School & District Management

Seattle Election Could Splinter District Leaders

By Jeff Archer — October 29, 2003 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

A year of public turmoil over the Seattle district’s leadership will culminate next week in what could be a pivotal school board election.

On Nov. 4, voters will choose four of the panel’s seven members, at a time when the current board finds itself on the defensive. In the past 12 months, the district has reeled from costly budget errors, the resignation of its schools chief, and the breakdown of efforts to pick a new superintendent.

If discontent over the gaffes results in a new board majority, observers predict a major change in thinking at the helm of a district whose school improvement efforts have drawn national attention. Since the mid-1990s, a largely like- minded Seattle school board has consistently backed a strategy of decentralizing decisionmaking to the school level while ratcheting up accountability for test results.

Three incumbents are running for re- election, and a fourth seat on the board is being vacated. Candidates critical of the board majority made strong showings in a September primary.

“If [the incumbents] get beaten, it will be a board that had a way of working together and shared some assumptions followed by a board with no center of gravity,” said Paul T. Hill, who directs the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington in Seattle.

The leadership of the 47,000- student district began to unravel last fall, when then-Superintendent Joseph Olchefske announced that financial missteps had led the system to overspend its annual budget of about $440 million by some $35 million over two years.

Mr. Olchefske, a former investment banker, resigned in June after several local groups called for his ouster.

Board Role Questioned

Accused of lax oversight of the district’s finances, board members then drew fire as they sought a new schools chief. Earlier this month, all four finalists for the job pulled their names from consideration amid complaints by some Seattle activists that the board hadn’t allowed the community a role in choosing the candidates. (“Seattle Board Picks Insider as Superintendent,” Oct. 15, 2003.) Anger at the board has unified a wide range of constituencies, including teachers, members of minority groups, and parents concerned about testing.

Board member Steve Brown, who is running for re-election, says resistance to change is the real source of the acrimony.

“I think the underlying issue is the reform process that we have been working on,” he said. “When you go along a path working to change adult behavior, the farther along that path you go, the more you challenge some of the prevailing orthodoxy.”

But those bidding for seats on the board contend that it has ignored community concerns about the changes that have taken place. A common complaint is that the board rubber-stamps the recommendations of district administrators.

“I think that the challengers have a very different view of governance than the current board members in general,” said Brita Butler-Wall, who is running against the board president, Nancy Waldman.

“We believe in the marketplace of ideas, in transparency, and in hashing things out in public for all to see,” Ms. Butler-Wall said. “I think the board does need to be open and really critically examine the pros and cons of every policy decision they make.”

Related Tags:

Events

Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum How AI Use Is Expanding in K-12 Schools
Join this free virtual event to explore how AI technology is—and is not—improving K-12 teaching and learning.
Federal Webinar The Trump Budget and Schools: Subscriber Exclusive Quick Hit
EdWeek subscribers, join this 30-minute webinar to find out what the latest federal policy changes mean for K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
End Student Boredom: K-12 Publisher's Guide to 70% Engagement Boost
Calling all K-12 Publishers! Student engagement flatlining? Learn how to boost it by up to 70%.
Content provided by KITABOO

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

School & District Management How Principals Can Boost Teacher Morale
Principals share advice for how they support teachers during uncertain times.
4 min read
Vector illustration of a large handing holding an open book with silhouetted women and men standing on the pages of the open book.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Opinion Denver Superintendent: Why We Sued the Federal Government
Education leaders shouldn't remain apolitical in the face of immigration enforcement changes and other threats from the Trump administration.
Alex Marrero
6 min read
Human hands created secure environment for children via home roof gesture. Adults taking care of vulnerable students.
Mary Long/iStock + Education Week
School & District Management Food and Massage Coupons: How Principals Signal Their Appreciation for Teachers
Small gestures can go a long way this Teacher Appreciation Week.
5 min read
Image of a notebook page with "THANK YOU TEACHER" written with some doodles and smiley faces.
iStock/Getty
School & District Management Opinion How to Be a Focused Leader When There’s a Lot of Noise
Burnout, attrition, absenteeism, and disengagement are key issues for schools. Here's a path forward for educators.
3 min read
Screen Shot 2025 04 29 at 6.54.09 AM
Canva