Querna, Treppiedi Square Off
A textbook example of low-key race for seat on Spokane School Board School volunteer Christie Querna grabbed a big lead over five other candidates in the September primary election for an open seat on the Spokane School Board.
Now she must survive the singular challenge of Rocky Treppiedi, an assistant city attorney, who claimed the second spot on the Nov. 7 ballot.
The winner will replace longtime incumbent Carol Wendle, who did not seek re-election.
This has been a polite campaign, typical of the low-key, non-partisan politics surrounding education.
Both Querna and Treppiedi are parents whose children are enrolled in Spokane schools. They both served on school advisory committees and they share a passion for excellence in education.
But the similarities end there.
Querna, 50, a homemaker who lives near Manito Park, She talks thoughtfully about education, tapping into her experience as a former high school English teacher and school volunteer.
Treppiedi, 42, is the intense attorney best known for defending the city against a $40 million civil rights lawsuit brought by the Marks family against Spokane police.
He said his background would be an asset to the board.
Treppiedi lives on the North Side and promises to bring geographic diversity to a board that long has been dominated by people living south of 14th Avenue.
Who lives where really is a side issue for these candidates.
“It’s not your address that counts, but the issues you express,” Querna said.
The candidates talk about improving a school system they say does a pretty good job.
“My kids have always had excellent teachers,” Treppiedi said.
He is concerned that teachers and principals too often are forced to gear classes to the most disruptive and poorly motivated children.
“I’m concerned about the quality of education in the district, and I’d like to see it improve,” Treppiedi said. “Don’t shoot for mediocrity. Shoot for excellence.”
Querna views the schools as sound, and in need of steady leadership that won’t bend to every educational whim that comes along.
She believes in a strong basic education - reading, writing and math - as does Treppiedi.
Querna said a board member shouldn’t be afraid to ask tough questions of administrators, and must stay in touch with schools and parents in order to represent the broader views of the community.
As a homemaker and volunteer, Querna said she has the time to dig into school issues and navigate the maze of people and programs in the district.
Raised in Seattle, Querna spent several years teaching high school, and later writing textbooks. Her husband, Kit Querna, is an attorney.
She came to Spokane 18 years ago and has three girls. She’s worked in the schools and served on committees for gifted education and human growth and development.
If Treppiedi wants to win, he’s going to have to overcome Querna’s big lead in the September primary, and in fund-raising. Querna took 51 percent in the six-way primary race and had $17,600 banked by mid-October. Treppiedi got 16 percent of the primary vote and raised $3,500.
Treppiedi, who grew up in New York, graduated from Gonzaga Law School and got his first job with Spokane Legal Services, where he fought to bring classes into juvenile detention.
He and his wife, Maryann, have three children, including twin boys at Shadle Park High.
Treppiedi said he doesn’t think the schools are challenging children to do their best. Too often, behavioral problems and low expectations from parents prevent teachers from demanding the best, he said.
For example, homework frequently is not assigned in the middle schools and high schools. He said homework is useful in helping children get into the lifelong habit of reading and learning at home.
Treppiedi doesn’t want teachers and administrators to think he’s too critical of them because teachers want the same thing.
“The true assets in this system are the teachers,” he said.
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