Doug Eglington will be challenged by Julie Wright for his current position on the Lake Washington School District (LWSD) Board of Directors and Nancy Phillips Bernard will run unopposed to retain her current position in the Nov. 3 general election in King County.

The deadline for candidate filing was June 5. Since the top two candidates or those running alone in each category will automatically advance to the Nov. 3 election, these races won’t be an issue in the Aug. 18 primary election.

Eglington, who lives in Sammamish, is the director of the LWSD’s District 4, the Eastlake High School area. It includes all or part of the attendance areas for Audubon Elementary, Alcott Elementary, Blackwell Elementary, Carson Elementary, Dickinson Elementary, McAuliffe Elementary, Mead Elementary, Smith Elementary, Evergreen Junior High, Inglewood Junior High, Redmond Junior High, Eastlake High and Redmond High.

Eglington has served on the LWSD board since 1989. He was board president in 2005 and 2006. He is a senior policy analyst for the King County Office of Business Relations and Economic Development and has been employed in policy work for 27 years.

In a statement sent to the Redmond Reporter, Wright, who also lives in Sammamish, said she is running for the LWSD Board “because I would like to strengthen the parents’ voice in our district and make sure we are using our precious education dollars as effectively as possible for each child. I respect and appreciate my opponent’s 20 years of service in the Lake Washington School District, but it’s time for new energy to move our kids ahead in today’s world.”

Wright is the executive director of a non-profit tutoring company, Fast Track Math and is a former elementary school teacher.

Her statement submitted for the King County voter’s pamphlet said she is “a proven advocate for quality education (who) successfully led citizen advocacy efforts in Olympia to improve our state’s math and science systems and to reform state achievement testing.”

Wright has served for five years as a PTSA legislative representative and has been awarded the PTSA’s Golden Acorn and Mustang Award from Mead Elementary and Silver Wolf Award from Eastlake High School for her advocacy on behalf of struggling students.

Wright and her husband, Gregg, have raised five children in the LWSD. Their children attend Mead Elementary, Inglewood Jr. High and Eastlake High School and two are currently in college.

Wright said that her experience as a teacher and an executive director of a small tutoring non-profit “will help ensure LWSD in efficiently and effectively preparing all students to succeed in a competitive global economy.” Among her priorities, she said she will “increase meaningful parent/community involvement and accountability to taxpayers in district decisions.”

Wright noted, “Helping children reach their potential has been my lifelong work. It would be an honor to serve our community to provide all school children with the best opportunities to learn and succeed in school.”

Bernard, a Kirkland resident, is the director of the LWSD’s District 3. It is the Kamaikin Junior High and Rose Hill Junior area, including all or part of the attendance areas for Frost Elementary, Muir Elementary, Rush Elementary, Twain Elementary, Kamiakin Junior High, Rose Hill Junior High, Redmond Junior High, Juanita Junior High, Lake Washington High and Redmond High.

Bernard was first elected to the LWSD Board of Directors in November 1997 and has served as board vice president, legislative representative and president of the board. She is a public health advisor with the Washington State Department of Health and manages the indoor air quality and school environmental health and safety program.

For more information about the Lake Washington School District Board of Directors, visit www.lwsd.org.