The vacancy of the director position for Central Kitsap School District’s second district has led to the interview and appointment process of a new school board member for the remainder of the 2023 term.

This district, which was previously run by Rob MacDermid before he vacated the seat, oversees four schools in the Central Kitsap area. This includes Hawk Elementary at Jackson Park, Silverdale Elementary School, Central Kitsap Middle School, and Central Kitsap High School. 

On March 16th, CKSD held a special session to publicly interview and later appoint a new board member to District 2 following Board Policy 1115P. The only requirements for one to apply to this position are that the said person is a registered voter and resident of the area within District 2. 

This led to five people applying for the position: Kristin Hay, Marty Huff, Jon Jackson, John Poppe, and Rocky Vant. Each one of these five candidates were interviewed individually, both viewable in person and online on March 16th.

Throughout the interviews, the candidates would be asked the same six questions regarding the position and what they would do if appointed to it.

The first question the candidates were asked was, “Why do you want to be a school board director and what strengths will you bring to board as a director?”

This question opened to a variety of answers from the candidates. 

“I actually have two kids currently who go to two different elementary schools within the CK school district,” candidate Kristin Hay answered. “My son goes to Cottonwood Elementary and he’s in the high cap program. I’ve gotten to see some of the benefits of having a program like that within our school district and having that available for the children that have a need for it… I’ve [also] gotten to see a lot of growth in my children because of those programs and I find that very valuable.”

Another response came from candidate Marty Huff who stated that he would “like to make the math department a little more fair. My daughter happens to have one of the only math teachers who doesn’t allow calculators for Algebra II on tests even though all other kids in Algebra II classes get to use a calculator. My daughter had to do Algebra I online and her teacher literally showed up [only] twenty minutes a day for the two online periods. A lot of kids are behind for Algebra I and then you get an Algebra II teacher that never reviewed Algebra I and doesn’t allow students to use a calculator.”

The second question asked was geared towards the candidates’ community involvement: “have you participated in Central Kitsap School District previously and what other community or volunteer activities have you been involved in.”

Some responses included more about the candidates’ volunteer work within the district itself.

“I volunteered quite extensively when my daughter was in grade school at South Kitsap and received the Apple Award,” Vant recalled. “We then went on to John Sedgwick Junior High. I was president of the Parent Teacher Student Association and also received the Apple Award there because I volunteered quite a bit at the particular school.”

“My kids went to Silver Ridge Elementary so we volunteered a ton there,” said candidate Marty Huff, echoing a similar response. “I was a part of what they call a watchdog program. I worked with the at-the-time principal Julie McCain and every year we would get up and talk to all the fathers and try to get them involved at Silver Ridge Elementary. I was also a camp counselor at Camp Coleman.”

Some responses differed from the others though and focused more on volunteer and community work outside the school district. 

Particularly, candidate John Poppe is involved in a numerous number of programs throughout the Kitsap area.

“I’m involved with the Silverdale Water District and a board member there,” Poppe explains. “I’m a board member of the Salmon Center out in Belfair, and Vice Chair of the Solid Waste Committee for the county. I’ve been involved with kids soccer, and I’ve donated a lot of food to the commissary. I also put a lot of work in trash pickup, I don’t care what it is, if it needs to get done I get it done. The trash along highway three just galls me so there’s several of us that have gone out here for about a month and picked it up.”  

The third question was a more complex and important one when it came to the position: “What is your view on public education, both philosophically and locally?” 

“Most people go to public schools so what we teach our kids in public education to go out into the world is vital,” said candidate Jon Jackson. “If we teach them the wrong thing, we’re not setting them up for success and basically setting them up for failure which would be detrimental to our society in the future.”

Candidate Kristin Hay echoed a similar response.

“It’s very important that we provide them [students] with an education that’s going to allow them to be productive members of our community,” Hay said. “They are our future. If we’re not providing them with an education that’s going to allow them to go on with whatever they want to do, get a further education, go to college, go to technical school, go to trade school, even start their own business, they’re going to want to be productive adults in the future. They’re going to build their whole future off of the education that they’re getting through public school.”

Starting off with a statement, the fourth question read, “The board’s major function is setting policies that affect every aspect of our district, including student learning. How would you approach setting policies that are equitable for all students?”

This question, involving the major factor of equity, is relevant to today’s educational climate. One of the top complaints that are put forward regarding education are complaints regarding the lack of equity, marking it as a serious issue.

“I think it’s really important,” states candidate Hay. “You have to look at everybody that’s in the school so there’s going to be contention from within. There’s going to be some parents that don’t like certain things, some parents that are going to want certain things, and community members who may or may not have children are also going to want certain things. I think it’s really important that you listen. You really hear what people are looking for and then you look at the value of what those things are going to bring.”

Hay continues, “When setting policy, you really have to look at whether or not you know that this policy is going to bring value to the entire system, how that one policy is going to affect the entire system, if the policy is necessary, and lastly how it’s going to affect everyone in the system. It might bring value to one group but is it going to discriminate against anybody else within that group? It’s really important that we look at this as a whole and that nobody feels that they’re discriminated against in any way. We’re all human beings and we should all be loved and cared for and we should all be valued.”

The next question to be asked of the candidates was open-ended. “In your opinion, what are Central Kitsap School District’s major strengths and weaknesses, and what role does the school board have in affecting those areas?”

“Our strength I believe is our teachers,” candidate Jon Jackson responded. “The teachers are dedicated to the students. Our weakness in my opinion is the way we teach and what we teach. I’ve seen over the years how the curriculum has changed. We change it every time the new best thing comes through, we’re not consistent. We get a program, we do it for a little bit, then we change it. It’s confusing the kids.”

Candidate Kristin Hay also had a response to this question repeating a similar sentiment in her previous answers.

“I think some of the strengths are that we have a lot of programs available to the students. If students are struggling in an area, like I mentioned earlier, the reading programs, and there’s lots of improvements really going on in the math program… One of the weaknesses I see as a parent is that it took me a couple of years before I really even realized what the function of the school board. I think maybe there might be a little bit of improvement on the communication side.”

The final question was geared towards student-specific issues. “As a school board director, how would you give student voices a space to thrive and be heard?”

“Students shouldn’t feel intimidated,” answered candidate Jackson. “They shouldn’t feel like they’re trapped, they should be able to go to their teachers, counselors, or board members and speak freely without feeling like they’re being judged or thought down upon.”

Candidate Hay echoed a similar sentiment stating that a good way to give students a voice would be, “…giving [students] the opportunities and encouraging them to come to their school board meetings and voicing their opinions.”

After the interviews had ended the board called a recess, following RCW 42.30.110(1)(h) to deliberate among themselves. 

The board decided to appoint candidate Kristin Hay to fill the vacated seat of Rob MacDermid and oversee District 2.

According to an announcement found on the CKSD website, “Director Hay has lived in Kitsap County for more than 15 years, and she has two elementary-age children in our district. Director Hay has strong leadership, communication, negotiation, and management skills. In her new role, Director Hay looks forward to ensuring that students have every opportunity available to them for the best learning environment.”

Once Director Hay completes MacDermid’s term she will face reelection in November of this year.