Two Incumbent Wenatchee School Board Members Advance to General Election While One Trails Challenger

Two Wenatchee School Board Members are comfortably leading in Tuesday's primary election, while a third is trailing by a slim margin.

Challenger Katherine Thomas has a slight lead over incumbent Michele Sandberg (32.33%-31.33%) in the Board member 4 race, while challenger Jennifer Brandt (27.77%) is a close third, followed distantly by Joel Martin (8.44%).

Incumbents Julie Norton (45.59%) and Maria Iñiguez (45.71%) have sizable leads in the Position 5 and 4 races.

Norton and Miranda Skalisky (30.36%) will face each other in the Position 5 general election, while recent high school graduate Arlette Lopez-Rodriguez was third (23.63%) in the vote.

Iñiguez will face challenger Matt Van Bogart (33.25%) in the position 4 general election, as challenger Tina Irvine was third (20.85%) in the primary.

The Wenatchee School Board election has featured intense debate over Critical Race Theory, and the district released a statement in mid-July saying it was not teaching the concept.

It's released a position statement on its website after numerous school board candidate emerged on a platform opposing Critical Race Theory.

The district said a new law passed by the state legislature is being misrepresented, and does not require schools to teach the concept.

It said some people are using terminology like CRT in ways that are confusing or just plain wrong. 

"Our focus is on improving educational outcomes for students through high-quality instruction, social and emotional support, literacy, math, staying on track for graduation, and involvement in extracurricular and real-world experiences," the statement says. "We are dedicated to each student’s success, and that looks different for every student." 

The district's position statement also outlined the district's plan to address Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as well as Sexual Health Education in the classroom.