Challengers oust incumbent in Kent school board primary race

The Kent School Board will have a new director for Position No. 4 this fall.

Incumbent Agda Burchard lost the Aug. 1 primary election to challengers Bryon Madsen and Denise Daniels.

As the two candidates with the most votes in the primary, Madsen and Daniels will face off in the Nov. 7 general election.

Burchard was appointed to the board in June 2012 to fill a vacancy left by Bill Boyce who resigned to focus on his responsibilities as a Kent City Council member. She was elected to a four-year-term in 2013.

Burchard will serve out the reminder of her term, which expires in November.

“I am proud of the Kent School Board’s accomplishments during my five years of service,” she said in an email. “Our accomplishments include approving a race and equity policy, increasing social-emotional supports for our students, decreasing out-of-school suspensions, hiring a new superintendent and approving a blueprint to guide KSD for the next five years. Much still needs to be done so that each and every student in the Kent School District can graduate as a globally competitive learner ready for success in college, career and community life.”

Burchard plans to continue to serve the community in other ways and spend time with her family.

She said she plans to vote for Daniels in the general election.

“Denise Daniels understands the education system, knows how to build relationships and has the passion and influence to create positive change for our students and families,” she said.

In an email, Daniels said she was excited about the results and looks forward to the general election.

“The community made it very clear that they are ready for a change and I am ready for the challenge,” she said.

Her experience as an educator propelled her success in the primary, Daniels said. She is the assistant director of equity, outreach and engagement for the Auburn School District, where she has worked for three years. Prior to working in Auburn, she worked as a para-educator, behavior interventionist and family liaison in the Renton School District.

“I was fortunate to get a lot of support from fellow educators that I have worked with over the years, as well as other community members that know me and my passion for students and their success,” she said. “I am involved daily in the education of our students, which affords me a variety of opportunities to connect with and hear from staff, students and parents about what is important to them, and use that knowledge to develop effective systems of support.”

As she gears up for the general election, Daniels plans to share her vision for the district with voters.

“There are many issues that need to be addressed around the some of the decisions made by the current board, and the first thing that has to happen is regaining the trust that has been lost,” she said. “I have been given many opportunities to share whether I would have made the same decisions, and in my responses I have explained my reasons why, which is something that the board has not done very well. People have to know that the board is working in the best interest of their students. I will continue to share how I will make a difference in the outcomes of all of our students.”

Madsen, who works in downtown Seattle with wealth management, attributed his success in the primary to recent board decisions and the community’s desire to have their concerns heard.

“As examples, I have referred to the way the district explained the spending freeze in April and the last minute decision to ban international travel made by the school board,” Madsen said in an email. “Regarding the travel ban, it is especially egregious since the decision was after all plans were made, funds deposited and the fact that the travel request was made two to three months prior. All of this when the laws have not changed since June 2009.”

In May, the school board decided not to allow students in the Kentlake High School music programs to travel to Victoria, British Columbia, for a competition citing the current political environment and giving equal access to all students.

More examples of a lack of communication from the school board and the district have come to light since Madsen decided to run for the board, he said.

One of those is the district’s decision to increase the length of the school day and dismiss school two hours early most Wednesdays for collaborative planning and teacher development.

“Regarding the bell schedule, it is especially effecting elementary school children as they are now not getting out until approximately 3:55 p.m., when in the winter, it is dark outside,” Madsen said. “I have heard many parents concerned about this fact. The district, while now providing early dismissal every Wednesday, for teacher collaboration, has yet to explain what problem was identified, why changing the bell schedule to create this collaboration will solve such identified problem.

“The Kent School District has approximately 13,000 elementary children. When you change the bell schedule, it effects the children, the parents, all day care workers, the teachers and the list goes one. It seems to me that it is only common courtesy to reach out to these groups of people when a decision you make will effect the schedules of at least 30,000 people, children, parents of those children, teachers, etc.”

Madsen said his message remains the same for the general election.

For Kent School Board Position No. 5, incumbent Maya Vengadasalam is running unopposed in the November general election.