Seattle School Board Race, District Four - Rivera v Mizrahi

I am again happy to say that both candidates - Joe Mizrahi and Laura Marie Rivera - are smart, savvy people who care deeply about Seattle Schools. 

If I were a voter here's what would give me pause. 

For Mizrahi, it would be that his depth of knowledge about the district is not as good as Rivera's. She seemed to have been engaged with the district far longer than Mizrahi. Institutional knowledge is a good thing.

I would also wonder about how well-connected he is in the city (which you might think is nothing but a plus). But he works for a large union and that may make for some conflict with other agencies involved with SPS. 

For Rivera, I wonder why she's having a harder time connecting to voters. For someone who has never served on the Board, she really does know the issues and yet voters in her district didn't get that. 

One question I have asked all the candidates is, "Barring illness/death in the family, do you commitment to serving the entire four-year term?" Rivera said, "Absolutely" and Mizrahi said, "Yes, for sure." 

On Closing Schools

Mizrahi said it was no secret from the start that he was not going to support the plans set forth by the district earlier this year. He said if it happens, "it can't be a budget exercise" but "for reasons that make sense within community." He said the process felt "unempathetic" to communities.

Rivera said that "we know that closures do not have positive outcomes for students." She said the community engagement has to come first because she said  closures may be "lowering costs per kid but at what cost to each kid?" 

My feeling is that both of them are not pro-closures but they are also pragmatic about the time and place where this district sits. 

On Student Outcome Focused Governance

I didn't talk much with Mizrahi about it because he has shown that he's not a fan. 

I hear a lot about how Rivera has said she likes the name like that's support for SOFG but isn't that what the district is supposed to be working towards - student outcomes? She is quick to say that the "reality is that the outcomes are not actually happening" and that "there is no one governance model for organizations." But Rivera does believe that while you can have policies that apply to all, there is also a need to consider individuals as well. 

On the Superintendent Search and what a new superintendent needs to know about Seattle

 

Rivera mentioned that she does worry about searching during an off-cycle for superintendent. She also said whoever does get the job needs the support of the city and not nit-picking. She said that there are good things in SPS and the new super should "embrace those and move forward and then dive in and look at all the details and then zoom out to the larger picture."

Mizrahi

He said that he's in a"place of trying to trust the HYA process" and he didn't know if they would end up with candidates they would be happy with but is hopeful. He said he thought the public engagement went well. 

Public Engagement

Mizrahi 

He said he hoped with a new Board there would be "a super focus on professional community engagement" and that might include a new hire to oversee that work that engages both parents and the public as well as teachers/principals. He called it "someone at the eye level of accountability and engagement" and not just checking a box. He didn't feel the engagement on the budget was good.

Rivera felt there were issues of transparency and trust that need to be address in public engagement. She said there may "a doom loop with Let's Talk" on follow-up. Parents find it hard to get answers. 

I did talk to Mizrahi about his connections throughout the city. He said that SPS is "wall to wall unions" and that he "speaks the language of labor." He said he had an open door to hear concerns and had been "on the union side of strikes." He said he likes his job and the board he works for allows him to "engage in public service." He acknowledged that serving on the school board is hard for most people and their jobs. 

I talked to Rivera about Highly Capable. She said she was encouraged by the number of upcoming meetings. She feels there isn't a good reason why the district can't have diverse offerings and lamented that the only HC in middle school is in math. She said there is "brilliance in every zip code" but the fact is "we haven't been identifying students and selling parents on the benefits of HC." 

I also did talk with Rivera about SROs in schools. She did make the point that they are not being "overwhelmingly requested" and the data doesn't show that schools are safer. She said that maybe students would feel safer if the policing around the schools happened more. She thinks safety is really about creating relationships with students. 

Final Statements

Mizrahi - One thing I've been tried to lift up more and more is how district choices impact enrollment. He said "if declines are happening, what can we fix?"

He said the district has to be "thoughtful around how we as a district can partner more with the city and county," possibly on housing around school buildings and transit-oriented development. 

Rivera 

I've spent time out in my community and not just at schools. She said she tries to "listen and engage deeply." She put forth that she is an earnest person, not trying to be a people pleaser.