
the problem to reach the top,
through the fi lters of the sys-
tem, often fail those calling out
for help. Being on the ground
level, as a parent, business
owner and community voice. I
have the necessary feet on the
ground to hear fi rsthand what
is needed; and work with the
systems in place or work to
build new systems to solve the
problems our classrooms are
facing today.
CL: I’m motivated to seek
re-election because over the
years I’ve become commit-
ted to the success of every
student in Oregon’s second
largest school district. I have
a deep and sincere passion for
the work of the Board and
we have important unfi nished
work to do.
KT: What do you feel are
the top three issues facing the
school district as a whole?
DB: Only three! Aside
from the fact that I love this
district and all who are work-
ing their tails off to build the
best minds around, we do face
some challenges, and some far
outweigh others. As a mom
I am pained almost daily by
the reports I hear or the in-
teractions myself or my chil-
dren face with others who
are struggling within. Mental
health instability is a serious is-
sue we are facing at all levels of
our educational system.
CL: Budget, budget, budget
– Oregon’s process for budget-
ing and budgets so closely tied
to the economy, makes school
funding very unpredictable.
With this extreme volatility,
it makes long term planning
for improvement diffi cult.
Achievement Gap - While our
graduation rates have been im-
proving the rates continue to
fl uctuate among our most vul-
nerable and underrepresented
students. Our efforts to ad-
dress chronic absenteeism, add
career and technical education
programs, equity and access are
examples of addressing the gap.
Systems of Support – We must
address the growing mental
health and toxic stress issues of
our students. We have heard
at many board meetings from
community members, teach-
ers, and parents about the be-
havioral outbursts that disrupt
the learning environment. We
are implementing a series of
strategies to train administra-
tors, teachers and staff that will
help all students. Implement-
ing and communicating this
framework will take time and
focus.
KT: What can be done at
the school board level to ad-
dress those issues?
DB: We need to bring
more love into our schools and
our communities. We need to
meet parents at the doors with
welcoming arms, not inter-
rogations and frustrations of
their interruptions. We need to
ask them back into our class-
rooms, and to be a part of the
process. We need community
in our schools and our schools
out in our communities. The
school board is excellent at
making and navigating poli-
cies. It’s time we create some
policies that promote outside-
the-box thinking.
Please see SCHOOL, Page A8
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