Wenatchee School Board Director Katherine Thomas Accused of Violating State Law, Board Policy
And what's the story behind the billboard at 404 S. Mission?
In April I got a tip that Grace City Church-affiliated Wenatchee School Board member Katherine Thomas was moving to Texas and did not plan to resign from her position.
According to Wenatchee School Board policy and state law, a school board director must live in the district they represent. If Thomas was moving and didn’t resign, she would be in violation of the law.
So I asked her about it.
On April 26, I emailed Thomas and cc’d Wenatchee School District communications director Diana Haglund the following question:
“Hi Katherine,
I heard you're planning on moving to Texas soon. Once you reside out of state, do you plan on resigning from the Wenatchee School Board?
Thank you for your time.”
She didn’t respond, but Haglund did. She said the district had not been notified that Thomas planned on moving.
So I decided to wait and see how things played out.
Many Wenatchee Valley residents and readers will remember that Katherine Thomas secured her board seat by successfully harnessing Covid-era anger on the right. One of her signature campaign moves was to join a group of protestors who refused to comply with the rules at a Wenatchee School Board meeting in August 2021 and wear masks indoors.
One man’s physically threatening behavior forced then-president Laura Jaecks to adjourn the in-person meeting and kick everyone out of the building. The board members all went home and the meeting was later resumed on Zoom.
When Thomas filed to run for school board, she listed her primary address as her parents’ home. Her parents, retired General Dick Black and his wife Mary, are also prominent Grace City Church members and rightwing activists. And while it’s unusual for a middle-aged woman with a family to live with her parents, it doesn’t disqualify her from serving on a school board. We’ll take a closer look at Dick and Mary in the second part of this story.
For Thomas and her supporters, in-person learning for students and in-person (unmasked) meetings for adults were and are really important – and that’s important to remember.
Also important to remember is that after the school board ambush, Thomas broke state campaign law and school district policy by campaigning on district property.
So when I heard she was moving out of state and didn’t plan to resign even though that would be in violation of the law and basic ethics, that information didn’t surprise me.
It also didn’t surprise me when Thomas, the stalwart ideologue devoted to in-person meetings even in the face of a pandemic, started attending meetings remotely.
Since May 23, Thomas has attended just three Wenatchee School Board meetings or workshops in person. You can view a folder of screenshots of those meetings here, and view every WSB meeting on YouTube here.
This change in Thomas’ attendance habits was not lost on others. Stella Winter, a Wenatchee-based blogger with creates content under the name “Progressive Devilry” has been asking questions about Thomas’ whereabouts for months.
And on Sept. 19, they called Thomas and the Wenatchee School Board out on Facebook.
So I reached out to Thomas once again to see if she would respond publicly.
On Sept. 20, I sent her this email:
“Back in April, I was informed that you planned on moving to Texas. I reached out to you with a question about that at the time but didn't hear back.
According to Stella Winter, a blogger who writes under the nom de plume ‘Progressive Devilry,’ you bought a home in El Paso in March and that's currently your main residence. If that is the case, you are in violation of WSD board policy and Washington state law.
Is it true that you do not currently reside in Wenatchee? If what Winters says is untrue, what do you want the public to know about their claim that you live out of state?
If you do live out of state and knowingly violated WSD board policy and state law, why? What is the point of not resigning and allowing your fellow board members to appoint your interim replacement?”
Thomas did not respond.
The Wenatchee School Board did respond to Winter though, and called the information they provided is “concerning and warrants further discussion” and an item has been added to the upcoming board meeting agenda to discuss the issue.
While this story has not been covered by “traditional” outlets in the Wenatchee Valley so far, it would be surprising if this development doesn’t get noticed after Tuesday. Either way, Winter and I will both provide news about what happens.
What’s the Story Behind the Billboard at 404 S. Mission?
In August a billboard went up at 404 South Mission Street in Wenatchee with a message about Wenatchee public schools. It directs folks to visit a website with the URL cmte4WSDschools.org.
Naturally, I was curious about who was behind the message. So I visited the website. But it didn’t include any information about who was responsible for putting up the billboard, or the site.
When you do a “Who Is” domain search, all the information about who registered that domain, who administrates it and who the technical contact is has been “redacted for privacy.”
So I looked into the property, which is owned by a man named Daniel Leonard and managed by a company called Emerald Outdoor Advertising.
I called Emerald and spoke with Sales & Marketing Manager Rhonda Warren and asked about the billboard. I asked if it was available and how much it costs a month.
She said it is not available and the monthly rate is $500 with a six-month commitment. She said the client who currently has the contract will have the option to renew it in March 2024, which they will probably do.
So I asked her who currently has the contract for that billboard. She told me it was a firm called Heaton Dainard Realty. So I looked them up and found that they are a Real Estate brokerage company based in Bellevue.
I called the firm and asked to speak with one of the founders and owners, James Dainard or Will Heaton, about the billboard. I was transferred to Heaton’s assistant, who said she did know they were responsible for billboards in Wenatchee, but would have to look into who was responsible for that specific one and get back to me. That was on Friday and if I hear back from Heaton Dainard I will update this piece.
And even though that line of inquiry didn’t give me much, thankfully Mary Black, Katherine Thomas’ mother and fellow local rightwing activist texted a bunch of people right after the billboard went up and told folks to “please send this on to all your friends in wenatchee.”
The individual who provided this screenshot asked to remain anonymous, but I checked to make sure it was in fact Mary Black’s number. Then I called it and left a voicemail. I also sent her a text.
I also called Gen. Black and left a voicemail for him. He has not responded.
Grace City Church Pastor Josh McPherson mentioned Dick and Mary Black during his sermon this morning, during his announcement of a new K-12 school Grace City Church is starting in part to “fight back” against the “indoctrination” that happens in “government schools.” You can watch that clip here.
A lot of what McPherson said during his sermon on Sept. 24 is nearly verbatim to the copy on the website the billboard directs to. This part about Wenatchee public students “failing in math” and yet graduation rates are on the rise is an especially good example.
“Do you want any of those students to build the next bridge you drive over?” McPherson asked.
If McPherson didn’t write the copy on the website the billboard directs traffic to, then he certainly seems to have a lot of influence over who did.
In order to do the due diligence, I reached out to WSD communication director Diana Haglund again. This time I asked about the veracity of the claims made by the folks responsible for the billboard and corresponding website.
Even though it makes an already long piece even longer, I think it’s important to include my questions and the district’s responses in their entirety because context and attention to detail are important. Here’s that interview in a question-and-answer format.
DB: Is it true that the spring 2021 survey came back with 86% of respondents saying they wanted in-person learning back? How many people took that survey?
DH: In early March 2021, the Wenatchee School District conducted a survey for parents to determine their support for returning to full-time in-person instruction for the remainder of the 2020-21 school year. During the survey period, elementary schools were using a hybrid instruction system. The survey was conducted online and lasted for seven days. In order to ensure representation from all demographics in the district, personal phone calls were made to the homes of parents who had not yet taken the survey, resulting in 3,200 parents/guardians completing the survey, which represents approximately 5,700 students.
79% of elementary, 75% of middle, and 67% of high school parents favored full-time in-person instruction.
Apart from the survey completed by parents, the district also conducted a survey for secondary students to assess their readiness and willingness to return to full-time in-person instruction. The results showed that 55% of students did not support a return. The district received over 2700 responses from grades 6-12.
Staff were given the opportunity to complete the same survey, with 941 of our 1200 employees doing so. Of those who participated, 64.7% did not support a full-time return to in-person instruction.
View the board presentation on the survey results from March 23, 2021
DB: Why is enrollment down in the Wenatchee school district? The folks who put the website up cite WSD numbers for that. Is that unique to the WSD or is enrollment down in other districts too?
DH: Enrollment has been declining since 2015, when the Alcoa plant idled operations however, several other factors are impacting this decline. The birth rates in both Chelan County and the city of Wenatchee have been decreasing, leading to a reduction in the sizes of kindergarten classes. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, some students have left the district and relocated to other areas. Moreover, private, parochial, and online schools have experienced a surge in enrollments, and new private schools have emerged. Wenatchee's first charter school is now open and is accepting students from grades 6 to 9. The shifting demographics of Wenatchee indicate that families moving to the area do not have school-aged children with them.
The decline in enrollment is not unique to the Wenatchee School District. Public schools in Washington State and across the nation are facing the same challenge, which impacts district budgets. State basic education funding is driven by full-time equivalent enrollment (FTE). As enrollment decreases, so do revenues.
DB: Should parents be concerned about the percentage of students currently meeting ELA, math and science standards? How should parents and readers be considering those data points in context of where the WSD is compared to other districts in the state?
DH: Sharing data is a common practice that can take various forms. It is often desirable to compare local schools with others in our state or those that have similar headcounts or FTE. The data published on the Washington State Report card for ELA and Math reflects the most recent standardized test scores on the Smarter Balance test. It should be noted that these tests were administered in a post-pandemic period and were accompanied by learning recovery and acceleration efforts to support students. However, it is essential to understand that standardized tests are just one measure of student performance and do not reflect their overall abilities or achievements in other subjects such as science, social studies, and the arts.
To more accurately determine how Wenatchee School District compares to peer schools, we recently shared at a board meeting a comparative data set from Stern Analytics that effectively identified schools with similar demographic profiles and compared their SBA scores to ours. The peer schools were selected based on having similar rates of students who are of low socio-economic status, multilingual learners, and the percentage of students on Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). This comparison allowed us to evaluate our district's performance in relation to similar schools.
Although we identified areas that require improvement, we are determined to make significant strides in the coming year. Our new strategic plan, which is grounded in research, includes specific actions that will help us achieve our goals. Our strategic plan is a road map to fulfill our promise to students. They come to our schools with different lived experiences, starting points, and needs. Our strategic plan provides a framework within which those differences are strengths.
My Two Cents
When folks take such great lengths to influence electoral politics while also concealing their identities, that’s a red flag no matter what side of the aisle you’re on.
Furthermore the consistent, concerted efforts of folks like McPherson who call public schools “government schools,” say they’re meant to “indoctrinate” children while encouraging public school teachers to “walk out” in protest over reasonable Constitutionally-grounded laws that regulate prayer in school should be noted. It should also be noted that McPherson and GCC leaders have a financial interest in seeing local public schools fail and are actively rooting for it.
Any candidate’s connection to Grace City Church is cause for scrutiny, especially those running for local school boards, because their leader has a level of control over his followers’ political lives that far exceeds the average pastor.
Next time we’ll cover McPherson’s big announcement of a new K-12 school they’re launching, which will be called the “Garden City Academy.”
Wow, so many scary issues here.
The WSD is not failing ! Teachers and other staff are working incredibly hard to help students learn. Board members and the new Supt have been instrumental in balancing the budget, dealing with declining enrollment, and forced staffing reductions.
This is exemplary reporting! I'm mortified by the involvement GCC has in politics in this town. Thank goodness you and Stella are keeping us informed!