Frustration, disappointment in wake of February resignation of superintendent, decision-making with multiple empty board positions
Parents, teachers and community members continue to express disappointment and frustration regarding the Sedro-Woolley school board following the surprise resignation of superintendent Miriam Mickelson on Feb. 21.
While many contacted declined to comment for publication on the issue, the problems the school board faces are at least in part due to political involvement and ideological disagreements increasing polarization among the board.
Two former board members — Brandon Bond and Dani Baird Russell — resigned in recent months, citing desires to focus on family and personal matters. Like many school districts in the region, the Sedro-Woolley board still reaches a quorum with just three people and can make decisions accordingly.
No one representing the district has explained the departure of Mickelson, who served as superintendent for four years after being approved by an almost totally different school board. The matter was defined as a “mutual separation” in a press release.
An appreciated leader
Christina Jepperson, a former Sedro-Woolley school board president who lost her position to current board member Lindy Mullen-Doyle in 2023 by six votes out of 6,497 total, said Mickelson was loved by many students and families.
“She was visible in the community and at school events and was approachable — people felt comfortable sharing with her their concerns or accolades,” Jepperson wrote in an email. “I have heard staff say she actually knew their name, which was a first for some.”
Linden Jordan, a Skagit County resident, frequent board meeting attendee and former president of Skagit PLFAG — a non-profit LGBTQ+ advocacy group — said Mickelson was also a strong advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, in contrast to some opinions on the board.
“I was stunned,” Jordan said of Mickelson’s departure. “Here you have somebody who has done such a terrific job of running a really hard school (district), and … (after) I listened to students talk about what she had meant to them, teachers talk about what she’d meant to them, and it’s like, this makes no sense to me.”
Mounting concerns
Jepperson did not mince words on her opinion of the district’s current three-person school board.
“I don’t know why (Mickelson) left, but I can say it is hard to lead a team when there is no team,” she said. “The (district) mission statement no longer feels attainable because it is no longer about the mission of having each student graduate with the skills and knowledge for future learning success, (and) instead has become more about division.”
Steve Garey, a 73-year-old longtime local resident who has seen his children and — soon, a grandchild — attend district schools, said he wasn’t surprised that Mickelson may have decided to find work elsewhere.
In the past year of school board meetings, Garey said Mickelson and some school board members have become subject to an increasingly hostile work environment. In some instances, this included public comments accusing the board of unproven corrupt practices and personal political agendas. At one point, Garey advocated for the board to speak with its legal counsel on establishing a free speech policy to identify when speech had crossed a line.
Garey and his wife have long supported and volunteered in public schools, and he said the last year has been the first time he has ever questioned whether he can trust his school board’s decision-making.
“I have reason to believe now that there are … members on the school board in Sedro-Woolley that probably should not be trusted to support every child’s best interest,” he said.
Jordan began attending school board meetings after Mullen-Doyle’s mother filed a 2023 request to review any districtwide library books concerning race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender. Those included many books that PFLAG had purchased and then donated to the district, Jordan added.
While the board of the time handled a potential book ban well, they said, recent school board meetings have given them pause on whether that same level of thoughtfulness still exists.
“Sedro-Woolley has been a safe place for our kids,” they said. “I’m very concerned about the well-being of our kids moving forward.”
Salish Current reached out to all three board members, asking for information on Mickelson’s departure. Mullen-Doyle responded in an email and passed most of the questions to board president Eric Johnson. In an email response, Johnson wrote that no further details of Mickelson’s departure would be shared, owing to the mutual separation agreement she and the board agreed to. The third board member, Brent Schiefelbein, did not respond.
Salish Current also contacted several current and former district teachers on Mickelson’s dismissal and school board opinions; all declined to comment.
Local politics
Some in the district are concerned about the political leanings of Mullen-Doyle, who raised more than $14,000 in cash donations during her campaign — far more than usual in a school board election. Public disclosure records show a $3,200 donation to Mullen-Doyle from the Skagit County Republican Party, as well as a $1,000 donation from Brian Heywood, a Redmond hedge fund manager behind the “Let’s Go Washington” initiative campaigns.
Jepperson raised just $450 in cash donations during her campaign, with none taken from publicly listed political sources.
Mullen-Doyle is a member of Moms for Liberty, a national organization that has gained traction in recent years for its politically charged views on public education and parental rights.
Mullen-Doyle did not answer questions about Moms for Liberty’s presence in either the school district or Skagit County. The group’s national website lists the nearest formally recognized chapters in King and Chelan counties. She did, however, explain her own opinion about being part of the group.
“I am a strong supporter of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment rights to free speech and freedom of association,” she said. “These liberties are critically important to respect and preserve.”
Mullen-Doyle also explained why Moms for Liberty came up during a Nov. 25, 2024, board meeting. A Federal District Court injunction “impacting the school board’s policy review,” she said, led to questions and shared information on her social media page about the matter.
That preliminary injunction blocked the implementation of 2024 Title IX changes focused on gender-based protections. It did so statewide in Alaska, Kansas, Utah and Wyoming, as well as at all other U.S. public schools in which Moms for Liberty members’ children attend.
Jordan said Mullen-Doyle first supported a resolution for the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association — the private, nonprofit rule-making organization that oversees equitable playing conditions in high school sports — to amend an 18-year-old policy on transgender athletes that would effectively ban them from competing.
Mickelson had a school district attorney address the board, who informed it that what they were proposing was likely illegal under the state’s antidiscrimination law, said Jordan, a former prosecutor. Even after being informed of that, the then four-person board still voted on adopting the resolution, which failed in a 2–2 deadlock vote, Jordan continued.
The board focused its energy on these matters, Jordan said, despite having no identified transgender athletes in the Sedro-Woolley School District.
Jepperson isn’t surprised by what has transpired. She lost her board seat despite having 10 years of board experience and two children in the district, while Mullen-Doyle — a first-time candidate — ran after withdrawing her children from the district several years ago, following the state’s COVID-19 masking mandate. School board membership, which is a volunteer position, does not require someone to be a parent or employee of the district in order to serve.
“Lindy Mullen-Doyle is doing exactly what she said she would do, and people act surprised by this. She has not raised test scores, but she has spoken out against transgender athletes,” Jepperson said. “She told people she would make this district stronger, yet as of right now two board members have left, the superintendent has also left and many staff feel powerless, hopeless and are left wondering what is next. She believes power lies with parents, and (that) there is too much government involvement in our education system, (aligning) with what we see happening at the national level.”
Jepperson said Mullen-Doyle’s views conflict sharply with her own.
“I embraced differences and saw strength in how these differences made us stronger,” she said. “You don’t want just a garden of kale when you can have peas, carrots, corn, onion, beets and more. Kale is good, but variety is what makes life special — it’s true for students, families and our staff, too. It’s what made us a district others wanted to be like.”
Kevin Erickson, president of the Ferndale School Board, said that in general, districts which become embroiled in politics tend to see increased polarization that is unhelpful for students.
“The job of the school board is to make schools a place where all students can learn, feel safe, and prepare for their futures,” he wrote in an email. “Polarization only serves to distract and interfere with that purpose.”
Searching and hoping
On March 17, the school board publicly interviewed eight applicants for the District 3 position formerly occupied by Baird Russell, at the school district offices. A decision is pending.
Yesterday, the Northwest Educational Service District 189 board appointed Becky Taft for the District 5 seat previously occupied by Bond, with eight “yes” votes and one abstention. Taft will serve as an appointee until the next regular school board election. Still in question is whether Taft will join the other three board members in voting for the District 3 appointee, as interviews have already been conducted.
Replacing Mickelson with someone as qualified and passionate about their work may be challenging.
Jepperson said the superintendent search in 2021 reviewed at least 30 candidates, a number then whittled to 10 before interviews left three finalists. Community members were consulted through online polls and encouraged to provide comments on those finalists. In the end, Mickelson was chosen “overwhelmingly,” Jepperson said.
She expressed concern over whether the district budget would be able to hire a consulting company to help in the current situation, and skepticism the current board could properly handle the search without such help. The district will pay $375,000 in severance to Mickelson as part of her resignation agreement.
“I don’t feel confident that the three board members we have right now are ready for this task,” she said. “It shouldn’t be rushed. They should not do this without a full board representing all districts and schools.”
Jordan said their understanding of the current situation is Interim Superintendent Brian Isakson, former assistant superintendent to Mickelson, does not wish to become Mickelson’s permanent replacement.
Jepperson retains hope.
“I hope we find a way to engage our community because right now I fear they will fail the next levy, which will create a significant budget deficit,” Jepperson said. “I hope we return to a district that others want to be like; one where every family and child feels safe and welcome, and that the most important part — educating those students — happens.”
— By Matt Benoit
Also read in Salish Current:
• “Commentary/Failing our students: Consequences of politicizing school boards,” Sept. 23, 2024
• “Impact, importance high in local school board elections,” June 16, 2023
• “Confrontations, demands for parents’ rights challenge local school boards,” March 4, 2022