MLSB interviews potential members

MOSES LAKE — On Tuesday night, the Moses Lake School Board had a special meeting to hire a new school board director to fill the seat left vacant by Kevin Fuhr’s resignation in June. The MLSB interviewed five candidates, each giving an opening statement and answering six questions. 

Audra Eckenberg 

The first interview was Audra Eckenberg, a certified public accountant. Eckenberg was born in Mattawa and moved to Moses Lake six years ago with her husband and four children.  

“I have experience preparing and reviewing financial statements and other budget-related documents,” Eckenberg said during the MLSB interview. “I hope to contribute to the understanding of financial material and documents that are submitted to the board for review.”  

Eckenberg said she has experience working for a school district, where she set up and dealt with accounting, budgeting and management of funds. She also said she has experience with legal jargon and terminology used in contracts, procedures and policies.  

“I am a strong problem solver and my own devil’s advocate seeking to find the pros and cons of each available option and circumstance that I am presented with, using creativity when needed to find a compromise or solution that might not have been previously available,” Eckenberg said.  

A goal that Eckenberg would like to see the school district prioritize is budgetary constraint and financial accountability. She would also like to see the district build and maintain a reserve fund.  

“We ask our citizens to live within a budget and within their means and they expect Moses Lake School District to do the same,” Eckenberg said.  

Eckenberg, when asked what makes her stand out compared to the other candidates, said she has experience in finance and accounting. She said she understands different types of funds, running businesses, consulting business owners and knowing tax laws and legislative requirements that are required for different types of funds.  

Frank Cardwell 

The next interview was with Frank Cardwell, a retired public school employee. Cardwell has been living in Moses Lake for 24 years. Formerly, he worked 42 years at Ephrata School District as a teacher, principal and district administrator. Now, he is a substitute teacher for Moses Lake, Ephrata and Soap Lake schools, he said. 

“I have knowledge and experience with various district budgets and funding programs,” Cardwell said. “I’ve participated in many different school board presentations over the years, and I am subscribed to the Washington State School District Association E-clipping, which I read daily, and I have used their various resources.” 

Cardwell said that the school board is responsible for graduation expectations and attendance, advocating for students and ensuring that students are succeeding in the curriculum. 

“I’d like to start the answer to that question by specifically telling the superintendent that I appreciate all of the daily emails that we are receiving,” Cardwell said. “The transparency is just unbelievable, and I think it’s really opened up a lot. I would like to see that continue. I think that transparency is very important for communication. At the same time, I think confidentiality is also important.”  

Cardwell said that a priority for him is making sure that students don’t fall through the gaps and that someone is holding them accountable for graduation and attendance. He said that there can be many reasons a student could be missed, and it is important that the MLSB is aware of those reasons and takes care of them.  

“I know the expectations of schools and I am 100% into making sure that my life activity is public education,” Cardwell said. 

Jennifer Webb 

The third candidate was Jennifer Webb, the president of Peninsula Elementary School Parent-Teacher Organization and substitute teacher. Webb is from Moses Lake but traveled around Washington for a handful of years for school, before returning to her hometown.  

“I would envision that we would all be working very well together and that we would be accomplishing things for the district,” Webb said. “I would be going into this with that goal in mind.” 

Webb is on a handful of boards already including the Soroptimist board, the Moses Lake Community Coalition Board and the Big Bend Foundation.  

“My plate is full but to me, this would be the most important at the time so I would be willing to look at what I have and step back from some of that,” Webb said.  

Webb, when asked what makes her stand out compared to the other candidates, said that she has 12 years of serving as a volunteer for the district, her passion for the school district and there are a lot of people in the community that would trust her.  

“My heart is in the right place,” Webb said. “And it’s about what’s best for this district and the kids and the staff.”  

Matt Paluch 

The fourth interview was Matt Paluch, chair of the Moses Lake Community Coalition, which focuses on youth substance abuse prevention. Paluch is also a member of the Board of Health audit committee, where he checks government budgets and is the lead for the North Central Early Learning Coalition. Paluch said he has helped pass two bills through Congress, one of which resulted in $900 million being used for conservation across the country.  

“I am used to getting information out in a way that people can understand,” Paluch said. “I was a fly-fishing guide for 20 years, which means that I had to have 50 different ways to say the same thing so that people could get it because people fished with me that weren't necessarily experienced.”  

Paluch said he will run for the seat if he is appointed, but if he’s not, he may not. 

“I spend a lot of time fishing, which is taking away from a public resource,” Paluch said. “I want to give back to my community so that’s why I do the things that I do. So, if you know, if I felt like things were not going in the right direction, I would run, even if I didn’t get (the board position) at the moment.”  

Paluch said he has been attending meetings for years, claiming he has attended more school board meetings than any other community member not an employee of the district. He also ran for this seat three years ago and lost in the primaries.  

“This is not a political position,” Paluch said. “The number one goal should be running an effective school district; it should not be I am here with an agenda because I think schools are doing this wrong.”  

Ryan Coulston 

The final interview was Ryan Coulston, a father of five kids within the district and a graduate from Moses Lake High School. Coulston has a business and finance background. He has a business management degree in which he has both opened and closed businesses.  

“I’ve been through the regular role of raising money from capital and understanding networking and understanding policies and procedures and I can speak well with people and communicate,” Coulston said. “I can stand up for what I believe in, and I have a thicker skin than, I think, most people my age. The personal investment that I have is about 20 years, meaning that my baby is 1 (year old) and so I am going to be here for at least another 18 years, putting kids through school.” 

Coulston said that a year ago he did not know what the responsibility of a superintendent or principal was, however, he has since educated himself. He said that if he is going to make a sacrifice away from his children, he wants it to be for his children, which is why he applied for the school board. 

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that I know everything that’s going on, or how everything operates but I am invested to figure it out. I want to be involved, to make changes that can and will happen,” Coulston said. “I owe this to my children, as well as yours and all the others that are in this district.”  

Coulston said he wants to do a lot of learning and reading to be the best for this role. His main goal is just to ensure that his children and the other students in the district have the best possible school board. He said that he doesn't know the ins and outs of state law; however, he is willing to learn.  

“I want to thank the other candidates for coming too,” Coulston said. “I appreciate their ambition and passion to do this position too. At first, I was kind of like, these are my competitors, right? But we are all just trying to do what’s best for kids in our local area and I appreciate them for standing up and doing this as well.”