Three seats on the Vashon School District’s board of commissioners will be contested in the November election.

Current commissioners Dan Chasan and Laura Wishik each filed with King County Elections last week to seek re-

election to the five-person board, and both were challenged by new candidates. And two people will vie for the seat that will be vacated by Kathy Jones.

Chasan, who has a long history on Vashon’s school board, is challenged by John Osborne, who has also served on the board.

Chasan is currently finishing his second four-year term, and he also served several other terms in the late 1970s through the early 2000s.

John “Oz” Osborne was a school board member from 2005 to 2009, but did not seek re-election after that. A software engineer, he works for the University of Washington and teaches at Olympic College in Bremerton.

In addition to his school board experience, Osborne has served on several citizens’ committees tasked with campaigning for school levies and led the citizens’ committee for the bond for the new high school building. He is currently on the board of Vashon Partners in Education (PIE) and has served on a few other nonprofit boards. His two children both attended Vashon’s public schools.

“I think I bring experience, and I think I bring a new perspective and new energy,” he said.

Wishik, who is seeking a third term on the school board, is challenged by newcomer Toby Holmes.

Holmes, a Vashon native, graduated from Vashon High School in 1989 and returned to the island seven years ago. He now has two children at Chautauqua Elementary School and commutes to Seattle, where he does business development and marketing for a software company. A few of his family members, including his wife, have worked for the school district as well.

In an interview, Holmes said he is interested in joining the board largely to help guide the district as it navigates changing national standards and to promote conversation around that topic.

“Everyone has the best intentions in mind. Part of the role of a board member is to make sure the district is still following the vision that it set out,” he said.

Kathy Jones, who currently fills Position 3 on the board, will not seek reelection, and islanders Jake Jacobovitch and Zabette Macomber both filed to run for her seat.

Jacobovitch, who has lived on Vashon nearly 40 years, was a commissioner from 2003 to 2007, when he was defeated by Wishik. He also ran in 2009 and was defeated by Steve Ellison, who is still on the board. His children attended Vashon schools, and he has grandchildren at Chautauqua.

Jacobovitch is the facility maintenance manager for King County Metro, and his long list of volunteer experience includes time on several other public and nonprofit boards, including the park district, community council, Vashon Youth Baseball & Softball and the Puget Sound Regional Council Growth Management Policy Board. He has also been a volunteer school bus driver and sports coach.

In a written statement, Jacobovitch said that if elected, some of his priorities would be curriculum alignment, financial stability, public involvement and vocational education.

“A board is like fabric,” he said. “Five identical strands going in the same direction does not produce a strong fabric.”

Macomber is currently on the board of the Vashon Schools Foundation and the Vashon-Maury Island Land Trust. She has a degree in education and worked as a substitute in the Seattle Public Schools for a year and also taught in New Dehli for two years. She does not currently work outside the home and has two children who attend Chautauqua and McMurray. She has also served on the boards of Vashon Youth & Family Services and the Vashon Maury Cooperative Preschool.

In an interview, Macomber called it an interesting time to be in education, particularly with new national standards and with Vashon’s school board considering another capital bond.

“I have a great respect for the school board, and I think it’s important to get new voices on the school board,” she said. “I think I could really help the school district in the future and in the years to come.”

Ballots for the Nov. 3 general election will be mailed in mid-October. Watch The Beachcomber for more election coverage.