Janis White is running for Seattle School Board District 5, which covers the Central Area, part of the International District, Leschi, Madrona, Capitol Hill, Madison Valley, Madison Park, Montlake, and Eastlake. Her opponent is Vivian Song. This interview is part of our 2025 Seattle School Board Candidate series. Every Seattle voter will vote on four school board races in the general election: Districts 2, 4, 5, and 7.

About Janis White

• Lawyer with over 40 years of practice
• Parent of three kids who attended Seattle Public Schools K-12 (graduated 2019 and 2023)
• Former president of Seattle Special Education PTSA
• Former president of Ken Haven Music School board
• Attended public school K-12 in Great Neck, New York
• Has testified at board meetings and state legislature many times

Key Positions

First Priority:

• Bring back standing committees, most urgently budget and finance committee

On School Board Role:

• School board is accountable for proper operation of district (per state law)
• Must have processes to know if district is operating as intended by policies
• Needs regular reporting, school visits, community meetings
• Cannot say reviewing operations isn't part of the job

On Superintendent Search:

• Need proven track record of implementing clear communication standards across large organization
• Experience addressing problematic culture issues
• Must have curiosity mindset about making change happen
• Must identify and address structural issues causing budget deficits

On District Structure:

• Need to find right balance between centralization and site-based management
• Too much centralization discourages community engagement
• Need standards, expectations, and oversight for healthy system
• Process of finding balance would build community support

On When Goals Aren't Met:

• Current goals don't properly follow Targeted Universalism framework
• Board needs to ask more probing questions when goals not met
• Should express concern if staff are resistant to thinking outside the box
• Progress monitoring system has encouraged attention to data

On Community Engagement:

• Large turnouts at board meetings are symptom of failed communication
• Board not aware enough of how community experiences school system
• Guardrails written too negatively (should state what you want, not what you don't)
• Board should respond to issues brought via public testimony

Other Positions:

• Strongly supports inclusive classrooms for students with disabilities
• Doesn't support over-reliance on standardized testing
• School board responsible to students and public at large

Educational Leader She Admires: Vivian Gussin Paley (her kindergarten teacher, MacArthur Fellow)

Looking Forward to Working With: All directors (believes collaboration with all colleagues is essential)

Important Info

• Ballots mailed: October 15th | Due: November 4th
• Also listen to: Interviews with all District 2, 4, 5, and 7 candidates at rainydayrecess.org
• Janis's campaign: https://www.janisforseattleschools.com/
• Podcast info: rainydayrecess.org | [email protected]

Support the show

Contact us at [email protected].
Rainy Day Recess music by Lester Mayo, logo by Cheryl Jenrow.