Education and WASL take the stage
Published 2:41 pm Friday, October 10, 2008
Education was the topic of choice Thursday as candidates for the 30th Legislative District representatives and state Superintendent of Public Instruction debated at the EX3 Ron Sandwith Teen Center.
Competing for the representative position are incumbent Skip Priest (R) running against Carol Gregory (D), and incumbent Mark Miloscia (D) running against Michael Thompson (R). Representatives serve in the state Legislature for a two-year term. During legislative sessions, they assist in enacting laws that affect state public policy. They also appropriate funds to support state and local government.
Vying for the superintendent position are incumbent candidate Terry Bergeson and challenger Randy Dorn. The state Superintendent of Public Instruction is chief executive officer of the State Board of Education. This person is responsible for the administration of kindergarten through 12th-grade education programs. Duties include certification of teaching personnel, approval and accreditation of programs, and appointment of state and local funds. This person also provides assistance with management, assessment and curriculum development and serves a four-year term. Several in attendance came to see what the superintendent candidates had to say.
“Overall, I’m frustrated with the education system, period,” Auburn resident Cynthia Keller-Dowling said. “I don’t think it serves the kids’ needs.”
State Superintendent of Public Instruction:
Bergeson has taught school in Massachusetts and Alaska, and has served as a school counselor in Tacoma. She became president of the Washington Education Association in 1985, then went on to become superintendent of public instruction in 1996, according to her Web site.
Dorn has served as a school teacher and principal. He has also served seven years as a state representative in the Legislature. A significant focus for him is the effectiveness and fairness of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL), which he aims to replace with a new graduation requirement that includes testing, grades and attendance, according to his Web site.
Here’s what the candidates said on key issues during the debate.
• WASL: Dorn believes the WASL, in its current form, is ineffective and dictates teachers’ curriculums. The test is not an accurate way to measure students’ learning progress, he said.
“I believe it needs to be shortened,” Dorn said. “It’s way too long. It makes no sense to test for two weeks.”
Bergeson said the testing system is a work in progress, reflected by test scores, but it is a way to measure a student’s learning capacity.
• Teachers’ salaries, benefits and retirement: Dorn said all school employees should get a pay boost to ensure quality teaching. A knowledge and skill-based pay approach should be taken, Bergeson said. If a teacher is proven to improve student learning, he or she should receive a bonus, she said.
• Core requirements to graduate: Dorn said he has major concerns about the Core 24, a set of draft credit requirements for high school graduation under consideration by the Washington State Board of Education. It will cost too much and the resources to implement the requirements are not available, he said. Bergeson said the education system needs the increases in math and science requirements that Core 24 would bring.
In her closing argument, Bergeson said she knows what changes need to be made and how to make them.
“We’ve come a long way; 15 years ago we had no structure and many kids fell through the cracks,” she said.
Dorn said parties from both sides must work together and with legislators to offer a solid education to students. His experience as both a teacher and state legislator will allow him to do this, he said.
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District 30 state representative candidates
Priest is serving his third term as a legislative representative. He once acted as mayor of Federal Way, owns a land management and business-consulting firm and lists his priorities as ensuring government accountability and better serving constituents, according to his Web site.
Gregory’s background includes teaching and serving as president of the Washington Education Association. She is running on a platform that promotes education, economic development and creating living wage jobs, according to her Web site.
Miloscia is serving his fifth term in the Legislature. He encourages developing and funding a working education system and ensuring school districts receive adequate and fair funding, according to his Web site.
Thompson is an inventor and grew up in Federal Way. In 1995, he opened a business in computer building, tech support, programming and IT services, which he continues to operate, according to his Web site.
Here’s what the candidates said about key education issues.
• Education funding and budget cuts: “I believe you should fully fund education then make the cuts where you have to to balance the budget,” Thompson said.
Miloscia agreed that education funding needs to be a top priority, but recommended following the State Auditor’s Office Statewide Accountability Report as a guideline for making budget cuts in areas that are not effective.
“It shouldn’t take the courts to force Olympia to fund schools,” Gregory said.
• Teachers’ salaries, benefits and retirement: All four candidates agreed that Washington and Federal Way need to attract knowledgeable teachers and pay them well for their services in order to offer a better education system.
“We need to make sure pay raises happen and benefits are taken care of,” Thompson said.
The state needs to begin by addressing the causes of the wage gap and then figure out how to attract teachers, Miloscia said.
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Learn more about the candidates:
• Randy Dorn: http://www.randydorn2008.com
• Terry Bergeson: http://terrybergeson2008.com
• Skip Priest: http://www.houserepublicans.wa.gov/Priest
• Carol Gregory: http://friendsofcarolgregory.com
• Michael Thompson: http://www.electmichaelthompson.com
• Mark Miloscia: http://www.markmiloscia.com
• All candidates: www.kingcounty.gov/elections.aspx
• Also read the state representative candidates’ answers to a questionnaire on The Mirror’s Web site under the Election category.
