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SEATTLE SCHOOL DISTRICT NO. 1, DIRECTOR DISTRICT NO. 3
All three candidates for this school board position seem like decent, capable, accomplished people, and, in fact, they have much in common. Each is a parent to kids in Seattle public schools, and each of their campaigns focus on transparency, equity, fiscal responsibility, and student mental health.
So what sets them apart?
Ben Girenstein is a Tech Dad (I think he works for Google and it’s interesting that he writes “my views are my own, not my employer’s” in the King County voter’s guide...did his employer force him to do that?) who’s posted some pretty adorable interviews done by his eye-rolling daughter explaining why he’s running for school board. In addition to the above focuses, gun violence (specifically a shooting at Ingraham High School) seems to be what he is most concerned about in public schools. Important for sure.
Christie Robertson says she became an education advocate when one of her children was diagnosed with a disability, and her platform’s emphasis on inclusivity reflects that. Her focus on marginalized kids is noble, but she’s a little buzzwordy (is "buzzwordy" a word?). I don’t know what the “Universal Design for Learning initiative” is, or what “Nothing About Us Without Us” means, and she doesn't teach me.
Evan Briggs has experience in the classroom and running educational programs. She’s also an activist and an advocate, using her skills and experience as a filmmaker to spread a message of inclusivity and mental health (for kids AND old folks). Briggs also plays the banjo, and is the only one of these three candidates to give even the slightest nod to arts education, which sadly seems to play second fiddle to the STEMs these days.
VOTE EVAN BRIGGS |