Four of seven candidates respond to email questionnaire, the results of which are posted on the school district website

Hoping to shed some light on the upcoming school board election a group of Newberg parents have created and distributed an e-mail questionnaire for the seven candidates running for four open positions May 19.

Parents representing each school in the district meet with Superintendent Kym LeBlanc-Esparza on a monthly basis in order to discuss issues in the district and then report back to other parents.

Because there are so many open positions on the board and three contested races, one member suggested at its most recent meeting that it should create a survey so that parents could get a better idea for who was running for school board.

The issue was raised, in part, because a member of the group, Jennifer Fisher, is running versus Mindy Allison for the Zone 6 seat.

Results of the survey are posted on the district home page at http://www.newberg.k12.or.us/district/parent-groups-question-school-board-candidates. As of Tuesday, six of the seven candidates had turned in their responses, with zone 2 candidate Jason Yates being the only exception.

Parent group member Lynette Hammon, who distributed the questionnaire, said the four candidates who did respond expressed their gratitude and appreciation that the parent group had spearheaded such a project.

After collecting questions from members, the survey was boiled down to four basic questions: Why are you a good candidate and why did you run? What do you see as the biggest challenge facing the district today, in the near future and long term? How have you familiarized yourself with the priorities of the school board and how do yours align or differ? What experience and understanding do you have of government budgets or do you have another skill that you feel is valuable to the board?

Candidates were asked to limit their responses to 200 words or less.

Written by Seth Gordon, Newberg Graphic