Six candidates are running for three seats on the Woodland Joint Unified School District Board of Trustees in the Nov. 8 election.

In Area 6, incumbent Morgan Childers will run up against candidate and parent Garret Wright.

The Woodland Daily Democrat sent five questions to all six candidates to give them all an equal chance to articulate themselves and emphasize what they would like to achieve or continue to achieve on the Woodland School Board.

The series starts with Morgan Childers.

Q What qualifies you to either continue to be or become a school board member? Why is it important to you to hold that position?

A I am proud to be completing my second term with the WJUSD Board of Trustees and am currently the senior-most member of the Board. As such, I bring a wealth of historical knowledge and valued experience to the school district. Over the past eight years, I have built strong working relationships with other local government agencies, businesses, and non-profit organizations that help to build and maintain partnerships throughout the community to the benefit of students, families, and staff.

Further, I have owned and operated a small business for the past 22 years and approach making school board decisions from a business perspective. I practice good stewardship with taxpayer dollars and make budget decisions in a smart and informed manner.

I’ve spent the last eight years working hard to improve this school district. Other than raising my three wonderful children, my work on the school board is my proudest achievement. I’ve been witness to many positive outcomes, and I know that good things are still on the horizon. It’s important to me to hold this position because I have unfinished work that I want to complete. As I continue this work, I will always remain flexible and listen to the diverse views and concerns of the community while using data and common sense to make decisions.

Q What Should the WJUSD’s #1 priority be now that we look to be out of any pandemic-type restrictions on our schools? How should the school district use remaining COVID funds?

A Undoubtedly, my first priority, post-pandemic, will continue to be to address any learning loss that students have faced as a result of the past few years and use our remaining COVID funds toward this goal.

We all know that many kids are behind, and it’s my intention to work with my colleagues and staff to remedy this issue. As a District, we are taking several steps toward addressing learning loss and a significant amount of time and money is being put into this area. Among the programs that have been put in place include:

• ELOP (Expanded Learning Opportunities Program)

• K-3 Literacy Initiative

• Expanded summer school programs

• Increased mental health supports

• Universal Design for Learning (with tailored lesson plans to meet the individual needs of students).

• Comprehensive review and planning of a district-wide Literacy and Numeracy Plan

• Expansion of our STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) program at a number of elementary school sites

• Expansion of our Youth Development Plan so that all schools have student leadership groups to formalize their participation in the decision-making process at the District level.

Among many other programs and resources being provided and promoted to students, we have also increased our partnership with Woodland Community College to provide additional Dual Enrollment opportunities.

Q Are you or have you recently been happy with the overall direction of the school district? Why or why not?

A In general, I’m happy with the overall direction of the school district, but I’m not naive about the fact that there is a lot of work to be done and fences to mend. It’s important that we learn lessons from our past efforts and work to continually improve. I’m very happy with the construction of Springlake Elementary, the re-construction of the Woodland High School Stadium, eight consecutive positively certified budgets, the successful passage of the school facility bond measure, and the passage of a variety of policy changes aimed toward inclusion and equity, during my tenure on the school board. I’m proud of how students have continued to work so hard to reach their goals, but I’m aware that standardized test scores illustrate learning loss. I’m proud of how our teachers and staff have demonstrated resilience and an ability to quickly pivot to new methods of teaching. However, I know that they are overworked and that, despite a 10% increase in compensation over the next two years, they are still underpaid compared to neighboring districts. I’m also very proud of how families have adapted and worked so hard to stay informed to help their children with their education in a changing landscape. But I know that the district can still make strides in our overall approach to “customer service.” The District must also ensure that our communication and messaging are transparent, clear, and concise and is distributed in print, digital (email and social media), voice messages, and public forums. I’m very happy with our recent development of the District Wide Facilities Plan and that we have a general roadmap to improving our schools, but it’s clear that the District is in dire need of additional funding to complete these projects. I’m pleased with our partnership with law enforcement and the work we’ve done to improve safety at our schools’ sites, but I am aware that we’ve only scratched the surface, and we are currently reviewing additional safety measures for our campuses.

Q In your opinion, how does the WJUSD become more desirable and bring back students that have left or ones living in Woodland that go elsewhere like Woodland Christian or Davis?

A Districts statewide have suffered from lower enrollment largely due to families moving to other areas or out of the state altogether. Our District illustrated this fact at a recent board meeting. But we also have families that make the decision to enroll their students at local private schools and/or to transfer to other districts. While some families make this decision for religious reasons, others make it for convenience (e.g., to have their students closer to where they work), and others simply see a better fit for their child at a different school. I fully support a family’s right to make this choice and would not support putting policies in place to restrict it. While these other schools offer quality academic programs, I believe that WJUSD has more to offer in terms of academics, extracurriculars and electives, clubs and sports, student and family support, and in our sheer number and diversity of programs. We must work harder to communicate the wonderful array of academics and programs that we offer, giving students an amazing wealth of choices to enhance their education and experience.

Q What is something that you feel the district is not paying enough of a focus to and what would you do to improve that?

A In the short term, we must address the issue of transportation and buses. During the recent heat wave in Woodland, our buses reached unreasonably high temperatures. While the idea of a new fleet of air-conditioned buses is quite attractive, it is also extremely high in cost. While the District researches grant options and analyze budget availability, I’ve asked for information on installing fans on buses, as well as providing additional staff to provide relief for bus drivers on these occasional days. Additionally, I’ve also asked for information on how we can shorten the amount of time that children spend on buses by modifying routes and/or adding more buses to the fleet. Another area that I believe needs more attention is providing improved services and facilities for special education, alternative education, and at-risk youth such as foster children. I will work diligently with my colleagues and the superintendent to address these areas and not let these children slip through the cracks. While we have direction and standards to meet from the state and federal government, I believe that we can set goals for exceeding these standards and provide a quality and equitable education for all children. I’m always available to speak/email with those who reach out, and I invite you to learn more about the issues, my background, and my accomplishments at www.VoteChilders.com.