Update October 24th: Two new articles published in local new sources regarding this race – Letter: ‘Parents are tired of schools overstepping their authority’ – ClarkCountyToday.com and Letter: ‘Meet the new boss, same as the old boss’ – ClarkCountyToday.com
Update: October 22nd: Article in The Reflector re: Grewell: https://www.thereflector.com/stories/letter-to-the-editor-grewell-focused-on-parental-rights,389468
Article in The Reflector re: Worthy: https://www.thereflector.com/stories/letter-to-the-editor-worthy-unworthy,389466
Update: Oct 16th – The League of Women Voters hosted a Battle Ground races event. Following is what was reported by The Reflector
Battle Ground School District, Director District 3
In the final forum, candidates Chris Grewell and Sabrena Worthy offered sharply different visions for Battle Ground schools — one emphasizing traditional values and parental rights, the other focused on equity, inclusion and mental health.
Worthy, a former social worker, began nervously but grew more confident as she spoke about student equity, parent mentorship, and the role of public education as a ladder out of poverty.
“I wanted to make sure that all students had the opportunity to have a fully funded public education that was a quality education,” she said. “My background as a social worker gives me a different perspective.”
Grewell, a U.S. Air Force veteran and project manager, said schools have “drifted from their purpose.”
“Education should form character, teach truth, and equip young people to live well,” he said. “Leadership is not about control — it’s about service.”
When asked how teachers should be factored into district decisions, both agreed that their input matters but framed it differently.
“Teachers have valuable insight,” Grewell said, “but parents come first with their values, and public schools should reflect those values.”
Worthy said teachers “are vital to understanding the needs of our students,” though she briefly stumbled mid-answer, noting her nervousness.
Both candidates tied budget priorities to the failed levy and the $14 million in resulting cuts. Grewell said he’d protect classroom instruction and review administrative spending.
“Over the last 10 years, student enrollment slowed by 3%, but administration grew by 20%,” he said. “We need to get money back into classrooms — closest to the students.”
Worthy said she’d prioritize CTE, special education, and gifted programs. “It’s hard to find more to take away,” she said.
On transgender student rights, Worthy supported district Policy 3210 and existing state protections.
“All transgender students should have the pronoun use that best fits them, bathroom access, and sports participation,” she said.
Grewell said compassion and fairness “can go hand in hand,” adding, “Schools should teach respect for others while maintaining clarity and boundaries that keep it a safe environment for everyone.”
In closing, Grewell said education “should be about truth and not a trend, about forming character and not following politics.”
Worthy said her experiences as a social worker and home educator help her understand families’ needs.
“Every child should have the right to access equitable, fully funded public education,” she said.
Both candidates were sent a list of 12 questions with an offer to publish their responses. Mr. Grewell responded but his opponent did not. Here are the questions in case you want to contact Sabrena Worthy to ask your own questions.
[Phone 360.518.8624 Email: worthysabrena@gmail.com ]
When someone chooses not to respond the question is why? Consider voting for the person that took the time and effort to answer…because you now know something about how they see the position. Consider voting for someone who took the time and risk of answering hard questions.
Update: The Democrat Party has posted their endorsement of Ms. Worthy. The Republican Party has endorsed Mr. Grewell.
Christopher Grewell – BGSD
Q1: Given the poor student test scores, what are your proposals to improve learning and outcomes?
Poor test scores reveal that our schools have drifted from their core mission.
> If a child cannot read, he cannot learn; every subject rests on functional literacy, not parroting facts. We need to put our resources and our focus back on the fundamentals: reading, writing, math, science, and history. It is not the schools’ role to indoctrinate, but to educate, and when we substitute that with anything else, students pay the price. Teachers should be equipped with evidence-based methods, standards must be high, and results should be measured with clear benchmarks. Programs that fail should be cut, not protected. Families should be given transparent progress data so they can reinforce learning at home. Our students need academics, not social experiments.
Q2: Given that an estimated 50% of the entire state budget goes to K-12 education, what are your thoughts about improving efficiencies in local spending?
> Budgets are moral documents; they reveal what we truly value. If half of the state’s budget goes to K-12 education, then every line item must prove its worth. For example, a study out of Georgetown saw a mediocre increase of 3% in student enrollment, while the budget for the administration ballooned 20%. Families see classrooms short on textbooks while central offices expand, and that is backwards. We should use zero-based budgeting so no department or program is assumed justified year after year without review. Line-item transparency must be available to taxpayers in plain language, and dollars must flow to teachers and students, not bureaucracy. I look to shining examples like River HomeLink and the efficiency of what they are doing there. In 2013 a fifth-grade class in Harlem scored higher than any other school in New York, and they did it with a smaller budget. Every dollar should serve students, not systems.
Q3: What’s your position on Parental Rights?
> Parents are the first teachers, and the family is the first form of government. The responsibility of instilling values belongs to families, not schools. It is not the role of schools to catechize children into ideology, but to educate them in academics. That requires transparency; parents must have access to curriculum, genuine opt-in and opt-out rights, and authority over medical or counseling decisions. The board’s first duty is to represent families, not state agencies. Children belong to families, not to the state. Families form character; schools teach academics.
Q4: Should parents have the right to choose public or private education for their children?
> Yes. Parents, not the government, should choose where and how their children are educated. One size fits none, and competition strengthens schools by forcing them to earn trust. A child’s opportunities should never be dictated by their ZIP code. Choice is the parent’s veto power, and it keeps every system honest.
Q5: What’s your position about transgender crossover in sports?
> Sports must be fair, safe, and competitive. Allowing biological males to compete in female divisions undermines fairness, strips opportunities, and threatens safety. Girls deserve podiums, not lawsuits. Rules should be grounded in biological reality to protect the integrity of competition. Fairness is not negotiable.
Q6: Should school district negotiations with unions be public? Why or Why Not?
> Yes. If taxpayers fund it, taxpayers should see it. Union negotiations determine salaries, benefits, and policies that shape classrooms. To hide that process is to erode trust. Sunlight, as Justice Brandeis said, is the best disinfectant. Public negotiations ensure accountability and protect students and families from deals that put special interests ahead of academic priorities.
Q7: What is your position on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion)?
> DEI programs often reduce students to labels and categories, which divides rather than unites. True equity means equal opportunity, not engineered outcomes. Every student should be treated as an individual with dignity, not a checkbox in a political framework. Divide, label, and sort, that’s not education, that’s politics. Schools should pursue fairness and excellence, not social engineering.
Q8: What is your position on Critical Race Theory?
> CRT belongs in graduate seminars, not elementary or high schools. It encourages children to see themselves as either oppressors or victims, which undermines responsibility and unity. We should teach history truthfully, the good and the bad, without weaponizing it. Teach history, not hostility. Our children should inherit opportunity, not inherited guilt. Schools exist to educate, not to indoctrinate.
Q9: What’s your position on Mandated Pronouns?
> Mandated pronouns are compelled speech, and compelled speech has no place in a free society. Respect can be encouraged, but it cannot be forced. Schools should foster civility, but they must not coerce students or teachers into language that violates conscience or reality. Free speech is not suspended at the schoolhouse gate, and no one should be pressured to surrender it in the classroom.
Q10: Should school boards play an active role in running the school district or should the board hire a superintendent and let them run the show with minimal board input?
> The board governs, the superintendent manages. That division of labor is clear, but governance requires oversight. Minimal input is abdication, not leadership. The board must set policy, establish vision, and hold the superintendent accountable for execution. Oversight is not meddling, it’s the job.
Q11: What are the top 3 issues you think need to be addressed in your school district and what would you do about them?
> First, parental rights and transparency – parents must have access to curriculum, opt-in and opt-out authority, and clear appeal processes.
Second, academic excellence – the district must refocus on core subjects, cut distractions, and implement early intervention so learning gaps don’t widen.
Third, fiscal responsibility – budgets must be scrutinized line by line, waste cut, and resources directed where they belong: into classrooms. Parents first, academics first, taxpayers first.
Q12: What other topics or issues would you like to address?
> Schools must be safe and orderly because without discipline there is no learning. Parent volunteer programs like WATCH D.O.G.S. should be expanded to strengthen trust between families and schools. Technology investments must be justified by results, not hype, and accountability must be constant. Quarterly reports on budgets, test scores, and program outcomes should be made public.
From 2001 to 2016 (pre-COVID-19), student enrollment in public schools rose only 1 percent while charter schools grew by 571 percent. Parents moved their children because charter schools focused on academics and gave families a voice in decision-making. Trust followed excellence. We can apply that same principle here. River HomeLink has shown what happens when parents are respected and academics come first. That model of academic rigor paired with parent partnership should be applied across BGSD.
Safe schools, strong families, successful students. That is the formula.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.