Jenny Slagle appointed Spokane Public School Board president

The Spokane Public Schools Board has a new leader after unanimously appointing Jenny Slagle as president at Wednesday night’s meeting.

Slagle is the first Indigenous woman elected to the school board. She is an enrolled member of the Yakama Nation and descendant of the Northern Arapaho tribe.

Slagle, first elected in 2019 and again in the 2025 election in which she ran unopposed, was convinced she would not seek another six-year term. Her first election proved difficult, as she faced “scrutiny” from opponents and was not used to the personal exposure that came with running for office.

But when it came to file for November’s election, an old adage rang true for Slagle: “Never say never,” she said.

“What it really came down to is I feel like we have really good energy on the board and we’ve gotten so much done over the years, but those six years really flew by,” Slagle said. “Now we’re at the start of a new six-year phase, I’ve got so much more I want to help with and feel I can contribute to.”

Specifically, Slagle noted building and maintaining relationships with tribes and tribal organizations to support native students and families. The board is in the process of adopting a policy in this area, making them the first Washington school board with such practices cemented, she said.

The board was recently named 2025 Large District Board of the Year by the Washington State School Directors’ Association, in part because of their work in native education.

“It’s a moment in time. We have so much more work to do. I feel I can help and contribute to on making those relationships with others,” she said.

She is excited for her new role as president of the board, which means she will take a more “public-facing” role than that of the other directors. The president represents the board at public events.

The board’s previous president was Nikki Otero Lockwood, who served in the role for two years. Lockwood will be the president of the Washington State School Directors’ Association next year.

For her day job, Slagle and her husband own two Indigenous Eats restaurants and a food truck, as well as recently opened Indigenous Chic in Riverpark Square.

“I’ve led and supervised people throughout my career, but now that I’m in charge and have to care for as many people as I do, it definitely pulls on some leadership skills and development,” she said.

Also at Wednesday’s board meeting, four incumbents, Slagle, Lockwood, Nichole Bishop and Hilary Kozel, took their oath of office after all four won their respective November elections.