Jacobs, Norton and one too close to call in board races

Burleigh/Jacobs

Voters may well be looking for a head to roll from the Shoreline School Board, but the race between incumbent Mike Jacobs and Kyle Burleigh isn’t the place to chop.

On the board for six years, Jacobs has been part of many unpopular decisions and even faced a recall petition. The district’s financial morass came to light during his tenure, but began long before. While tighter oversight would have started the district on the path to recovery sooner, Jacobs has also helped make painful, but needed, cuts.

Burleigh, a senior at the University of Washington, may be a clean slate, but he doesn’t bring the experience needed for a district that may not yet be out of the woods.

Mann/Norton

Voters would be better off if they could put both Maren Norton and Dan Mann on the Shoreline School Board.

Norton and Mann share an enthusiastic outlook on public education and a pragmatic approach to management.

The district’s fiscal mess has roots deeper than Mann’s board service. When those roots began to surface, Mann says he did begin to raise questions.

However, if voters are looking for some change on the board of a school district wracked with financial issues, Norton’s lifelong experience in the district and law degree combine to make a candidate more likely to help chart a successful new course.

Leigh/Potter

The race between incumbent Jim Leigh and Richard Potter offers voters clear differences, but perhaps not a clear favorite.

Leigh’s time on the board coincides with perhaps the worst period the district has faced in more than 30 years. Still, the circumstances came with the seat for Leigh and he has weathered some very tough decisions, experience that could be handy in the near future.

Potter is intelligent and passionate about finding ways to pull the district from the mud. It may be that a fresh approach is needed, but there would likely be a learning curve.

This is a race for the voters to show which way the wind is blowing.