CHIMACUM — Jack McKay and Wilma Hackman apparently will face off in November for Position 5 on the Chimacum School District.
In the initial count of primary election ballots Tuesday night, McKay won 824 votes, or 38.83 percent, to Hackman’s 751 votes, or 35.39 percent. Jared Shepherd received 547 votes, or 25.78 percent.
Primary races are among three candidates. In Washington state’s top-two primary, the two hopefuls for a seat who receive the highest number of votes go on to the general election.
McKay has an extensive background in public education that spans 45 years. He started as a high school teacher in Port Angeles before working as a principal and then superintendent for schools in Sequim and Yakima.
McKay also worked as a university professor, training superintendents.
“Public schools have been very good to me,” McKay said. “This is an opportunity to give back what I got from public education.”
Hackman could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Hackman has a background in education and in her 18 years as an educator has taught everything from preschool to seniors in high school. She also volunteers with a number of local groups including ECHHO and Wild Olympic Salmon.
McKay said his priorities for Chimacum School would be to ensure the district is a great place to work for administrators and teachers and ensuring that the school’s curriculum is not only geared toward student learning but also aligns with standardized testing.
“Curriculum is the backbone of the school,” McKay said, “but if we’re going to grade schools and student progress on these tests, we have to teach to those tests.”
Shepherd ran as the only candidate without a background in education. He is a Chimacum native who graduated from the district in 2003, making him the youngest candidate by far. He also has one of his two sons enrolled in the district.
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Jefferson County Editor/Reporter Cydney McFarland can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 55052, or at cmcfarland@peninsuladailynews.com.