Dean McColgan
Dean McColgan was a candidate in District 4 of the Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors in Washington. He lost to fellow challengers Suzanne Dale Estey and Sue Peters in the August 6, 2013 primary election for the seat held by Michael DeBell. McColgan was campaigning for a stronger focus on STEM fields, closing the achievement gap and improving the reputation of the board.
Biography
McColgan grew up in Hawaii and moved to Washington to attend Gonzaga University. He later graduated from the school with a B.A. in Communications. McColgan served as a member of the City Council and Mayor of Federal Way, Washington from 2000 to 2008. At the time of his candidacy, he worked as the Director of Development for the Museum of Flight. McColgan and his wife have two children and one grandchild.[1]
Elections
2013
- See also: Seattle Public Schools elections (2013)
General election
Sue Peters defeated Suzanne Dale Estey for the District 4 seat on the Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors
| Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors, General election, District 4, Four-year term, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan |  Sue Peters |
54.8% | 92,552 | |
| Nonpartisan | Suzanne Dale Estey | 44.8% | 75,758 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0.4% | 642 | |
| Total Votes | 168,952 | |||
| Source: King County Elections, "Certified Results," November 25, 2013 | ||||
Primary
McColgan placed third in the August 6, 2013 primary against Suzanne Dale Estey and Sue Peters and failed to advance to the November 5, 2013 general election.[2]
| Seattle Board of Directors, Primary, District 4, 2013 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Suzanne Dale Estey |
47.8% | 6,422 | |
| Nonpartisan | Sue Peters |
41.4% | 5,560 | |
| Nonpartisan | Dean McColgan | 10.9% | 1,461 | |
| Total Votes | 13,443 | |||
| Source: King County Elections, "August 6, 2013 primary election results," August 20, 2013 | ||||
Funding
McColgan reported $2,132.73 in contributions and $986.80 in expenditures to the Washington Public Disclosure Commission, which left his campaign with $1,145.93 on hand.[3]
Campaign themes
2013
McColgan's campaign website listed the following campaign themes for 2013:[4]
Confidence in school board
|
"The School Board needs to work hard to gain the confidence of the community by focusing on its job of developing policy and managing a budget. It also needs to be diligent in making all district employees accountable for their work." |
Teacher participation
|
"I want to close the achievement gap by specifically working with teachers at the middle school level. I would build a process where teachers participate in solving school issues and give them the opportunity to lead and be innovative." |
Emphasize STEM
|
"I would like to see STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) curriculum increased and emphasized. As an employee of the Museum of Flight I've seen the impact STEM education has on individual students. The further development of a rigorous STEM curriculum is important if we hope to continue to compete in a global marketplace." |
Fiscal responsibility
|
"With the challenges of school funding we need to use our resources efficiently. I pledge to be diligent and steadfast in controlling expenses and being fiscally accountable." |
Note: The above quote is from the candidate's website, which may include some typographical or spelling errors.
Issues
Influence of Great Seattle Schools PAC
Great Seattle Schools PAC attracted $100,405 in donations through mid-October 2013. The PAC ran a TV ad before the August 6 primary that portrayed Suzanne Dale Estey as a reformer and Sue Peters as a supporter of existing board policies.[5] A report by KUOW found that land developer Matt Griffin donated $30,500 of total donations with smaller amounts from former Microsoft executive Christopher Larson and businessman Nick Hanauer. The PAC's fundraising totals are not limited by the $1,800 per cycle ceiling on direct contributions to candidates approved by the Washington State Legislature in 2012.[6]
Increased enrollment
The Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors confront strained resources and legal cases stemming from past abuses of students. The district experienced a 9.5% increase in enrollment between 2008 and 2012.[7] This enrollment increase coincides with declining money from the federal stimulus program as well as cuts to support services in recent budgets.[8] These issues played into disagreements between the district and the Seattle Education Association (SEA) over a new contract for teachers. On September 3, teachers voted to approve a two-year contract that increased pay by 2% and included test scores in teacher evaluations.[9]
Sexual abuse lawsuits
Another area of concern for the district is a series of lawsuits brought by six former and current students seeking damages totaling $29 million. These damages are related to instances of sexual abuse by former teacher Phil McGee as well as an incident where a student was convicted of sexual assault against another student.[10]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Dean + McColgan + Seattle + Schools"
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
See also
- Washington school districts
- Seattle Public Schools, Washington
- Seattle Public Schools elections (2013)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Dean for Seattle Schools, "About Dean," accessed August 2, 2013
- ↑ King County Elections, "August 2013 Primary Election Results," accessed August 7, 2013
- ↑ Washington Public Disclosure Commission, "Local Candidates," accessed December 17, 2013
- ↑ Dean for Seattle Schools, "Home," accessed August 2, 2013
- ↑ Seattle Times, " Independent group enters school board campaign with negative ad," August 1, 2013
- ↑ KUOW, "Could A Wealthy Few Decide Seattle's School Board Races?" October 18, 2013
- ↑ Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction. "Student Enrollment Cohort Projections, 2012," accessed August 2, 2013
- ↑ Seattle Public Schools, "Budget Office, Current and Past Budgets," accessed August 2, 2013
- ↑ Capitol Hill Seattle Blog, "Teachers ratify contract, Seattle Public Schools start new year Wednesday," September 3, 2013
- ↑ KUOW, "Seattle School District Faces $29 Million In Sex Abuse Liability," July 22, 2013
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