Ballard area School Board candidates Peter Maier and incumbent Sally Soriano offered their differing, but sometimes shared, opinions on public education policy in Seattle schools at an all-city candidate forum last Thursday evening.

Seven of the eight candidates running for board positions were in attendance at Seattle School District headquarters in SoDo. C.R. Douglas, a reporter from the Seattle Channel, moderated the event.

Maier, an attorney and former president of Schools First, a campaign organization that works to pass school levies, said he would have supported closing schools last year had he been a board member. Because of declining enrollment, the district has an "unsustainable" number of schools, he said.

Soriano, a four-year board veteran, voted against closing schools. She said she "worked on the possibility of closing schools," but couldn't vote for what was an "unfair and inequitable" outcome.

Douglas questioned Soriano about her participation in a lawsuit last year against the board over school closures.

"Is that any way to behave as a board member?" he asked. Soriano said she was trying "to bring truth to the table."

Maier said her actions were "disappointing" and only served to pit board members against each other.

"That is not positive leadership," he said.

Soriano, whose background is in education, policy analysis and small business operations, favors a more unified curriculum that allows alternative schools to retain their own culture. She said the Washington Assessment of Student Learning is a "failure" as a graduation requirement. She favors an alternative.

Maier also supports a more consistent curriculum model, but one that recognizes not all schools and students are alike. Like Soriano, Maier believes there should be an alternative to the state test.

"A single measure is not a good way of doing things," he said.

Only those living in District 1 (north and northwest Seattle) voted in the primary for either Maier or Soriano, but voters citywide will cast votes in the general election.

West Seattle board candidates are retired investment executive Steve Sundquist and Latina activist Maria Ramirez.

Sundquist used his opening statement to call out his opponent for not voting in the February bond and levy election. Ramirez said she fully supported the operations levy but "struggled" with the list of schools on the capital bond measure.

She said there was not enough community involvement with that process and it lacked transparency. She did not cast a vote in the election.

Both candidates have experience leading parent teacher associations and working with non-profit agencies. The Municipal League of King County rates both candidates "very good."

Ramirez said she would petition the state Legislature to fully fund public education to stave a projected $20 million structural deficit in the next year. She said it would need to be a more coordinated effort than in the past by including other districts.

"I'd rather approach it that way than make cuts," she said. "We've already been cut so deeply."

Sundquist said he would work on establishing better relationships with legislators and look into the possibility of creating partnerships within the private sector. He would consider cuts last.

Neither candidate said they would be opposed to closing more schools in the future.

The race for District 2 (Greenlake, Wallingford) is between Sherry Carr, former president of the Seattle Council Parent Teacher Student Association, and incumbent Darlene Flynn.

"It's time we make some positive changes and put aside our differences for our children," said Carr, a senior finance leader at Boeing. She spoke of the tension among the current School Board members.

Flynn, who raised her three children in Seattle Public Schools, said if re-elected she would continue to focus on "systemic improvements" to close the achievement gap between white and minority students. Improvement that is continuous and sustainable starts with "outstanding leadership in every building," she said.

"No exceptions, no excuses," said Flynn.

District 3 (Roosevelt) candidate Harium Martin-Morris, is a former teacher in Boston Public Schools. Coupled with his experience as a national education consultant and his master's degree in business administration, Martin-Morris said he's qualified to sit on the School Board.

Chances are he will, since he's running virtually unopposed. Martin-Morris' challenger David Blomstrom was not present at the forum and has held an inactive campaign.

Martin-Morris opposes additional school closures at this time. Based on demographics he's looked at, closing schools "doesn't even make sense," he said.

"We are in a position, particularly in the north end, where we don't have enough schools," Martin-Morris said.

He also doesn't agree that the Washington Assessment of Student Learning should be used as a single graduation requirement.

"As a former educator, I would never pass or fail a student based on one test," he said. "You need multiple assessments to ascertain whether the student is understanding the concept."

Rebekah Schilperoort may be reached at 783.1244 or rebekahs@robinsonnews.com