This and That, November 30,2025

In election news, I was reviewing newly-elected mayor, Katie Wilson's transition team list and saw a couple of familiar names.

Under Economic Development and Worker Rights, there's Seattle School Board Director Joe Mizrahi.

Under Arts, Culture and Creative Economy, there is former SPS teacher, Jesse Hagopian. 

Via The Seattle Times, a bit of census information:

Seattle just crossed a remarkable demographic threshold, and it’s likely a first for any major U.S. city: More than 70% of Seattle residents age 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

According to newly released 2024 data from the U.S. Census Bureau, around 416,000 Seattle residents 25 and older, or 70.1% of the 595,000 people in that age group, held at least a bachelor’s degree. Among the 50 most populous U.S. cities, Seattle had the highest share of college graduates.

It’s also the first time the city has topped 400,000 college graduates. In 2023, the Census Bureau estimated 397,000 Seattle residents 25 and older held at least a Bachelor of Arts, which was just under 70% of the population in that age bracket.

That stat is the highest in the country for large cities.  

In the Bad News category, not one but two pending lawsuits against Seattle Public Schools.

The first is from the Nathan Hale High School story from October 2023 about a Jewish student who had been harassed by other classmates for her religion as well as not supporting the "Free Palestine" movement at school. The plaintiff was a member of Hale's Jewish Student Union and it's unclear to me what did or did not happen with that group during the time period the student was being attacked. 

The complaint. 

From My Northwest:

The complaint had been filed previously in June, in King County Superior Court, where the family asked for the lawsuit to dismissed without prejudice.

According to the lawsuit, the freshman student—who is Jewish and the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors—had been open about her identity at school, wearing a Star of David necklace and participating in the Jewish Student Union.

After the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, classmates allegedly began directing antisemitic slurs at her and telling her they wished Hitler had “finished the job.”

The complaint states the student reported multiple incidents of Swastikas appearing on desks, classrooms, and even the softball dugout where she was the only Jewish player.

Her family says no investigation or disciplinary action followed any of the reports.

After a planned "walkout" in November, she was threatened. The parents had contacted the principal multiple times and they were especially worried at this point. 

The complaint argues school officials repeatedly failed to follow district policies requiring investigations into harassment, discrimination and threats.

It states the family met with Jackson, who acknowledged knowing about the harassment, and told them he would review security footage and urged the student to report further incidents directly to him.

According to the lawsuit, no action was ever taken.

And apparently this inaction is in contrast with action taken in September 2023.

The lawsuit compares this response to the district’s quick actions when a Muslim student reported a joke that offended Muslim students in September 2023.

In that case, the district held trainings, addressed the incident in an assembly and suspended at least one student, the complaint notes.

The complaint goes on: 

Then, in May of 2024, the plaintiff was being threatened after her last class of the day after she left the room. She then ran back into the room and the teacher locked the door after her. The mob chasing her pounded on the door. 

Security eventually escorted her to the office.

Her parents say they were terrified after receiving text messages and phone calls from their daughter pleading for help.

According to the lawsuit, the district never called law enforcement—even though district policy requires it when a student’s physical safety is in immediate danger.

After the incident, the complaint states that a school administrator told the family the school could not provide escorts from class to class beyond one day and suggested the student avoid public areas during lunch.

In a word, lame. The student left the school and was later diagnosed with PTSD. 

The complaint also lists more than a dozen other antisemitic incidents reported across Seattle schools between 2022 and 2025—from Swastikas carved into lockers to students performing Nazi salutes—arguing the district has a pattern of failing to address them.

They seek compensatory damages, punitive damages against the former principal, and injunctive orders requiring the district to address antisemitism.

Once AGAIN, what the heck was the principal doing? What the heck was the Executive Director,       , oversee Hale doing? What did JSCEE staff know? It should have NEVER gotten to this point. 

Now I would guess this family is so stressed out that they likely do not want to have to bring their student into a courtroom where she might be further traumatized. But, on the other hand, if they want to prove a pattern of discrimination by the district - as indicated by the list of incidents in other schools in the complaint - well, it just might be the airing of more SPS dirty laundry. 

Still another lawsuit is this one that alleges that a 16-year old student was sexually abused by a custodian and a teacher at Queen Anne High School. You might say to yourself, "Wait, there is no Queen Anne High School today." 

Yes, that's true. But these incidents, according to the complaint happened between 1968 and 1970. 

The plaintiff is Elizabeth Campbell. The complaint names Mark Knoll and Weaver Dial as the abusers.

The complaint says that Queen Anne High was not the only SPS venue where such grooming and activity happened but "during activities that were sponsored by SPS." It also alleges that Knoll and Dial were doing this to other students. It alleges a cover-up by SPS - "to conceal the danger that Mr. Knoll and Mr. dial posed to children, including Plaintiff, so that Mr. Knoll and Mr. Dial could continue serving SPS despite SPS's knowledge of that danger."

I would assume that, despite the passage of time, this law firm believes there is no statute of limitations. This is a civil case so there would be no criminal action taken for either man. 

I Googled for info on the two former SPS employees. But I found this interesting archive for SPS employees and it states that Box 26 includes Mark Knoll. It also states that the box is for certificated teachers and principals; "applications work history, some photos, 1920-1965." 

I did find a Mark M. Knoll living in the Puget Sound region. 

I also found info on WeaverDial, the first hit being an archives site that says that UW has two boxes of photo albums from him. They say this:

Mr. Weaver Dial was born in Seattle, Washington on November 17, 1916. Dial was a custodian for the Seattle School District, where he worked for many years at Garfield High School. 

 

Dial is perhaps most remembered for his pirate portrayals in the Seattle Seafair Pirates and the Northwest Pirates of the Coast. In addition to his position as secretary of the Seafair Pirates, he was Captain Kidd in 1962 and then served as the organization's honorary second in command, Davy Jones, in the 1980s. The Seafair Pirates were formed in 1949 to promote Seattle and Seafair, while providing service to the community. Weaver was a practiced folk artist who designed the logo of the Seafair Pirates as well as hundreds if not thousands of paintings of pirates on canvas, barrel covers, coats, and pants over the years. Dial and his wife Mary Salle had two children together, Dixie and Yankee. He died on June 17, 1993 in Seattle, Washington.
- Adapted from his obituary in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, June 23, 1993 and the International Pirates Hall of Fame website.

I have to wonder what evidence there might be. One man is dead (and probably a lot of staff who worked at the school and the district back then). The plaintiff's parents are likely dead. I'm just wondering who will testify.

I also wonder what motivated her to file now.