Candidates log thousands of miles in WA Superintendent of Public Instruction race
WA candidates log thousands of miles in WA OSPI race
The vote for Washington's Superintendent of Public Instruction could have implications for school districts statewide.
OLYMPIA, Wash. - The vote for Washington's Superintendent of Public Instruction could have implications for school districts statewide.
The two candidates fighting for your vote in that race are Chris Reykdal and David Olson.
While incumbent Chris Reykdal made his final stops in Vancouver and Longview late last week, challenger David Olson was hitting the phones and visiting the Marysville School District to talk to members of the community there.
Both have logged thousands of miles to criss-cross the state, talking to voters about how they'd approach the challenges currently facing Washington schools.
In what's been described as a very geographically diverse campaign, both Reykdal and Olson have campaigned in nearly every county in the state, sharing their pitch on why they believe they're the best choice for Superintendent of Public Instruction.
"Voters are going to get a good choice here, experience versus inexperience," said Reykdal.
"I’m a public finance banker, so I know how to read and understand public finance documents," said Olson.
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Both have focused attention on the Marysville School District in Snohomish County, which is facing a multi-million dollar budget shortfall.
The state auditor looked at the district books and called it "the most alarming public school finance audit in over a decade."
OSPI Special Administrator Art Jarvis is monitoring finances, while the OSPI works with the interim superintendent to find the last of the budget cuts needed to be financially stable.
Both candidates have talked with Maysville school leaders in the past few months.
"I’ve been up there several times meeting with district and tribal leaders," said Reykdal.
"I’m looking to see what their idea is for how to resolve the financial situation in Marysville. So, it’s an important issue and I thought it would be smart for me to attend," said Olson who attended a public school district meeting last week.
No schools selected for closure after final Marysville SD meeting
The Marysville School District hosted its final meeting on potential school closures Monday night, though its unclear which are on the chopping block just yet.
When school districts are struggling, Olson believes OSPI should reach out sooner, which he says he'd do if elected.
"I think what hurts is that OSPI has been not been proactive enough, helping our schools in financial situations. They have been a reactive department," said Olson.
Reykdal argues OSPI has been proactive, and Marysville was in a unique situation with a double levy failure.
"We have a financial monitoring system. It has a lot of metrics. We proactively call districts; we’ve been calling districts for years before Marysville was in the news," said Reykdal.
Olson said he doesn't believe OSPI under Reykdal's leadership has been aggressive enough to get the state to meet its constitutional obligations to fully fund education.
"I want to be a much stronger advocate using a bully pulpit," said Olson.
Reykdal responded by saying that under his leadership, OSPI has fought for funding.
"We got the first $5 billion in funding. The supreme court saw that as pretty significant again. Again, the legislature, I give them credit, but it was us in partnership. We did use the bully pulpit," said Reykdal.
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