SEQUIM — Nine candidates at a forum earlier this week discussed Sequim School District spending and the role of youths and families at the Sequim Aquatic and Recreation Center, known as SARC.
Four candidates for the Sequim School Board and five candidates for the SARC Board of Commissioners attended the forum sponsored by the Sequim Family Advocates at the Sequim unit of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula on Monday.
The candidates, who will face each other in the Nov. 8 general election, were each asked to answer questions from many of the 80 audience members present.
Sequim schools cuts
Walter Johnson, Position 5 incumbent, and his opponent, Stephen Rosales, disagreed on how the district should “position itself” since it is facing more state budget cuts.
“Sequim has been very conservative in its financial approach,” said Johnson, a retired Ford Motors engineer who served on school boards in Michigan before moving to Sequim.
The district built a $2.7 million ending balance fund, from which it has been able to minimize layoffs and keep programs that other districts have had to cut, he said.
Said Rosales: “We’re never going to get this money again.
“The schools must be gutsy and think outside of the box to find funding, including grants and community fundraising,” he said.
Rosales is a parent and longtime volunteer in the schools, the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Olympic Peninsula and the Sequim Food Bank.
John Bridge, Position 3 incumbent, who is unopposed, said: “Last year, they actually took money back from us.
“We need to spend our money on things that are sustainable.”
Bridge is a retired fourth-grade teacher.
Sarah Bedinger, an incumbent in Position 1 who is running unopposed, said positioning a district is not something that is done on a short-term basis.
The board has been intentionally underestimating enrollment and implementing sustainable practices, she said.
A Sequim native, Bedinger was first elected to the School Board in 2003 and is the parent of a sophomore at Sequim High School.
Install lockers?
Sequim School Board candidates also were asked: Considering how much student backpacks weigh and the studies that show how damaging they are to growing children’s backs, should lockers be installed at the middle school?
“I support lockers in the middle school 100 percent,” Rosales said.
Several donors are already lined up to fund lockers in the middle school, costing the district and taxpayers nothing, he said.
“Most students at the high school don’t use their lockers,” Johnson said.
“In fact, we plan to take one of the locker bays away to use that space for something else,” he said.
When the school was built, lockers were purposely left out, Bedinger said.
Locker supporters should speak to the principal first and go up the chain of command, she said.
If, after the issue goes through the full process, lockers are recommended, that’s what the board will do, Bridge said.
SARC
Two candidates vying for Position 5 on the SARC board disagreed in answering a question about how they would make the facility at 610 N. Fifth Ave. more “family-friendly.”
SARC could offer toddler tumbling, gymnastics, teen fitness and other classes to encourage children to be active, said Sonu Deol, a mother with a master’s degree in public heath who has served with UNICEF and other nonprofit organizations in mother and child health programs.
Children need to learn healthy habits, including active lifestyles, while they are young, Deol said.
“SARC is a gym for adults, not a service for child care, not a social service,” said her opponent, Jan Richardson, a seven-year resident of Sequim and a Navy veteran.
“Children’s programs have not been successful in the past,” said Melinda Griffith, Position 3 incumbent, who has served on the board since 1974.
Classes such as karate, tumbling and gymnastics need to have good participation to sustain the program, Griffith said.
Bill Black, a write-in candidate opposing Griffith, said, “In the past, SARC has been more family-oriented.”
SARC should initiate a family fun night and develop a working relationship with the Boys & Girls Clubs, opening the gym to teenagers for teen rec nights, he said.
Black is a retired General Dynamics engineer and a past SARC commissioner who announced his challenge against Griffith two weeks ago.
Gill Goodman, Position 4 incumbent running unopposed, said: “I would hate to see SARC as direct competition for the Boys & Girls Club.
Goodman is a retired Coast Guard captain.
Candidates for SARC, which is Clallam County Parks and Recreation District 1, also were asked if they would support extended hours or 24-hour keycard access to the facility.
“No, I don’t — it is already difficult to get staff for early and late hours,” Griffith said.
She said she does not feel the level of use would warrant a keycard access and the liability of unsupervised members would be a problem, she said.
“Yes and yes — it should and must be expanded,” Black said.
“Weekend hours are entirely too short, and a card system is viable, pool excluded for obvious reasons,” he said.
Yes and yes — with security cameras and other precautions, Richardson said.
“There is no higher rate than having a pool, which is designed to be closed off,” he said.
“I would have to do some research,” Deol said.
“Yes and maybe — on weekends, expand the hours, but for the card system, we need to talk to our insurance carrier,” Goodman said.
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Reporter Arwyn Rice can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at arwyn.rice@peninsuladailynews.com.