Chris Gregoire has made quality education her gubernatorial mantra. When she needs a break from the stress of Olympia, she should hang out in Metaline Falls, population 230.

Eastern Washington University’s Get Lit! program recently sent me to the Selkirk Consolidated School District for two days as a writer in residence. The district’s elementary school is located in Metaline Falls – two hours north of Spokane and just 12 miles from the Canadian border.

Lois and Van Whysong, both teachers in the district, invited me to stay in their guest quarters. Snow banks, piled high around their home, gleamed in the moonlight. Across the street, the Pend Oreille River snoozed in icy hibernation. Idyllic.

Some things I discovered about rural-school reality during my time in Metaline Falls allowed me to view statewide school issues through a different lens.

“The supermajority rule, requiring 60 percent of voter approval for school bonds and levies, is a killer for the small districts.

The Selkirk Consolidated School District has 352 students, K-12, and 64 employees. The elementary school building is in disrepair, from the chipped blue paint on the cafeteria door to the gym’s boiler that broke down while I was there. The school is clean and well-kept, but its age reveals the truth.

The school district has asked voters twice in recent years to approve bond measures. This bond money would have built a new elementary school and updated Selkirk Junior/Senior High School, located between Metaline Falls and Ione. More than 50 percent of the voters said yes to the bond issues. It wasn’t enough. If the simple majority rule had been in effect in years past, I would have been teaching in a new school building with no boiler issues.

“Teacher gluts can become a talent boon for rural districts.

Lois got her teaching degree from the University of Washington in 1974. The market was glutted with baby boomers seeking teaching jobs. Lois applied to 109 school districts before landing in Metaline Falls. She intended to stay two years. Van arrived there a year after Lois. They met, fell in love, married, and often debated the pros and cons of moving on from Metaline Falls.

When their daughter, Marysia, was almost 1, they attended a 100th birthday party for “Grandpa Kubota” the owner of the hardware store, beloved by the community. On the walk home from the party, they decided: We’re staying. Thirty-two years later, they are two of the community’s most involved citizens.

Bigger city transplants provide new energy and ideas – as well as add population – to the state’s smaller towns. Young teaching job candidates shouldn’t be afraid to say yes to the smaller districts, even in non-glut years. Everyone potentially benefits.

“Small-district physical education practices would keep our kids healthier.

The Selkirk Elementary students didn’t seem as chubby as city kids. They get good exercise during the school day, especially in the winter. As I finished teaching the first-grade class, the children donned snowsuits. A rack filled with skis and ski boots rolled to a stop outside our room. The children were going cross-country skiing.

Could city schools universally adopt this winter-exercise practice? If skiing is too cumbersome, perhaps a snowshoe class on snowy days or nature walks through parks on more temperate winter afternoons.

The students sent me thank-you notes. Come visit again. I hope to. In the meantime, kids, invite the governor to stop by. Her husband, First Mike, did visit in the fall to read books to third-graders. Cool.

Invite a few urban state legislators, too. They pass the laws that rule your days. You have some lessons of your own to teach them.