Good evening.
We are going to start momentarily.
Looking for my fellow board directors here.
Good evening.
I'm gonna ask if folks wouldn't mind taking a seat and we are going to get started this evening.
All right this is President Topp and I'm now calling the board special meeting to order at 4 30 p.m.
Please note that this meeting is being recorded.
We would like to acknowledge that we are on ancestral lands and the traditional territories of the Puget Sound Coast Salish people.
For the record I will call the roll.
Vice President Briggs.
Director Clark Director Hersey Here Director Mizrahi Present Director Rankin Here Director Sarju Present Director Mangelson Here Director Masoudi and Director Yoon.
Present.
And this is President Taup.
Thank you all directors and thank you everyone for being here today.
This is an important moment for our district.
Over the last several months we have listened to students, families, educators, staff, parents and community members across Seattle.
We heard clearly we wanted a leader here, a superintendent who keeps students at the center, leads with equity, strengthens our financial foundation, communicates clearly and openly, and brings experience, creativity, and innovation to the table.
That direction grounded every step of our superintendent search process.
I think we led a thoughtful, thorough, confidential search, one with balance the national recruitment with meaningful community engagement.
More than 3,000 people participated in surveys, focus groups, and conversations that shaped our profile, what we're looking for in a superintendent.
And I think as a board, we approach this work collaboratively, seriously, and with a shared commitment.
I want to thank each director for your engagement, your thoughtful questions, and your focus on student success throughout this process.
I think this isn't just about choosing a superintendent but setting a direction towards excellence, strong system, and true partnership.
Our students here are brilliant, they're creative, they're resilient, and they deserve a school system that matches their potential.
And tonight, we will be voting on selecting Ben Schuldner as our next superintendent and to enter into contract negotiations.
Superintendent Schuldner has served as a teacher, a principal, professor, school board director, and superintendent and has demonstrated the ability to lift student achievement, rebuild financial health, and lead with partnership.
I believe that Ben reflects the values and the priorities our community shared with us.
So we have one agenda item on our agenda this evening.
But before I call for the vote, would any directors like to make comments?
And I'm gonna say, so we do have a press event after this, so if we wanna say roughly two minutes for comments, that would be helpful to keep us moving this process along.
Yep, Director Rankin.
Very briefly I just want to and I mentioned this at our last at our work session where we came to consensus around a finalist that was not identified but with more folks in the room and more folks watching I want to acknowledge President Top for the additional time and effort that running this process took being a lead on this process It was an enormous amount of pressure as being president already is and a lot of time this additional process was even more time and with lots of people wanting insight into the process, wanting to participate, wanting to know things that we were trying to be very conscientious of as a group to to keep the process with integrity.
Sorry, I didn't prepare this, so it's a little, but I just want to acknowledge and thank President Taup for running and managing a process that adhered to the commitments that we made to one another and to our community, and especially for the additional time that it took in a position that already takes a lot.
So I just wanted to thank you for that.
I appreciate that.
Thank you so much, Director Rankin.
Thank you.
Director Sarju I was going to say a similar thing so I'm not going to belabor the point but I will speak from my own experience anybody who knows me knows that I can be pretty challenging I don't think it's necessarily negative to work with and I think someone like Gina, having a different personality to me, I can come off as pretty strong and I'm not embarrassed about that.
But for the audience, this job is not easy.
And when you step up to be president, and it's an extra, like extra isn't even the right word.
It's a considerably larger amount of work.
And when we're in a superintendent search, that's just magnified.
And so I am, as I roll off the board, oftentimes we don't have the opportunity to praise each other up here, but I do want to acknowledge Director Topp for her just always even, keeled and steady Betty.
I don't know how you do it.
No, your face is always the same.
That'll bode well for you one day, I guarantee it.
But I want the public, I want the parents, I want the families to understand that while we have our differences up here, we know most of us know what our job is and that's kids and that's all kids and so I appreciate your leadership through this process.
I was not optimistic you were going to be able to pull this off and I said it multiple times and you did it and you did it because of your leadership style and you're just laser focus.
So as we move to the next phase that's going to be an asset for you.
I appreciate that, both Director Sarju and Director Rankin for those very nice and kind comments.
This has been a process, but I'm very excited for our one action item on our agenda this evening.
But before that, any other?
All right, then I'm going to make a motion.
I hope the Vice President seconds the motion.
I move that the board select Ben Schuldner as the finalist for the position of superintendent for Seattle Public Schools.
I further move that the school board authorize the board president and vice president with the assistance of legal counsel to negotiate an employment contract with Ben Schuldner for the position of superintendent.
The negotiated contract shall subsequently be presented to the board for approval.
Immediate action is in the best interest of the district.
I second this motion.
All right, this motion has been moved by me, President Taub, and seconded by Vice President Briggs.
Any further discussion?
And I'm going to say here again, I'm going to try to keep things shorter, so think two minutes.
All right, then I will ask staff to please call the vote.
Vice President Briggs.
Aye.
Director Hersey.
Director Hersey.
Okay, we will come back.
Director Mizrahi.
Aye.
Director Rankin.
Aye.
Director Sarju.
No FCC violation, yes.
Circling back to Director Hersey.
So we're just gonna wait just a second.
Director Hersey has left and then we'll come back into the team's meeting since he is unable to unmute.
Can you hear me now?
Yes.
Okay, aye.
Proudly aye.
Okay.
President Topp.
Aye.
Wait a minute.
Is Director Clark on the phone?
She is not.
Oh, okay.
All right.
This motion has passed unanimously.
We're here to keep you in suspense.
Thank you.
So now this is the most exciting moment.
We get to actually call Superintendent Schultner up to the podium.
We get to hear a few remarks from him.
He is here.
Good afternoon, everyone.
It is an honor and privilege to stand here before you to be voted unanimously to take the incredible reins of this incredible school district.
My name is Ben Schuldiner.
As you heard, I've been a classroom teacher, a principal, a professor, a superintendent.
I sat on the New York City School Board.
I was president of ASCD.
I've had 25 years of doing what I would like to believe is great education work and I think today I can say that I'd like to believe I have found my permanent home.
Seattle is an incredible city.
It's an incredible vibrant place with loving adults and brilliant children.
The idea that I can come here and help shepherd a new beginning for this district is beyond words.
I cannot wait to start working with all of you.
You know, people were shocked in all the meetings I started today.
I just gave people my cell phone number.
I really believe that everybody in this room and however many people are watching this right now, everybody in Seattle wants what's best for our children.
They want what's best for SPS and they want this district to be even greater than it is today.
I will say this point blank.
I believe our goal today is to make Seattle the single greatest urban school district in America.
That's our goal.
and we should ask nothing less of ourselves because our children deserve it, our families deserve it, and the community deserves it.
I want to give a special thanks to this incredible board.
As you know, this was a long process.
They treated it with such reverence and such support going through the act of putting yourself out there, trying to win a job is difficult.
Sometimes school boards don't necessarily understand what that means, and I just have to say to this board, they have been incredible, and I am so much looking forward to working with each and every one of you.
and certainly to the staff.
I've seen the work that's being done in this district.
There's a lot of great things.
I want to thank you for that.
But I also want to say here today that I know all of us can do better.
We can do better because we have to do better.
We have to do better for our teachers.
We have to do better for our staff.
We have to do better for our community.
But of course, most importantly, we have to do better for our children.
And that's what I stand here today to say is I am so thrilled to be here.
I am so thrilled to be your superintendent.
I am so thrilled to stand here and say, let's get to work because our children deserve the best.
Thank you very much.
So that was our one action item on the board.
Superintendent Schuldner, we really look forward to you starting here in early 2026 and joining us up on the dais.
But following the board meeting this evening, which will adjourn shortly, we will have a press conference in this auditorium Members of the audience are welcome to stay, but we do ask that you move to the lobby while staff transition this space for the press event.
So thank you all for your cooperation.
And there being no further business on the agenda, the meeting stands adjourned at 4.45 p.m.
Thank you, everyone.