The Times recommends: Chandra Hampson for Seattle School Board, District 3

Seattle School Board candidate Chandra Hampson has the knowledge and skills to ask difficult questions, make data-driven decisions and hold school administrators accountable.

Her extensive experience with the 3rd District makes her the best candidate.

As past president of the Seattle Council PTSA, Hampson is well familiar with the district’s  strengths and challenges. She has served on the school district’s community engagement task force, and was one of five community members to work with school staff and board members to develop the strategic plan.

Hampson holds an MBA from the University of Washington and has significant professional finance experience both in traditional banking and with organizations serving under-resourced communities. She has extensive experience in governance, having served on a number of nonprofit boards. She told editorial board members in a recent interview it is her goal to support the public sector’s “good heart” with a strong underpinning of fiscal responsibility and accountability, adding that it is “100% the job of the board to demand really clear fiscal pictures” from the district.

Her commitment to fiscal responsibility, transparency and accountability would be an important asset helping the board translate progressive values into real-world outcomes for Seattle’s kids.

Hampson’s opponent, Rebeca Muñiz, has a UW master’s degree in educational policy and leadership but little experience in the district other than as a graduate student researcher studying the district’s racial-equity teams.

Muñiz has a clear passion for engaging families in student education and district decision making. She makes valid points about open dialogue with the community. But while she advocates for transparency, Public Disclosure Commission records indicate her campaign has not filed campaign finance reports for months. Muniz told editorial board members that the lack of reporting is due to a software problem her staff are working to resolve. It was an unsatisfying explanation.

Voters should cast their ballot for Hampson.