Vivian Song is running for Seattle School Board District 5, which covers Montlake to the Central District, Leschi to Eastlake, Capitol Hill, Madison Valley, and Madison Park. Her opponent is Janis White. 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 Vivian Song

• Finance professional and advocate for children
• Parent with kids in both Seattle Public Schools and private school
• Previously served as Seattle School Board director
• Worked directly with SPS's $1.2 billion operating budget
• Served on Levy Oversight Committee
• Member of a union

Key Positions

First Priority:

• Bring back Finance committee and Friday memos
• Add another school board meeting each month

On Structural Deficit:

• Look at largest sources (bus transportation and substitutes)
• Spend money more efficiently while delivering better services

On School Board Role:

• Serving as community representatives has been missing
• District needs to bring community along in decisions
• Lack of community involvement needs to be front and center

On Superintendent Search:

• Need someone good at building a team who can identify their strengths and weaknesses
• Should set plan for first 100 days and a 10-year vision
• Concerned chief academic officer position hasn't been filled

On District Structure:

• Supports hybrid approach balancing centralized and school-based decision making
• Schools should have flexibility in professional development, enrichment, and culturally relevant curriculum
• Central office should ensure equity and set clear goals for student success

On When Goals Aren't Met:

• Board should take action, not merely accept progress monitoring
• Ask what work has been done to understand why strategies haven't worked
• Ensure principals participate in progress monitoring and receive data

On Community Engagement:

• Board should demonstrate awareness and push superintendent to make a plan
• Track and communicate what topics are being heard from community
• Be careful not to listen only to loudest voices

Other Positions:

• Budgeting needs to be equitable and student-centered
• Sees board role as accountable to voters

Educational Leader She Admires: John Stanford

Excited to Work With: Director Joe Mizrahi

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
• Vivian's campaign: songforseattleschools.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.