Pullman School District director candidates, incumbent Dean Kinzer and challenger Amanda Tanner, have different ideas about how to meet their similar goals of maintaining and improving K-12 education in District 5.

Tanner said her motive for running for the upcoming election is to get more involved in decision making for the students in Pullman School District.

“My priorities as a director of school board are putting the needs of students first,” Tanner said.

Tanner said she would work to engage the community in education by being available to meet parents in the community and hear their concerns regarding student success. She said she would work on improving the current school board by promoting friendly, professional relationships with faculty, staff and parents.

“Being a parent of children in the Pullman School District myself, I want to take the parents’ concerns seriously,” Tanner said.

Kinzer, who has served since 2001, could not be reached for comment. In his interview with Palouse Proactive, he said if elected, his priorities are balancing the district’s budget and preparing students for college as well as post-graduate opportunities.

Kinzer believes that the school board should have a role in addressing disputes between parents and school administration by determining if policy and procedure have been followed and make a decision in favor of the parents or the administrator.

For students in the district to succeed, Tanner said that the recipe for success is not only the help from teachers, but also from parents.

“It is also a responsibility of parents to encourage their children to engage in their learning,” Tanner said, “and we should also have quality-valued teachers to provide better education to students.”

Kinzer said the school district is doing well in providing the opportunity for a well-rounded education, which enables students to become contributing citizens of the world. He believes the school district could do better in developing a culture of excellence throughout the district.

Tanner said the biggest successes of the school board she has seen over the past couple years have been being proactive in building and expanding school facilities, and an increase in effort with school district employees.

She also said the challenge the school board wants to address is administrative leave, when teachers are removed from the classroom to the detriment of students, who have to adjust to new teachers.

“There are not enough training for staff working to meet special needs for children,” Tanner said.