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Randy Dorn
Randy Dorn is a former Washington superintendent of public instruction. He was first elected to the position on November 4, 2008, and re-elected in 2012.[1]
On October 22, 2015, Dorn announced that he would not run for a third term in 2016.[2]
Biography
Dorn, a lifelong resident of Washington state, taught at the elementary and middle school levels and was an elementary and high school principal. He served in the Washington House of Representatives for seven years. In 1999, he became executive director of Public School Employees of Washington.[3]
Education
- Undergraduate degree in education, University of Idaho
- Master's degree in education, Pacific Lutheran University[3]
Political career
Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction (2009-2017)
Dorn served as the Washington superintendent of public instruction from 2009 to 2017.[3]
Lawsuit against the State of Washington and seven school districts
On July 19, 2016, Dorn filed suit against the State of Washington and seven local school districts in a response to the State's ongoing failure to address a 2012 state Supreme Court mandate to fully fund education by 2018. Following cuts to education funding, the Washington State Legislature broadened local governments' authority to levy taxes to make up for the funding gap, a system the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional.[4]
Dorn alleged that the taxes being levied by the school districts, which he named as "examples," are illegal.[5] "This is not a step I want to take," said Dorn of the lawsuit.[6] The school districts included in the suit are Seattle, Everett, Bellevue, Spokane, Tacoma, Evergreen, and Puyallup.[5] He further stated that the intent of the court filing was to pressure the legislature into approving a reform package; the Supreme Court has been fining the state $100,000 per day since August 2015 due to the legislature's lack of progress on the issue.[6]
Several officials for the school districts voiced opposition to the lawsuit, stating that the legislature authorized the levies and, barring full funding from the state, the districts would be unable to meet salary obligations without them.[6]
About the office
The Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction is an elected state executive position in the Washington state government. The Office of Superintendent of Public instruction is the primary agency charged with overseeing K-12 public education in the state.
Elections
2016
Dorn declined to seek re-election as superintendent of public instruction in 2016. "By me stepping aside, I think there could be a new face and maybe new ideas that would come up," he said in a statement.[7][2]
2012
Dorn won re-election to the Office of Public Instruction in 2012. He faced John Patterson Blair, James Bauckman, Ronald Higgins and Don Hansler in the blanket primary on August 7.[8] Dorn was unopposed in the general election.[9] The general election took place on November 6, 2012.
| Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| N/A |  Randy Dorn Incumbent |
100% | 2,164,163 | |
| Total Votes | 2,164,163 | |||
| Election results via Washington Secretary of State | ||||
- Primary
| Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction, Primary, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Randy I. Dorn |
56.2% | 634,314 | ||
| Ronald L. (Ron) Higgins |
15.3% | 172,331 | ||
| James Bauckman | 13.2% | 149,370 | ||
| Don Hansler | 9.2% | 104,260 | ||
| John Patterson Blair | 6% | 67,898 | ||
| Total Votes | 1,128,173 | |||
| Election results via Washington Secretary of State. | ||||
2008
On November 4, 2008, Randy Dorn won election to the office of Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction. He defeated Teresa "Terry" Bergeson in the general election.
| Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Nonpartisan | Randy Dorn |
52.4% | 1,333,290 | |
| Nonpartisan | Teresa "Terry" Bergeson Incumbent | 47.6% | 1,211,909 | |
| Total Votes | 2,545,199 | |||
| Election results via Washington Secretary of State. | ||||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Randy Dorn Washington Education. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Washington | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
|
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- Superintendent of Schools
- Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Washington school districts
- Washington Department of Education
External links
- Washington Office of Public Instruction
- Washington Office of Public Instruction, "Dorn biography"
- Project Vote Smart, "Randy Dorn"
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008
- Randy Dorn 2012
The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine was used to recall this version of the website from February 2, 2011.
Footnotes
- ↑ Seattle's Q13 FOX, "Inslee maintains slim lead in governor's race; Ferguson wins attorney general contest," November 7, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Seattle Times, "State schools chief Dorn won't run for third term in 2016," October 22, 2015
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Randy Dorn 2012, "Meet Randy," archived October 29, 2012
- ↑ The Seattle Times, "Court ruling won't protect school from new cuts," January 5, 2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Superior Court of the State of Washington - King Count, "Randy Dorn, in his official capacity as Superintendent of Public Instruction, v. State of Washington, Seattle School District No. 1, Everett School District, Bellevue School District, Spokane School District, Tacoma School District, Evergreen School District, and Puyallup School District," accessed July 23, 2016
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The Seattle Times, "State schools chief Randy Dorn sues 7 school districts over 'illegal' use of levy money," July 19, 2016
- ↑ The News Tribune, "Randy Dorn won't seek re-election as state schools superintendent," October 22, 2015
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "2012 primary candidates," accessed May 18, 2012
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 07, 2012 Primary Results," accessed August 9, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Teresa "Terry" Bergeson |
Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction 2009-2017 |
Succeeded by Chris Reykdal |
| ||||||||||||||
