Hey, Some Really Good News

Update: This wasn't in the original release but Noel has children in SPS.

From SPS Communications:

It is with honor and excitement that Seattle Public Schools (SPS) announces that Noel Treat will return to the district as General Counsel.  Treat has devoted his career to public service with more than 20 years of experience in education as well as legal, management and policy issues facing local governments.  

Noel previously served SPS as general counsel and deputy superintendent.  He has also held several senior local government leadership positions including city manager for the City of Mercer Island, chief of staff for the King County Executive, section head for the King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, city attorney and assistant attorney general. 



“During the interview process, Noel’s passion about public education and a strong belief in the SPS was very compelling,” said Dr. Larry Nyland, Seattle Public Schools superintendent.  “I would like to personally thank John Cerqui for his leadership while serving as acting General Counsel. John’s skill and legal expertise has been impressive to watch, and numerous board members, and district staff have remarked about his positive approach during a time of transition.”



Treat received his law degree from the University of Arizona and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Colorado College. He is a Seattle resident and enjoys spending time with his children (all of whom are SPS students).

I am thrilled to see Mr. Treat back as he certainly was one of the more principled people to ever work at SPS.  Was he perfect? Nope but having integrity is a huge plus.

I do think John Cerqui was doing a good job as interim lead counsel.  




Comments

Anonymous said…
Noel Treat returning is great news! (I heard a ways back that he's no longer married to Rava btw).

Jsr
12/4/15, 12:03 PM
Anonymous said…
What happened to the Mercer Island gig. Wasn't he city manager or akin?

He seemed in the past a more straight-up guy than most who have flitted through downtown. But why the return and why now would be important background for trustability for the thousands of us who have been burned by Central. Trustability and truthiness.

DistrictWatcher
12/4/15, 12:08 PM
PomegranateMojito said…
Jsr is correct. Noel Treat's marriage dissolved in early 2015.
12/4/15, 1:34 PM
Melissa Westbrook said…
Sorry, I didn't know that. I'll update the post.
12/4/15, 1:42 PM
Charlie Mas said…
I admired the work Mr. Treat did at SPS before. I'm confident he will continue to do admirable work.
12/4/15, 1:45 PM
mirmac1 said…
I have very high regard for Noel Treat. He will be a "civil rights" advocate, in my opinion. I hope he reworks the role and description of the special education ombuds position. He's a great listener and has strong ethics (although I had to take him to task for incorrectly informing the school board in 2010 that the 9th District Court decision re: highly qualified and TFAers did not apply to Seattle Schools. It took maneuvering by Congress and the WA PESB to wiggle around the 9th decision.)

I too think that John Cerqui has been a tremendous improvement and benefit to the district. I hope he doesn't plan on going anywhere. He would be a strong complement to Treat.
12/4/15, 1:49 PM
Anonymous said…
Whatever did Noel Treat do positively for Special Education? Deer in headlights, is what can be recalled from his brief time in SPS when we really sorely needed and did not have leadership to become a student centered civil rights district for students with disabilities.

Wait and see
12/4/15, 3:01 PM
Inside as well said…
As Joe Biden might say: This is really good news.
12/4/15, 4:14 PM
mirmac1 said…
With Noel Treat as GC and Kelli Schmidt (former DOE OCR attorney) leading the district's Civil Rights Compliance Office, I see a bright future for those children who face discrimination every day.
12/6/15, 9:43 AM
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