Puget Sound Educational Service District Seeks Community Members To Run For Five Board Seats - 09/04/25

Puget Sound Educational Service District (PSESD) seeks a diverse group of community members to consider becoming members of the agency’s Board of Directors. Six out of nine Board of Directors seats are up for election this year. Board members set the agency vision and monitor progress toward its End: Success for Each Child and Eliminate the Opportunity Gap by Leading with Racial Equity.

Positions up for election and the school districts represented are:

• District 1 – Northshore(part), Seattle (part), Shoreline
• District 3 – Issaquah, Bellevue, Mercer Island, Seattle (part)
• District 5 – Kent, Renton, Seattle (part)
• District 6 - Auburn, Puyallup, Dieringer, Sumner-Bonney Lake, Tahoma, Snoqualmie Valley, Enumclaw
• District 7 – Federal Way, Fife, Highline, Tukwila, Puyallup (part)
• District 9 – Steilacoom, Orting, Clover Park, Franklin Pierce, Bethel, Eatonville, Carbonado, Puyallup (part), White River

PSESD seeks community members who are committed to eliminating opportunity gaps and leading with racial equity, participating in monthly board meetings to approve financials and policies regarding the operations of the agency, connecting PSESD with educational leaders and community members, and ultimately ensuring the PSESD achieves its mission.

To be eligible for membership on an Educational School District (ESD) board, a candidate must be a registered voter and live in the district for which the candidate files. Board members serve a four-year term and are elected by the members of local school boards within each ESD. Terms of office for ESD board members elected in fall 2025 begin in January 2026.

Declarations of candidacy and optional candidate statements must be filed online with the Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA). Voting will take place from October 1 through 16. For more information, community members should visit https://www.psesd.org/boardelections2025 or email Superintendent John Welch at jwelch@psesd.org, Board Chair Marcella Tomlin at mtomlin@psesd.org or Board Vice-Chair Stanley Holland at sholland@psesd.org.

PSESD is one of nine regional educational agencies serving school districts and state-approved charter and private schools in Washington State. ESDs improve the quality, equity, and efficiency of educational programs through partnerships with K-12 programs, early learning, higher education, and private organizations. PSESD provides these programs and services to 35 school districts, 267 private schools, two tribal compact schools, and ten charter schools in King and Pierce counties and Bainbridge Island.