Gov. Inslee Proclaims January as School Board Recognition Month

2015 Shoreline School Board

Photo courtesy Shoreline Schools

from left: Dick Nicholson, Dick Potter, David Wilson, Debi Ehrlichman, Michael Jacobs

Governor Jay Inslee has proclaimed the month of January as School Board Recognition Month. This marks the 20th year of the annual observance initiated by the National School Boards Association in 1995.

The Washington State School Directors’ Association, along with fellow educators and the broader community, take time in January to honor the 1,477 elected school board members from Washington’s 295 school districts.

“Washington’s school board members put in hundreds of thousands of hours of service each year to guide public education in their communities,” said WSSDA President Chris Nieuwenhuis. “This recognition is well deserved.”

All told, school directors in Washington State govern districts with more than one million students, a combined annual budget of nearly $12 billion, and employ well over 100,000 employees. 

School board members play a crucial role in developing policies and making tough decisions on complex educational and social issues. These issues affect the entire state. They are also directly accountable to the citizens in their districts, serving as a vital link between members of the community and their schools.

During January, school districts across the state will honor their local school boards and publicly thank board members for their hard work.

The proclamation has been posted online.

"The whole people must take upon themselves the education of the whole people and be willing to bear the expenses of it. There should not be a district of one mile square, without a school in it, not founded by a charitable individual, but maintained at the public expense of the people themselves." 

 John Adams, U.S. President, 1785

The Shoreline School Board is a local board, established by the Washington State Legislature, which covers the cities of Shoreline and Lake Forest Park. Each of the five members comes from a different geographical area in the district, but all board members are elected by all Shoreline District voters. Board members serve a four-year term.