Four of the seven seats on the Seattle School Board were on Tuesday's ballots, and early returns show each of those spots will be occupied by a newcomer.
In a district coming off a contentious teachers strike and controversy over teacher cuts at some schools, the four winning candidates will be tasked with finding solutions to challenges facing the district and its 52,000 students.
Of the four races, just one incumbent was running – Marty McClaren in District 6, and the first round of returns showed her trailing challenger Leslie Harris by more than 35,000 votes.
In District 1, Scott Pinkham beat Michael Christophersen, 48,597 votes (66 percent) to 24,825 (34 percent).
In District 2, Rick Burke defeated Laura Gramer, 58,982 votes (79 percent) to 15,480 (21 percent).
The District 3 returns show Jill Geary leading Lauren McGuire, 44,392 votes (60 percent) to 30,041 (40 percent).
Background
In District 6, McClaren, the only current board member with teaching experience, campaigned on the theme of stability for a district that has gone through four superintendents in the last five years.
"A vote for me is a vote for continuity and progressive change," she said at a candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters and the Seattle Council PTSA.
"I would describe the biggest challenge as one of communication and transparency. Because I believe if you communicate with people honestly and transparently, then you can invite them in to help fix these problems," said Harris, a litigation paralegal and political activist.
In District 1, Pinkham, a father of two and an American Indian Studies lecturer at the UW, criticized the current board members for turning their back on constituents.
"I feel like they're not listening to the community too much, listening more to the school district what the administration has to say. Instead of the voters that elected them to the board," said Pinkham.
Christophersen, a software engineer, campaigned on the need for a stronger focus on special ed and reducing bureaucracy.
"We need to start shrinking the central administration, and bolster the school buildings. We need to give the control back to the teachers and administrators in the buildings and move it away from central administration. That's what we hired teachers for," Christophersen said.
District 2 candidate Laura Obara Gramer is an occupational therapist who ran on improving the district's deaf and hard of hearing program.
"I have to say I wasn't very happy for what Seattle Public Schools had to offer my children," Gramer said. "I know I could be a voice for students with disabilities."
Burke, an engineer who runs a Seattle-based company called Thermetrics, told voters he wants to bring manufacturing into the classroom.
"My experience as a parent, and as a husband of a teacher, and I've had a lot of math activism. I've worked in mathematics for a long time with my science technology manufacturing background," Burke said.
The District 3 winner, Jill Geary, will face one of the toughest challenges of any board member – representing a district where many households are low income and where schools serve students with a wide range of educational needs, from bilingual instruction to disability services.
Geary, a former administrative law judge and mother of five children, says she will be a champion for the cause.
"You look at the district's scorecard and you see there are unacceptable gaps for certain kids of color, for kids with disabilities, and for our non-English native speaking kids. And those are the kids, I will always be their voice," said Geary.
McGuire, a veteran of district-level advocacy, noted her past work on issues key to the district.
"I was on the facilities and capacity advisory team, I was on the special education task force, I've gone down to Olympia to advocate for funding," said McGuire of her experience.
