As promised a few months ago I have done interviews with all of the candidates for the Federal Way School Board elections.

These are important elections as clearly you will see that some candidates believe that education in Federal Way isn’t where it ought to be.

Education Week ranks the entire state as 43rd in graduation rates and lists Federal Way Schools as having a 45.7% graduation rate.

If this is true less than one half of the entering 9th graders graduate for our schools. There has been some questioning of this figure locally, but nationally I haven’t seen any writings challenging the calculations that they have made.

A local columnist recently said, “The system is broken,” and, to me, this would require a real “fix” not just more talk.

I asked each of the candidates in District One 15 questions regarding the local situation. The following are their answers, unedited.

After reading these answers you might be able to decide how “comfortable” you are with the largest part of your tax bill. Items in parentheses ( ) are my comments.

1. What do you regard as some of the most pressing problems for the school district? Other than financial.

Ed Barney (Incumbent)

Financial Equity is the most pressing issue. If all means all then equity is a major issue. Prioritizing programs and determining their effectiveness based on real FW world results. Parental Support and involvement.

Achievement Gap persists in math in spite of our great successes in closing the gap in reading.

(What programs have been determined to be ineffective and when have they been discussed by the Board publicly? What programs have publically not been initiated due to funding )

Bill Pirkle (Candidate)

a. An inept school board that will not discuss anything that would lead to improving the school atmosphere.
b. Drugs in schools.
c. Lack of a standardized discipline policy for misbehaving kids that includes parental involvement.

2. What actions have you publicly supported to address these problems?

Bill Pirkle (Candidate)

I have taken the microphone to try and get the board to discuss my recommendations on these things. I have written in our local paper about these things.

Ed Barney (Incumbent)

Lawsuit: Federal Way vs Washington State.

Adding Pre-International Baccalaureate to Kilo and Totem, adding Check Point to Middle Schools and Elementary Cambridge, adding AVID to elementary, expanding AVID to all secondary schools, VISTA volunteers to create parent advocates in every school.

Contacting parents regarding grades through the use of Connect-Ed.

Implementation of recommendations from McKenzie Report, especially in the area of teacher development and coaching.

(Only Connect-Ed, Vista and “Coaches” have been undertaken by this board in the past two years, and they were not Board initiated)

3. If elected what would you publicly introduce to improve our schools?

Ed Barney (Incumbent)

I support pre-Cambridge programs in the elementary.

I support full implementation of parent contact through the grades on line interface and through the implementation of a parent advocate at each of our schools.

I support our parent advocacy office to reach out to parents.

I support the programs we have instated over my 8 years on the Board, programs that have brought us State and National recognition, and have closed the achievement gap in reading.

(Support is not the same as introduced or initiated. All school districts in this state have improved their reading skills according to performance on the WASL)

Bill Pirkle (Candidate)

A standardized discipline policy.

A policy for professional dress for teachers.

A policy that kids take tests home to be signed by their parents and returned to the teacher the next day to get parental involvement..

A policy that only things that have something to do with education be allowed on classroom walls.

A policy that the drug sniffing dog be used to ferret out drugs in kid's lockers.

4. What do you believe is the function of a school board with respect to improving our schools?

Bill Pirkle (Candidate)

The proper role of a school board director is to:

Participate in establishing policy in matters of academics, discipline, school atmosphere, etc.

Assure that the superintendent is doing his job which includes that he is seeing that the principals are doing their job which is in part to support the teachers.

Assure that the children are getting the best education possible within available resources.

Ed Barney (Incumbent)

By State law, it is the school boards’ function and responsibility to hire and evaluate the Superintendent, create policy & approve budgets and curriculum.

(I believe that they also are responsible for initiation of improvements when needed. They should not be “ratification” functionaries.)

5. What do you believe that the school board has accomplished in the past two years?

Ed Barney (Incumbent)

Adding Pre-IB to Kilo and Totem, Adding Check Point to Middle Schools, Adding elementary Cambridge, Adding AVID to elementary, Adding Technology Access Foundation Academy, Adding Cambridge at Federal Way High School (this didn’t happen in the past two years), Monitored the creation and construction of two elementary schools…ahead of schedule and under budget, Revamping the Career and Technical Education curriculum, Revamping of Truman High School to include Internet Academy and a clear focus on Career and Technical Education, Introduction of Coaching for all teachers, following recommendations of McKenzie Report, Continual support of our K-8 schools, Providing funding so that all students can take the PSAT, SAT, AP, IB, and Cambridge examinations free.(since reduced)

This led to the recognition Thomas Jefferson received from Newsweek magazine. Provided parameters for the successful negotiations of 5-year contracts with our teachers and secretaries.

(Cambridge, Checkpoint, AVID, Technology Access Foundation, K-8, PSAT, AP, IB and Cambridge testing were not instigated by the present board.)

Bill Pirkle (Candidate)

Very little of real importance to improving education.

6. The Board has now embarked upon “Policy Governance.” How do you believe this will enhance the education of our students?

Bill Pirkle (Candidate)

It will merely give the school board something to do instead of setting real policy. Before you can govern policy, you have to have policy to govern.

Ed Barney (Incumbent)

It will require the Superintendent to report regularly to the board on progress of each of the areas the board determines it wants, and then make changes as needed.

It creates an expectation and tracking of not only the schools academic progress, but also the Superintendent’s effectiveness.
It clarifies the Board’s role and focus on the results of student achievement efforts.

(Wasn’t this supposed to happen anyway?)

7. “Education Week” reports that only 45.7% of our students graduate from our high schools and no Black or Hispanic student in the 10th grade exceeds expectations on Mathematics. What programs would you publicly attempt to start to change this?

Ed Barney (Incumbent)

I cannot change Education Week’s perception of reality here in FW. According to the OSPI’s web site drop out in FW is at 5%. We will continue to upgrade the online grading system so that we can more accurately track student progress. Notify parents when students fall below the ‘C’ average.

(I believe it will take more than that to change this.)

Bill Pirkle (Candidate)

Schools have to be interesting to students and not just boring rote work. I will inspect schools and sit in on teacher's presentations then write a short evaluation to the teacher pointing out their good parts and bad parts in their presentation.

8. Do you believe that the board is correct in limiting public comment to 3 minutes per meeting instead of the previous 3 minutes per issue up for adoption as per the RCW?

Bill Pirkle (Candidate)

My campaign material states that I am for changing this back to the way it was.

Ed Barney (Incumbent)

Yes, I checked and there is no RCW that requires public comment at each and every issue up for adoption. The district’s attorneys have also checked, and could find no requirement in the RCW to allow these particular comments.

(Check RCW 28A.320.015 and Policy 1441 of the District for the real situation)

9. There is an abundance of research that positive parent involvement is critical to improving achievement. What steps would you publicly want the board to take to get the reluctant parents involved in their children’s education?

Ed Barney (Incumbent)

The board cannot require or force parents to be involved. We will continue to expand our outreach through the online grades and interconnection with Connect-Ed.

I will continue to encourage parent participation in Student Led Conferences and Open Houses at both MS and HS.

(There are school districts elsewhere that are much more engaged with the parents of children who are not successful.)

Bill Pirkle (Candidate)

Have tests taken home to be signed by the parents.

10. There is a great deal of evidence that our secondary schools include many distractions from learning. What steps would you publicly support to improve the focus on achievement in our schools?

Bill Pirkle (Candidate)

Take down anything from the walls of class rooms that do not have something to do with the subject being taught, and encourage hanging up supplementary materials on the class room wall that do have something to do with the subject being taught.

A Math classroom should look like a Math lab. A history classroom should look like a history lab, etc.

I will print up business cards that tell the students to call me in confidence if they are having problems with school or teachers and hand my card out anytime I see a student(s).

I will give the best parking spaces to students who make the best grades.

Ed Barney (Incumbent)

Life is a distraction. Forcing students to learn is not possible. We can only promote the need for education through programs that will interest the students and meet their needs, i.e.: FWPA, TAFA, Cambridge, Check Point, AP & Pre AP, IB and Pre IB, AVID, Career and Vocational Programs.

(There are consequences for not learning in real life, why not in school?)

11. President Obama has stated in Seattle that “No amount of money can buy achievement.” Do you agree with this statement, and if so what steps do you think the board ought to take to improve our achievement?

Ed Barney (Incumbent)

I agree no one can buy achievement. Equity in education funding is a start in the right direction. Quality teachers in each classroom, smaller class size, mentors, and quality education programs all cost money. Education does not exist in a vacuum.

(The school district currently spends considerable sums on activities that are not mandated by the State.)

Bill Pirkle (Candidate)

Yes I agree. First we have to get board members and the superintendent to stop talking about money as the problem. Whenever this is being done I will raise my hand and explain that this discussion is a waste of time and say, “why don't we focus on the real problems?”

Schools have to be made more professional in atmosphere and less fun. This starts with teachers acting like professionals. During my inspections I will be looking for unprofessional teacher behavior including dress and report my findings to the school board. I will keep the teacher anonymous but will mention the name of the school. This will identify the principal who is tolerating this teacher behavior.

12. The district’s information office has a policy of always emphasizing the “positives.” Do you believe that ignoring the district’s shortcomings will improve the support of the citizens?

Ed Barney (Incumbent)

Constant badgering and emphasizing the negative only destroys any confidence that one may have of the public education process. Emphasizing the positives counters the negative of a vocal few.

(Yes, and all Congressmen (schools) are bad, except ours!)

Bill Pirkle (Candidate)

No. We need to talk about what is not working and not what is working.

13. Previous boards have held open forums where citizens could ask, and receive, answers from board members. Do you believe that this should be reinstated? Should individual board members express their thoughts publicly?

Bill Pirkle (Candidate)

Yes and yes. This would get more parental involvement rather than this one way interaction we have now.

Ed Barney (Incumbent)

The current board has discussed this. Plans are under way to create several forums over the coming year.
Board members can express their thoughts publicly as they deem necessary. There is still freedom of speech even if misconstrued by nay sawyers.

(When will we be hearing from school board members about their concerns?)

14. What are your sources of information about education and how to improve it?

Ed Barney (Incumbent)

Washington State School Directors Association, National School Board Association, District Staff and Personnel, Community input, various local and national publications, Internet research on topics as needed.

Bill Pirkle (Candidate)

The “Education News”. I also am on mailing lists from education institutions like the Evergreen group.