School board to screen candidates

Interviews for Chimacum school board seat to start January

Posted
The Chimacum School District has at least three candidates to fill the empty seat on its school board. Candidates’ applications will be screened at noon Dec. 19. Both the interviews and the vote are tentatively scheduled for Jan. 16, Superintendent Rick Thompson said. “The interviews are to be conducted in an open public meeting at a board meeting at a time suitable to a quorum of the board, which will likely be January,” Thompson said. The candidates will be vying to replace Robert Bunker, who resigned from the seat Nov. 7. District 4 includes much of Port Ludlow. It’s bounded to the west by Beaver Valley Road, to the south by state Route 104, to the north by Swansonville Road, and to the east mostly by the water and Fleet Drive, but its northeast boundaries are complicated. Jefferson County Elections Coordinator Betty Johnson encouraged those with questions to check the maps on the elections webpage at co.jefferson.wa.us/1266/Elections. “It’s important to keep in mind that school director districts do not follow precinct lines,” Johnson said. “We’ve had questions from people who lived on one side of Fleet Drive and Pioneer Drive about which districts they fall under.” Although the county plans to install a geographic information system in the coming year, “We can’t just plug in someone’s address yet,” Johnson said. “We have to look at the maps to determine where they stand.” Johnson is open to answering questions about those boundaries, and Thompson is available for more information on the board selection process. Thompson reiterated that the appointee to the open seat will complete Bunker’s term, and that the position will be contested in the normal 2019 election cycle. The filing window for the election is May 13-17. If more than two candidates file, they will appear on the Aug. 6 primary election ballot. The top two finishers will then compete in the Nov. 5 general election. In the meantime, “the successful candidate will receive an orientation to board service,” Thompson said. For more information about Chimacum School Board policy, visit csd49.org/Content2/154.