The Seattle Times has posted their endorsements for district 5 (Includes most of the Central Area), giving the nod to Andre Helmstetter and Kay Smith-Blum.
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The Seattle Times has posted their endorsements for district 5 (Includes most of the Central Area), giving the nod to Andre Helmstetter and Kay Smith-Blum.
Andre (and daughters) also got the endorsement from the SaveSeattleSchools blog.
From the blog: “I spoke with Andre for two (!) hours yesterday and it flew by. (Keep in mind, he had his two little girls with him who were polite and well-behaved the entire two hours with no whining. Not sure if my boys at those ages could have done it.) Andre doesn’t know the district as well as I hoped but he certainly is putting in the time. What he does understand is how the district works and that is just as valuable.” full story at http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/.
Here’s his website: http://andreforschools.org/
This fall my son will be attending his third school in three years. With all the shuffling last year I paid some attention to school issues, particularly as they relate to District 5. I’ve come to respect Charlie Mas, and have decided to support Andre in our district. I like Mary Bass’s smarts and the positions she takes, but she hasn’t been able to break through. I believe Andre “gets it,” and has the best shot at being an effective board member for our community.
It was actually the Stranger endorsements, which I found uncharacteristically flimsy (they didn’t bother to take Andre or Joanna seriously), that pushed me from “undecided” to becoming an active Andre supporter.
The primary’s just a couple of weeks away — volunteer for the candidate of your choice!
voteforjoanna.com
Since I am feeling a little ignored I will speak for myself. I am the candidate not mentioned in the endorsement article regarding the School Board race in District #5 and it is time that I speak and speak for myself.
This is the quote from my web site:
“Unless all communities are empowered to advocate for their schools and programs, wonderful neighborhood school choices will be realized for some neighborhoods and not for others. I believe that all the candidates, especially the challengers, have ambitious ideas for our schools. The difference is that I will insist on your help to hold all the elected officials responsible for ensuring that the Central District and all neighborhoods are proud of their schools and programs. I will insist that parents and communities are included in the process of designing the programs and schools that all neighborhoods deserve. School assignments must make sense. We have to come together for the sake of our children, our families, and our communities.
I invite you to visit voteforjoanna.com or call me at 206-329-8514 for a good conversation regarding the need for good programs for all neighborhoods.
Some dismiss me as just being against school closures, but the work of the group for reopening TT Minor includes a vision for an International School Program supported by many in the area. The TT Minor reference area (not large or gerrymandered) has the the highest birth rate of any reference area in the Central Cluster and the fastest growing number of children under the age of 5 of any reference area in the entire Seattle School District. Therefore, if we really want neighborhood schools that are embraced by parents, the parents and community must be included in deciding what type of program should be placed here or in any neighborhood.
My candidacy is about all communities being treated fairly and equitably. Common sense can be applied to data.
Thank you.
Joanna Cullen