Progressive school district mom challenges progressive incumbent in only two-candidate race for Spokane Public Schools board

It was shaping up to be a busy election season for the Spokane Public Schools board.

Four of the five seats were up for reelection this year, two held by board members who won their elections six years ago, the other two were appointed to fill vacancies and now must run for their seat.

Though four seats were up for grabs, only one challenger emerged. Jessica Anundson, a district parent, waited until the afternoon of the last day of filing week to announce her run for office against appointed board member Hilary Kozel. The two are running for two years on the board.

Anundson, who has a first-grader in the district, said being a current district parent gives her an important perspective to bring to the board. Other parents motivated her to seek school board, she said.

“They feel like they don’t have a clear connection to the school board or how to get the resources they need for their students,” Anundson said. “I decided to run because, first of all, my kid, second of all, I want to make sure everyone has equitable resources.”

Kozel’s two children are recent graduates of Spokane Public Schools. The board appointed her in 2023 after then-board member Riley Smith vacated to accept another job.

After two years on the board marked by achievements like the district’s ban on cellphones in class, extracurricular activities expansion and prioritization of equity, Kozel said she is “ready to go” if elected for another two years.

“It takes about two years minimum to really understand and learn the full role of being a school board member, so I am ready to go,” she said. “I’ve been working towards this moment, and I’m running because I love this job, I love this position and I really worked hard to develop relationships and build experience and build results.”

Both Kozel and Anundson are progressive candidates and are closely aligned on a number of issues.

While Kozel said her two years’ experience gives her a leg up, Anundson said, because she’s the mom of a current student, she has a better eye on the day-to-day needs of students and families, such as addressing bullying. She said many parents don’t know who to go to when their child is bullied and advocated for a districtwide policy update to both educate parents and ensure each school follows the same practice.

“We definitely need to have a process that’s the same, so it would be talking to the superintendent and board and creating a committee to figure out what that policy looks like,” she said.

Kozel’s campaign priorities mostly surround ongoing initiatives of the Spokane Public Schools board, like continuing to get kids off their phones and fostering belonging in schools through clubs, something she said is more critical to student success than many may realize.

“That sounds so pie-in-the sky, but it’s so important for kids to have that sense of belonging,” Kozel said. “ Those belonging relationships are so critical so if we don’t provide those spaces in real life, in person, then they’ll find it online.”

Both candidates said they supported the “Together Spokane” initiative involving the district’s $200 million bond and the city parks department’s $240 million levy, which would partner for a number of projects if both tax measures pass.

“I’m in huge support,” Kozel said. “This is, I think, just a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

Anundson said she’s supportive, eyeing the needs of aging schools like Adams Elementary, but said she’s not on board with the whole proposal. She declined to elaborate on what she wouldn’t be in favor of.

“I’m completely supporting this bond because we can’t wait,” she said. “There are parts that I do not like about it, there’s parts that I’ve heard from multiple people that they don’t like about it, but they’re still going to vote for it, because those schools need to be fixed.”

Each candidate expressed worries and uncertainty about how schools’ federal funding may be affected under the Trump Administration. A number of grants were frozen or proposed to be cut but have since been restored, including those that pay for English language acquisition, afterschool programs and migrant support, for example. Around 12% of Spokane Public Schools’ revenue stems from the federal government.

Asked about how the board should react to potential cuts, Kozel said she’d hope the state would “step up” to fill the gap.

“If we lost federal dollars, those would have to come somehow from other sources,” she said. “So whether that means community partnerships, deeper community partnerships upon which we already rely heavily and are so appreciative, we would fight to get that funding however we could.”

Anundson also suggested seeking sponsorships or partnerships for existing school expenditures. She said the district’s option programs should be prioritized if cuts come, like the district’s On Track Academy that offers project-based learning in a nontraditional setting.

“I want to make sure those options programs don’t lose all the funding,” Anundson said. “I want to be an advocate for them to make sure that those kids don’t fall through the cracks.”

While boards governing the second- and third-highest enrolled school districts in the county, Central Valley and Mead, have been outspoken in their denouncement of the state law that allows transgender girls to play on girls sports teams, Spokane Public Schools hasn’t taken an official public stance on the issue.

Asked whether they’d advocate for a resolution akin to Mead or Central Valley’s, each candidate said no. Kozel said the state law is clear and such a resolution wouldn’t be worth the time.

“We just have a lot of other really important things to talk about,” she said. “Again, it’s nice to have those really clear set policies so that we can declare that students get to identify however they choose.”

Anundson said she wouldn’t support any action that may communicate exclusion of trans kids.

“We need to make sure we’re feeling safe and everyone’s feeling safe,” I can’t, in good conscience, write a meaningless resolution and watch any student not being included.”

Both candidates are endorsed by the Spokane County Democrats.

Anundson’s endorsements include City Council President Betsy Wilkerson, State Rep. Natasha Hill and the Spokane Regional Labor Council.

Kozel’s endorsements include Mayor Lisa Brown, School Board President Nikki Otero Lockwood, and the Political Action Committee from the state teachers’ union Washington Education Association and Spokane Education Association.