Background

I received a great education from public schools in Bellingham, WA. That education prepared me well for college and a career in manufacturing, with an emphasis on optimizing the quality of products. Today, I see that many of the concerns for our future require the ability to analyze how we work on our physical environment: both the buildings in our communities and the natural environment. I believe that our schools can improve the preparation that we give those students who will meet these challenges. We need to step up. Please vote for a school director who prioritizes analytical thinking and the improvement of our infrastructure and our natural environment.

Why I'm a Candidate

To serve our community in the oversight of the Vancouver Public Schools (VPS) District Administration in their goal-setting, management and spending.

To serve students and their parents by listening to their hopes, plans, and concerns and integrating them into VPS Board actions.

To serve our students in their goals to develop competence, responsibility and compassion to become caring and effective members of our community.

To serve the VPS teachers and staff in their efforts to develop skills and knowledge in our students.

To serve the VPS Board of Directors in considering pertinent questions about measurable goals that help us achieve our potential.

We're at the Bottom of the Financial Cliff

Our school district has spent all of our reserves. We continue to spend more than Washington State, our local taxes, and the Federal Government provide to the school district. The only reason that our General fund balance is positive is that we sold some of our district property. Our current forecast is that we will be essentially broke at the end of this academic year.

Our school district is living hand-to-mouth. This overspending results in many consequences. We had to manage a painful series of layoffs before the 2024-25 school year. We are re-opening in 2025-26 with fewer staff positions than last year. We have very few uncommitted funds to offer school staff during the next labor negotiations. We are unable to spend money on new opportunities to enable our students to excel.

Changes are Required

We need to give our children an education that prepares them for their future.

• Our schools have failed to return our students to their academic performance that they showed prior to the current Board's term. The first assessment of the math skills of the class of '28 showed that just over half of them were on track to graduate with proficiency. Now that they have completed middle school, about one in five remains on track to graduate with proficiency in math. This is a huge drop from 2019 when two in five eighth graders were on track to graduate with proficiency in math.
• Our Board met in early August for a full day to "Look Ahead". Addressing these proficiency loses was not on the agenda.
• The VPS fund balances for the funds that supply salaries were negative at the end of July 2025. This absence of money puts many things at risk: staff jobs in the event of a drop in enrollment, salary increases for staff, materials and supplies for classroom activities and buildings, the ability to deal with price increases for insurance, the ability to purchase contracted services to support staff.

Donations are appreciated for advertising expenses. For now, donations are only accepted via Venmo.

You can reach me at roeforvps@gmail.com or 360-931-5178 with comments, suggestions or requests.