Kersting-Lark for school board

I am so happy that Dulce Kersting-Lark is a candidate for the Moscow School Board. I urge everyone to support her. Dulce is a strong advocate for families and she’s invested in student success from preschool to high school and beyond. She’d like to strengthen Career Technical Education programs that make sense in our community and provide more affordable pathways to college.

She wants to strengthen the vital connection between our schools and the University of Idaho. Over the last few years it’s been so heartening to watch Moscow High School students succeed and thrive pursuing a range of post-secondary paths. I know that Dulce will work well with her colleagues to ensure our students are well prepared for all the different opportunities they may choose to pursue.

Peggy Jenkins 

Moscow

Three deserve board votes

I am pleased that Jim Frenzel, Dawna Fazio and Dulce Kersting-Lark have chosen to run again as Moscow School Board trustees. They have shown an admirable dedication to the Moscow School District and should be reelected. I have had the pleasure of knowing all three incumbents through their involvement with the district and other community organizations.

Jim has volunteered with the Moscow Mentor program run by the district for 13 years and has served on the school board for 12 years. I am impressed that he attends forums with our state legislators where he asks good questions and offers important information to ensure that our legislators know how their laws directly affect our Moscow schools.

I have known Dawna since she began to serve on the board years ago when my own adult children attended the Moscow schools. She provides an important historical perspective on the progress of our school district in serving all students. Her experience is invaluable to our new superintendent.

Dulce has served in various leadership roles in our community through the Latah County Historical Society, League of Women Voters, Moscow Giving Circle, and Latah County Parks Board. She has exhibited her caring concern for all aspects of Moscow life through these organizations and is most recently devoting her time and talents to making our public schools the best they can be.

If you are lucky enough to live in one of the zones they represent, please vote for Jim, Dawna, or Dulce on Nov. 7.

Kathy Dawes

Moscow

Kersting-Lark deserves vote

Dulce Kersting-Lark is running for the position of trustee for the Moscow School Board from Zone 3. She has served in this position since being chosen to fill the position which had been vacated.

As a retired educator, I know that the trustees must be people who have the needs and good of the students of Moscow as their first priority.

A board member must be able to listen to all sides of an issue, become knowledgeable about it and make a decision that is best for all involved. Board members must not have personal agendas but must work for the best interests of the whole community.

I have known Dulce since she moved to Moscow. She is a thoughtful, intelligent person who will study any questions and make decisions based on sound logic. She will listen to all members of the community, including the students, teachers, and patrons. She will then work for the best outcomes for everyone involved.

A vote for Dulce Kersting-Lark is a vote for Moscow’s present and future students.

Nancy Ruth Peterson

Moscow

Kersting-Lark has the tools

Dulce Kersting-Lark has a step up on several of the other candidates running for Moscow School Board in that she was appointed last year to complete the term of another trustee, so knows the leading issues facing our students and the schools they go to. She also has a wonderful incentive for making Moscow’s schools as good as they can be since her son will be joining the kids starting kindergarten in a few years.

As a member of the Latah County Historical Society, I was impressed with her work as director, energizing the board for more events and more members. She also excelled as the chair of the League of Women Voters of Moscow Speaker Series group that I was a part of a few years ago. Keeping a meeting moving through the agenda in a timely manner, while encouraging active discussion so everyone goes home thinking the meeting was productive is a gift that few leaders have (in my experience)

She is smart, articulate, can talk to anyone, yet is also a good listener. She would be an asset on Moscow’s School Board and I urge you to Vote for Dulce Kersting Lark on Nov 7.

Karen Lewis

Moscow

Board stability matters

As a spouse of one of the Moscow School Board candidates, I was going to keep my mouth shut. But the recent letter, ‘The status quo must go,” was too much.

Moscow is fortunate to have a stable, compatible school board. It is probably the envy of many communities where there is discord and divisiveness. In fact, there is research that shows a correlation between stable, student-focused school boards and positive student outcomes. For example, a study in Washington State reported a statistically significant relationship between increasing board turnover and declining achievement scores; while low board turnover was associated with higher student achievement.

The Texas Association of School Boards cites research that found that “politically motivated turnover on school boards corresponds with decreased student achievement.” The Texas article concludes, “Bottom line; the strength and stability of the school board affect student performance. It’s more important than ever that school boards not only focus on district and student goals and performance, but also turn inward to ensure board stability and effective governance.”

Unlike what was portrayed in the letter, Moscow’s incumbent trustees are open to community involvement whenever allowed by policy and law. They are extremely student-focused, which I believe contributes to Moscow’s students having achievement scores above both Idaho and national averages. The current members of the board regularly attend training workshops to continue their own education, they study issues carefully, and they do try to think “outside the box” when it can benefit the schools in our community. Again, contrary to the letter, they have considered and continue to look for collaborative opportunities to address the pressing need for facility upgrades.

Jim Fazio

Moscow