Medford school board candidate: Erik Johnsen

This morning Erik Johnsen called me.

He is a candidate for the Medford school board.

He said my post yesterday about the Medford school board election indicated an orientation toward stability and continuity.

He said that continuity had its place -- and certainly collegiality on a board does -- but that the Medford school board needed to press reset. He said he is a sensible, responsible change agent.

Erik Johnson is a candidate for Position Three. The school board chair Cynthia Wright, is running for re-election in that position. Another candidate, Taryne Saunders is as well. My post yesterday warned that Taryne Saunders presented herself as a disrupter, both at school board meetings and as a candidate at public events. I did not want her to win. Neither does Erik. But I decided to give him a chance to present his case.

Here is a statement from Erik Johnsen

Dear Peter and the readers of the Up Close blog,

I appreciate the opportunity to comment on the state of the Medford School Board race. Based on your post from May 15, 2025, it is difficult to debate or offer counter-points to an anonymous “Bill,” and his stated preferences. But as someone actually IN the race, who knows the people and issues that are at play, I thought I could help share some valuable perspectives to your readers.

Peter’s stated preference is for stability and low conflict. Stability is generally a good thing to have in an organization, but significant change rarely comes from the status quo. The fact is that the Medford School District’s enrollment has been on a steady decline since COVID, and the only explanation offered by the district is declining birth rates. There is some truth to that, but that is not the whole truth. Migration in and out of the area can be a factor, and I personally know a great number of families who have chosen to leave the school district in favor of home school, private schools, and neighboring districts. Our community is telling us we need to do better, and voting with their feet. We need to answer the call, and I personally do not believe the status quo will allow that to happen. In terms of low conflict, the current board has been “anything but,” and that ultimately comes down to board leadership. As a retired superintendent recently told me: “every problem that exists is actually a leadership problem.”

As a first time candidate, I will make note of an interesting observation for your readers. For a non-partisan race, many casual observers and voters tend to revert to a very right vs left lens of this school board race. Those concerns have been further stoked by public comments from MTN Church and the Oregon Education Project, many months ago. It does not seem to me that their stated objectives have received the organizational support they had hoped for. For people who do follow school district issues and politics, the real divide seems to be a split on the school board, and there is a lot energy being spent trying to figure out which “camp” each of the candidates are in. Having gotten to know Angela Zbikowski and Sandra LaNier McHenry over the last few weeks, I would like to emphatically state that we are NOT playing that game. Personally, I am seeking to build bridges with everyone, and I see no need to burn them down before I even get on the board and have to start working with people. If you would like to see positive things get done for kids, I would suggest rejecting the typical right vs left lens, and the lens that seeks to put board members in certain “camps,” and vote for the folks to have mastery of the issues, and the professionalism to work well with everyone. That is the only way this school district is going to get stuff done for kids.