Washington State School for the Blind, Washington, elections

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Washington State School for the Blind
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District details
School board members: 10
Schools: 1 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Washington State School for the Blind is a school district in Washington.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Elections

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Election rules

 

Election dates and frequency

See also: Rules governing school board election dates and timing

School board nonpartisan primary elections in Washington are held on the first Tuesday in August every two years in odd-numbered years. School board primary elections are only held if more than two candidates file to run for a school board member seat. If only two candidates run, the primary is canceled and both candidates advance to the general election.

School board general elections in Washington are held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in odd-numbered years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Washington Statute RCW 29A.52.220 and RCW 29A.04.311 and Washington Statute RCW 29A.04.330

Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts in the state

Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts in the state. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.

  • Filing deadline date: May 16, 2025
  • Primary election date: August 5, 2025
  • General election date: November 4, 2025

Election system

School board members in Washington are elected through a system of a nonpartisan primary election and a nonpartisan general election. School board primary elections are only held if more than two candidates file to run for a school board member seat. If only two candidates run, the primary is canceled and both candidates advance to the general election.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Washington Statute RCW 29A.52.220 and RCW 29A.52.210

Party labels on the ballot

See also: Rules governing party labels in school board elections

School board elections in Washington are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Washington statute specifies partisan and nonpartisan offices. Washington has a top-two primary system, which means all candidates appear on the same primary ballot regardless of party affiliation. The top-two candidates advance to the general. For partisan races, candidates can but do not have to express a preference for a political party. If they do, the ballot specifies their party preference. For nonpartisan races, candidates cannot express a party preference. RCW 28A.343.330 states that, "the positions of school directors and the candidates therefor shall appear separately on the nonpartisan ballot."

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Washington Statute RCW 29A.52.210 and RCW 28A.343.330

Winning an election

The school board candidate that receives the largest number of votes in the general election is elected to office.

The top two school board candidates with the most votes in the nonpartisan primary advance to the general election. If only two candidates file for the primary election, the primary will be canceled and they will automatically advance to the general election. School board primary elections are only held if more than two candidates file to run for a school board member seat.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Washington Statute RCW 28A.343.010 and Washington Statute RCW 29A.04.127

Term length and staggering

Elected school board members in Washington have four-year terms, except for school districts classified as first-class school districts containing a city of the first-class in a county with a population of two hundred ten thousand or more, can have their board of directors serving six-year terms. As of 2022, only Spokane, Tacoma, and Everett School Districts serve 6-year terms.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Washington Statute RCW 28A.343.300 and RCW 29A.04.340

Washington school districts have staggered elections based on the rule that not more than a majority of board members can be elected at any election. This means that for all districts with four-year board member terms, as close to half of board members as possible are elected every two years. Four years is the default board member term length. As of 2022, Spokane, Tacoma, and Everett school district board members serve six-year terms with as close to one-third of board members up for election every two years.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Washington Statute RCW 28A.343.300 and 28A.343.600

Representation: at large vs. by sub-district

School board members are elected at large, by district, or through a combination of the two, depending on the classification of the school district. Any school district in the state that has a student enrollment in its public schools of two thousand pupils or more is a school district of the first class. Any other school district is a school district of the second class.

Most school districts classified as First Class Districts can elect their school board members either entirely at large or entirely by sub-districts.

School districts classified as Second Class Districts must elect their school board members either at large or by director districts (sub-district). Districts opting for a combination of board members elected by sub-district and at large generally must have three members elected from sub-districts and two members elected at large.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Washington Statute 28A.343.02028A.343.680, and 28A.300.065 and Washington Statute 28A.343.020 and 28A.343.680 and Washington Statute 28A.343.680

Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates

The school board candidate filing deadline is on the Friday following the Monday that is two weeks before Memorial Day. This means the filing deadline is 74 days before the August primary and 172 days before the November general election.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Washington Statute RCW 29A.24.050

School board candidates cannot submit declarations of candidacy until the filling window opens on Monday two weeks before Memorial Day. This means the filing window opens 78 days before the August primary and 176 days before the November general election.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Washington Statute RCW 29A.24.050

Newly elected school board members officially take office at the first board of directors meeting taking place after the results of the election have been certified.

DocumentIcon.jpg See law: Washington Statute RCW 28A.343.360

 


About the district

School board

The Washington State School for the Blind consists of 10 members serving five-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameYear assumed officeYear term ends
Tim Cumings
Ron Jasmer20232029
Kim Moberg20232028
Bennett Prows20232028
Lily Clifton20182028
Brent Stark20182028
Leigh Ramsey2027
Greg Szabo20172026
Keri Clark20162026

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District map

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Overlapping state house districts

No data is available for this district.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

This district reported no revenue or expenditures for the 2021-2022 school year.

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2018-2019 21-39 PS PS PS PS <50
2017-2018 <=20 PS PS PS <50
2016-2017 <50 PS PS >=50
2015-2016 <50 PS PS PS PS
2014-2015 PS PS PS
2013-2014 <=20 PS PS <50 <50
2012-2013 <=20 PS PS PS <50
2010-2011 21-39 PS PS 21-39

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2018-2019 40-59 PS PS PS PS >=50
2017-2018 21-39 PS PS PS <50
2016-2017 <50 PS PS >=50
2015-2016 <50 PS PS PS <50
2014-2015 <50 PS PS PS
2013-2014 21-39 PS PS <50 <50
2012-2013 21-39 PS PS PS <50
2010-2011 21-39 PS PS 21-39

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 <50 PS PS
2018-2019 PS PS PS
2017-2018 PS PS
2016-2017 >=50 PS PS PS
2010-2011 >=50 >=50

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024 0 0.0
2022-2023 58 13.8
2021-2022 50 -4.0
2020-2021 52 -3.8
2019-2020 54 27.8
2018-2019 39 0.0
2017-2018 39 -10.3
2016-2017 43 2.3
2015-2016 42 -14.3
2014-2015 48 -18.8
2013-2014 57 10.5
2012-2013 51 -11.8
2011-2012 57 0.0
2010-2011 57 0.0
2009-2010 0 0.0
2008-2009 0 0.0
2007-2008 0 0.0
2006-2007 0 0.0
2005-2006 0 0.0
2004-2005 0 0.0
2003-2004 0 0.0
2002-2003 0 0.0
2001-2002 0 0.0
2000-2001 0 0.0
1999-2000 0 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Washington State School for the Blind (%) Washington K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.0 1.1
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 0.0 8.9
Black 0.0 4.8
Hispanic 0.0 26.1
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.0 1.5
Two or More Races 0.0 8.9
White 0.0 48.3

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

This district reported no teachers, administrators, or other staff for the 2023-2024 school year.

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

The Washington State School for the Blind operates one school. It is listed below.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Washington State School For The Blind06-12


About school boards

Education legislation in Washington

Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.

See also

School Boards Education Policy Local Politics Washington
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External links

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  • Footnotes