Heine-Withee has a history of testifying before the Washington State Legislature on bills that affect education and parents’ rights

Jennifer Heine-Withee recently announced her candidacy for Battle Ground School District Board of Directors Position 1.

Heine-Withee is a lifelong resident of Washington state. She and her husband graduated from Prairie High School, and all three of their children went through the Battle Ground School District system and graduated from Battle Ground High School. Throughout their education, she volunteered in their classrooms and worked as a classified substitute. For the past two years, Heine-Withee has served on the Citizens Advisory Committee.

Heine-Withee has a history of testifying before the Washington State Legislature on bills that affect education and parents’ rights. She has met with several lawmakers including representatives Jim Walsh, Vicki Kraft, and Monica Stonier.  

In 2020, Heine-Withee had an integral role in connecting school board directors around the state who had the common goal of giving smaller districts a greater voice at the WA State School Directors Association. As a result this group was able to propose and pass an amendment to the bylaws discontinuing an inequitable voting system called the Weighted Vote and replacing it with one vote per district.

“I have been active in advocating for parental rights and excellence in education since 2018,’’ Heine-Withee said. “During this time, I have worked on bills and policies with lawmakers and school board directors.  I have affected change at the Washington State School Board Association which resulted in the elimination of the weighted vote.  If elected I would like to work with the district to improve educational outcomes, fiscal responsibility, transparency, communication, and parental and community involvement.’’

“In 2018, I began advocating for better parental engagement with the school district and for increased local control,’’ Heine-Withee said. “I’ve engaged with school board directors, school administrators, and legislators statewide, and even met with Superintendent Chris Reykdal twice. In 2021, when the district was considering a new middle school sex education curriculum, I proposed an alternative that would better align with our community values. More recently, I worked with the district to update the library procedures, aiming to improve oversight and consistency in our library collections.’’

For more information, visit JenniferforBGSB.com.

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