Evergreen school district sees one contested board race

Evergreen is a district of contrasts. Districtwide, 47 percent of its students qualify for free or reduced-price meal programs, but that number is an average. At Illahee Elementary on the more affluent eastern border of the district, 25 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-priced meals. In contrast, at Crestline Elementary, in a poorer section of Cascade Park, 72 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The district’s four-year graduation rate of 85 percent is 12 points higher than at Vancouver Public Schools and eight points higher than the state average.

With 26,400 students and more than 1,500 classroom teachers, Evergreen Public Schools plays a major role in Clark County. Its school board members make decisions that affect many in the county.

In the upcoming election, two school board positions are on the ballot. Michael Parsons, a current school board member seeking re-election, is uncontested in his race in District 5.

Daniel Poletti is challenging incumbent Julie Bocanegra in District 1.

Poletti, a payroll accountant, has five children, and four are school age. He said he and his wife oversee their children’s schoolwork and deal with the “learning styles of different children,” he said. “All four of them scored in the 90th percentile on the standardized tests last year,” he said.

Poletti’s political involvement includes the Liberty Alliance, a grass-roots group of Tea Party advocates, libertarian Republicans, and values voters who primarily supported Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich or Rick Santorum during the Republican presidential primaries. He authors a political blog, “Called Unto Liberty,” http://calleduntoliberty.wordpress.com/, which the blog describes as “one activist’s perspective on Clark County politics.”

Bocanegra, a bank manager, was appointed to the board in February 2012. She’s a longtime district volunteer and the mother of a junior at Heritage High School.

Incumbent Bocanegra said she’s “proudest of the fact that we’ve been able to fund full-day kindergarten without additional funding from the state.”

Evergreen was the first district in Clark County to offer full-day kindergarten at all of its elementary schools.

She also listed the opening of Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience High School as one of the district’s greatest achievements during her tenure on the board.

“It’s another way to help kids find that passion for learning.”

Looking to the district’s future, Bocanegra said, “It’s really important for our district to keep the money in the classroom, maintain facilities, keep our eyes on growth. We have to continue to find ways to engage student learning through a variety of programs, something that sparks their interest.”

A lifelong Clark County resident, Bocanegra said, “I’m really passionate about student achievement and helping kids succeed. I want to make sure every student is world competitive and is career or college ready when they leave our system.”