Teacher and crisis line supervisor on the ballot for West Valley School Board

With ever-so-slight distinctions between their positions, a crisis line supervisor and a teacher, both district parents, are vying for the sole open seat on West Valley’s school board.

Candidate Amy Anselmo has spent a collective 15 years in education, in an Oregon district and in roles at Spokane Public Schools, where she teaches now. The school board can benefit from her unique perspective, she said.

A West Valley district parent, Anselmo is enthusiastic about Millwood’s small-town energy and eager to serve on the school board. She recalls the unprecedented problems of the pandemic, being thrust unprepared into the role of online teacher, trying to support her students while unsteady herself. She said adapting to COVID would make her a quick study if elected.

“I have that firsthand experience with students and being a staff member to maybe look at things in a different perspective, to give my opinion on what I have seen has worked and what hasn’t,” Anselmo said. “That would benefit the school board. You’ve got someone living that life in the trenches of education.”

A crisis line supervisor, mental health is key in S. John Dubois’ campaign. Answering calls of those in crisis has given him a toolbox of strategies to support kids in behavioral and mental health concerns. The nation’s youth are experiencing a mental health “crisis,” Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy declared this year, with increases in youth depression, suicide ideation, and attempts across the board compared to years passed. More preparation and education in schools before a student is in crisis, he said, is a remedy to this endeavor.

If elected, Dubois proposed the district engage in creative strategies to involve the community symbiotically, especially through volunteerism. Students can benefit by learning through adults in their community and adults also can gain insights on societal shifts, which he said first happen in schools.

“All that is to make a more robust community and use the community to make a more resilient student body so that they are better equipped to become adults themselves,” he said.

First bond in 20 years

West Valley is preparing for the district’s first bond proposal since 2003, which paid for the construction of West Valley High School. To prepare, the district assembled a committee of district residents to gauge the state of current schools and design a bond proposal for the school board. Approved by the board to appear on February ballots, the committee recommended replacing Centennial Middle School, combining City School and Spokane Valley High School and upgrades that would allow the reintegration of kindergartners from Millwood Kindergarten Center to their neighborhood school. The lease is expiring on the building currently used for the district’s preschool program, so the district plans to move the preschoolers into the Millwood center and shuffle kindergartners back to neighborhood schools.

In February, the district will ask voters to approve a $92 million bond, with an estimated property tax rate of $1.49 per $1,000 in assessed property value. 

Both candidates said they supported bond renewals to pay for the maintenance and construction of new schools.

Dubois said he was looking for an “alternative” to fund the district’s facility needs, but until then, he offered begrudging support for the bond renewal and accompanying tax increase, acknowledging the necessity to house kindergartners.

“By having this bond, hopefully, it will allow us to better expand some of those so that we can bring the kindergartners back without impacting negatively by class sizes and such,” he said.

Anselmo said she’s undecided on the topic, her position contingent upon whether existing facilities can accommodate the kindergartners, whose ranks last year totaled just under 200 students that would be spread among the district’s four elementary schools. Anselmo estimates schools would need an additional two or three classrooms.

Citing observations from her 13 years as a teacher, Anselmo said she can see each side of the coin. On one side, she said it may be beneficial for them to be sheltered from older students. On the other, older students can act as role models for kindergartners.

“I’ve taught where kindergarten has always been a part of the day,” Anselmo said. “It’s really neat to have like reading buddies and have some of those older kids mentor some of the kindergartners”

Considering which facilities to target with bond dollars, each candidate said they’d support the district’s identified needs.

Dubois emphasized the poor conditions in Centennial Middle School, which was last upgraded in 1988; Spokane Valley High School and the 100-year-old City School.

“They’re old, dilapidated, for sure. When you go into the locker room, cafeteria, you can tell that they’re dated,” Dubois said. “They’ve held up well and been cared for, but even with all that care they could be better and our kids would benefit from having more facilities.”

Anslemo said she’d support whatever facilities or upgrades the district needs to accommodate students. Like Dubois, an “overhaul” of Centennial Middle School and repairs on Spokane Valley City School are needs she’s identified. She also proposed renovating the district office, which was included in the committee’s bond proposal.

Levy renewal

The current levy, approved by voters in 2021, is up for renewal in February. Property owners pay $3.95 per $1,000 in assessed property value, funding everything outside of basic education. This includes nurses, custodians, security, additional teachers and support staff, sports, music and arts and technology. Both candidates endorsed levy renewal, citing the value the property taxes provide in students’ education. Dubois said he is interested in investing in technologies to accommodate kids with differing learning styles. Anselmo said she’d continue to support activities, pointing to the benefits students gain in participation: learning teamwork, making friends and fostering belonging at school.

West Valley voters will have their choice between the two when ballots are mailed in about two weeks. They are due in official election drop boxes or postmarked in mailboxes by election day on Nov. 7.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on October 5, 2023, to accurately reflect the status of West Valley’s bond proposal.