SPR News is spotlighting different local elections around Spokane before the general election on Nov. 4.
On October 8th, North Central High School's Civic Engagement Club hosted two candidates vying to be on the board of Spokane Public Schools — incumbent Hilary Kozel and challenger Jessica Anundson.
The debate was recorded by The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages team. You can watch it anytime on their YouTube channel.
The club asked SPR's Eliza Billingham to help moderate, alongside student panelists Gaby Phillipe and Daisy Tuter.
TUTER: Why do you want this position?
ANUNDSON: So I want this position because we need a voice on our school board of working families. When I'm elected, I will be the first person in a very long time to have an elementary school student, currently in District 81, and we need that representation, because representation matters.
KOZEL: Well, first of all, I want to thank the North Central Civic Engagement Club for hosting this. It's wonderful to see everybody here tonight.
I want this position because I've spent two years minimum getting ready for it. I was unanimously appointed two years ago by the school board over 10 minimum, very qualified other candidates. I said that I would run in two years, and I'm doing it not just because I said I would, but because I love the job. I've spent two years working very hard, showing up and listening, and I'm ready to go.
It's important to know this is a two-year term that we're running for, so I'm the best investment.
BILLINGHAM: What would be your top priority if you were elected?
KOZEL: Well, my first thought when I read that was, of course, funding, because public education is historically underfunded.
But I think I want to home in on something that we started last year, which is updating our cell phone and technology use policy. We've made strides, attendance is up, negative behaviors are down, kids are getting off their phones and engaging in real life, and again, this is another perfect example of that tonight.
Everybody is here in person connecting, and so it's really exciting to see everybody here. So just continuing on with our cell phone use policy. Thank you.
ANUNDSON: My top priority is based on a lot of conversations I've had over the last year. It's based on parents who want to be heard and want to know how to use the system. I'm going to work to help more students like my son, who was one year old when COVID happened, make sure we have teachers trained with behavioral health, make sure we have all the resources all of our students need to succeed, not just a few.
That includes the homeless youth that we have in Spokane, includes making sure, just like Hilary said, funding to make sure we have funding for all of our options programs, because those are the programs that make sure our students aren't falling through the cracks.
PHILLIPE: SPS invested in vape detectors in school bathrooms. Despite this effort, this has not been effective in deterring use. What other methods would be effective in combating this issue of vaping and use of other drugs?
ANUNDSON: So this is a very good question because I graduated high school in 2006, and I think we were talking about similar things at that time. What we did was incentivize not using and educating students about the benefits.
You're never going to get everyone, but at least by incentivizing, you give people something to go forth towards.
KOZEL: I've heard mixed reviews about the sensors, mainly because there might be a group of people in the bathroom, and so you're not able to figure out which one of them is vaping.
I think kind of piggybacking off of my opponent's comment is just getting to the health consequences and really educating about why is somebody vaping. There is still so little data on the effects of vaping that hasn't come out yet. It might be 10, 20 years with popcorn lung, et cetera.
So I think it's just really getting to the root cause of why somebody's vaping. Is it stress? Are you anxious? What is making you do this behavior, and what can we do to support you to stop it? So, again, just having those supports.
TUTER: Spokane Schools moved to eliminate one-to-one devices for this school year, promising 200 additional laptops for North Central students to check out. This likely will not be adequate for our high school, as we have a free and reduced rate of about 70%.
This means the access to technology at home is very limited for a large population of the school. Given the school board's equity resolution of 2021, how do you address this apparent inequity regarding technology at home?
ANUNDSON: Thank you for the question, because that is truly inequitable.
In my day job, I work on a technology team doing training and healthcare training for people outside of high school, but we are every day trying to figure out how we can help our members and students, and there are so many equity technology programs around this country that we could, if we can't afford to bring devices to all students like we have in the past, there are programs out there for us to be advocating to make sure all students have the devices that they need to succeed.
KOZEL: Thank you for that question. I happen to know a little something about that as an incumbent.
Last spring, the district leadership came to the board and said only 30% of laptops that go home with students, who it was a one-to-one checkout, one student per laptop—only 30 percent of those laptops per the data by our IT department were turned on.
So that seemed kind of like a no-brainer. Well, let's just give students that need that access, that equitable access to laptops, let's allow them to check them out, but otherwise we will convert the computer use to what we call COWs,or computers on wheels, so they would just access them during the day.
Because obviously if 70% of students who check out laptops aren't using them at home, why have them take at home risk damage to the computer, which is then a liability for them?
That sounded really good. It was a great way to save money for the district, and still provide equitable access to students. Well, that's not how this has rolled out this year. And I will just echo what our...
TUTER: Thank you for your response, your time.
KOZEL: ...it was a four out of ten, and I agree. So we're working on it.
BILLINGHAM: This question is a little bit broader. North Central was heavily affected by the boundary changes made in 2021, and NC staff were told that the school would receive additional support and funding for students of low socioeconomic status. What is your plan to fulfill this promise going forward?
KOZEL: So thank you for the question. I was a parent engaged in the district with that boundary study, and it was controversial, and it was really difficult for a lot of people that worked really hard on that.
But now it's time to reassess and see how things are going.
So that is one of the board's priority strategies for the year, is to reassess that boundary study so that we can make sure that all students' needs are being met.
ANUNDSON: I do agree with what Hilary just said, that the reassessment is important, but we do have this huge financial issue coming up with the federal government cutting funding for some of our most needing programs. So we're going to have to get creative and look at funding and other places that can give us funding than traditional sources.
So I will, again, in this position, fight to make sure the funding that was supposed to be allotted finds its way here, but also look for alternative funding sources that we can use so we can continue to move forward.
PHILLIPE: What role should the school board play in addressing social issues such as racial injustice, LGBTQ plus rights, and gender inequality?
ANUNDSON: I think, ... this is really a passionate thing for me. I think schools are a place of safety, and everyone should feel safe no matter who they are, where they're coming from, how much money they have, and how they identify.
So schools have a role where they can stand as leaders and show students how they should react and be leaders.
I do think we need to have a way that is transparent for people to tell their school and know what's happening and following up on what's going on if they do have an issue with that in their schools. And I want to really work to make sure we have that device in place in the next year so parents, students, know what's going on when they have issues.
KOZEL: Well, first of all, we have very firm policies. We do have our equity policy. We have a transgender policy. The role of the school board is to create a clear framework of policy so that day-to-day schools, in day-to-day schools, can function.
We also have diversity advisory groups. We have native education, parent advisory groups. We have a lot of listening sessions.
The most important thing is that students, staff, and families feel heard, and we have a community, Department of Community and Family Engagement with outreach coordinators for every feeder pattern so that if for some reason these policies aren't being followed, that there is recourse and a pathway.
We also have very strong bullying, harassment, and intimidation policies with clear pathways so that students and staff and families know which way to go.
ANUNDSON: I would like to say yes, there are policies in place and put online and been sent out, but for parents and families that I talk to all over this town, from all different points of life, they don't know how to follow through with that. They heard about it once, and they don't know what to do next. So we do need to have some education together again to make sure that we can really support those students and families.
KOZEL: I understand that, and I think there is always going to be a disconnect, especially in a district that's the third largest in the state.
What I always tell people when I'm out often in the community talking to students and families is to start with your school first, and if you're not feeling like your needs are being met, then go to the area advisor and area director, and you can always reach out to your school board.
I'm the board correspondent. I will make sure that your concern gets where it needs to go and that you understand the framework of what our policies are.
TUTER: With an uptake in violence in schools in recent years, do you think there should be police officers in schools?
KOZEL: Absolutely not. The data doesn't support that.
In 2020, 2021, we adjusted our policies to get commissioned officers out of our schools, and instead replace them with community safety specialists under the direction of Randy Moore, who heads up our security. And it has been a transformational experience for our students.
I'm not saying that there aren't any issues with discipline, but the data shows that that method of de-escalation with students is much more effective than having an armed officer, which might feel safe to me because of the way I look, but for many of our students, that only escalates behaviors because they feel threatened. So, absolutely not.
ANUNDSON: I agree with Hillary. This is going to be a common thing with us. We agree on a lot of things.
But I do want to iterate that I don't think police in schools make students feel safer either. I want our students to be showing up. If they're immigrants, I want them to show up. If there was a police in the school, plenty of families
I've talked to didn't go back to school with all the ICE raids.
BILLINGHAM: That leads very well into our next question. How would you work to protect legal immigrants scared of ICE raids in schools?
ANUNDSON: Well, first of all, making sure that it's very clear that we don't let ICE into schools.
Schools is a place of safety. It's a place of learning. It's not a place to be threatened. We have state city ordinances around that, and as a school board, we need to stand up for it and make sure that we are standing up for those students and giving the resources.
We have some great organizations in our schools, and I think we're going the right way. We're going the right way in our school district as long as we make sure that we are protecting those students.
KOZEL: Well, we do have a policy that aligns with the Keep Washington Working Act that states that there is no voluntary corporation with ICE and that schools must remain safe and welcoming for all students.
We're actually working on affirming that policy by instructing the frontline employees who might be in contact with ICE what to do, if they can teach them to determine the difference between a judicial warrant and not a judicial warrant. But we ensure through our policy that all students are safe and protected.
PHILLIPE: What programs does SPS have in place for students experiencing homelessness? What would you change about these programs to better support our students?
KOZEL: Well, we have too many students that are experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, over 1,000.
We have a very strong program called the HEART program. I would like to see that developed further. There is always a fund drive every year that I support and I would encourage everybody else to as well.
We also abide by the McKinney-Vento Act, which provides whatever a homeless student needs in terms of transportation so that they can get their needs equitably met.
ANUNDSON: So in addition to what Hillary is mentioning, we also have this great program to help homeless youth get their GEDs and get off in all their ways.
And then after they get their GEDs, they go to the apprenticeship. My nephew just went through the program, so I'm very proud of that because he would never have done it without that program.
The one thing I'd like to figure out, and it might already be happening, but Crosswalk is so far from where the program, where we have the GED program, it would be great to be able to figure out a more equitable way so that they're not, so they're being able to connect all the resources in one place.
TUTER: Since 2022, SPS and STA have partnered to transport high school students to and from school. However, students complain that buses are overcrowded, the STA schedule doesn't align with SPS hours, and the STA schedule being unreliable. What will you do to ensure students get to school safely and on time?
ANUNDSON: Well, there's definitely going to need to be, I mean, I know there are discussions with STA all the time, but to find those and make sure that we're putting the schedule in a place at those larger amounts of students getting on the bus so we have them in closer increments.
I drive by a high school every morning on the way to drop my kid off at school, and kids are pouring out of buses, and when they get picked up, it's gridlock-free from the cars around it. So the other thing I'd like to do is make sure we have covered areas near the schools and benches and places where people can be safe while they're waiting for the bus.
KOZEL: Well, we just need to continue communication and continuing partnering with not just STA, but other community organizations that can help mitigate those issues.
It's a wonderful partnership. It gets students where they need to go. It saves the district money, and it really is an important life scale, teaching students how to, and teachers.
We're now doing experiential learning field trips where kids go, even in elementary school, go on STA instead of having to pay to schedule a school bus.
So it's really a wonderful concept, but there's clearly a lot more work that needs to be done, just more communication and more partnering.
BILLINGHAM: While there are two student members on the school board, what would you do to provide more student voice in decision-making processes?
KOZEL: Well, I think a school district is better when we have more student voice.
One thing that we've slowly been getting, and I think last year was really a wonderful experience, and we just hope to continue to grow it, is a student voice group, which happens once a month. It's students from every high school come together once a month, and it moves around to different schools, and it's really bringing an issue that is on the minds of district leadership and the school board, and how would you like to see this happen?
We have a school climate survey that we do every year, and the scores have just been kind of stagnant, like, 'yeah, the climate's kind of okay, but it's kind of been okay for years.' So we went to the students last year, and they gave amazing feedback.
So having more of these student voice groups than what we already do, and again, I missed a school board meeting for the first time because we swore in our second student advisor, and I'm really excited for that. But just the more student voice, the better. Like tonight.
ANUNDSON: What Hillary was talking about is exactly what I think we need to do.
Even if we could bring some more leadership within those smaller groups, so people have more chance to be a leader and be a voice, so they can put it on their resume. If they want to go to job after school or go to college, those always help.
PHILLIPE: How do you plan to involve parents and the community in decision-making processes?
ANUNDSON: The biggest thing that I've learned over the last six months is that we need to have a listening season or listening sessions across this town for all parents, grandparents, people that are involved at the school, and figure out what they want and what they need. Because it feels, for a lot of parents, that they aren't being heard.
KOZEL: Well, I do need to praise our department of community and family engagement. They actually do conduct listening sessions with various groups within our community.
We could always do better, but those folks work really hard with outreach. We do have a citizens' advisory committee that meets once a month, and if you're new to the district, if you have a young child, I would recommend a way to kind of learn about the school system, the third largest district in the state, to join a citizens' advisory group.
Be a part of your school's parent-teacher group, because those are the people that we learn from as a school board and help us make those policy decisions.
We learn from people that are in day-to-day in school so that we can make that framework that I was talking about. So we have citizens' advisory group, and, again, we have those listening sessions, but we can always do more.
We have coffee with SPS once a month. Our communications department does a really good job of letting parents know that they can always click on SpokaneSchools.org and click on the Let's Talk tab, and they get a turnaround usually within a day.
ANUNDSON: So, the coffees at 8:30 in the morning are one of the reasons that I am running, because it's not a time for working parents. The people that I hear from are the working parents, not the people who have time to be on these committees. So we need to find a way to reach them.
KOZEL: I understand that. A perfect example of something that works for working families are the town halls that we had regarding the upcoming partnership, the School Bond and the Parks Levy. I attended all but one, and they were wonderful opportunities for families to come. It was from six to seven, and we didn't always just talk about the School Bond or the Parks Levy.
So there are always opportunities for parents to get engaged, regardless of the schedule, but do we need to do more? Absolutely.
Next week, Inland Journal will be all about housing. We had Catholic Charities, Union Gospel Mission, and Hogwash Whiskey Dent all in the studio to talk about the housing-first method of getting people off the streets. It was a fascinating conversation that's important for anyone who cares about homelessness, public safety, housing, or addiction.
