Seattle School Board: Cheryl Chow won’t run again

She doesn’t represent the “district” including West Seattle — Steve Sundquist does – but in the general election, all board seats are voted on citywide, so this is notable: Cheryl Chow just announced she’s not running for re-election to the Seattle School Board. (She’s also a former city councilmember.) One candidate who’s already announced for that seat is Charlie Mas, who we know has some West Seattle ties (former Lafayette Elementary parent, for one). He already has the stirrings of a campaign website here.

lashanna May 27, 2009 (10:14 am)

whoo hoo charlie!

timeslid May 27, 2009 (11:23 am)

Charlie is tireless advocate for public schools and the parents and children who are served by them. His in-depth knowledge of the system is unparalleled.

To see some of his writings please see the Save our Schools blog at:

http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/

4th Generation Born-N-Raised May 27, 2009 (11:47 am)

Gonna miss Cheryl. She was my Principal at Madison. She would always stick around after school to play basketball with us. She had a mean outside jumper. Ms. Chow has done a lot for our school system. Will be missed by many.

GenHillOne May 27, 2009 (11:54 am)

Charlie Mas is a big “hell no” in my book. Sorry to disagree, timeslid, but it is from that very site that I don’t believe he would be a good leader. And god knows, we need some.

Valkyrie May 27, 2009 (12:24 pm)

Thank God.

We finally have a candidate who won’t be a rubber stamp for Goodloe-Johnson!!

timeslid May 27, 2009 (3:44 pm)

Understandably 4GBNR I could see that one may arrive at the conclusion about Charlie that is perhaps shy of flattering. But, I have worked on school issues with Charlie for years and I know that he probably THE most knowledgeable person on school issues around. He is also one of the most direct people know, which can be on the other side of the planet from the vagaries of Seattle communication standards. That being said, I would want him at the helm of cause I believe in.

Sasha May 27, 2009 (3:51 pm)

Most knowledgable or one who speaks loudest/most often and therefore people assume he knows what he is taking about? He would be a disaster as a Board member. Activiest canidates struggle to adjust to the role of actually having to make decisions instead of be critical about them. I can’t see how staff would effectively work with him, or how he would respect the duties to the organization he would assume.

timeslid May 27, 2009 (4:15 pm)

He does speak up, but accountability is his major theme and holding the district to the promises that it has made are central to moving us out the tar pit we find ourselves in. Disaster? No. There will be hard feelings, but in important decision making there always are.

GenHillOne May 27, 2009 (5:00 pm)

I think you were replying to me, timeslid, and I respect your history with Charlie. I’m with Sasha on this one though, louder does not always mean better. I have a hard time believing he will be effective as a leader, in part because of the transition mentioned, but also because he comes across as a guy with some situational ethics. If he doesn’t believe the rules apply to everyone, how can he represent the district’s diverse student body? That blog has a plethora of agendas, but since we’re talking about Charlie, this is a memorable Charlie moment for me, in tone and content…read the comments, they speak volumes (none are from me!) –
http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/search?q=vegetarian

timeslid May 27, 2009 (8:14 pm)

Well…. That sure is a moment of clarity. I guess all toads have warts, but some eat a lot more flies than others.

Charlie Mas May 28, 2009 (1:34 pm)

I can certainly understand how someone might have trouble imagining me in the role of Board Director. I will offer a vision for it to help out.

As a Board Director I would work on Policy. I would work through the backlog of Policies that need to be written, re-written, or repealed. In addition, I would work on enforcing Policy. The Board has no mechanism for enforcing their Policies and seriously needs one if it is to function as a governance body.

As a Board director I would not meddle in the day to day administration of the District. I would not interject myself into any decision that belongs under the Superintendent’s authority. However, I believe that the Board has a duty to review decisions to confirm that they conform with the District Policies, comply with the State and Federal laws, and are consistent with the District’s Guiding Principles. That is an appropriate Board role.

For recommendations that the Superintendent brings to the Board for approval, I would confirm that they are data-based, founded on sound rationale, and reflect best practices. Those would be the criteria by which I judge them.

Finally, I believe it is the Board’s job, as the elected representatives of the public, to represent the public. This means advocating for the public perspective and representing the public’s interests.

Like a lot of people, I’m different in person than I am in writing. I’m also a different sort of person at a ballgame than I am at school play. There is a different code of conduct on the blog than there is on the Board. While the ideas represented on the saveseattleschools blog would come with me to the Board, the tone would not.

I don’t think that I will have any trouble adjusting to making decisions because I make them everyday. I don’t make complaints unless I can offer a solution. I already work very effectively with a large number of the district staff, so there is no need to imagine that either. I have a lot of experience working as a member of a team and lots of people who can vouch for my teamwork, my positive relationship building, and my willingness for compromise.

I am running for the school board and I hope to earn people’s respect as well as their votes. I’m happy to discuss the issues. You may not share my perspective or conclusion, but I expect you will know how I arrived at them and know that I did not do so capriciously.

Sorry, comment time is over.