Kendell Ferguson

An engineer who filled the seat of a departed school board member, a lawyer, and a stay-at-home dad are competing for Position 4 on the Medford School Board.

Ilex Brandenberger, who replaced Karen Starchvick when she resigned from the Medford School Board last month; Kendell Ferguson, member of a law firm in Grants Pass; and Chris Miller, a father of two, face off in the May 16 special election. The winner’s term begins July 1.

Ilex BrandenbergerEven before he applied to fill a school board seat, Brandenberger said was already planning to run in the upcoming election.

“I think schools are probably one of the most important institutions that we have,” Brandenberger said. “It sets the entire trajectory for the rest of your life, and I want to make sure that we are educating kids and that we have a functional board.”

As an engineering certification manager at Erickson Inc., a Portland-based aerospace manufacturing and aviation service provider, Brandenberger said he knows the value of education.

He also believes he understands the needs of the district, because he has a sophomore and a junior attending South Medford High School. Prior to that, Brandenberger’s children attended Ruch Outdoor Community School, which he fought to keep open before joining the school board.

“You get the budget, and it’s like this,” he said, measuring an imaginary stack of papers with his fingers.

Increasing high school graduation rates is one of Brandenberger’s priorities if he is elected to a full term.

“I think it’s extremely important that everybody graduates from high school, but I also think it’s extremely important that that’s meaningful, so we aren’t just trying to lower the standards so that everybody can graduate,” Brandenberger said.

To that end, Brandenberger would like to see the district offer classes in basic finance and cooking.

A second priority Brandenberger has is to help boost student career development opportunities.

“We need to make sure we’re covering a lot of different areas,” said Brandenberger, who believes career and technical education courses that the district offers are prime examples. “We just want to make sure we’re educating everybody so they can do what they want to do.”

A third priority for Brandenberger is “making sure we are being good stewards of taxpayer money.” He believes the district manages its finances well, but bemoaned the state’s biennium budget cycle, which he believes does not make it easy for the district to budget.

Kendell FergusonA native of Medford, Ferguson graduated from South Medford High School in 1999.

She attended Southern Oregon University, where she obtained a chemistry degree in 2003. She then followed in her father’s footsteps and became a lawyer, obtaining her J.D. three years later at the University of Oregon School of Law.

When she’s not in the courtroom, Ferguson is a parent of two children who attend the Medford School District, but she declined to elaborate given the nature of her job as divorce lawyer. That parental perspective has made Ferguson concerned about what’s going on inside and outside the classroom — whether it’s the supply of substitute teachers or the school board’s relationship with parents.

“For the last 16 years, my job has been to advocate for other people’s positions,” Ferguson said. “In this case, my advocacy would be for the children and trying to make sure the kids are getting the best possible education in the best possible setting with the best possible teachers that they can.”

Her priorities would include expanding vocational training for students. She’d like to see representatives of local companies, rather than teachers, lead the training, which Ferguson believes could be done off campus, before or after school.

Ferguson would also like to see volunteers, whether it’s parents or grandparents, in more of the district’s schools.

And if elected to the school board, Ferguson would like to “resolve some budgetary issues” in order to boost teacher pay.

“I would really have to dig in to see where we could reallocate funds, if possible,” Ferguson said. “But I do know we are one of the lower-paid school districts for our size, and we are having trouble hiring and retaining teachers.”

Possibly “petitioning harder in Salem” for higher teacher pay or applying for grants could help the teacher pay situation, Ferguson said.

Chris MillerMiller said his experience on the school rezoning committee — tasked with drawing attendance boundaries for Medford’s middle schools — is what inspired him to run for school board.

“I got a real inside picture of what the board does, the decisions they have to make and the impact on families,” Miller said. “I have a practical, ground-level, hands-on understanding of what being a student in the Medford School District is like — in a way that, unfortunately, so many of the board members don’t anymore.”

Miller has second- and fifth-graders at Hoover Elementary School. His oldest son will attend Hedrick Middle School next year.

Miller was in television production, and his school involvement includes being a member of the Parent Teacher Organization, a chaperone for field trips, as well as a popcorn maker for students every Wednesday.

“I love it. I get to see all the students, not just my kids,” said Miller, who added he and few other dads “anchor” the team that makes the treat.

Miller would like school board members to be more aware of student needs.

“The board has put students at the center of everything they do — and that’s wonderful — but I think, too often, the district and the board orients students at the center from an adult perspective,” Miller said. “Kids are trying on personalities; kids are not finished baking, and they’re not adults. Kids need to be kids.”

He elaborated by stating his belief that the district’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee does not approach issues from the perspective of kids.

“It’s a noble pursuit, but the way the district and the board has framed DEI specifically, they’re trying to address any problem from an adult perspective,” Miller said.

Another priority for Miller is getting the board to be “more proactive” on issues, such as attending zoning.

By sitting on the attendance rezoning committee, Miller came to believe the district was not multi-tasking.

“It became plainly obvious that the board needs to redraw the elementary boundaries,” Miller said. “When I mentioned that, there was severe pushback from the board and the district. They want to wait and do it later.”

Miller said another priority would be improving the district’s communication with the community.

“Being clear and concise and not cloaking or being afraid to be assertive with what has to be done” would be the best approach, Miller said.