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Elizabeth Karkoski-Gardner (Tahoma School District school board District 5, Washington, candidate 2025)
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Elizabeth Karkoski-Gardner (also known as Liz) is running for election to the Tahoma School District school board District 5 in Washington. She is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.[source] She was on the ballot in the primary on August 5, 2025.[source]
Karkoski-Gardner completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Elizabeth Karkoski-Gardner provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on July 7, 2025:
- Birth date: September 14, 1987
- Birth place: Burbank, California
- High school: Priest River Lamanna High School
- Bachelor's: Lewis Clark State College, 2010
- Graduate: University of Washington, 2016
- Other: University of Washington, 2024
- Gender: Female
- Religion: Catholic
- Profession: Nurse Practitioner
- Incumbent officeholder: No
- Campaign slogan: Elizabeth Karkoski-Gardner: A Steady Heart and Mind for Tahoma School District 409
- Campaign website
- Campaign endorsements
- Campaign Facebook
- Campaign Instagram
Elections
General election
General election for Tahoma School District school board District 5
Zach Butala and Elizabeth Karkoski-Gardner are running in the general election for Tahoma School District school board District 5 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Zach Butala (Nonpartisan)  | |
 | Elizabeth Karkoski-Gardner (Nonpartisan) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Tahoma School District school board District 5
Zach Butala, Kelsi Hays, and Elizabeth Karkoski-Gardner ran in the primary for Tahoma School District school board District 5 on August 5, 2025.
Candidate | ||
| Zach Butala (Nonpartisan) | |
| Kelsi Hays (Nonpartisan) | ||
| Elizabeth Karkoski-Gardner (Nonpartisan) | |
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
Karkoski-Gardner received the following endorsements. To view a full list of Karkoski-Gardner's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- King County, Wash., Democratic Party
- Legis. District 5, Wash., Democratic Party
- NWPC-WA
- National Women's Political Caucus of Washington
Pledges
Karkoski-Gardner signed the following pledges. To send us additional pledges, click here.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Elizabeth Karkoski-Gardner completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Karkoski-Gardner's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I have two kids in the Tahoma School District. An incoming 6th grader and 2nd grader. I have been involved in volunteering within the Maple Valley community since my son started preschool as the Co-op preschool class representative and later the Co-op president. As he entered the public school system I became involved in our elementary school PTO first as a committee member. Post-pandemic I had moved into the Vice President role and now currently serve as the PTO president. In addition to serving on the board of a district 5 elementary school I have coached several youth sports teams in the community including soccer, basketball, T-ball, coach pitch, and kid pitch baseball.
In my career, as the lead nurse practitioner of a cardiovascular intensive care unit, I value my time as a volunteer and the time I am able to be involved in my children's academics and extracurriculars. Myself and my husband graduated from the public school system in small town North Idaho, I owe my successful career to the lessons I learned while attending public school amongst my peers. Now, having been a public servant for nearly two decades I feel well prepared to serve as school board director to ensure our children are given the best public school education for them to reach their highest achievements.
- School board stability: There has been high rates of attrition amongst school board directors in the Tahoma School district which leads to student, parent, community, and inter-district mistrust. A stable district relies on a stable board with directors who are able and willing to fulfill their duties and their term limits. We must recruit and retain school board directors who are invested in building strong, trusting relationships that will not succumb to times of disagreement.
- Academic success: The students and families of Tahoma School District deserve a public education that sets everyone up for success. From the foundational skills of math, reading, writing, etc to ensuring our students are real life ready. We must ensure our students are not only meeting but exceeding state and national benchmarks. In order to achieve academic success for each individual student this requires fiscal responsibility to be confident we are utilizing every dollar to the fullest to prevent any student resources from being eliminated in order to achieve academic success.
- Social and emotional well being: This goes hand in hand with academic success as students who feel supported in school are more likely to have better attendance and engagement in their academics. Mental health awareness is becoming less taboo than generations before but there is still work to be done in this area. Over the last decade our political climate has changed significantly leading to very polarizing views, particularly with social media and cyberbullying. People have the right to have their views but there has to be boundaries and district policies especially if there is bullying involved. Students, staff, and families should feel welcome and safe in any district building.
School Boards all over the nation are becoming more political. I am very passionate about keeping an open mind to all viewpoints in the community to build strong, trusting relationships between the district and the community to increase student, family, and community engagement. I believe as a school board director, in times of disagreement or differing of opinions, there is always a way to find middle ground with good communication and transparency. I hope that if I am elected as school board director that I will be given opportunities to help with community engagement and communication.
I believe the most important principles of elected officials are to be open-minded, attentive listener, willing to ask difficult questions, and understanding their personal limitations.
In particular with a school board director, you are not a single decision maker. You are one in a governing body, it is essential that a school board director be able to listen to all aspects of potential decisions or viewpoints. Listen with intention and be comfortable when to ask for clarification.
In particular with a school board director, you are not a single decision maker. You are one in a governing body, it is essential that a school board director be able to listen to all aspects of potential decisions or viewpoints. Listen with intention and be comfortable when to ask for clarification.
I am a realist. If there are challenges or barriers, I face them head on to find long term, viable solutions. Sitting idle, hoping for a resolution is not an effective way to resolve issues. I live life with an open mindset, I strongly believe that even in times of divisiveness, there is a way to find mutual common ground. More so when these conversations happen in person with coffee.
Understand their roles and responsibilities. Understand the time commitment for their particular office. Be engaged in all their responsibilites.
That I was a fun, good person who just wanted to do what was right. And I hope my kids think I was an amazing mom and inspired them to also be involved in their kids (should they choose to have any) schools and to be involved in their communities.
My first job was a lifeguard at Silverwood in Coeur D' Alene, ID. I made $5.15/hr and felt like I was the richest high school kid ever! I had free admission all summer and got free tickets for my friends.
Hot To Go! By Chapelle Roan. Thanks to my 7 year old daughter.
I have had a lot of loss in my life. My dad passed away unexpectedly when I was in nursing school. He always pushed me to be independent and work hard. There was nothing he said I couldn't do. He taught me how to hunt, how to fish, how to ride a bike, but he also taught me how to be a fearless advocate, how to use my voice, and he although he is no longer living he continues to teach me my selfworth. I struggle everyday knowing that he is not here to see how far I have come since his passing. He also was a very fun guy and loved to have big gathers with friends and family. He would be very proud of the school carnivals I've planned over the last couple of years!
The primary role of the school board is governing body for the school district. They oversee the superintendent, district budget, polices/procedures, and help establish views and goals of the distrist.
I believe this really goes back to the basics of building strong, trusting relationships. The needs of every student, faculty, and community member is not one size fit all. When we embrace diversity within our district we are able to hear different viewpoints that encourage each of us to grow not only academically but socially, emotionally, culturally, and much more. Embracing diversity ensures we are able to recruit and retain the best staff for the district. As one of the largest employers of our community, having a stable school district also means that our local community remains stable
I have been apart our my children's parent teacher organization since my son was in kindergarten. Now that he will be moving on to middle school I plan on being active in middle school PTA and remain active in the elementary school PTO since my daughter will be going into second grade this academic year. Should I not be elected as school board director I actually will remain president of the PTO. It is also very important for me to be visible and available to the students, families, and community members by attending district events. I will continue to build relationships with the City of Maple Valley and council members. If there are historical relationships that may have been strained or damaged over the years I would also like to revisit these to see how we may be able to rebuild these relationships.
Washington uses a formula to help calculate funds for each district largely based on enrollment but does take into account other student resource needs. Our district does rely on bonds and levies to supplement state funding. Some of the issues I believe we had in our last cycle was the lack of transparency related to budget and the global understanding of how schools are funded. As a PTO president, I am given more routine updates on district budget but if a community member had questions related to the budget at the time of a levy/bond vote it could be overwhelming to see the amount of money that is being voted on unless you fully understand where the money is being allocated.
We must not take our community tax dollars for granted. We must be financially responsible with our income and expenditures. Lastly, we must be able to explain to the general public how our district is being funded in terms everyone can understand. The potential loses we would ensue should there be a loss to the district income or what could be potentially gained from reallocating funds.
We must not take our community tax dollars for granted. We must be financially responsible with our income and expenditures. Lastly, we must be able to explain to the general public how our district is being funded in terms everyone can understand. The potential loses we would ensue should there be a loss to the district income or what could be potentially gained from reallocating funds.
I grew up in a very small town in North Idaho and went to a small public school district. Tahoma School District is the complete opposite and is vast in size. It can still be intimidating as a parent, especially as my children get older. My top priority for any student or staff entering a Tahoma building is safety. Safety does not entail the school being turned into a cold, unwelcoming, high security building. It does entail strict no tolerance policies for bullying or violence with appropriate accountability.
King County Democrats
5th LD Democrats
I have built several relationships with parents over the years being on the PTO board and as a youth sports coach. I enjoy being out in the community meeting new people. I will continue to be engaged in community events, with the elementary school PTO and middle school PTO (albeit more in a volunteer capacity vs a board position).
I do believe in financial transparency to the best the district is legally able too. Financial transparency gives families and community members a chance to review where the funds are being allocated and does hold the district accountable for their spending. This is more so important at times when levies and bonds are on the election ballot.
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Other survey responses
Ballotpedia identified the following surveys, interviews, and questionnaires Karkoski-Gardner completed for other organizations. If you are aware of a link that should be added, email us.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
