Aaron Jahneke, student at ASU, is also running for office. Photo by Jed Strahm

Classroom politics

By Joshua Snyder
West Times Staff

Aaron Jahneke, a student at the West campus finishing up his final year before acquiring his master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies, is running in the 2008 election for a position on the board of the Washington Elementary School District.

Jahneke, ASASUW’s president last year, chose to run because of the close ties he has maintained with the community there for most of his life. He spent all of his elementary school career in the WESD, and had some really amazing teachers there, he said.

“They were good,” he said, “and I got a good education in the system.”

Since he continues to live in the district as an adult, he wanted to take the opportunity to give back to the neighborhood that raised him.

According to the candidate, the general duties of board members include setting policies, hiring district employees, and managing the district’s budget, among other tasks.

“I hope to bring an interest in really understanding how the whole system works and figuring out ways to provide more outreach to the community so people know what the schools are doing,” Jahneke stated. “I plan to be someone who will really put the time in.”

While there was originally one more applicant than there were available positions, one candidate failed to get the required number of signatures and was forced to drop out of the race, which eliminated any chance of competition. Along with Clorinda Graziano and Tee Lambert, Jahneke is running unopposed.

This has made things considerably easier for Jahneke, as he is preparing to graduate from ASU. Since he doesn’t have to spend time campaigning, he can focus on what schooling he has left and his job. When not in class, the candidate works full-time as an insurance agent. In addition to this, he is also active in the Washington Foundation, which provides grants for teachers in the district, and the advocacy group Support Our Schools AZ.

This is not the first time Jahneke has run for the position. “I tried it two years ago and I didn’t win,” he admitted, “but I only lost by about four percentage points. I was encouraged and decided to give it another try. This particular one was easier because I had a lot of help this time. The hardest thing is typically getting enough signatures for ballot status. I did a lot of it myself the first time I ran. The second time I had a lot of teachers helping me, and I had some parents as well. I got 651 signatures in less than a month, which is pretty phenomenal. You need 400 in order to qualify.”

Although Jahneke didn’t win his previous campaign, he has been accepting and even optimistic about it. “I’m kind of glad I lost the first time,” he said. “I think things happened for a reason, because there’s no way I would’ve had the time to spend serving ASASUW for the time I got to do that.

“Because it was harder for me to finally get it I’ll appreciate the position more, even during the bad times.”

He is, however, aware that things won’t be easy. “It’s going to be a rough year, with this economy how it is,” explained Jahneke. “We’re going to see an increase in the homeless kids in the district, and an increase of foreclosures.” The candidate acknowledged that hard choices will have to be made, and budget cuts are a likely possibility. Jahneke hopes that by retaining his connection to ASU, he will be able to draw help from the university in the event of tighter financial constraints on the district. “Washington’s already big with CTEL, I think. … I’m going to try to collaborate so we have more resources for the district without spending tax dollars.”