Eden Mack has resigned from the Seattle School Board, saying she 'can no longer enable the broken system'

Eden Mack has resigned from the Seattle School Board.

Mack posted her letter of resignation on Facebook today, saying she could no longer represent District IV because she could “no longer participate in the ongoing systemic dysfunction that is not serving the students and families of Seattle.”

Here is the full letter:

Dear School Board Colleagues, Superintendent Juneau and staff,

It is with great sadness that I tender my resignation as School Board Director for District Four.

I’ve given my life to advocating on behalf of public education for the past 8 years, starting when my oldest entered first grade in Seattle Public Schools. However, I can no longer participate in the ongoing systemic dysfunction that is not serving the students and families of Seattle. As one of seven volunteer board members, I have come to accept that I do not have the power to change it by remaining in my seat. 

When I ran for school board, I had hopes that I could help improve things and I’ve always tried to really listen and operate with grace and respect. We’ve made some progress with a few issues but I have ultimately come to realize that the incremental change and Band-Aids are wholly insufficient. No one person is to blame, and so many of us have tried so hard to effect positive change and do right by Seattle’s kids.

For decades we have had a revolving door of Superintendents, staff, and school board directors, each hoping, like me, that we could make a positive difference for students in Seattle. Despite all of our best efforts, we have systemic failings in keeping students safe while in our care, overcrowded classes and a structural budget deficit. Our volunteer school board, though well meaning with shared values, we are simply not equipped to oversee an underfunded $1 billion budget and hire/manage a Superintendent to do this impossible job.

The chronic underfunding for decades has been deeply damaging. No one person is responsible for this mess, but we have a dysfunctional culture that even after multiple audits and recommendations and attempts to change policy and practices, there continue to be scandals and lawsuits and students are being harmed. I don’t believe another change in Superintendents will fix it, nor will the next election. I can’t stress this emphatically enough. We need an intervention.

I don’t know exactly the mechanism, but I believe it is time for the State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to intervene. Seattle Schools, as the largest district in the State, is exponentially impacted by the year to year revenue swings from changes in enrollment and the State funding shortfalls for things like class size, employee health insurance, special education services, and funding for capital facilities. The massive gap between the true cost of providing basic education in an urban school district and what the State provides is not imaginary. We need a full audit of the governance, management, and financial structure, and then the resources and political will from the State to implement needed changes and close the funding gap. We should also look seriously again at making school board positions full time paid with required trainings and adequate staff to support the work. 

The failed initiatives and the rotating staff and superintendents are emblematic of a broken system, not personalities. And now, sacrificing countless hours away from my own school age kids to continue to try to patch a broken system has become untenable for me. I can’t in good conscience take another vote on a budget that does not even provide for a full time nurses in every school, mental health supports, curriculum and materials that are needed, or provides reasonable class sizes. Nor can I sit through another meeting where we talk about implementing changes to protect students from harm but the administrative and policy changes that are needed are pushed off. We need to step back and reflect on the necessary reforms. And, after taking time to reengage with my family, I'll look for future opportunities to help solve these systemic failings.

Enough is Enough. It is time for an intervention. Seattle’s kids deserve a safe and empowering public education, and I can no longer enable the broken system that can’t provide it.

For these reasons, I am tendering my resignation.