When people think about the most important elections, school boards rarely come to mind. But they are incredibly important, especially when it comes to local control. Our schools partner with families to develop our future community members and leaders. They do the imperative work of ensuring that every child in our community receives a quality education that meets their needs. As someone who grew up in a rural community with high rates of poverty, I am incredibly grateful that I was able to benefit from public education. And now, as a mom, I get to see my teenage daughter thrive in the public school setting as well. Because of this, I ran for school board two years again and am now running for re-election. 

It would be easy to look at my resume and wonder how I am suited for the school board. After all, I have made a career of serving in emergency services as a flight paramedic. But I have also taught, developed curriculum, and sat on the Klamath Tribe’s Education and Senate Bill 13 committees. I have served on the Bend Ice board of directors, and I am currently in leadership at the largest not-for-profit flight company. My experience with curriculum, budgeting, policy development, and employee supervision meets the core functions of a school board director. And I’ve been able to effectively put it all to use on the school board. 

I have spent my time on the board advocating for research-based solutions to our most challenging issues. When culture wars showed up in the board room, I fought back to refocus on our students and outcomes. And I constantly came to the meetings with a sense of curiosity, attempting to see concerns from every point of view. And I do all of this with laser-focus on how to ensure the best outcomes for every student. During my time, the Redmond School District has put a tremendous amount of work into improving early literacy, increasing attendance, and this past year we boasted about the highest graduation rates we have had. This is the result of the work of the team, but I am very proud of the part I played in supporting this important work. I look forward to the opportunity to continue serving our community. 

There is nowhere else I would want to do the work. When I am in our schools watching students and teachers shine, it makes me so proud to live in Redmond. Our teachers, classified staff, and administrators are incredibly dedicated to the job. This election, I am once again endorsed by our teachers. I was proud that they had faith in me last election, but I’m even more proud now that they have seen who I am and how I show up on the board and support my re-election. I hope that this endorsement shows you, the voters, that I am someone who has the very best interests of our teachers, staff, students and their families at heart. With your vote, I look forward to another four years of serving our students and community.

— Amanda Page is a member of the Redmond School Board. She is running for re-election to Position #5.