School board candidates want to serve

In the race for Position 2 on the Spokane Public Schools board of directors, the two candidates have little experience, but both are proponents of public education.

Bob Douthitt, a Spokane attorney who recently sold a hair salon franchise, says he will have ample time to devote to service on the school board.

His opponent, David Keller, is a retired U.S. Air Force lieutenant colonel. He provided little information about his campaign, but a spokeswoman said he comes from a family of educators and would like to give back to the community.

The winner gets a six-year term on the school board, and $50 per meeting.

Douthitt, who has three children who graduated from Spokane schools, said as a member of the board he would continue work already in progress, including the search for and selection of a new superintendent, raising student achievement in math and science, closing the achievement gap, and dealing with the budget crisis.

“I’ve been impressed with the people I’ve met; they are all committed really toward those same goals,” Douthitt said.

He said he became interested in serving on the school board while on the board for Spokane Schools Foundation, a nonprofit group formed last year to raise funds for the district.

Douthitt lives on the South Hill, and has been a Spokane resident since 1981. He grew up on the East Coast, where he attended college. His wife, Dianne, is the librarian at St. George’s School, a private nonsectarian college preparatory school.

“I don’t intend to be the person that thinks I have great ideas that nobody else has thought of,” Douthitt said. “But I’ll challenge people on questions that they have issues that don’t make sense to me.”

Keller was unable to speak to a reporter directly because he was busy with unspecified medical issues, said Sheryl McGrath, who answered questions on his behalf.

“Both of his parents were teachers,” McGrath said. “He is such a proponent of compensating and honoring teachers because that’s what he grew up with.”

Keller has been living in Spokane off and on for the past 20 years, McGrath said.