But Bowen thinks the board hasn't done enough. Bowen said she is committed to keeping education dollars in the classrooms and called for an independent audit of district finances. She also wants greater classroom discipline and said the district should consider school uniforms. Schaad-Lamphere said the district has been working steadily to change and improve the way students are taught. Not a day goes by that we don't work hard at this.
Systemic reform takes a lot of time.
Schaad-Lamphere has two children attending Seattle Public Schools and Bowen has one. Bowen earlier home-schooled her son in his elementary school years, which she said gave her a perspective on the job of public school teachers and on how students learn. She said she was prompted to run for the board after her son described the lack of discipline and wasted time in his middle school classes. Our basic education system is not broken. Schaad-Lamphere said her top priority for the next term will be continuing the goal of raising academic achievement of all students.