Newcomer Ising running unopposed for school board District 5

Cascade High School graduate Trey Ising, 43, is running unopposed for Cascade School Board Member Director District 5, which represents Peshastin and Dryden. Ising, who grew up in Leavenworth, recently moved from East Leavenworth to Stine Hill, which puts him just inside the Cascade School District boundaries, though his mailing address is Cashmere. 

Ising is the owner of Cascade Quality Water. He and his wife had talked about his running for school board for few years. 

“I talked about a couple decades ago, doing it when the opportunity arose. This is one of those times when the opportunity was right. Nobody ran for the seat. When we moved last year, it put us right in the district,” Ising said. 

While he may be a newcomer to the school board, he is no stranger to teachers and administrators in the school district. He has nine children, ages nine months to 19. Right now, he has a child in kindergarten to senior every other year. 

Ising has a unique perspective on the school construction, believing it was a mistake to build the elementary school in that location off Pine Street.  

“I couldn’t believe they bought that property because it is a swamp. They’ve had to learn to deal with that. I think the better choice would have been building where they were. Building where they put the tennis courts, then tear down the old school. Might have worked better,” Ising said. 

Growing up in the area, Ising said when they built the middle school, there were two streams that ran down, one coming down from Ski Hill and another coming across. He said the streams merged right there. 

There was a pond where the bus garage is located and another in the play field across the way. 

“When they built the junior high, they capped all that and put it underground. Nobody really realized it was here. Just north of (LDS) church, there is a vent pipe, so when it flows out in spring it can fill over. There is a lot of water mitigation that has been done there,” Ising said. “The farmers have diverted it, so it is now called a manmade stream. That was just because they diverted it. You go up Titus Road, there is a spring there. We used to stop there and get a drink.”

Ising never did share his thoughts with the school board. 

“They purchased the property pretty quick. My biggest thing, because of recommendations or whatever, they choose architectural firms that are not in the area. Leavenworth is an interesting location compared to most places in the state,” Ising said. “People on the west side think the east side is dry and a desert. They don’t take into account snow load, runoff.”

Now, the water which came down toward the Alpine Lakes site is being diverted into a pipe. Ising is unsure that will be the ultimate solution. 

“So much of it is just in the ground. The LDS church next door, when they built that parking lot, it took forever because they couldn’t get the ground to settle. We’re taking about pile driving pillars into the bedrock to hold the school up. I think they’ll see movement over the years,” Ising said. 

Being a parent and knowing the classrooms, volunteering a lot, Ising said serving on the board will be interesting. He is looking forward to it and thinks it will be fun, especially knowing so many of the teachers. 

It gives the opportunity to serve the community, which is really nice, he said. 

When he comes to the board, he plans to lay low and not rock the boat. 

“I’m not the type of guy who think you should rock the boat. That is the not the school board’s job. I can fire anybody. They are a supervisory board. Every decision is a board decision. No one person could do it alone,” Ising said. “Because of the rules, you can’t get together and meet. It all has to be public. If there is change, it’s very slow progress. I think most of change comes through hiring. Just do the diligence and spend the time the community deserves.”

His biggest perspective, as a school, the clients aren’t the students. The students are the product. The clients are all the people that pay the taxes, the property owners. The people that pay the taxes, do the levies, in hopes of a better product, he said. 

“That’s what we need to strive for. The community is investing in itself. When someone graduates from high school, they should be a good member of the community and all that entails. Just respecting others, being knowledgeable, be able to hold down a job, go to college. I’m a big believer in trade schools,” Ising said. 

Ising graduated from CHS in 1993. After a two year mission for the LDS church, he went to college, graduating with business degree from CWU in 2000. 

Now representing the Peshastin-Dryden area, he’s following closely the construction issues at the school there. 

“They just found out the sewer needs to be completely rebuilt, which you would expect. I’ve worked in that school off and on with different kids and different projects. Helped out where I could with technology. I know the struggles of the school there pretty well,” Ising said. “I’ve seen a lot change. Every school is part of the district. If you grew up in Peshastin or Dryden, you probably figured that is our school. I didn’t grow up there, but my kids have gone there. Every one has gone through Peshastin-Dryden.”

Ising knows the PD school well. In fact, he designed the current parking and drop off area. 

“I’m the type of guy, when I see a problem, I like to figure out solutions for it, regardless if it something I will touch or not. I drive a lot so I have a lot of time to think. I downloaded a google map and started designing it,” Ising said. “When they asked about it, I said I have a design already. It’s just my natural way of doing things.”

Ian Dunn can be reached at 548-5286 or editor@leavenworthecho.com.