Magendanz for State Rep! Why Chad is the Best Option for Tahoma’s Parents.
State Representative candidate Chad Magendanz recently reached out to Tahoma Parents to discuss his vision for improving K-12 schools and returning rights to parents in Washington. While Tahoma Parents does not like to dwell in the arena of partisan politics, we made an exception for Magendanz due to his background in education within the state. Chad has multiple degrees to include a Master of Arts in Teaching from CWU. He is a Computer Science Instructor as well as a former School Board Legislative Representative, School Board President and State Representative with an impressive record of education legislation.
We presented Magendanz with a series of questions that were important to parents within the district. His answers were perfectly inline with what so many parents are calling for in our area. Having an educational and parental advocate fighting for us in Olympia would provide huge benefit to all parents within the TSD.
Read our or discussion with Chad Magendanz below!
Tahoma Parents endorses Chad Magendanz for State Representative.
1. The State has legislated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion into the Curriculum of all K-12 schools. What does this mean to you and how will you work within this legislation?
I support efforts to eliminate discrimination in our schools, and I believe this is constitutionally required under the Equal Protection clause of the 14th Amendment. I even worked on the Referendum 88 campaign in 2019 to ensure Initiative 200 remained in state statute, prohibiting public institutions from discriminating or granting preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin in the areas of public education. However, my experience as a full-time public school teacher has made it clear to me that many Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs are actually introducing divisive political narratives around race and gender and then lowering expectations for our students through new “equitable grading standards.”
I will work across the aisle in Olympia to change this legislation so that it’s more consistent with the people’s intent with Initiative 200 and Referendum 88. In the classroom, I’ll be working to ensure that all students have equal opportunity to achieve their full potential, without regard to race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.
2. Covid lockdowns have created a large educational achievement gap for the children in Washington State. What can you do as a legislator to help the children catch up to where they should be?
First, parents need to be aware that before the COVID lockdowns only 50.1% of students were meeting standards in math and only 61.0% in English Language Arts. These numbers dropped precipitously last fall to just 33.3% meeting standards in math and 52.3% meeting standards in ELA. What was the Superintendent of Public Instruction’s response?
“We’re not gonna spend a lot of energy here because there’s too many factors that are unique.”
Frankly, this response seems typical of what I’ve seen in the trenches as a full-time teacher. They’re ignoring the problem, even while knowing that intervention is most effective when it’s implemented in a timely fashion. The problem is only going to snowball the longer that we wait to address it. My proposal would be to intervene at critical milestones with summative assessments to confirm that students are meeting standards before they progress to the next grade, just like we did with meeting standard in reading by 3rd grade with SB 5803 when I was in the state legislature.
3. School Choice is a hot topic these days. Knowing that School Choice could cause a depletion of funds for many public districts, but has the benefit of parents choosing the best environment for their kids, what is a solution you would support and promote as a legislator?
I have been a longtime proponent of School Choice, and would push to put parents in even more control of the education of their children. I was also prime sponsor in the House for the charter schools fix that was ratified by the Supreme Court in 2018. (Remember those 27 House floor amendments that Larry Springer and I worked?).
The Arizona model that was just signed into law is by no means perfect, but I think it can serve as a model to provide more options for families in Washington State. We will, of course, see strong resistance from the teachers unions, but organized parent groups have been gaining considerable political power lately as was evidenced last fall in Virginia.
Ultimately, I believe that more School Choice improves student outcomes for both families who exercise it and those who don’t. Public schools should have to compete for their “customers” based on the merits of their programs, just like with higher education.
4. What is your position on schools providing counseling referring children to medical professionals or giving advice without parental knowledge? Do you feel the age of consent should be increased to an older age than 14?
I oppose any medical intervention by schools without the knowledge and active involvement of the parent until the age of majority. For situations of abuse, there are existing laws and programs though Child Protective Services that should intervene. Prior to recent legislation, Washington State's general age of majority for health care was 18, and I would support returning to that language. I don’t believe an exception should be made for abortion or gender transition unless the minor meets the Mature Minor Doctrine. This is a big decision and parents need to be involved whenever possible.
5. What do you propose we do to protect the schools, in a reasonable manner, from malicious people that wish to harm students within their learning environment?
When president of the Issaquah School Board, I was a big supporter of the School Resource Officer program and even covered the budget shortfall when King County cut funding for the program. I believe the SROs are not only needed for school security, but also to build positive relationships between students and law enforcement at this impressionable age.
I also believe in hardening schools to control access and entry, as well as providing a mechanism for schools without an SRO to have armed administrators respond in an active shooter situation, much like we did in the Navy with our Quick Reaction Force.
6. How do you propose we can lower drug use by children and drug dealing within our schools?
Following the Supreme Court’s Blake decision, I was disappointed with the legislative “fix” that used the ruling to effectively decriminalize drug possession. Frankly, I think this issue is at the heart of our problems with homelessness and rampant theft in our downtown cores. I would support legislation that would make knowing possession of controlled substances a Class C felony, rather than a misdemeanor, and remove legislative encouragement of prosecutors to divert such cases or selectively enforce the law.
In schools, I would return education programs like DARE to ensure that students understand the health risk of drug abuse.
7) Do you support mandatory Covid Vaccines for K-12 schools?
No, I believe that decision should be made by the parents. Personally, I got my COVID vaccinations and boosters as soon as I could, but I recognize that family situations and health risks vary. A “one size fits all” solution isn’t appropriate here.
We want to be clear that the Tahoma Parents endorsement for Chad Magendanz is strictly due to his stances on education and parental rights. We do not hold an opinion regarding his stances outside these topics and continue to remain a non-partisan organization focused on local education. We wish to empower all parents in the district, regardless of political leanings, so we encourage everyone to research and vote for the candidate that best represents them.
But when is comes to education and parental involvement, Chad Magendanz is the best suited to represent us!
