City council and school board candidates shared their views on growth, safety and more Thursday night during a League of Women Voters of Clark County forum at Clark-Cowlitz Fire Rescue Station 26.
Three panels featured candidates for Battle Ground City Council Position 4 and Battle Ground School District Director positions 1 and 3. The forum offered voters a chance to hear directly from candidates ahead of the Nov. 5 general election. Each forum followed a structured format with timed answers and questions submitted by the League.
The League expected to host candidates for Battle Ground City Council, Positions 5 and 6, and Hockinson School District Director, District 1, but were unable to host both candidates for each race due to time conflicts.
Battle Ground City Council, Position 4
The Position 4 forum featured incumbent Jeanie Kuypers and former mayor Philip Johnson. Kuypers, unanimously appointed to the council in February after Adrian Cortes joined the Legislature, is seeking election to retain her seat. A retired corporate executive, she said her leadership and project management experience guide her work on the council.
“I’m known as a listener, a collaborator, a problem solver,” Kuypers said. “I’m ethical, fiscally responsible, a person of integrity, a voice of reason and a servant leader.”
Johnson, a 12-year council veteran and former mayor who left office in 2023, said he decided to run again out of concern for how the city manages its finances.
“My reason is very simple,” Johnson said. “I’m concerned about the financial well-being of our community... what’s coming into the city as far as your tax dollars and how that money is spent going out the back door.”
Johnson also noted that employment opportunities are leaving Battle Ground, adding that the city’s location away from rivers and Interstate 5 makes attracting new employers more difficult.
When asked about growth, Kuypers said schools should be central to any future planning. Johnson focused instead on maintaining the city’s water and sewer systems to keep up with development.
“We can’t have a good community if we don’t have schools to support our children and our families,” Kuypers said.
“The infrastructure worries that I have are simply water and sewer,” Johnson said. “It’s a very expensive journey, and it’s very important that you kind of keep an eye on that.”
On public safety, both said Battle Ground’s new police chief has brought stability, but agreed that more resources are needed.
“When you ask what does small-town feel mean, it’s safety,” Kuypers said.
“We’re lucky at this point to have a new chief,” Johnson added. “He and the department probably need two, maybe three more people, along with a technology upgrade.”
Downtown parking and housing affordability also surfaced as recurring concerns. Kuypers said near-term parking improvements are being explored while longer-term revitalization plans take shape. Johnson, who owns downtown property, opposed city ownership of lots. Both said rising housing costs are straining seniors and vulnerable residents.
In closing, Johnson described Battle Ground as “a modern-day Mayberry with one foot in the past and one foot in the future.” Kuypers said the city’s growth will require active participation.
“I want to make sure my grandchildren have a good city to live in going forward,” she said. “It’s going to take a lot of participation, and I believe we do it together.”
Battle Ground School District, Director District 1
In the second forum, longtime Battle Ground teacher Lorri Sibley and parent advocate Jennifer Heine-Withee outlined differing priorities for the district but shared goals of stronger communication, safer schools, and support for non-college-bound students.
Sibley, who retired in June after 32 years of teaching, said she ran because she “believes in the district” and wants to use her classroom experience to strengthen it.
“I’ve been in the trenches. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly,” she said. “I love students, I focus on students first, and I want to see this district grow and thrive.”
Heine-Withee, a former substitute teacher and longtime volunteer, pointed to her advocacy through the Family Policy Institute of Washington and her “Crisis in Education” events.
“We empowered parents to get involved — to know the curriculum, learn the policies and procedures, and be more connected with teachers,” she said.
Both said concerns over library books should follow district procedures, not bans. Sibley cited Policy 2021, which allows parents to restrict what their children can check out. Heine-Withee said she’d first ask parents about the content before referring them to the process.
Both candidates said student safety must remain a top concern, though they differed in focus.
“Students cannot be successful unless they feel safe and cared for,” Sibley said, citing growing classroom disruptions.
Heine-Withee said discipline and consistency are key. “We cannot continue to put a child who’s been a victim back into a classroom with their victimizer,” she said. “There needs to be consequences — and more adults in classrooms and halls.”
Budget questions dominated much of the discussion, following the district’s recent levy failure that resulted in $14 million in cuts for the 2025–26 school year. Heine-Withee said communication breakdowns have deepened mistrust.
“When half of our property taxes go to education, yet folks see test scores going down — there’s a problem there,” she said.
Sibley agreed, saying the state’s funding model doesn’t meet needs. “Fourteen percent of our budget is levy-funded,” she said. “We do more with less, but the community isn’t seeing it. There’s a dark cloud, and we need to shine light through better communication and levy success.”
When asked about outreach, Sibley said the district “does a really good job overall — except sometimes with the levy.”
Heine-Withee countered that many parents still feel disconnected from decision-making.
“Ask people when the high school has a football game — they’ll know. Ask them when the board is adopting new curriculum — they’ll say, ‘What?’” she said.
Both supported expanding career and technical education, including Cascadia Tech and ROTC programs, as alternatives to four-year college paths.
On transgender students, Sibley said the issue is complex but clear in principle: “My focus is always students first — all students — and we need to prioritize their well-being.”
Heine-Withee agreed that all students deserve “the same common courtesy and decency,” saying unity around shared goals helps foster belonging.
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.
