Reporter staff
Longtime Kent resident Bruce Elliott continues to hold a commanding lead over Maya Vengadasalam and Carmen Goers in the race for a spot on the Kent School Board.
In the latest returns from Tuesday’s primary election, Elliott received 7,506 votes or 43.88 percent of the tally, followed by Vengadasalam (5,534 votes, 32.36 percent) and Goers (3,970 votes, 23.21 percent).
Tim Clark vacated the No. 5 board seat to run for Kent mayor.
The top two vote-getters move on to the Nov. 5 general election.
The election is expected to be certified Aug. 20.
Elliott says that he’s buckling down for an anticipated race against Vengadasalam.
“If I wasn’t going to make it through the primary, I wasn’t going to clutter myself with too much stuff, but I’m prepared now,” Elliott said.
While he admits he’s not too familiar with the way the school district operates, Elliott says he’s a “pretty quick study.”
Elliott’s priorities for the district include developing a foundation to make sure students are proficient in mathematics without a calculator and to have a strong base in reading, writing and spelling by the time they finish eighth grade.
Vengadasalam, meanwhile, plans to reassess her door-to-door efforts to meet with constituents. One-on-one conversation will be the best way to meet and attract voters, she says. She also hopes to have more forums where she and Elliott can present their philosophies on education to the public.
Vengadasalam began volunteering in the district in 2001, shortly after Sept. 11, to help teachers and students with racial tensions that flared up after the terrorist attacks. She moved on to co-chair the Alliance for Diversity and Equity in 2005, and also volunteered to help the district transition from its middle school to junior high model. She volunteers as an advisor to the Seattle Foundation’s Small Grants Fund, which helps kick-start small programs that benefit schools, and the city of Kent’s Mayor Advisory Team.
Vengadasalam has seen the district change over 10 years and feels that she acts as a bridge between the schools and community. “I know where it’s been, where it’s going. I know how to work with individuals in the district. It always goes back to strengthening communication between families and schools.”
She says there are two primary issues the district needs to confront. The first is better reporting for students who are bullied based on race, religion or sexual orientation. Many students don’t feel comfortable reporting bullying due to fear of repercussions.
She also says some schools have lower standards for students, and that all schools have to hold the same standards across the district that expect students to succeed. As an example, she said, there’s no reason Kent-Meridian High School can’t have a ninth-grade biology program when other schools in the area do.
“We need to rally our families to help them understand what it is our kids are missing,” Vengadasalam said.
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