One incumbent in, one out of school board election

One Edmonds School Board member has revealed plans to run in the coming election, and another says he won’t run.

School Director Kory DeMun has said he won’t seek re-election to his seat on the board, and appointed Board Member April Nowak has declared her candidacy for the last two years of the term she holds by appointment.

The school district includes the cities of Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace and Brier, the town of Woodway, and nearby unincorporated areas of south Snohomish County.

Citizens throughout the school district vote for candidates from each of five director districts, but all board members must live in the director districts they represent.

DeMun represents Director District 1 in the southwest corner of the school district. Director District 1 includes Woodway, the south part of the City of Edmonds and nearby unincorporated areas, and the southwest corner of Mountlake Terrace.

Nowak represents Director District 4 in the central part of the school district. Director District 4 includes parts of the city of Edmonds and most of the city of Lynnwood on both sides of Highway 99. It includes Edmonds-Woodway High School, College Place elementary and middle schools and Lynnwood Elementary School. Nowak has held the position since other board members appointed her last year to replace Susan Phillips.

Nowak is a declared candidate for the last two years of the four-year term that Phillips won in 2013.

Her registration with the Public Disclosure Commission allows her to raise and spend money for the 2015 election.

Candidates file for ballot position May 11-15 at the county auditor’s office in Everett. Positions with three or more candidates appear on the Aug. 4 primary ballot, with the top two vote getters in the primary advancing to the Nov. 3 general election. Positions with only one or two candidates appear only on the November ballot.

In addition to the elections for the last two years of the term that Nowak holds and the four-year term that DeMun is giving up, 2015 ballots will include contests for four-year terms in the positions held by Gary Noble in Director District 3 held by Diana White in Director District 5.

Noble represents Director District 3 in the northeast part of the school district, including the area around Lynnwood High School, Martha Lake Elementary School, Oak Heights Elementary School and Spruce Elementary School.

White represents Director District 5 in the northwest part of the school district, including the Lynndale and Meadowdale areas and the north part of the City of Edmonds.

The only board position not on 2015 ballots is the one that Ann McMurray represents from Director District 2 in the southeast part of the school district, including most of Mountlake Terrace and all of Brier.

DeMun announced last week that he doesn’t intend to seek a second four-year term on the board.

“I have served the district for four years and enjoy the work,” DeMun said. “It is time for me to move on; so I have more time to spend with my family and career.

He is operations manager for a local firm. He and his wife have four children who have attended Edmonds School District schools.

“I have enjoyed working with the board, administration and schools and will continue volunteering in support of the district,” he added. “This has been very fulfilling. I am so impressed with our voters’ consistent and overwhelming support of our schools. That needs to be said loudly and clearly.”


Superintendent Nick Brossoit said he appreciates the contributions DeMun has made during his four years on the board.

“Director DeMun contributed greatly to the development of several key initiatives in the district, including our Strategic Direction,” Brossoit said.

“Director DeMun serves on the Graduates-Who-Are-Ready-for-Life Work Group and his contributions in his current role will be missed after this year, but we look forward to him remaining active in our work as a volunteer.”

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.