Marchbank cites experience, Budrow promises a fresh viewpoint
By Marcy Stamper
Methow Valley School Board member Gary Marchbank is facing a challenge from Twisp Police Chief Paul Budrow as Marchbank seeks a third term on the board.
The only other board seat up for election is held by incumbent Dana Stromberger, who is seeking a third term and is running unopposed.
School board directors serve four-year terms. The board sets the general policies of the district, which are implemented by the district superintendent, principals, teachers and other staff. The board adopts the budget and approves all spending.
The board’s responsibilities are in four major areas:
• vision — comprehensive strategic planning regarding student achievement.
• structure — financial planning and oversight; policymaking.
• accountability — setting goals and a process for evaluation, and making recommendations for improvements.
• advocacy — championing public education in the local community and before state and federal policy makers.
Gary Marchbank
Gary Marchbank has a 49-year history with the Methow Valley School District. He taught elementary and high school for 10 years (six of them in this district) and worked as a guidance counselor before becoming an electrician. He still works part-time as an electrician.
School funding is one of the major issues facing the school district, said Marchbank. Planning and budgeting have been very difficult because the state Legislature hasn’t provided complete details of the school financing plan they adopted this year, he said.
While concerned that smaller districts are being left out, Marchbank said the new funding formula may make budgets tighter, but “it’s not a crisis.”
Another major issue is ensuring that students learn to be critical thinkers, especially in a digital world, said Marchbank. When everything has become politicized, it’s too easy for students to find viewpoints that reinforce their own, he said. The school’s International Baccalaureate (IB) program helps build character traits that support critical thinking, he said.
Marchbank hailed the school’s progress in incorporating real-world situations, hands-on projects, and work with mentors and community partners in students’ education. Expanding real-world learning is one way to help students develop critical thinking skills, he said. He is also encouraged by the fact that the real-world approach can accommodate many learning styles.
Marchbank likes the inquiry-based philosophy of IB, which encourages kids to pursue things they’re interested in. “It’s just as important to find out what you don’t like as what you do like,” he said.
Marchbank is pleased that the district — and the overall approach to education in the U.S. — doesn’t use testing to direct students to an academic or vocational track. “Testing is something we have to live with,” he said, noting that teachers in this district are not merely “teaching to the test.”
Marchbank commended the IB learner profiles and partnerships with community resources such as Room One, the social services agency in Twisp, as a way of countering bullying. School staff also play a key role in helping students get to know other people and to understand their feelings, he said.
The district has been making strides to enhance safety for students and staff, including security cameras and a new card-lock system, said Marchbank. The district is working on a new emergency plan. “We’ve made really good progress, but there’s always work to do,” he said.
Eliminating fees for school supplies and reducing fees for athletics has been a big accomplishment during his tenure on the board, said Marchbank. The board hopes to eliminate pay-to-play fees this year, he said.
Facilities upgrades and new school buses, both supported by voter-approved bonds, have made a huge difference in the campus and its finances, since the district receives funding to maintain the new buses.
“It’s been a real honor to serve on the school board,” said Marchbank, noting that the current directors know how to work cooperatively and don’t have personal agendas. They focus on the big picture and on the students and their success, he said.
Paul Budrow
Paul Budrow has had a 33-year career in law enforcement and has been the Twisp police chief for seven years. He also has experience in education, having taught biology, chemistry and math before he became a police officer. He continues to teach classes in law enforcement and safety.
With his expertise in security, Budrow believes he would bring a unique and valuable perspective to the board. Moreover, as a parent of five children currently in the school district — with two more still pre-school age — Budrow believes he would contribute a fresh outlook, since none of the current directors have children in the district.
One of Budrow’s biggest concerns is the potential liability the school district faces stemming from bullying, safety problems or violence that may escalate and result in serious harm to a student or other individual.
“They don’t seem to want to take the safety of children into account,” said Budrow, who said there appears to be an assumption that because this school district hasn’t experienced a serious outcome from bullying, that it isn’t a problem. “It’s so obvious around the country — and we’re so divided — that it’s not ‘if,’ but ‘when,’” he said.
Budrow is concerned that the district isn’t taking issues such as alcohol, drugs and violence seriously and doesn’t deal with these issues unless they become critical. “I’m concerned that these issues are being swept under the rug,” he said.
Budrow is part of the team in the district working on an update of the school’s emergency policy.
Budrow said he would bring another unique outlook to the board because so many people in the community — both children and adults — see him as a trustworthy adult they can talk to.
Budrow is a regular presence in the schools, stopping by to have lunch with his kids, and teaching drivers’ education and bullying prevention. “I know all the kids and they trust me,” he said. “Board members need an idea of what’s actually happening in the world.”
If elected, Budrow said he would work to establish better communication between the directors and the public.
With regard to education, Budrow is concerned about an approach that appears to consistently promote students even if they haven’t mastered the material. “They’re not helping the students learn,” leaving them ill-prepared for post-high school education or the workforce, he said.
Budrow also wants to ensure that the district conducts adequate evaluations to determine if students need special education or extra support.
Despite his concerns about safety and open communication, Budrow likes the programs in the schools. He pointed in particular to the civics class at the Independent Learning Center and to the expansion of the welding and construction programs.
“I don’t have any specific ideas about education,” said Budrow. “I’d approach it from the bottom up — I’m not coming in to change the world. I’d learn like in any new job, but I could bring a fresh perspective, with a unique skill set from the liability and lawful side of things.”
