LYNNWOOD—Lynnwood resident Jason Moore, who has been active in the Edmonds School District Board meetings’ public comments section for the last three years, is seeking to replace incumbent Thom Garrard in the Position 4 seat to “diversify thought,” he told the Lynnwood Times. If elected, he plans to listen to the will of the people and offer a different perspective to what’s currently on the table.
“Basically they [board members] all have the same opinion. They agree on pretty much everything and they all pretty much vote yes on everything. We need more discussion. We need more variance in opinions, that’s the whole idea of a board – to have varying views and opinions,” Moore told the Lynnwood Times. “The Board should not be agreeing on everything, I see that as a problem. There should be some discussion and maybe even arguments at times about the best way to do things.”
Though Moore’s two children (both boys) are not currently students in the Edmonds School District, being enrolled in a local private school, Moore is still concerned with the current public education system – a concern which prompted him to run for the School Board position to begin with.
“My wife and I are privileged enough to send our children to private school. I know not everyone is able to do that, but even though my boys are not enrolled in the Edmonds School District I believe that a public school should be a place where children can have a good opportunity to succeed,” said Moore. “If they want to continue on to University or college then they should be equipped to do that.”
Moore’s top priorities, if elected, are school safety, parents’ rights, transparency and accountability.
Regarding safety, with youth violence and gang activity on the rise in the area, Moore said the current board refuses to acknowledge that this is an ongoing issue. He supports restoring School Resource Officers to accommodate.
“If we want to solve a problem that we can see is happening, the first thing we need to do is acknowledge that it’s a problem so that we can work together to solve it,” said Moore.
Moore also supports the Let’s Go Washington initiative (I-2081) regarding parental rights (his second priority) to allow parental access to their children’s records including medical, mental health issues, and other services and support offered to students.
“I support total transparency with parents, and they need to be notified of whatever actions are being done in the schools with their children,” said Moore.
Moore also wants to prioritize listening to the public, gaining feedback, and ensuring he represents the people, and their values, at the root of all his decision-making. His goal, he shared, is to try and encourage people to get more involved in the school district’s process, as well as raise awareness regarding issues he knows would directly impact them and their children.
“I know there are surveys that exist, but I think there are other ways to get people more involved in the school district,” said Moore.
Lastly, related to his last priority – transparency and accountability – Moore wants to reform the study sessions that are part of the public meeting process at the school board. The equivalent of this at the City Council level, Moore explained, would be a Work Session – a public meeting where no actions are taken but foster discussions, interactions, and invite questions from the public.
Currently Board study sessions are not recorded for the public’s access, Moore continued adding he wants to change that so that parents, regardless of their work and life schedules, and tune in and keep up to date with school business.
Though Moore’s core reason for running is to diversify thought on the school district, to dissent, to offer a difference of opinion, he understands the way policies work as well as decorum. If elected, he still plans to interact in a professional way, he shared.
Moore also wants to exercise fiscal responsibility with the board’s roughly $450 million annual budget, approved by school board members.
“We need to ensure that the people are receiving a good service with the money that they’re spending,” said Moore. “If we look at the results over, say the last 10 years, the performance level of the school district, based on standardized test scores, we should understand what we are getting in return. If what we’re getting is lower scores, instead of an increase in standardized test scores, we need to have a better idea of where taxpayers’ money is going and how it’s being used.”
Moore wants to lead an analysis and investigate how much of the School Board’s resources are being used and where, to see how much of the budget is not being focused on core education as he believes it should be. In short, he believes that if the school district asks for more money residents should expect better results.
To raise test scores Moore would be open to forming a Task Force centered on understanding why test scores are still below pre-pandemic levels and encourage students to get more involved in STEM programs that he believes will set them up for success later down the road.
Moore natively hails from Michigan. He moved to Washington by way of the U.S. Navy, serving at the Oak Harbor U.S. Naval Base in Whidbey Island for five years from 2005 to 2009.
While serving in the military he met his current wife and the two were married a couple of years after he was successfully discharged, settling down in Snohomish County where they’ve called Lynnwood home for the last decade.
As a 30-year remodel Carpenter, Moore recently opened his own business and frequents community events like the Fair on 44th and the Veteran’s Dinner at the Community Event Center.
When Moore is not attending School Board meetings and running for School Board, he’s actively involved in local politics, a frequenter of City Council meetings, and supporting his two kids’ extracurricular activities.
Moore said he is running for a School Board position and not, say, a City Council position because the “next generation of children” are being mostly educated in the public school system and he believes that children deserve to be educated and equipped for success.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
