Bill Campbell

Introduce Yourself

Why do you want to serve as a Seattle Public School Board Director?

I hail from a family of immigrants. Meanwhile, my husband Jimi immigrated from the Philippines when he was 16. We both grew up poor with my mom working three jobs making $2.15 an hour.

A quality public education saved my life.

I vowed that my children would always attend public schools just like I did. And I married a man who teaches at SPS right here in our city. I teach with him at least two weeks a year. But we are both ashamed to say that we will not send our kids to the public schools in Seattle as they are now.

That is why I am running for school board. The current board has completely abdicated their authority. They have allowed outside consultants from Texas to dictate how we run our schools. Why in the world is a Texan telling us Seattleites how to teach our kids?

Board Skills
What skills or perspectives do you bring that are currently missing or underrepresented on the
school board?

I will provide the board with a diverse background of lived experiences and an important set of necessary skills:

- I am from an immigrant family and grew up poor

- My mom worked three jobs

- I understand the need for equity and for academic vigor

- I am an accountant / financial expert

- I have a husband who teachers in SPS

- I have taught and still teach two weeks a year in SPS

- I own three businesses in Seattle

Top Challenge
What is SPS’s biggest challenge, and what specific action would you take to help solve it?

The biggest problem at SPS is that the school board has abdicated its authority and no longer involves the community in its decision-making process. The board has moved to one public meeting a month instead of its historical two, has hired outside consultants from Texas at exorbitant costs to lead the district, and simply fails to listen to parent/student/community needs. This is the underlying problem that led to budget deficits, decreased enrollment, and failed programming.

In my first 90 days I will 1) return the school board to two traditional public meetings a month; 2) found an SPS citizen’s budget review committee to involve the public in yearly budget audits, recommendations, and levies; and 3) fire the Texas consultants.

Community Partnership and Board Operations
What will you do to improve relationships with the community, specifically with parents and
educators?

In my first 90 days I will 1) return the school board to two traditional public meetings a month; 2) found an SPS citizen’s budget review committee to involve the public in yearly budget audits, recommendations, and levies; and 3) fire the Texas consultants.

Additionally, I am the only candidate that has actually worked in Seattle Public Schools and has relationships with teachers. I also work with and do my best to listen to parents. I want to:

- Make it easier for parents to volunteer in schools

- Make it easier for parents to participate in committees

- reduce the public disclosure response time

School Closures
Did you support or oppose the recent school closure proposals? Do you think that school
closures/consolidations should be considered in the coming 5 years?

I oppose closing schools. I believe Seattle needs unique programming that can be molded to fit the varied groups that exist around Seattle. So no, I do not want to see schools closed over the next five years.

Socioeconomic Equity
What policies or budget actions would you support that would reduce socioeconomic and racial
disparities among Seattle Public Schools students?

The most recent recommended budget for 2025 - 2026 uses 71% of the budget for teaching related activities. I want to return that to a more traditional 83%. We are spending too much money on administrative functions over teaching activities.

Academic Rigor and Highly Capable Services What should SPS do to improve academic rigor? Do you believe SPS should provide advanced learning opportunities such as Walk to Math and Highly Capable Services? How do you envision delivering Highly Capable Services within SPS?

I have a significant plan for highly capable services that I would love to talk in more detail about. I cannot do that in 150 words. I believe we can balance highly capable services and equity.

Special Education and English Language Learners
How will you improve the delivery of special education services to students in SPS? How will you
improve the delivery of education to English language learners?

My husband is an ELL and Special Education teacher. The district now calls ELL students, MLL students (Multilingual learners).

I believe that MLL services need to be prioritized for MLL students. Right now, the district uses the MLL budget to help subsidize classes sizes for main stream students. This disadvantages MLL students and the prioritization should change. The district fails to include parents and caregivers of special education students in planning their student's education. This needs to change and will greatly improve how services are provided.

Enrollment Decline More than 20% of Seattle children are enrolled in private school (second-highest in the country). Do you believe SPS should try to attract and enroll more families? If so, what would you do to achieve that goal? What degree of enrollment choice should be allowed?

The district needs to hire a chief marketing office and compete for private school students. To do so, we need quality highly capable services, varied and diverse schools, and to allow teachers to focus on teaching. I believe that if parents are allowed a much higher degree of enrollment choice, then more parents will chose to keep their kids in SPS.

School Diversity

Should SPS offer a variety of schools with different building sizes, curriculum formats (e.g., STEM, DLI, expeditionary) and grade bands (e.g., K-8)? Why or why not?

Yes, varied school sizes, curriculums, and environments are beneficial to a robust innovative city. Seattle is literally one of the best innovation hubs in the world. There is no reason we should not run our schools the same way we run the rest of our city. Kids need to be placed in environments that spurn their passions for innovation.

Budget & Efficiency

Beyond advocating for more state funding, what specific steps should SPS take to improve its operational efficiency and fiscal health?

The district needs to do two primarily budget related actions:

1. involve the community in drafting and auditing the budget

2. Increase the teaching portion of the budget to 83% of the overall budget instead of the 71% we have now. 83% is a more traditional size and the district has pulled money out of teaching activities.

Student Safety
What should SPS do to improve physical safety for students at school and in getting to and from
school?

Like all of my other answers, the district needs to involve the community in creating and crafting these decisions. We need committees and school climate surveys that ask parents what they want to see to make their kids feel safe. There is no reason to make these decisions in a vacuum without community support or input.

Role of the School Board (SOFG) Since 2021 the board has followed a way of operating called Student Outcomes Focused Governance (SOFG) that has been the subject of recent media questioning. Do you believe SOFG has been a successful model for the board to date and do you support continuing to implement it?

I do not believe that SOFG (the Texans) have been good for Seattle Schools. Fire the Texans immediately!