Got Ballot - District 3

District 3 is a bit of a challenge for me; not the most solid/best choices in this race between Rebeca Muñiz and Chandra Hampson.

I'm voting for Rebeca Muñiz in this race.

Hampson is qualified. 

But as I have stated in the past, I could never vote for Hampson.  I have personally felt her exacting judgement on my own racial background and upbringing and I have no doubt if she sat on the Board, she'd do it to just about anyone else, including parents who come to speak at School Board meetings.

Want a recent example of that judgmental tone?  Here it is:

• Liza’s opponent Eric is a limited issue candidate who has mastered equity speak but has no actual track record in community or in the District to demonstrate he believes in, nor would prioritize racial equity in practice. He showed up ready to co-opt and appropriate the work the rest of us have lived for years so that he can get elected.

Limited issue? You mean like overseeing Operations and budget and capacity? Those limited issues?  And man, the audacity to say that she knows Eric - for certain because yes, she knows all - appropriated "her" work on racial equity issues. Wow.
 
You hear that tone from Hampson? That's what it will be like if this slate gets on the Board.
Rebeca Muñiz is a new face to the district.  But she has a Masters in Education Policy and Leadership from the University of Washington and has done research on SPS racial equity teams.  If elected she would join District 2's Lisa Rivera Smith as the second Latinx on the Board. (To the best of my knowledge, the Board has never had an Hispanic member.)

The contrast in their speaking styles and manner could not be more different. Muñiz is open and friendly while Hampson frequently frowns as she speaks and is not the most approachable person.

Interestingly, one issue that has come up that also defines them is the topic of charter schools.  Muñiz sent out a press release recently, talking about the budget challenges in the district and how charter schools in the district could exacerbate that issue.

This problem is devastating enough without the added effect of public dollars being diverted to support privately-run charter schools - to the tune of $25.7 million dollars in the 2017-18 FY.

She goes on to explain about Hampson's stand:

Chandra Hampson, has admitted support for charter schools in certain circumstances, based on naive logic, which brings into question her fitness for serving on the Seattle School Board. In her interview with the 36th District Democrats, Hampson was asked her position on whether or not there should be charter schools within the city of Seattle and her response revealed inconsistencies. She says that while she doesn’t support “the industry as it is right now,” there are circumstances where charters can be good options for families. She cites Ashé Preparatory Academy as one of these ‘good’ options. Her response clearly and logically leaves the door open for supporting what she personally considers ‘good’ charter schools in the future.

It's funny because The Stranger also cited Hampson's support for Ashé Preparatory Academy as evidence of her open mind.

But she does have a couple tiny X marks against her: Unlike the education and parenting experts here at the SECB, she's not unequivocally opposed to charter schools, which we despise with all our public-school-loving hearts. Her reason for this isn't terrible: At a meeting with the 36th Legislative District Dems, she said that while she doesn't want to see public school systems privatized, she also doesn't want to deprive parents of the opportunity to send their kids to "culturally responsive" charters like the Ashé Preparatory Academy.

Except that parents voted with their feet and the Academy couldn't even stay open a year. Or a semester.  And all those kids and parents went somewhere - most likely to a true public school.

Muñiz goes on:

A candidate running to serve our students, teachers and staff in the Seattle Public School system should understand this threat to public education. They must be held accountable for the support of a privatized school system. There can be no gray area for subjectively ‘good’ charter schools. We have a growing body of evidence pointing to the weaknesses, union restricting nature, and lack of public oversight for charter schools. We must invest in a quality public education system, in our future as a city, and as a country.

I have said many times that parents get to make the best choices for their kid's education. That's fine as a personal choice. However, the question for candidates is NOT about their personal choice; it's about how they would support the not-one-but-two Board resolutions against charter schools.

Hampson is trying to nuance that but I'm not buying it. Let charters get a toehold on the Board and watch for a move for SPS to become a charter authorizer.

Vote Muñiz.