School Board, Position 4
Election Results
| Candidate | Votes | Pct |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Schneider | 16,290 | 54.41% |
| Patricia Kienholz | 13,649 | 45.59% |
* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.
The Candidates
Paul Schneider
- Age:
- 48
- City:
- Spokane, WA
- Occupation:
- University High School teacher
His words: “If I’m elected I’ll be the first ever (active) public school practitioner in the board’s history. I think what I can bring is very practical experience.”
His pitch: Says growing up in a family of educators gives him an inside perspective on the school district, he said. A teacher himself, Schneider said he’s most concerned with the roughly 15 percent of students who are dropping out of Spokane Public Schools. Specifically he advocates for earlier childhood intervention.
“We know these kids and we know what kind of trauma they’re dealing with,” he said.
Notable experience: He’s taught in public schools for 18 years, including one year at Shadle Park High and the last 11 years at University High School.
Education: Graduated from Gonzaga Preparatory School in 1993. Earned a bachelor’s from Western Washington University and a master’s in curriculum and instruction from the University of Washington.
Patricia Kienholz
- Age:
- 54
- City:
- Spokane, WA
- Occupation:
- Nonprofit Professional working in K-12 education
Her words: “I hate politics. And I still hate politics. And maybe I’m here because I don’t like politics, and I don’t want politics to be part of our childrens’ education.”
Her pitch: Kienholz is primarily concerned with the achievement gap, which she said is the cause of most problems in education. Specifically she’s concerned with misdiagnosis of early childhood learning disorders and how that can affect a child’s entire life.
“The kids that fall between the cracks, those are the ones I want to address,” Kienholz said.
Notable experience: President of Citizens Law and Safety Research Center. Secretary of the Spokane County Republican Party. Trustee at the Northwest Museum and on the Affordable Housing and Real Estate Portfolio Committee for the City of Spokane.
Education: Graduated from Ferris High School in 1987. Earned degrees in social sciences and communication and the study of women and men in society from the University of Southern California.
Complete Coverage
Editorial: Endorsement: Kienholz has background, brains for school board
The editorial board recommends school district voters support Patricia Kienholz.
Teacher squares off against nonprofit leader in Spokane school board race
ELECTION PREVIEW: The race for Spokane School Board between a Spokane Valley high school teacher, Paul Schneider, and a nonprofit leader, Patricia Kienholz.