Stephanie Jerdon is a former fifth- and sixth-grade teacher who left the profession to start and raise a family. When her three boys grew old enough for school, she followed them as a parent volunteer.
“I was mentoring in reading and math. I was in the PTO. I taught as an art docent," she said. "It’s just been so fun to be able to have that front row seat, to see my children grow and get to know their teachers and just be really aware of their environment and what’s going on with them.”
Jerdon says two of her sons have graduated, one is still in school. She says she would be an asset on the board because she’s in touch with what’s going on.
“The people I talk with every day are parents and students and teachers and staff and so having that perspective is valuable. You get to see the practical application of district policies and decisions in real time," she said.
"My son comes home and he tells me the things he’s seen and talking with other parents, they’re telling me their concerns. Having that understanding of what’s happening on the ground level then helps us to make more informed decisions from the district level.”
Jerdon says her interactions with parents have convinced her that there’s dissatisfaction on some levels with the district and its recent decision making, especially during the pandemic.
“I feel like the culture for the last several years has been one that made a lot of families feel like they were being kept at arms length. It was especially tricky during COVID, of course. Parents, naturally, now had a front row seat to what was happening as they watched the virtual learning happening," she said.
She says the district alienated many parents during virtual board meetings when it stopped taking live public comments "and I think that those frustrations kind of shut a lot of people down and a lot of people were so frustrated that they chose other options," as in sending their children to private schools or home schooling.
Jerdon says she’s concerned about school safety, particularly when it comes to students walking to and from school and being approached by strangers. She’s also disappointed with the academic progress in the district, with half or fewer of students getting passing marks on state achievement tests, depending on the subject.
Jerdon says she shares school-related information via her social media channels and gained a following with people who see her as a reliable source of information.
“Already, just as a candidate, I’ve had people reach out to me and ask me questions and say, ‘Hey, here’s a concern I have. Who should I talk to?’ They’re already feeling like I’m someone that’s accessible for them," she said.
Board member Debra Long thinks the current board is already accessible. She points to recent public outreach campaigns conduced on a variety of controversial topics.
“We’ve done it with our math curriculum. We’ve done it with social and emotional. We did it with human growth," she said. "So we go to the community often because I value their input and I want to hear. I want to hear what they’re saying.”
Long was first elected in 2003. She’s seeking a sixth term. She has served in leadership with the Washington State School Directors’ Association and with a variety of other community groups. She’s the accounting manager at Lockwood Retirement Communities. She’s also active as a volunteer in the district’s schools.
“I’m heavily involved in band and color guard. I have run their craft fair for 26 years and I’ve raised over $1.5 million. I care about kids. I’m heavily involved in drama. My husband builds all the sets for CV theater," she said.
Long says CV is in a transition period. has emerged from the pandemic with a need to move aggressively to regain the academic footing it had a few years ago.
“Last year we focused on belonging, making sure that the child felt, all the students felt, like they had somebody to talk to, to be with and make a difference in their life and that was important," she said.
Now, Long says, the district needs to move aggressively to regain the strong academic footing it had a few years ago.
“We’ve had a whole year and we took tests and it is my understanding that math and science raised. I’m waiting for it to be published, but it’s supposedly gone up like 14% and that’s huge. It’s not enough. We need better education. We need to more personalize as to education," she said.
According to Washington’s Public Disclosure Commission, Debra Long has raised nearly $13,000, as October 31, and spent about $8,500. Some of the contributions are from labor and Democratic Party sources, but much of it is small individual contributions. Stephanie Jerdon has raised nearly $15,000 and spent $11,000. Most of her contributions are raised from individual donors.
