As a long-time Valley resident and the father of two children who have attended Snoqualmie Valley School District schools, I’ve seen our district and its administration evolve over the years. However, the pace of evolution and changes made by our current district administration are not good enough and no longer complement the district’s mission to “become the best school district in Washington State by any measure.”

District administration reported recently that our test scores are among the highest in the state. However, the state Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction website shows that our SBA, ELA, and math scores, and math SAT scores fall below those of most of our neighboring districts.

There should be clearly defined and widely accepted measures of what success looks like. They should be measured and reported frequently. The district is no longer on the U.S. News & World Report’s listing of the Best High Schools in Washington and did not make the 7th annual National College Board AP Honor Roll.

The reasons I am voting for Melissa Johnson are three-fold:

• Melissa will strengthen the culture of excellence in our district.

• Melissa will focus on data-driven decisions and work to create an enhanced district scorecard with clearly defined metrics and measurable goals.

• Melissa will work to provide transparency in communication between the board, parents and community by providing details which affect our students, teachers, and schools in an accurate and timely manner.

The time for positive change in our district is now, and I believe Melissa Johnson will lead that change.

Jim Anderson

North Bend