PAGE A4, KEIZERTIMES, APRIL 23, 2021
Crowded field vies to reset school board
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
After more than a year of festering
political tumult and hurt feelings, it may
come as no surprise that the Salem-Keizer
School District’s board seats are hotly con-
tested. What might be harder to fathom is
that there are 11 candidates for four open
positions.
Election Day is May 18. While board
members represent specific districts, they
are elected by all voters in the Salem-
Keizer School District. School board direc-
tors are non-paid, nonpartisan positions.
An opening for Zone 1 director on the
board is the most crowded race. Four can-
didates tossed their hats into the mix to
replace outgoing director Kathy Goss.
Osvaldo Avila, the talent, innova-
tion and equity coordinator for the
Oregon Higher Education Coordinating
Commission, counts graduation rates, a
safe return to in-person education and cul-
turally relevant curriculum among his top
priorities.
“I’m running for Salem-Keizer School
District because my parents instilled in
their children the importance of education
and helping others, despite the adversity
they faced,” reads a statement on Avila’s
website. “Our school board has ignored too
many students and families for too long.
We need courageous representation on
our board. It is time our district acknowl-
edges and helps everyone.”
Avila is a first-generation Mexican
American whose parents were migrant
workers.
Richard Riggs, regional director for
the Oregon State University Extension
Service, is concerned about the discord
among current board members and the
community.
“Special interests have polarized board
members and made the current school
board dysfunctional, such that it no longer
puts the interests of our children first. As a
school board member I will seek commu-
nity input, build consensus among board
members and work on long-term plans to
deal with the after effects of the pandemic,
address high school graduation rates,
close achievement gaps and many other
issues, reads a statement on his website.
Riggs is a former board member at
Chemeketa Community College.
Ross Schwartzendruber, a Salem sheep
farmer, expressed discontent with the dis-
trict’s “data-driven decisions”
“These limitations have eroded commu-
nity trust and led to disarray during School
Board meetings,” said Schwartzendruber
in a Voters’ Pamphlet statement.
He advocates for more frontline school
staff in addition to teachers, such as nurses,
librarians and counselors.
Kari Zohner, a realtor, states on her
website that she wants a return to full-time
school five days a week safely and with
proper safety protocols in place. The dis-
trict’s position as Oregon’s second largest
should make it a top contender and prior-
ity for state support, she wrote.
“Every school should be a palace for
students. It shouldn’t take a parent fighting
for their child to get into a special segment
to get the support they need. We should
not have to resort to in-district transfers,”
Zohner states on her website.
Two candidates have filed to replace
outgoing director Marty Heyen.
Ashley Carson-Cottingham, a deputy
director for the Oregon’s Long-Term Care
Ombudsman, champions equity for all
students after many BIPOC students and
their families turned out during the past
few years to testify about hostile environ-
ments within the district’s schools.
“We will need to pay special attention
as we emerge from the pandemic and
offer additional academic support, for kids
who have struggled with online learning,”
states Carson-Cottingham on her website.
Linda Farrington, a retired nurse, placed
a return to full-week, in-person learning
and support of teachers so that they can
focus on teaching as her two top priorities.
She takes issue with the current
board’s lack of transparency and choices
recently made to revamp the flow of public
testimony.
“Our leaders cannot involve the public
just enough to do what they wanted to do
from the start. We need leaders who truly
listen to our community," Farrington states
on her website.
In Zone 5, incumbent Jesse Lippold
Peone will have to fend off two challengers
for his seat. Lippold Peone made headlines
in 2020 for flouting COVID-19 guidelines
and bragging about it on social media.
More recently, he proposed changing dis-
trict director elections so that only candi-
dates who reside in specific zones are able
to run to represent that zone.
Peone, a real estate broker, said his
Native American heritage gives him the
experiences that he brings to bear in deci-
sion-making for the school board.
“I live my culture, carry those experi-
ences with me every day, and work hard to
learn about others so I can truly represent
all students,” Lippold Peone writes in his
Voters’ Pamplet statement.
Karina Guzmán Ortiz, a partner
engagement specialist with the Oregon
Department of Education, said a safe
return to schools, advocacy for vaccination
and closing social and racial gaps should
be the district’s top priorities.
She also takes issue with what some per-
ceive to be the marginalization of voices at
Salem-Keizer School Board meetings.
“We have very talented students facing
poverty, houselessness, racism, and social
and economic disparities. It is time our
board acknowledges and listens to us all,”
Guzmán Ortiz wrote on her website. “I will
center the voices that have been histori-
cally excluded and work to build a system
that serves everyone.”
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Mike Slagle, a manager for Westpro
Labs, advocates for a return to school and
extracurricular activities as well as improv-
ing transparency and communication at
the board level.
Slagle also wants school resource offi-
cers to return to Salem-Keizer schools after
partnerships with local police departments
ended earlier this year.
“They build positive relationships with
students and families, they are trained to
recognize child abuse and gang activity,
and help to ensure students safety,” Slagle
writes on his website.
In Zone 7, Director Paul Kyllo is not
seeking re-election. Liam Collins, an acqui-
sition manager for Enterprise Holdings,
and Maria Hinojos Pressey, operations
director for PCUN, an advocacy group for
farmworkers and working Latinx families,
are vying to replace him.
Collins, like others, laments the state
of the current SKPS board in his Voter’s
Pamphlet statement.
“Our school board is mired in poli-
tics and focused on the wrong priorities,”
Collins wrote. As a foster parent, Collins
states he has seen how school resource offi-
cers and online learning have made a dif-
ference in the lives of students. “[Students]
need more mentoring. We must also let
kids attend the school of their choice, to
prioritize their learning over their home
location.
Hinojos Pressey advocates for a safe
return to schools, prioritizing funding for
students most in need and equal oppor-
tunity that reverberates in the lives of the
students and their families. She also places
an emphasis on the needs of English
Language Learners.
“For too long, these students have been
left behind, and too many never finish high
school. As a Latinx community advocate,
I’ll always work to ensure we’re making
education accessible to all,” she wrote on
her website.
By STEVE BREEN
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