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Three board members eye four more years Eva Skuratowicz Friday Apr 28, 2017 at 6:56 PM Apr 28, 2017 at 6:56 PM Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings @Joe_Zavala99 The decisions the Ashland school board makes during its often sparsely-attended meetings held the second Monday of every month in the City Council chambers may fall squarely in the under-the-radar category, but its collective philosophy represents at least one hand on the district’s steering wheel. Ashland residents will have a chance to voice their approval or disapproval of three-fifths of that school board in the upcoming Jackson County special election May 16, when board chairman Jim Westrick, Deneice Covert Zeve and Eva Skuratowicz will be up for reelection to the five-member board. Skuratowicz will be seeking her third term after originally joining the board in 2009, Westrick is facing his second election after taking over for Ruth Alexander after she resigned in 2012, and Zeve is in line for her second term. All three are running unopposed, which may come as a surprise to some, at least until they head over to the Oregon School Board Association website (www.osba.org) and read the job description. The unpaid position requires “a substantial time commitment” for meetings, work sessions and appearances on behalf of the district, and the long list of responsibilities includes setting district policy, hiring a superintendent — something Ashland’s school board recently completed for the third time in the last five years — establish budgets, guide collective bargaining and help drum up support for bond measures and local option levies critical to district operation. Skuratowicz estimates those responsibilities amount to about five hours a week on average, but all three said it’s time well spent. “I’m in higher ed and I feel really strongly that one of the most important things we can do as a society is provide a quality public education for kids,” said Skuratowicz, 52, the director of Southern Oregon University’s research center. “I think it’s a fundamental thing that we must do. And I feel really strongly in making sure that that’s something that happens in Ashland and that I’m involved in it.” Zeve, 48, an attorney and former deputy attorney general in Pennsylvania who’s an Aspire mentor at Ashland High School, said it’s important for her to give back and sitting on the school board allows her to do that. “It's a lot of time for anybody to give, but I feel like I can make that commitment at this point in my life and so I should do it,” she said. “I would say that I have a strong passion to support kids and education combined with a desire to contribute to our community. Serving on the board feels like a good way to combine these interests and, hopefully, do some good. I am also most proud of the teamwork it took to work on many organizational issue that impact the functioning of our district. It is my hope that the condition of our district is in as good of shape as possible to embrace our new superintendent and continue to work towards improving the lives of all kids in our community and hopefully having that impact go beyond our district and community.” Westrick, 48, a former teacher and administrator (director of academic technology) who’s also the founder and president of the software company Collaborate Learning Inc., was appointed to the board in 2012 and was elected in 2013. As the board’s chairman, he guides it through the usually jam-packed itinerary during its monthly meetings. To Westrick, one of the most important things board members must remember to keep in mind as they slog through the long list of issues and action items which demand their attention is the district’s literal purpose, which he reads before every meeting. “For me, I come back to our mission,” Westrick said. “What is the mission of public schools, and we have a mission statement for the district. You hear it every (month) at our school board meeting: 'to empower students to be lifelong learners, responsible citizens and stewards of the world.' And there are many things on a weekly-monthly basis that vie for our attention as a district, as a board, as a community, and I have to tell you most all of them are really great things. But anybody who has ever run a successful business can tell you, you can’t be successful if you try to do too many things or if you lose sight of what your mission really is.” The board faced several key issues over the last two years, including implementing a new priority-based system by which the district distributes elementary students throughout each of its school zones, the hiring of interim Superintendent Suzanne Cusick and her replacement, incoming Superintendent Kelly Raymond, and yet another successful Youth Activities and Academics Levy campaign. When asked to name the big issues facing the district in the near future, all three mentioned the campaign to replace the $46.8 million bond passed in 2006, and the challenge of transitioning to a new superintendent. “We’re not the bond committee, but we play a big role in trying to get it passed by the voters,” Zeve said. “The community passing the bond is critical to the success of the school district and our community and that is on everyone’s mind right now.” Joe Zavala is a reporter for the Ashland Daily Tidings. Reach him at 541-821-0829 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @Joe_Zavala99.