PORT TOWNSEND — Two women have declared their intent to run for positions on the Port Townsend School Board.
Holley Carlson, 44, and Jennifer James-Wilson, 51, both of Port Townsend, said they will file for the 2009 general election.
Official filing for the two open positions begins at 8:30 a.m. June 1, and closes at 4:30 p.m. June 5 at the Jefferson County Auditor’s Office, County Courthouse, 1820 Jefferson St., Port Townsend.
Carlson, a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Town & Country, said she is running for the position now held by John Eissinger because she believes it’s time for her to serve.
“Basically I feel it’s time for a change, and I feel like it’s my turn,” Carlson said.
“I feel committed to participating in a community where I work, where I live and where I raise my family.
“I’m very passionate about the schools here, and I feel the time is right.”
Carlson has worked with the Healthy Youth Coalition, Substance Abuse Advisory Board, Olympic Community Action Programs, Community Network Board, Real Estate Professionals for Affordable Housing, Port Townsend Cooperative Playschool and committees dealing with the last two Port Townsend School District Bond elections.
Along with volunteering in the classroom at Mountain View Elementary, Carlson also donates 10 percent of her real estate commissions to the schools, she said.
She and her husband, Todd Wilson, a doctor, have two children in the public school system, Annika, 7, and Sam, 5.
‘Competitive’ kids
“I want the schools to provide opportunities for all the children and give the chance for kids to be competitive,” she said.
“I would like to see three things: communication amongst the board and the community at large, collaboration also between the board and the community and compassion.”
Carlson said she was also looking at the financial situation facing the schools and the consolidation issues facing the district.
She said above all else she had one goal: “To provide a quality public school education for our kids.”
James-Wilson, a program assistant at Centrum and co-owner of the Port Townsend & Jefferson County Leader, said she is running for office to help bridge the gap between the community and the School Board and to improve education as a whole in the district.
She will run for the position now held by Rita Beebe.
“The last of my three children, my twins, are now graduating from high school, and while they have been in school, I’ve been pretty involved with the district at a number of levels,” James-Wilson said.
‘A good time’ to run
“I felt like it was a good time for me in my personal life to run for the school board now.”
“I’ve got the experience in the district, and I don’t want to become disconnected with that.”
James-Wilson has volunteered in classrooms and worked with site councils for the Port Townsend High School and Blue Heron Middle School, the Long Range Facilities Review Committee, staff hiring committees, the athletic review process and the Talented and Gifted program.
She has also helped create the Port Townsend Education Foundation.
James-Wilson and her husband, Scott Wilson, publisher of the Leader, have two children, Sophie and Walker, attending Port Townsend High School. They will both graduate this year.
“I’m interested in curriculum development K through 12, and I’m very interested in increasing overall academic expectations,” James-Wilson said.
“I’d like to see a higher percentage of our kids go to college. I’d like to see a higher percentage of our kids expect to go to college.
“I think there are things we can do to challenge kids of all abilities to do their best here.”
James-Wilson said she, too, was looking at the problems facing the school, including the budget constraints and talk of consolidation.
“While the needs in the district are extensive, the strengths are there as well,” she said.
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Reporter Erik Hidle can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at erik.hidle@peninsuladailynews.com.
