News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Voters will vote on three positions for the five-member Sisters School Board in the May 16 election.
Incumbent Amanda Clark and school bond oversight committee member Jay Wilkins are running unopposed. Position 2 is a contest between Nicki Gregg and David Wentworth. Gregg is a parent, teacher and budget committee member; Wentworth is a parent of a Sisters Middle School student co-founder of a renewable energy business.
Gregg asserts that, "It is important to have someone on the board that has teaching experience in a public school classroom. My experience as a parent in our schools and my background as a teacher makes me uniquely qualified for this position."
Wentworth noted that when he and his wife moved from Connecticut, they questioned whether Sisters schools "could 'compete' with some of the (arguably) best public schools in the nation. Those questions have been answered through the quality of the teaching, diversity of programs, and the broader community's commitment to excellence."
Wentworth says that "My objective is bring to the Sisters School Board a combination of practical experience in the development and management of complex operating assets, with the creativity necessary to realize a vision for the future."
Both candidates acknowledge challenges faced by the district, which Wentworth identifies as "ranging from broad demographics, to economic and community development, to optimizing our buildings and facilities, all of which impact the educational experience."
Gregg sees challenges "including communication, enrollment, programs and building strong relationships within our school communities."
Incumbent Clark pledges to continue to "advocate for expanding our career/technical and advanced placement class offerings and for additional foreign language options starting at the elementary level."
Wilkins is a parent and coach in the district. He brings a military and business background to the board, along with several years of involvement on district committees.
"My desire is to build on the successes that we've enjoyed while being objectively open to confronting the problems we have, too," he says. "We have the potential to be - and in many ways already are - the best district in the state. I feel we need to develop a clear mission/vision, define and quantify the desired educational outcomes, and then empower (and hold accountable) the district team members to deliver."
Ballots have been mailed out for the election and are due back by May 16.
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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