Tomorrow we’ll cap off the editorial board interviews for the primary with the three candidates for Central Kitsap School District Director 5. Starts at 5 p.m.
This is the race we’re not endorsing a candidate in, and the editorial board won’t be involved in the interview. That’s because one of the candidates, Richard Romero, was a community member of the board until deciding to run. We asked him to resign, and thought a conflict might be perceived if his former board members were questioning him.
I’ll conduct the interview with the three — the other two running are incumbent Eric Greene and Jim Zimny — which we want to do for our readers and to give the candidates a chance to debate one another. I’m soliciting questions from readers to use so the community can dictate the questioning. Please leave them in the comments below or email me at dnelson@kitsapsun.com.
We’ll begin around 5 p.m. tomorrow, watch it live here.
As usual we’ll archive the interview here on the Caucus, and accept questions from readers during the broadcast.
— David Nelson
I am finding the specific needs of special ed. students, particularily those that are learning disbaled, are falling by the wayside. On several occasions in the past year or so, I’ve encountered administrators in the central office who appear not to know certain special ed. policies, or interpret them differently than OSPI and other districts do. While I’m thrilled my kids attend school in a district that offeres many AP classes, it seems the district is lacking in preparing kids who may not be entering a 4 year college right out of high school, or those that need an extra boost or more time. As a board member, what can you do to meet the needs of these kids?
Questions I would ask if I were interviewing…
What do you think of Randy Dorn’s performance at OSPI so far.
What is CKSD’s current mission statement and what in that mission statement has been successful and what needs the most work?
Aside from finances, what is CKSD’s most pressing area of concern (and why)?
This would be my choice for a question, if I only had one opportunity….
Many folks think that anyone running for school board has a “private agenda”. Do you? If so, what is it? If not, what do you think people think your private agenda is and why would they have reason to think that?
I would ask if they belong to the teachers union.
How would they separate the conflict of the teacher’s union and the school board and why?
What is their prime focus during their time on the school board? What single thing do they most want to accomplish?
I would ask Richard Romero why he should be elected when he has proved he can’t be counted upon to complete and honor his own commitments?
He not only reneged on his commitment to the KS, he didn’t have the decency to resign before entering the race to avoid any conflict of interest.
The school board position is too important to trust our kids future and education to a less than dedicated individual.
In my opinion.
Sharon O’Hara
My question(s) would be..
Please outline your own personal level of involvement, over the last couple of years, with the Central Kitsap School District. Your answer should include your record of attendance at school board meetings, study sessions and participation or service on any district committees or task forces. Also include a brief summary of recent written or verbal communication with any current school board members about specific issues and please state what those issues were.
Thank you.
Are the Word Police Coming?
I’m wondering about Mr. Zimny’s priority to establish some sort of safeguard to protect our athletes from being verbally abused and then gthe Central Kitsap School District leading a state-wide crusade to implement similar regulations in other school districts.
Apparently Mr. Zimny has encountered these “problems,” if not as a coach, then I imagine as a parent.
1. Having heard coaches verbally abusing athletes, what did Mr. Zimny do and what was the outcome?
2. I would like to hear more from Mr. Zimny what his outline implementation and resolution of this priority issue is and if the other candidates feel as though this is something that needs school board attention or if it’s one man’s solution to nobody elses problem.
Here are some thoughts to get this started:
Would the plan discipline a basketball coach for calling a player a “knucklehead” in the locker room after three turnovers for traveling in one game? Or would a football coach who yells at a linebacker to “man-up and step into the hole” be thought of as using abusive language? Will there be a list of words that cannot be used? Will the intonation of the words matter? What about how loud a coach is on the sidelines? Will the so-called “verbal abuse” be determined by how the “victim athlete” and perhaps his or her parents perceive it as is how sexual harassment is viewed in the legal sense? Will coaches have to undergo sensitivity training if they violate a “word rule?” Are Central Kitsap athlete’s psyches now so fragile that they need this new, protective regulation to keep their coaches from forever damaging their egos?
Trevor G, thank you for the inquiry regarding one of my priorities as a school Board Director. Unfortunately, I was misquoted in the Sun, but this gives me the opportunity to clarify my position. Currently, our district adheres to the WIAA Coaches Code of Conduct, which in my opinion is vague and does not adequately protect student athletes from verbal, psychological, or physical abuse. Abuse may be intentional or unintentional, but it does occur even in the best of districts.
What I would like to see happen, whether I am elected to the School Board or not, is the appointment of a committee which is composed of athletic directors, coaches, and parents to develop a coaches code of conduct and operating procedures at the district level to ensure our student athletes are trained with the most current training techniques and sport psychology. It is advantageous for the coaches, players, and district to provide clear standards for coach/student interactions. With all that said, I personally know several coaches in our district and many are clearly above par. They devote countless hours to our young people and provide positive role models. This is one of the reasons why CK is an exemplary district.