PORT ANGELES — A political forum Tuesday featured deep differences between Port Angeles School Board candidates Jerusha Henson and Susan Shotthafer.
The forum before about two dozen people at the weekly Port Angeles Business Association breakfast meeting focused on such issues as a dress code, cellphones in classrooms and Head Start, the federally funded preschool program.
Shotthafer, who will be 68 by Nov. 3, Election Day, has 21 years of classroom experience, including 11 as a substitute teacher in the Port Angeles and Sequim school districts.
Henson, 35 by Nov. 3, is a stay-at-home mom and former national park ranger.
They are vying for the Position 5 seat held by Steve Baxter, who is not running for re-election.
Shotthafer, who spoke more than her opponent during the 35-minute forum, said more funding is not the answer to dropout rates and low classroom performance.
Head Start
In her opening remarks, she criticized Head Start programs, saying they are ineffective in providing early childhood education for low-income children despite hefty federal spending for more than four decades.
“An alternate definition of insanity is ‘doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results,’” Shotthafer said.
“Mountains of research” have shown that “trillions of dollars” are not the answer, Shotthafer said.
“Cultural deficiencies, not funding deficiencies, impede students’ achievement.”
Henson said in a later interview that she supports Head Start.
“In my own personal experience with my kids, I’ve seen it just does wonders,” she said.
Shotthafer said a consistently enforced, districtwide dress code would improve student focus and performance.
After being a substitute teacher, Shotthafer said she has seen too much inappropriate clothing such as students wearing tails.
In addition, she said some girls wear dresses that are “way too short” and clothing with necklines that are “way too low.”
“If we want them to act more like scholars, shouldn’t we expect them to dress like scholars?” asked Shotthafer, adding she does not favor school uniforms.
Henson disagreed.
“Kids need to be able to express themselves in what they wear,” she said.
“I do not see a problem, as long as they are not showing more skin than is good or dressing inappropriately.”
In a later interview, Shotthafer said dresses should be “a couple inches” above the knee and collar lines “not more than an inch or so” below the collarbone.
“You would have to have a presentation to show what is acceptable and what isn’t,” she added.
School District Superintendent Marc Jackson, who attended the forum, said parents and guardians determine the dress and grooming standards of students.
Jackson said students’ clothing and grooming must not disrupt, interfere with or disturb the school environment.
He said parents and teachers have not raised concerns about inappropriate student clothing.
“It would be news to me,” Jackson said.
Cellphone use
Shotthafer also said her experience substituting has shown her that cellphone use in classrooms is not sufficiently controlled.
She said expectations of students can be raised by restricting all entertainment media excluding that used for teacher-initiated instruction.
Henson said later that the existing policy that bans personal cellphone use by students during class is effective.
Jackson said cellphones can be temporarily taken away from students who violate the rule.
“We always have kids that push the limits, and we have consequences for it, and that’s just what you have when you are dealing with youth,” he said.
The candidates also were asked about accommodating lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students.
Shotthafer said the LGBT population is so small that students’ needs could be accommodated without building new facilities.
Henson said other than possibly building separate bathrooms, “we should treat [LGBT students] like any other students.”
Shotthafer also said she supports merit pay for teachers and decried spending more money to reduce class sizes.
“It’s the teacher that’s really important,” Shotthafer said.
Henson said she “absolutely” believes in smaller classes because they allow for more one-on-one interaction with teachers.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
