School races lacking contests

Although the general election is still about three weeks away, most candidates running for school-board seats already know they've won.

That's because most are running unopposed.

• In King County, of the 47 school-board seats on the Nov. 8 ballot, 13 are being contested.

• In Snohomish County, of the 35 positions up for election, five are contested.

• On the Eastside, of the 16 positions in the area's seven school districts that are up for election, only one — in the Snoqualmie Valley School District — is being contested.

• Statewide, more than half of the 744 school-board seats up for the election have only one candidate. In some cases, no one filed to fill an open seat.

What does a school-board member do?


Vision: The board focuses the work of the district and community on student achievement through a comprehensive strategic-planning process. The board is the policy-making body for the district, while the superintendent is responsible for implementing those policies and plans.

Structure: The board governs the district through financial planning, oversight and policy making. The board adopts a budget to maintain and operate the schools, and it proposes levy and bond issues for community consideration.

Accountability: The board infuses all programs and crucial policies with specific goals and a process for evaluation, reporting and recommendations for improvements. Board members make all final decisions regarding school-district priorities, policies, personnel, textbooks, expenditures and growth management.

Advocacy: The board champions public education in the local community and before state and federal policy-makers.

Source: Washington State School Directors' Association and the Northshore School District

Why the dearth of candidates? Blame a lack of hot-button local issues, some say. Or the time commitment, the small monetary compensation, or the fact a school-board seat — unlike a city council or mayor's seat — isn't viewed as a potential stepping-stone to higher office.

"It's a daunting task," Vicki Opsata said of holding a school-board seat.

Opsata, a member of Northshore School District's board for five years, decided not to run for re-election. "Besides the time commitment and not being compensated, it costs you money to be on the school board, and you're held accountable for things beyond your control."

The hottest school-board races this year are for Seattle Public Schools, where nine candidates were on the primary ballot for three seats.

The election comes at a time when the district is grappling with budgetary woes and may have to lay off hundreds of employees and close schools.

But most other districts have few, if any, contentious issues and just as few contested races.

That could be a sign that people are content with how schools are running, say those who follow local school-board elections. Turmoil and controversy tend to bring candidates out. When things are running relatively smoothly, people tend to shrug off civic service.

"It seems like you generally find a dearth of candidates in a [school] district where things seem to be stable," said Steve Miller, who served on the Bellevue School Board for more than 10 years and follows local politics. "You'll find more candidates when there are passionate conflicts in the community."

That so few people run for school boards is not surprising, said Dan Steele, director of governmental relations for the Washington State School Directors' Association. The association offers legislative advocacy, informational workshops and support to the state's 1,482 locally elected school-board members.

He cited the lack of pay, that it's often a thankless job where board members have to deal with unhappy or irate parents, and that it's not a path to higher office as the primary reasons so few people run.

"It's interesting, the number of open seats and uncontested seats. We see that in a lot of places," Steele said. "In a lot of places, if one person files [to run for a school board], for all intents and purposes, that person is elected."

City-council positions, meanwhile, may be seen as more prestigious, said Judy Bushnell, Bellevue School Board's president and its most veteran member at 14 years of service.

"People who run for school board are usually not in it to run for higher office," Bushnell said. "If a person wants political power, I would say running for city council is the more common pathway."

And while cities may choose to pay their council members, school-board members do not receive a salary. According to state law, they may receive up to $50 per day for attending official meetings, and no more than $4,800 per year.

Being on a school board may end up costing someone because of time lost from work or the cost of a campaign, Steele said.

"It's better for our system to have debate and challenges and choices," said Doug Eglington, president of the Lake Washington School District board, who is running unopposed for his fifth term.

But, he admits, "It's convenient for me this year that I don't have to spend money on the election."

Once people do get elected to a school board, they may be surprised that they have to learn to read financial statements and make difficult budget decisions more often than they deal with education, said Cathy Swanson, who is running unopposed for the Northshore School District board.

Yet it may take significant budget cuts before parents and community members become aware and attend board meetings, she said.

"We go for months and months and no parents attend the board meetings," Swanson said. "Two years ago, when we had to make a lot of [budget] cuts, people came to give their opinion. But then it's quiet again."

A teachers strike in the Issaquah School District motivated multiple candidates to run for that board two years ago. This year, the district held a workshop for would-be school-board candidates, but only the incumbents filed to run.

"The strike was an impetus for a lot of people to run," said Connie Fletcher, who is running unopposed for her fourth term on the Issaquah board. "People saw a problem, and they wanted to fix it. Controversy draws out people."

This year, people seem content with how things are going, Fletcher said.

Having longtime board members can bring stability to the district, said Don Saul, superintendent of the Lake Washington School District.

"I'm not saying no contest is a good thing," Saul said. "But good governance comes from knowledge, and from people who bring the perspective of their community, and a great in-depth understanding of the traditions and perennial challenges we face."

Rachel Tuinstra: 206-515-5637 or rtuinstra@seattletimes.com