PORT TOWNSEND — Candidates for the Port Townsend School Board cited a desire to be more involved in the district as reason for running for their respective seats during a forum Tuesday before the Rotary Club of Port Townsend.

District 2 board member Stuart Little and District 3 candidates Matt Klontz and Nancy Papasodora all said they were graduates of the Port Townsend school system and all currently have children or grandchildren in the district.

Six candidates were invited to the forum, but only three attended Tuesday’s meeting at the Fort Worden Commons. Director at Large Position 5 candidate Nathanael O’Hara was called away by family business while rival Position 5 candidate Tim Hawley and District 2 candidate Annie Bartos did not respond to the meeting’s invitation, according to meeting host Mike Kenna.

Little was the only incumbent member of the school board at the forum, having been appointed in June to fill out the remainder of former director Jeff Taylor’s term. Taylor left in April to take a teaching position at Port Townsend High School.

An architect by trade, Little said he has four children in the district. He became familiar with the school board and employees in working with the district on a child care project, he said.

“While I was working with the school district, I was encouraged to see them rally around the needs of our community,” Little said.

“There are a lot of facility questions and facility long-term planning components of the school district that are going to be coming to the attention of the school board, so I see that as a good opportunity to apply my experience.”

Little said district programs like transitional kindergarten could help families in providing additional child care space, something that is badly needed across the state.

“I think those kinds of programs have an opportunity to do what we can to provide options for families,” Little said.

Facilities projects also were an area where Klontz said his professional experience could be an asset. A civil engineer working for the Port of Port Townsend, Klontz said his experience with project management could be an asset to the board.

“As a civil engineer, I can complement the team in talking about infrastructure and project management, cost estimating and grant pursuing,” Klontz said.

Klontz also said he wanted to support Superintendent Linda Rosenbury, whom he described as “well-qualified” for the job.

“What our district needs now is stability, and the best way to support a superintendent is to be there, be present, to challenge them, to encourage them, and to help him reach the vision they have for the school,” Klontz said.

Asked about ways to increase feedback from the community, including parents, child care providers and students, Klontz said parent surveys and working with the Parent Teacher Association had given the district valuable feedback.

“I know it takes time to do those surveys, but the feedback the district is given has provided some really meaningful insight,” Klontz said.

Papasodora is running against Klontz for the District 3 seat. She is a former school bus driver who said she wanted to be more involved in the district. She prioritizes parental involvement.

“I believe in asking questions and getting involved, and I want to increase the parent involvement in our schools,” Papasodora said.

“We’ve got so many kids that have left school. I want to see them back in school. I want to see the parents trusting the schools and putting their kids back in,” she added.

Papasodora said she is raising six of her 11 grandchildren, several of whom are enrolled in the district.

In response to a question about greater collaboration in academics between Jefferson County’s various school districts, Papasodora said she believed it was both possible and beneficial to bring students together.

“I think it’s a great idea to join different academics and different groups together for the schools,” Papasodora said. “It is quite a distance from the schools, but with Zoom and everybody working together, we could find some ways to get these kids together.”

In addition to the Districts 2, 3 and the Director at Large Position 5 seats, incumbent District 1 Director John Nowak is running unopposed for a two-year term.

School board director positions are nonpartisan and most serve for a four-year term.

Ballots were mailed to Jefferson County voters today, and Oct. 30 is the last day for online or mail voter registration. Election Day is Nov. 7, and Washington allows in-person voter registration until 8 p.m. on Election Day.

For more information about local candidates and election procedures, visit the state’s election website, votewa.gov.

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Reporter Peter Segall can be reached at peter.segall@peninsuladailynews.com.