Two file for Stillwater Board of Education

Dec. 7—Filings for the Ward 4 open seat on the Stillwater Public Schools Board of Education and City Council closed Wednesday.

Gay Washington, a former SPS educator and administrator, filed, along with Shelia Means, a Stillwater resident and retired U.S. Air Force Major. In City Council filings, current councilmember Kevin Clark filed unopposed.

Since there were only two candidates who filed for school board, elections will be held April 2, Payne County Election Board Secretary Courtney Callison said. More than two candidates filing would have meant a Feb. 13 primary election would be held.

Another board vacancy, in Ward 1, will be appointed by the Board of Education out of a pool of applicants.

Candidates Washington and Means spoke with the News Press about why they filed for the Ward 4 open position.

Gay Washington

Washington was a special education educator for eight years in the SPS district, then moved into special education administration. While she worked on her doctorate, she had an opportunity to teach at the University of Central Oklahoma, where she taught and mentored teaching students for six years.

But she missed the direct contact with parents, students and teachers and decided to move back to Stillwater.

Washington gave 30 years to the district — both as a teacher and an administrator — before retiring in 2017, but returned in January 2022 to fill in as interim superintendent for the remainder of the 2021-22 school year. She has since, among other things, been consulting for Lead Training LLC, a job that gives her opportunities to train and support teachers.

"There's so many parts of (my career) that are really all truly connected, because it's really about kids," Washington said. "In the end, it's about learning and how do we do that, how do we provide them what they need to reach their potential."

Her passion for teaching is what drove her to file for Ward 4 position.

"As an educator, there is nothing — nothing — better than that one-on-one teaching in the classroom," Washington said. "I think that's what gave me that foundation."

Washington has a brother who struggled with severe dyslexia, and seeing the sacrifices her parents made to make sure he had everything he needed to excel moved her toward the field of education.

"I always knew I wanted to be a teacher," Washington said. "So I still think, in all those positions that I had, it is still about working with teachers, working with administrators to make sure we're providing the best possible experiences for students."

If elected, Washington said she looks forward to helping to retain and support teachers in the classroom.

"I hope to be able to share experiences or ideas and work with the board," Washington said. "It's not one individual, by any means, because you can't really go in with a specific agenda ... you become part of this five-member board. You do have a voice, all board members have a voice. But in the end, it's a joint decision."

She is hopeful that the board can turn some of the political noise that is in education today.

"Public schools have a very defined purpose," Washington said. "That purpose is not a political purpose, it is an educational purpose ... There's always going to be multiple views and I welcome that. I think listening is one of my greatest strengths ... and bringing people together to make decisions."

She said communication between parents and school administrators is an important dialogue and parents need to feel that they have a voice, in addition to more inclusivity.

"It should never be 'us' against 'them,'" Washington said. "You're never going to make everybody happy, but there can be more openness in the conversation ... There will always be challenges and whatever those challenges present, we need to be prepared to be open to hearing and listening and trying to move toward collaboration and educating (within) what the parameters of public education truly are."

If elected, Washington looks forward to diving into making sure school policies match practices. Typically, she said school board elections don't draw a large vote, but hopes that voters will turn out and express their interest in education.

Shelia Means

Originally from Selma, Alabama, Means grew up the second oldest in a family of seven. Upon graduation from high school, she enlisted in the U.S. Air Force, eventually serving 21 years both on reserves and active duty.

She received her B.S. in Nursing with high honors from Auburn University of Montgomery, Alabama in 1989; a masters of Science in Nurse Midwifery from University of Alabama — Birmingham in 1996; and a masters in Women's Health from the University of Cincinnati in 2009. Prior to retiring as a Women's Health Care Practitioner, she helped develop the Muskogee Nursing Center.

Her husband began traveling to Stillwater for work, and eventually the family moved permanently in 2012.

Although she has no children in the SPS district, one of her daughters attended Stillwater High School for one year, and each of her five children graduated from public high school.

"I'm seeing a lot of things that's going on in education right now, that to me is very frightening," Means said. "I don't have any children in the Stillwater Public Schools, and I don't have any grandchildren in the Stillwater Public Schools, but I am a tax-paying citizen here in this community and I do care about my community."

Means said things that are allowed to happen in one part of the United States tend to start spreading out to other areas.

"A lot of times we see things that start happening in New York or California or Florida ... it starts there, but then it starts eventually spreading out and metastasizing into other parts of the nation," Means said. "Some of the things that I'm seeing, I think are detrimental to children. And I would just like to be a voice in our community."

Means said she started going to SPS board meetings, as issues on gender ideology, library books and critical race theory were discussed. She said she found that the school board seemed to be dismissive of the concerns some people raised, and she wants to make sure parents with those concerns are also heard and the issues are addressed for all families.

"I don't think anyone should be teaching a child, 'Because of the complexion of your skin, you're this or you're that,'" Means said. "I was born and raised in Selma, Alabama, and Selma, Alabama has a history. It's not a good history, but it's our history. But I don't remember anyone ever telling me personally that because of the complexion of my skin, I could not excel at anything ... Opportunities were placed there, I took advantage of those opportunities."

Means said she feels invested in the community and wants to see it thrive.

"Schools are a very important part of the community," Means said. "They determine whether or not people want to come and move into your community."

Although she said she personally feels that SPS is doing great things in performing arts, athletes and academics — and that the district offers a lot to the children in this community — she said there's more to be addressed.

"I will be right in there with all the rest of the school board members championing that and saying, 'Is there anything we can do to make it even better?'" Means said. "But also making sure that we hear the voices of parents and concerned citizens in the community.

"Strong schools increase your profit value, strong schools attract businesses, strong schools encourage a thriving economy and strong schools support a safe community ... I would like to make myself available to parents, teachers and even students."