Robert Estey

Thu., Oct. 23, 1997

West Valley School Board, challenger, Position No. 2.

Personal: Age 68 … former elementary school principal in District 81, teacher and textbook salesman … married, five children … lived in community 42 years … interested in gardening, fishing and traveling … Estey’s first wife, Alice Estey, served eight years on the West Valley School Board before her death six years ago.

Education: bachelor’s and master’s degrees in educational administration at Gonzaga University … favorite class, physical education … least favorite, German … last book read, “The Course of Empire” by Bernard De Voto.

Issues: Giving teachers the chance to teach, free of distractions. Eliminate the effects of disruptive behavior from the classroom … change the organization of elementary schools from first grade, second grade and so on, to first year, second year and so on. That would give teachers the chance to group children who are ready developmentally to learn the same things, and change West Valley’s elementary schools to kindergarten through fifth grade, instead of the current configuration.

Accomplishments: Fifty years from now, my greatest accomplishment will be the five kids that I had. Personally, my experiences in the schools as a teacher and principal … I’ve read most everything written about Lewis and Clark, officiated in several sports and climbed most of the mountains higher than 10,000 feet in central California.

If I were king for a day: “My ideal would be to have all of the public informed and supportive of what the local school is doing.”

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