Kasey Adler (Submitted by Brian Geraths photography)

Kasey Adler can easily remember a pivotal moment in the history of Hallinan Elementary School: the arrival of the giant wooden play structure.

“I went to Hallinan, in the ‘80s, early ‘90s, when that epic wooden play structure went in, which many will remember and the sign is still there that says, ‘We built this.’ I was there the evening when that was put in,” said Adler. “I still remember very vividly being in Hallinan when they brought through professional consultants. They asked the kids in each grade to weigh in on the different pieces that they wanted in that play structure.”

Adler is running to fill position 4 on the Lake Oswego School Board, currently held by Liz Hartman, who will retire from the board at the end of the current term. Adler currently serves on the Lake Oswego Schools Foundation board.

Adler, a vice president at Dark Horse Entertainment, said running for office is not his “natural programming.”

“I always saw there being just a compelling list of reasons never to run for office, like talking about yourself and asking your friends for money. I think those two things were enough to send me running for the hills for a long time,” said Adler. “The key moment for me was over Christmas break when we got that email from the district about the $12 million deficit; that was truly an eye opening moment.”

Adler’s campaign is predominantly focused on stabilizing the budget and building back a reserve of district funds.

“First and foremost for me is the budget,” said Adler. “I think that’s where the greatest challenges are going to come in the years ahead of us. My background is largely in finance and risk management and I think that the board would benefit from having an extra pair of hands with some specific emphasis in this area as we confront these particular issues — specifically making sure that our budget is in a sustainable place moving forward, so we’re not tipping back into deficit spending.”

He also mentioned enrollment concerns and proficiency scores as two other areas he’d hope to focus upon.

Adler is concerned that statewide discussions about assessment scores “will devolve into a gridlock between, ‘Is this a resource question we’re confronting or an accountability question?’”

Adler believes the waning science assessment scores shouldn’t be forgotten among the grim realities of math and English language arts.

“Do we need to reinvigorate our commitment to science in Lake Oswego, especially when our district is so invested in sustainability?” said Adler. “I suspect Lake Oswego might need to show some leadership in this area of developing more reliable, more specific metrics by which we can hold out to Salem and say, ‘Listen when we inject resources here, here are the outcomes we’re finding.’”

Adler hopes his son, a second grader at Westridge Elementary, can have some of the same experiences he had as a student in Lake Oswego.

“Undoubtedly my takeaway from my Lake Oswego school experience was tradition. I immediately got the impression, as a kindergartner, that the faculty and administration had been there for years and were going to continue,” he said. “I feel like that’s becoming increasingly rare these days. Just a fundamental stability in a public school district is harder and harder to find.”

He said that he felt that sense of continuity was something “we should aspire to get back to.”

Adler said he’s learned a lot from campaigning already.

“I continue to be encouraged by just how passionate these different groups in Lake Oswego are,” said Adler. “It’s remarkable to see just how energized and involved these people are.”