Dear Seattle School Board: Seize this chance to make major changes

Watching the video of Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Brent Jones announcing his unexpected resignation, a viewer might wonder at his demeanor. Jones is relaxed and smiling, almost beaming. The feeling conveyed is one of happiness, perhaps relief.

No wonder. Jones’ five-year tenure at the helm of the state’s largest school district has been rocky from the start. First, when he took over as an interim during the pandemic. Then, as he attempted to steer the district through three consecutive years of $100 million budget deficits (with no end in sight). And finally, when he proposed to close 21 schools, while admitting that would do little to fix the district’s financial problems.

Every step of the way, Jones was navigating yet another stumbling block: the Seattle School Board.

True, his introverted communication style was less than ideal for such a public-facing job. But tensions between the superintendent’s office and the School Board predate Jones. Indeed, he is Seattle’s fifth school district leader in 13 years. 

Turnover like that signals a problem beyond any one superintendent.

Haranguing the board for past failures will accomplish little, however. The best course of action now is to seize this moment as a welcome opportunity for a badly needed reset.

In that spirit, the Seattle School Board should seriously consider the following:

1) Appoint an interim superintendent pronto, someone who can get up to speed before Jones leaves on Sept. 3. That will be especially important since the district’s contract with its teachers expires Aug. 31. 

Negotiations between SPS and the union must make real progress long before that date, rather than being slow-walked until a crisis point before kids go back to class. It happened in 2015, when teachers struck for nearly two weeks, delaying the start of the school year. In 2018, they threatened a similar walkout. And in 2022, last-minute negotiations created such pressure on the district that it approved a contract it could not afford to end a five-day teacher strike. A repeat of this pattern is the last thing Seattle families need.

2) About those families. It is time for the school board to recognize that highly engaged parents committed to public education are an asset. They haven’t been treated as such, and their frustration at being ignored over concerns around student safety and advanced learning exploded last fall. The fever pitch forced SPS to back off any discussion of school closures — forget about generating momentum for a vision for the future.

Seattle School Board, these families are your friends. Or could be. More importantly, they are your clients, and their dissatisfaction is directly tied to sagging enrollments, which affects how much state money flows to the district. So do the math: Seattle families should be cultivated — not alienated.

3) The board’s seven members must put aside past differences and get on the same page — for the sake of students today, not some hypothetical future. Stop making excuses for the facts: Roughly three-quarters of low-income kids in Seattle are unable to do grade-level math. Enrollment is down by nearly 5,000 students because parents are pulling their children out. It’s not inflated home prices or low birthrates, and it insults your community to claim such.

Lastly, transparency in selecting a new superintendent will be essential to rebuilding families’ trust. Let people meet and question your finalists. Solicit parents’ input and consider it seriously.

Reviving Seattle Public Schools starts with honesty, demonstrated good faith and belief in our common interest: making this school district something a smart, innovative city can be proud of.