Budget cuts, school closures top issues in Seattle School Board election

With only two incumbents running for election on the Seattle School Board, and four seats at stake, the financially stressed school district could see some major changes after November’s election.

Three of the four Seattle School Board seats will be on the August primary ballot, and the top two vote-getters in districts 1, 3 and 6 will advance to the November election. Voters in District 2 will cast a ballot in November because only two candidates are running, the incumbent Lisa Rivera Smith and challenger Christina Posten. 

For the past few years, Seattle Public Schools has been under financial stress after losing thousands of students, and dealing with the aftermath of a school shooting that left one student dead. The new board will have to decide where to cut costs to avoid a $104.4 million deficit in the 2024-25 school year, and will decide whether some schools should close because of dwindling enrollment. 

Each term is for four years. Board members, or directors as they are known, make about $50 for every day they work on behalf of the district; their compensation is capped at $4,800 a year. 

King County mailed ballots July 12. The deadline to mail in or drop off at a ballot drop box is Aug. 1. 

District 1

Four candidates are running for the District 1 seat, which includes North Beach, Northgate and Lake City: Debbie Carlsen, Michael Christophersen, incumbent Liza Rankin and Blaine Parce. 

Carlsen works as a nonprofit consultant and says she’s been a preschool teacher, interim policy director at the National Alliance on Mental Illness and former executive director of LGBTQ Allyship. Carlsen said she believes the district needs to be more transparent, do better at connecting with the community and include community voices during decision-making. 

“I’m also running to be a strong LGBTQ voice on the board — right now is a crucial point nationally, there is under-the-radar backlash and harassment of staff and students the district isn’t addressing,” Carlsen said. 

Christophersen declined to be interviewed. This will be his third campaign for the District 1 seat, according to his website, and says he is not an activist but “wants to see some stability, logic and fiscal responsibility return to Seattle Public Schools management.”

Rankin, who was elected in November 2019 and is the vice president of the board, advocated for more money for special education during the last legislative session, and is leading a review of the board’s policy manual. She’s also a representative for the state School Directors’ Association. If reelected, she said, she would continue to work on inclusion in general education classrooms for students receiving special education services at the district and state level.  

“We’re starting to see some of the impacts, and timingwise I need to keep going and not walk away,” said Rankin, who said she is “absolutely committed to structural systemic change and I’m the only candidate that has that understanding of the district and our schools and issues as a whole.”

Parce said she’s running to protect small schools that offer alternative styles of teaching and learning. She graduated from Seattle’s American Indian Heritage, a now-closed school, and said schools such as those offer cultural competency for Native and Indigenous learners that isn’t present in traditional schools. 

Alternative schools will “suffer the most with school consolidations,” Parce said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen in the next couple of years and we need to pause and take a look at what we’ve been doing and where we need to go.”

District 3

Three candidates are running in District 3, which represents Sand Point, View Ridge and Bryant residents. Chandra Hampson, elected in November 2019, is not running for reelection. 

Evan Briggs, a documentary filmmaker, said she was encouraged by many in her community to run because of the racial equity advocacy she’s done at Thornton Creek Elementary School. She said she’s passionate about community engagement. If elected, Briggs said she would support keeping budget cuts furthest away from classrooms and making data-driven decisions to improve academic outcomes for students. 

“I am somebody who is very principled and will actually stand up for what I believe is right for kids even when it gets rough,” Briggs said. “I have a strong ability to look out and see the big picture and see all the moving parts — this is what we really need right now, a big overhaul at the system level.”

Ben Gitenstein, a project manager at Google, said part of the reason he’s running is because his kids “have heard me rant and rave about the direction SPS is going in, and I realize as a role model I should probably show them if you’re going to be frustrated about something you have to throw your hat in to make it better.”

If elected, Gitenstein said he would work to improve school safety and academic outcomes. The number of students leaving is alarming, he said, and he would find out why people are disenrolling their children and explore ways to retain those students. He put one of his two children in private school during COVID-19 shutdowns because online learning was affecting the child’s mental health. His wife, Emily Cherkin, is part of a group suing the district over the hiring of Superintendent Brent Jones, alleging the board violated district and state policies during the process. 

Christie Robertson said she was motivated to run by the difficulties she has had navigating the special education system as a parent. She works in software development, has been on the Seattle Special Education PTSA board for the past two years, and has a Ph.D. in neurobiology and behavior. She would focus on ensuring students in special education have enough support in general education classrooms, examine whether money for special education is being spent responsibly, and make board agenda materials more transparent and accessible.  

“I don’t want people to think my campaign is just about special education — that’s the fire that’s under me,” Robertson said. “To fix some issues in special education would be healthy for all kids.”

District 6

Three people are running for the District 6 seat, which includes West Seattle and South Park. Two-term incumbent Leslie Harris is not seeking reelection. 

Rosie McCarter did not respond to multiple requests for an interview. According to her website, her goal is to help low-income families and students with disabilities, prepare students for adulthood, take on the budget crisis “without cutting the budget to vital programs” and dismantle systemic racism. 

Candidate Gina Topp has a 2-year-old daughter and she says she keeps getting asked what private school her kid will attend. 

“That’s not an acceptable question for me,” said Topp. “I want to restore trust and confidence in public schools so everyone wants to send their kids to Seattle Public Schools.”

If elected, Topp said she would try to restore the trust between the community and the district. She touted her experience dealing with budget crises and said she knows how to prioritize equity when making cuts. Topp previously worked for King County as a policy adviser and chief legal counselor for the county executive, and now has a solo practice in tax law. 

Maryanne Wood says she’s running because of her opposition to the Alki Elementary School construction project. She said she believes the district didn’t seek community comment or properly consider how the project could affect traffic flow, safety and parking in the neighborhood. The district should avoid closing schools and use the ones they have, she added.

“I saw this as a way of maybe making a change in how they [SPS] do things and the more I got into it the more I began to realize it’s bigger than just Alki,” Wood said. “I think I bring a lot of passion for change and I think I bring some pretty darn good issues to the table.”

Wood said she’d advocate for improving special education services and require more transparency from the district and School Board.