School races get cash from business

The largest individual contribution in the 2005 Seattle School Board races was $4,500 — to incumbent Mary Bass, from her uncle.

This year, candidates have accepted more than twice that from people who don't even live in Seattle. The business community is pouring four- and five-figure donations into candidates' campaigns, playing an unprecedented role in this year's School Board election, donating thousands to unseat two incumbents and elect two other candidates to open seats on the board.

Some worry that corporations will have too much control over schools; others say the business community has a legitimate interest in making sure the school system is run by a qualified board.

"I think that the community was not terribly happy with how things have been running in the last few years, and after having sat out School Board races four years ago when the business community didn't really participate, I think they are interested in more stability in the schools, and they're starting with the board," said Barbara Schaad-Lamphere, a former School Board member.

In 2003, when voters fired the majority of the School Board after the district discovered a $35 million deficit, the largest campaign contributor was the teachers union, which gave Darlene Flynn and Brita Butler-Wall $2,675 each. They, along with Sally Soriano and Irene Stewart, were community activists whose campaigns rested on a promise that they would carefully examine the superintendent's business practices.

A last-minute political action committee in the 2005 election raised almost $70,000 from the business community in just a few days. But in the end, the PAC was unsuccessful — two of the three candidates it supported lost their races. The PAC's organizers say there are no plans for a formal slate this year.

The two incumbents in this year's race — Flynn and Soriano — point out that the current board restored the district's budget reserve and closed seven school buildings despite a difficult political environment. But decisions didn't come without discord, and the board has been tagged with a reputation as troubled and dysfunctional.

When the superintendent resigned after the board backed out on a second round of school closures, state legislators and even the mayor's office suggested the board should be appointed instead of elected. Volunteers campaigning for the district's levy and bond in February warned that public confidence was plummeting.

Business leaders are looking for board members who care deeply about the school system and believe every student can succeed, think broadly about policy and understand that the school district "is a big business enterprise and that the management thereof has to be smart and strategically thoughtful," said Bob Watt, a Boeing vice president for government and community relations who has a long history of work with the school district.

Fresh crop of candidates

A fresh group of PTSA-minded business types signed up to run this year.

Peter Maier, an attorney who ran last winter's bond and levy campaigns, is running against Soriano, a Green Party and labor activist. His fundraising — 10 times what Soriano has collected — includes $10,000 from venture capitalist and League of Education Voters co-founder Nick Hanauer; $10,000 from Costco co-founder James Sinegal; $12,000 from Eastside cellular magnate John Stanton and his wife; and $10,000 and $8,000, respectively, from Microsoft executives Steve Ballmer and Jeffrey Raikes and their wives.

"I am interested in seeing people that can provide strong leadership and excellent management take roles in government," Stanton wrote in an e-mail, "and in this case, I think the community would particularly benefit from talented people joining the Seattle School Board."

Maier said he didn't seek the contributions. Businesspeople care about education, he said. And even if they don't have kids in the district, they understand that a dip in public confidence in Seattle's schools can make it harder to lobby the Legislature for more money for public education.

"Seattle's troubles spill over to the whole state," Maier said. "Lack of confidence in Seattle schools and the press that it receives hurts other school districts."

Business leaders are also supporting Sherry Carr, a Boeing finance leader and former head of the citywide PTSA who is running against Flynn, and Steve Sundquist, a retired investment executive who is running against community activist and public administrator Maria Ramirez.

"I think, looking at those four candidates, people think that they would have a board that was serious about education and willing to work together and move forward — kind of a more traditional board," said Schaad-Lamphere, who helped organize the 2005 business PAC.

"We had activists on the board and they were elected because we had a huge deficit four years ago, but not all of the activists managed to turn around, change their focus to governing, and I think that frustrated a lot of people in and out of the business community."

Strong schools are a recruiting advantage for businesses, said Marc Frazer, the vice president of the Washington Roundtable. Good schools also mean more local talent, said Patrick D'Amelio, the executive director of the Alliance for Education.

"I think it's a particular moment in time where there's some excitement around the opportunities that exist on a number of levels," he said. "It's a significant moment for education around this cycle."

Easily swayed?

District 1 incumbent Soriano, who has raised about $11,000, mostly from individuals and labor groups, questions the huge contributions her opponent has received and worries that if he and other business-supported candidates win, the board will be too easily swayed by business interests.

"It makes it more difficult when people are so highly funded, because then they're beholden to them," she said.

She's campaigning on a promise to fight private control of public schools, and she said she wouldn't accept money from businesspeople, anyway.

Cindi Laws, a consultant working on Ramirez's campaign and a former board member of the Seattle Monorail Project, wonders why such large sums are being given to people running for volunteer positions.

"How is just a regular parent or a regular taxpayer supposed to compete with that, if you can buy a School Board member?" she said.

No limits exist on campaign donations in the school races.

The business community has always supported schools through philanthropy and funding levy campaigns, said Boeing's Watt.

More contributions this year doesn't mean the business community wants to take over schools, he said. With a new superintendent in place and four like-minded candidates running for office, they are rallying around electing a solid School Board.

"I think the business community has been very much hoping that the Seattle School District will continue to rally and that all the kids in Seattle get an excellent education," Watt said.

Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246 or eheffter@seattletimes.com