Spending ramps up in race for Washington schools chief
One of the largest independent expenditures in Washington state elections this year has come in the race for schools chief.
The education reform organization Stand for Children's PAC has bought $164,887 worth of mailers for the Erin Jones campaign for Superintendent of Public Instruction. The PAC spent another $12,809 yesterday on last-minute robocalls for Jones's campaign.
On paper, Jones's left-leaning platform appears quite similar to that of her opponent, State Rep. Chris Reykdal, D-Tumwater. Both say they oppose excessive standardized testing, demand much-improved state funding of K-12 schools, and want creative solutions toward closing the opportunity gap for disadvantaged students.
But Stand for Children spokeswoman Deb Jaquith said Jones is uniquely qualified. "She has some well thought-out positions on the issues. She really has a clear grasp of some of the key problems that our education system has," Jaquith said.
Jones said the mailer buy came as a shock. “I found out about it, actually, on Twitter,” she said. “I had no idea anything was coming, and I could not have imagined Spending ramps up in race for Washington schools chief | KUOW News and Information:
