2003 Candidate Questionnaire

SECTION I

BASIC CANDIDATE INFORMATION

1. Name as it will appear on the ballot

First Name	Middle Initial or Nick Name	Last Name
Steve	D.	Brown

2. Office sought (include office, jurisdiction, position/district number):

Seattle School Board, Pos. 2

3. Are you the incumbent? Yes

4. How long have you resided in this district/city?

22 years

5. How long have you resided in King County?

22 years

6. Is the office sought partisan or nonpartisan? Nonpartisan

7. If partisan, please indicate party:

CAMPAIGN CONTACTS

Campaign Name:

Committee to Re-elect Steve Brown

Address:

6541 Woodlawn Ave. N.

City/State/Zip:

Seattle, WA 98103

Campaign Phone:

206/524-9339

Campaign Fax:

Campaign E-mail:

brownsd@aol.com

Campaign Website:

forthcoming

POLITICAL BACKGROUND

1. Beginning with the most recent position, please list public offices which you have held. Include positions on appointive Boards or Commissions.

Public Office

Elective or Appointive?

Dates Held

Leadership Role (if any)

Seattle School Board

Elective

12/99-present

Vice-President; Chair of Audit & Finance

2. If you ran for public office but were not elected, please list those races below:

Office Title

Year of Run

SECTION III

In this section, we are seeking responses that reflect the four ratings criteria: involvement, effectiveness, character, and knowledge. These are defined as follows:

Involvement: What has the candidate done previously in family, neighborhood, community, volunteer work, employment or public life to suggest readiness to accomplish challenging objectives? How do these activities demonstrate readiness for the challenges unique to the office sought?

Effectiveness: Has the candidate demonstrated promise of being productive in the office sought? Has the candidate shown the ability to work with other people?

Character: Do the candidate's personal traits show the ability to take on the responsibilities of campaigning for and holding the public office she or he is seeking? Is the candidate a leader, participant or observer? Is the candidate trustworthy, reliable and candid?

Knowledge: Has the candidate demonstrated the willingness and ability to learn and adapt? Does the candidate understand the duties and challenges of the office sought? Does the candidate have a firm grasp of the issues important to his or her constituency and their potential effects?

1. In a page or less, why are you running for this office? (Note: the interview committee will be given a copy of this statement before your interview; at the beginning of your interview you will have the opportunity to expand on this statement in any way you wish.)

I am running for re-election to the Seattle School Board because I want to continue implementing our vision of ensuring that every child gets a quality education in safe, caring schools. As a parent with two children in seventh and ninth grades in Seattle Public Schools, I have a personal stake in continuing to improve our schools.

During my term on the Board, I have helped guide major school improvements. For example in district 2, Hamilton International Middle School has a new principal, block schedules and multicultural curriculum. Daniel Bagley Elementary has opened a Montessori program and Greenwood Elementary has a nationally recognized aviation curriculum in its newly restored building. Nearby high schools have new principals and programs. Looking at the Seattle Public Schools as a whole, Seattle Schools’ test scores are up, dropout and truancy rates are down, and our principal and teaching corps is strong, creative and committed.

My mettle as a Board member has been tested in challenging situations. I responded quickly and decisively to the district’s financial crisis. When the Board learned that it had not been given the truth about the budget, I took a leadership role in hiring outside auditors, insisting on new accountability measures, and passing a balanced budget for next year. Personnel changes were made and a new financial team put in place.

I have been deeply involved for many years with children across the State as a teacher, leader and volunteer. I created an innovative program called kidLAW® where children prepare classroom “mock trials” based on classics from Shakespeare to the Cat in the Hat. I served as Vice-President of Seattle Council PTSA and Co-President of Green Lake Elementary PTA. I currently serve on the Advisory Board of the Latino Education Achievement Project. I have a “hands-on” perspective on schools which is unmatched by any other board member or candidate.

I am running for re-election to keep the momentum of positive change going. My goals for re-election are clear:

· With extensive public input hire a new Superintendent.

· Hold that Superintendent accountable to our educational vision.

· Complete financial reforms to ensure fiscal accuracy and accountability.

· Continue to personalize education so that every child succeeds at every school.

I believe my re-election is important to the board, especially given that we will have a new superintendent, that we need to follow through on necessary financial reforms, and that the board is relatively inexperienced and will have at least one more new member after this election.

2. Describe your most important personal characteristics or traits as they relate to the office you seek.

I believe that the fundamental question at the core of every issue I consider as a school board member is “is it in the best interests of the kids?” This means that I have to listen to different constituencies, study the analyses I’ve been given, ask questions, and then make decisions which I think will move Seattle Schools toward academic achievement for every student in every school.

I work hard at being a conscientious board member. This last year I have spent 20-30 hours per week as a board member. I attend regularly scheduled meetings, board meetings, and small group sessions. I meet and talk with my fellow board members and key administrators individually. I spend time in schools and with community based organizations. I also spend a lot of time on the phone and e-mail as a facilitator for parents and constituents with questions and concerns from graduation standards to student assignment policies.

I know it is important to strive for a collaborative working group. I believe that the school board, and Seattle Schools, are most effective (and are ultimately judged) in what they accomplish as a whole, not what an individual board member does. I believe that I communicate well with my colleagues, assist in dividing up tasks, and am willing to change my preconceived ideas. A sense of humor and the ability not to overinflate one’s self-importance are particularly helpful here.

At the same time, I am willing to and have stepped up to take a leadership role. Leadership involves setting goals, motivating members of your team to work on the tasks necessary to achieve those goals, and the ability to communicate within the team and with outsiders as necessary. For example, I took a lead role this past year in fixing the financial crisis (see answer to question #3).

I also have the ability to examine issues from multiple perspectives. My years working as a lawyer are helpful for this. I like to figure out what are the plusses and minuses of any particular decision, and then stretch that analysis to include what other people might see as good and bad points. I try to balance many of the special interest issues while looking at the overall perspective that a school board member should look at, whether a particular decision is in the best interests of the kids. This also involves looking at downstream ramifactions and possible unintended consequences of decisions.

3. Please describe in sufficient detail, one to three accomplishments or contributions of which you are most proud. These examples should illustrate effective skills and capabilities you think apply to the office you are seeking. These accomplishments may have occurred at any time in your personal, professional, or public life.

Responding to the financial crisis: When I learned that the Board had not been given the truth about the budget, and that we were millions of dollars over budget for the previous and current year, I was shocked, hurt and angry. I decided that I needed to harness those emotions and apply myself to leading the effort to figure out what went wrong and how we were going to fix it. In the early stages I encouraged the Superintendent to go public with the problem, and insisted on an outside audit, with instructions drafted by the board, to review the causes and suggest solutions to the problem. As chair of the Audit & Finance Committee, I took personal responsibility for interfacing with the audit team to make sure they were getting all the information they needed. I recognized the hard fact that we needed to make immediate budget cuts to get through the crisis, as well as cuts in the following years budgets, and I worked formally and informally to minimize the effects those cuts had on the classroom. I also talked to many parent and school groups to explain what was going on and answer questions and respond to worst-case fears. This Spring I helped shepherd the audit findings to and through our citizen's Fiscal Integrity Committee and co-authored our Board Resolution which laid out a specific action plan in June. Now I am working to revise and draft new board policies to make sure that this never happens again, and set up the process where we can, among other things, hire a permanent internal auditor who reports to the board. Through all this, I worked with my colleagues to manage a transition in leadership from one superintendent to our interim superintendent, all the while making sure that we were cognisant of maintaining our district as an attractive place for a new superintendent.

Creating kidLAW® and growing it into a teaching career: I began with an interest in kids and teaching, and 14 years legal experience. I used energy, hard work, people skills and my knowledge base to create an innovative program in which thousands of Washington kids have learned about the law, leteracy and communication skills. I have worked with all types of different students, from students in remedial summer school, to ethnically diverse classrooms in Seattle and Renton, to "highly capable" student. I mold my program to the characteristics of the students and to the existing curriculum in each classroom I am in, rather than simply drop in with a canned unit.. I have obtained grants to help fund my programs, from groups like the Washington Commission for the Humanities, the Nesholm Foundation, the Gates Foundation, and many school district foundations (Mercer Island Schools Foundation, Shoreline Schools Foundation). I have progressed to training classroom teachers and being a presenter at teacher certification programs. My kidLAW® experiences give me hands-on experiences which help me as a school board member.

Being a parent to my two daughters, now aged 14 and 12 . Being a good parent has meant being involved on a daily basis with their lives, in conversations and fun (and tough) issues around the house, as a volunteer in schools, and as a carpooler and soccer coach. Among other things, it is through this involvement that I personally understand how important a part parent and community involvement play in public education. It has also given me the opportunity to view the school district as a constituent, and to try certain programs -- like the middle school Parents Who Care Initiative -- as a Dad, not just a board member.

4. Please list or describe your current and past activities in the community in which you have acquired skills that relate to the office you seek. Include your role in the activity and the year(s) in which you were involved. Involvement consists of many areas such as family, neighborhood, community, employment, or public life.

. Seattle School Board (1999-present), currently Vice-President and Chair of Audit & Finance Committee

· Urban Issues Committee, Washington State School Directors Association (2001-present)

Vice-President, Seattle Council PTSA (1998-1999).

· Co-President, Green Lake Elementary School PTA (1997-1999).

· Chair, Green Lake Elementary Advisory Council (1995-1997).

· Creator of kidLAW® (1995-present), an interactive program that provides 4th through 12th grade students and teachers with interactive programs about the law, and, in the process, teaches communication, literacy and leadership skills.

· Attorney, Stokes, Eitelbach & Lawrence (Partner 1989-1995; associate 1986- 1988), litigation and employment law.

· Attorney, Perkins Coie (associate 1981-1985), litigation.

· Advisory Board Member, Latino Education Achievement Project (2001-present).

· Advisory Board Member, Seattle Debate Foundation (2001-present).

· Precinct Officer, 43rd District (previously 32nd and 46th ) (1988-present).

Staff, Cascade Middle School Leadership Camps (1997-2000).

· Board Member, Northwest Children’s Fund (1995-1998), including Vice-President, Grants (1997-1998).

· LASER Program (Peer Mediation in Schools), sponsored by Washington State Bar Association (1995-1996).

· Board Member, Council for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (1987-1989), including Secretary (1988-1989).

· Member, Municipal League's Candidate Evaluation Committee (1984, 1986).

· Soccer Coach, Woodland Soccer Association (1998 - 2002).

Please describe the duties of the office you seek. Which are the most important duties and why?

Here are what I believe are the most important duties of a school board member.

* Hiring the Superintendent and holding that superintendent accountable to our educational vision -- As a part-time volunteer board, the superintendent serves as our executive director who oversees the day-to-day operation of our schools. Among other things, he or she sets the tone of the district, hires the staff, and is the public symbol of our schools. This is why we must be particularly thorough in hiring our next superintendent.

* Setting the overall policies of the Seattle Public Schools - Policies include the standards which we will hold students, teachers and principals accountable to. Our workforce and our public count on us to set the direction of education in our district.

* Passing and overseeing the budget - Using the funds which we are allocated is the means by which we ensure the education of our students. Under law the board must pass the budget. As stewards it is our duty to see that we spend our money in the way we have committed to, and consistent with our educational goals.

* Communicating with, to and from various constituencies - I call this serving as citizen eyes and ears for the district. As elected officials and members of the community, we are in a unique position to explain what the district is doing. We also are close to the ground so we can find out what students, parents and other community members like and want to change in our schools. Another function I fill in this area is facilitating communication between citizens and the district, such as advising a parent who has a concern about school discipline or what middle school to attend as to who the appropriate person is to talk to to get an answer.

* Oversight and not micro-management - As board members we need to be careful to make sure our staff and educators do the day-to-day work, and that we set overall policy and provide oversight.

EDUCATION BACKGROUND SUMMARY

FOR PUBLICATION IN CANDIDATE EVALUATION REPORT

The Municipal League’s Candidate Evaluation Report is distributed to voters in print and/or on our website. It includes a summary of the candidate’s education. Please summarize your education in 120 characters (letters, punctuation, and space all combined). The League will delete material that exceeds the space limit by beginning with the last entry. Suggested order is (degree) (subject) (school) (year, if desired).

Note: If this question is left blank the League will not include education information in your candidate profile.

JD, University of Michigan Law School, 1981; AB, Political Science, University of Chicago, 1978.

CIVIC INVOLVEMENT SUMMARY

FOR PUBLICATION IN CANDIDATE EVALUATION REPORT

The Municipal League’s Candidate Evaluation Report also includes a summary of each candidate’s civic involvement. Please summarize your civic involvement in the space below. We will make every attempt to include the information in the Candidate Evaluation Report as submitted. Due to space restrictions in the Report, your response is limited to 500 characters (letters, punctuation, and spaces all combined). It is important that you list your involvement beginning with the most important and ending with the least important. If you exceed the length of response permitted, or if the League should find it necessary to shorten responses for publication purposes, deletions will be made beginning with the last item listed.

Note: This information will appear verbatim on the League’s Candidate Evaluation Report. If this question is left blank, the Municipal League will not include information on your civic involvement in the Report.

Check here if you would like the Municipal League to copy the first 500 characters from Question 4 to paste into this section.

Seattle School Board (1999-present), currently Vice-President and Chair of Audit & Finance Committee; Vice-President, Seattle Council of PTSAs (1998-1999); Co-president, Green Lake Elementary PTA(1997-1999); Advisory Board, Latino Education Achievement Project (2001-present);, Northwest Children's Fund (1995-1998) board member and V.P.; Council for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (1987-1989) board member and secretary; Soccer coach, Woodland Soccer Association (1998-2002); Cascade Middle School Leadership Camps (1997-2000).

Finished!

If at all possible, send your response to the Municipal League electronically as an attachment, or insert it into an e-mail message (rebecca@munileague.org). Mail and fax numbers are listed below. If the League has not contacted you to schedule an interview, please call the League office at your earliest convenience.

Don’t forget to send the following to the Municipal League: a resume, a photo, campaign literature, and, if you are an incumbent, constituent newsletters and other materials. Please use the check-off list on the cover sheet of this packet to indicate which items you have sent.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION AND GOOD LUCK IN YOUR CAMPAIGN!

THE MUNICIPAL LEAGUE OF KING COUNTY

Candidate Evaluation Coordinator: Rebecca Cooper

810 Third Avenue, Suite 224 Phone: 206-622-8333 Email: rebecca@munileague.org

Seattle, WA 98104-1614 Fax: 425-671-0506 Website: www.munileague.org