Seattle School Board finalists will face off in forum

The eight candidates hoping to fill two open seats on the Seattle School Board will answer questions from current directors and student representatives at a public forum Wednesday.

The School Board whittled the number of candidates in the District 2 contest from 11 to four earlier this month to match the number vying for the District 4 seat.

The District 2 finalists are Sarah Clark, the director of policy at the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce; Danielle Gahl, a consultant at Adiutrix Consulting; Shawn Sullivan, the chief technology officer at GT School, an ed-tech company; and Carol Thompson, an associate director of data integration at the Allen Institute.

The District 4 candidates are Gabriela Gonzalez, the chief data officer at Boatsetter, a boat rental company; Joe Mizrahi, the secretary-treasurer of UFCW 3000; Rachelle C. Olden, a senior product marketing manager at Google; and Laura Marie Rivera, a writer, teacher and performer and a 2021 contender for the seat.

Both School Board seats were vacated last month when Lisa Rivera, the District 2 director, and Vivian Song, the District 4 representative, resigned. Song stepped down after it became clear that she didn’t live within the boundaries of District 4, which covers Fremont, Queen Anne, South Lake Union and a portion of downtown. District 2 covers Ballard, Magnolia, Phinney Ridge and Green Lake.

The candidates’ forum, which runs from 6-8:30 p.m., will be held at Lincoln High School, 4400 Interlake Ave. N. It will also be streamed live on SPSTV Streaming.

The School Board plans to choose the new board members at the regular board meeting April 3. They will be sworn in at a special meeting April 4.

The new members will join the board as it makes tough decisions to close a $104 million budget deficit for the next school year and takes steps to close the longer-term shortfall. While Seattle Public Schools has said that it does not plan to close or consolidate schools next year, closures could be on the table in 2025-26.

The new board members will only serve a brief period before facing voters. Both seats will be on the ballot in the November 2025 general election. The winner of the District 2 seat next November will serve through 2027, while the winner of the District 4 seat will serve for four years.  

The candidates’ backgrounds, as well as their interest in the position, are on the school district’s website.