Ballot close up

A retired insurance adjuster and an inspector with the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s hemp program are competing for Position 6 on the Medford School Board.

Robin Lee, whose career included property adjuster with AllState for 22 years, and Michael Williams, whose job at the state agency covers the southwest region, will face off in the May 16 special election. The winner’s term will begin July 1.

A third candidate listed for position 6, Melody Tuivanu, said she has dropped out of the race.

Robin Lee

A devout Christian, Lee said she is a candidate because, “I heard the Lord clearly tell me ‘run for school board.’”

Lee ran for the board in 2021 and lost, but that did not deter her from trying again.

“I thought it was a victory; it just wasn’t a win,” Lee said, referring to her 2021 campaign. “It was enough success to say, ‘Well, I can do this; I’ll give it another go.'”

Lee said she would not come on to the school board with a particular agenda, “except to see for myself where we really are.”

“I’m running because I want a clearer picture of what is going on. I have the time to do it. Many working parents don’t,” she said.

Lee is concerned not enough students are reading on grade level, but she is also concerned with “the current trend of sexualizing kids.”

“Anything that asks the kid what they know about their bodies or what their behavior is, is inappropriate. That’s for parents,” Lee said. 

She said she bases that perception on things she has heard from other parents, but admitted she has “not opened the curriculum.”

Lee believes that during the pandemic, students were “robbed” of opportunities to socialize during the school day. If elected to the school board, Lee would like to find ways to give students more free time.

“I think we could open up the situation — or reopen the situation — to where they do have free time together and aren’t clustered in mandatory groups,” Lee said. “If the kids socialize well, strongly and early, that’s a resource they take with them the older they get.”

Another priority for Lee is school safety.

“I’ve been reading just even this legislative session, some are asking for more safety officers on campus,” Lee said. “I haven’t heard law enforcement’s side of the argument, but from a person who loves children, I’m thinking, ‘Why not?'”

Lee, who never married or had children, said she has a great family life with nieces and nephews and has taught Sunday school. She believes those experiences prepared her for being a school board member.

“Not having children in the house doesn’t mean I don’t pay attention to children; I do,” said Lee, noting she has spoken to children from other countries during her church missions. “I don’t have too much trouble relating.”

Lee grew up in the Los Angeles area and has lived in Rogue Valley for 34 years. 

Michael Williams

A native of Louisiana, Williams and his family moved to the Rogue Valley last summer for his job as an inspector for the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Hemp Program. 

Williams said his children — an 11- and 8-year-old going to Griffin Creek Elementary School — are his motivation to run. Williams has a third child on the way.

As a parent involved in his children’s schooling, Williams said he has seen issues such as bullying play out in the schools.

“I can honestly say that the school and the district leaned in and supported me and my family,” Williams said. “We we were able to start from a very hard place, but we worked together to get to a place of reconciliation. I want to see those kinds of relationships being facilitated across all the schools in our district. I believe it can happen. I want to be a part of seeing that happen on the school board.”

Ensuring “good, collaborative relationships between parents and teachers” is one of Williams’ first priorities if elected. 

The second priority would be making sure the district is a “good steward” of its resources, including state funding.

“My daughter, we got here, and we discovered she is reading on a third-grade level,” Williams said. “I want to use every resource we possibly can to address that.”

A third priority would be to forge a better relationship between the school board and parents. 

“I want to see us come together, as parents and educators, for the best interest of our kids,” Williams said. “I feel like there is some tension between some parents and the school district. I want to be proactive in alleviating that tension.”