Erin Jones and Chris Reykdal, the two candidates running for the nonpartisan Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), both have very different professional and personal backgrounds, but they agreed during an Oct. 24 debate that the Legislature and outgoing state superintendent have made some missteps in terms of education funding and mandates.

At the Bellevue Schools Foundation-sponsored event, the two discussed their upbringings, goals and ideas to address some of the most pressing issues in the state of Washington: how to fully fund basic education, close opportunity gaps, make standardized testing more effective and less stressful, recruit and train teachers and connect students to their passions and successful careers.

Notably, both candidates stated that they would not follow through with a lawsuit that current superintendent Randy Dorn filed against seven schools districts — including Bellevue — for their use of levy funds.

“I feel like it was irresponsible to file suit. We already know that school districts are using levy dollars to pay for teacher salaries, because the state hasn’t fully funded teacher compensation. McCleary already determined this … I also wish that if Randy [Dorn] was going to do this, he would have done it at a point where he could have walked it through,” Jones said.

Reykdal agreed, adding that the next state superintendent will likely have to battle whoever is financially backing the lawsuit.

Jones defined her goal as “vision, voices and visibility.” A former basketball player, she said she wanted to be an example to students that you can be a “baller and an intellectual,” and would make sure diverse voices are heard and included in future policy work.

Reykdal said one of his goals would be to make OPSI more financially-based and data-driven, facilitating the flow of information from school districts to the Legislature for policy changes. He said that Jones and himself have many values that allign, but come from different backgrounds and woud bring different skills to the position.

Reykdal is a former school board member and state legislator. Born and raised in Washington, Reykdal said that public school helped him break the cycle of poverty.

“[School was] where I didn’t feel like I was that kid on weekends using food stamps,” he said during an Oct. 18 debate on Mercer Island. “I was just a kid who was loved and supported by his teachers.”

Both of his parents had an eighth-grade education. He went on to be the first in his family to go straight to college, later earning a graduate degree in public administration with focus on finance and performance management.

“My passion is connecting kids to what they’re passionate about, but also making sure that we’re accountable in what we do with your tax dollars to get better results,” he said.

Jones is also passionate about creating more pathways for student success, and closing opportunity gaps for marginalized students.

Adopted and raised in Netherlands by parents who were teachers at the American School of the Hague, Jones said her goal was to go to college in the U.S., become a lawyer and work at the United Nations. That was until she realized that “race was a factor” in America and kids like her were not getting a good education. She decided to become a teacher, and has won several prestigious teaching awards. If elected, she would be the first African-American woman to hold statewide office.

“I’m going to make sure in my lifetime that zip code and race and home language are no longer the greatest predictors of a student’s success in school,” she said. “I have an advantage because I’ve worked across the state.”

Jones later worked as assistant state superintendent under Randy Dorn, testifying in the 2012 McCleary case. The outcome of that case is driving the funding discussion, as the court concluded that the state legislature has failed to fulfill its paramount duty to “make ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders.”

School districts rely on local levies to fill the gaps left by inadequate state funding, including teachers’ salaries, though levies are intended to support a community and the extra things it wants to do in its schools, Jones said. For districts with high property values like Bellevue, the levies are more effective in generating money. That is not the case in other districts around the state, Reykdal said.

“Moving forward with McCleary, the OSPI needs to stop just hammering the issue. The office needs to provide support. We owe the Legislature and school districts a menu of options that they can choose from,” Reykdal said.

Washington is one of only 13 states that elects the position of superintendent of public instruction. Learn more about the candidates at www.erinjones2016.org and www.chrisreykdal.com.