Moscow School Board candidates talk safety
First election in a decade with challengers to incumbents
After more than a decade without a contested election, two members of the Moscow School Board will face challenges when school district patrons go to the polls Nov. 2.
In Zone 2, incumbent Ken Faunce is facing challenger Kendra Pickard. In Zone 5, incumbent Brian Kennedy is facing challenger Tim Halvorson.
The incumbent candidates said during a virtual candidate forum Monday hosted by the Moscow Education Association they felt more qualified to serve in the role, with years of experience on the school board already under their belts.
“I feel more qualified to help the community,” Kennedy said. “Serving on the board makes you realize not only that it’s a more complicated process of how the entire school district runs, but it also emboldens you with a new sense of the importance the board serves.”
Halvorson thanked the current board members for their contributions, but cited issues with communication.
“First, I want to just say that I have the most respect for the current board members, and the time they spend away from their families to do the job is not easy,” he said. “But I do think there has been some absolutely horrendous amounts of lack of communication.”
Kennedy said communication can always be improved, however he believes it’s gotten better over the last three years he served on the school board.
Pickard also brought her frustrations to the table.
“I was motivated by frustration with last year and what happened,” Pickard said. “Just the whole virtual process and there was a lot of unleft accountability.”
Pickard dropped out of the race earlier this month to avoid splitting votes with another challenger, Phillip Hutton, against Faunce, the current chair of the school board. However, she reentered the race after Hutton dropped out. (see accompanying story)
Both of the candidates’ names will appear on the ballots because they’ve already been printed.
Moderator Gerald Dalebout, a history teacher at Moscow High School, asked candidates what they’d like to see regarding current COVID-19 safety protocols in the school district.
“I think the safety protocols we have in place have been pretty successful,” Faunce said. “We’ve had almost no spread of COVID-19 within the classroom.”
Faunce recalled the moment last week when Moscow School District Superintendent Greg Bailey reported the first case of COVID-19 linked to a classroom in one of the school district’s buildings.
Out of an abundance of caution, an entire kindergarten classroom was sent home for a few days to isolate.
“Some students are gone a lot and they have to be quarantined and this puts an extra burden, not only on the families and the student, but on the teachers as well,” Faunce said. “The district has been working to try to help alleviate those areas as much as they can.”
One question, submitted by a viewer, asked candidates whether they supported masking in schools.
Each of the candidates answered yes, although some with varying degrees of enthusiasm.
“That’s a loaded question,” Pickard said. “For now, ‘yes.’”
Kennedy said he would absolutely support a masking policy for the remainder of the semester.
“We’ll look at the data between now and then to determine what we will do come February.”
Palermo can be reached at apalermo@dnews.com or on Twitter @apalermotweets.
Ken Faunce
Running for: Moscow School District, Zone 2
Age: 59
Education: Doctorate in history/historical archaeology
Experience: Four years on the Moscow School Board, with the last year as chair. Twenty years teaching at Washington State University focusing on undergraduate education and first-year students.
Family: Spouse and four children
Statement: I am engaged and passionate about education. A quality education in a safe and secure environment is extremely important for our children. I work hard to improve education on all levels. I will continue to bring this engagement and passion to my work with the Moscow School District.
Kendra Pickard
Running for: Moscow School District, Zone 2
Age: 56
Education: Master’s degree in marketing; bachelor’s degree in international relations, economics
Experience: Mother of four boys, early morning seminary teacher, business manager at Pickard Orthodontics, Readers as Leaders coordinator, president of married student housing UCLA, internal auditor Entergy Corporation and marketing analyst at Intel Corporation.
Family: Spouse and four children
Statement: Benjamin Franklin said, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." We need a long-term plan. I would love the opportunity to serve on the school board to help get Moscow schools ready for the future.
Brian P. Kennedy
Running for: Moscow School District, Zone 5
Age: 52
Education: Bachelor’s degree from Colgate in biological sciences; doctorate from Dartmouth in ecology and evolutionary biology
Experience: I have been in higher education for my entire adult life and have served on the Moscow School Board for the last three years. I am a professor at the University of Idaho and have served in leadership positions for the UI’s Federation of Teachers, Local 3215 of the AFT. I have taught in Moscow since 2005, managed large, federally funded research projects, advised students, collaborated with Moscow School District’s teachers and served on university committees that resolve disputes and oversee faculty appeals. I have my own school-aged children that have been raised in the Moscow School District and try my best to stay connected with the successes, concerns and frustrations of other Moscow families as well as their teachers.
Family: Spouse and two children
Statement: I believe the Moscow School District embodies all that is best about our community. … Three years ago, I joined the board to contribute to that process and to give back to the community that has meant so much to my family. My experiences in these three years have made me appreciate the significant role and responsibilities of the board as well as the importance of maintaining effective communication, focusing on a student-centered ethic and constantly anticipating future challenges. … As a board member, I can promise to advocate for the district and build partnerships that help us make positive steps toward progress on these challenges to serve the best interests of all our students.
Tim Halvorson
Age: NA
Education: Oregon Institute of Technology
Experience: Staff design engineer at Comtech Telecommunications. Co-owner of Garnet Property Management. I would bring problem solving skills and data-driven decision-making skills learned throughout my career as an electrical engineer. I am also a small business owner and would like to see concepts, such as return on investment analysis, applied to running the district’s finances. I am also a parent who has had children in the district for the past 20 years. Lastly, I have experienced firsthand the value of education and the impact that it has had on my life.
Statement: I decided to run after the district adopted Mastery Based Learning in 2019. The methods utilized in MBL were overwhelmingly rejected by parents, students and teachers and resulted in our middle school students organizing a protest and walking out of class. Going back further, an experimental math curriculum was adopted in 2008. The concerns of parents, students and teachers were ignored. There is a pattern of decision making that indicates a disconnect between the school board and people it is intended to serve. We need to stop chasing the latest educational fad. We need to listen to students, parents and teachers. … We need to elect leaders into school board positions that are not only “thinkers,” but also “do-ers.” I will actively represent the constituents of Zone 5 by listening to their input and following up with a response.
