With all of the hoopla around the upcoming elections, it’s easy for a very important race to be missed. Just in case you’re wondering who to vote for in the position of superintendent of public instruction, please consider the following reasons that I am supporting Chris Reykdal for this position.

I am a public school teacher, and I wish more people understood what the role of the superintendent is in our state. OSPI is in charge of allocating $9 billion annually – our tax dollars – to the 295 school districts in our state, and setting the education and health standards.

The superintendent absolutely must have a background in finance and education policy. This is a key difference between Chris and his opponent. Chris has served the last 14 years as a budget analyst and education policy executive at the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges.

He also is a former teacher, former school board member and a current state representative (serving as vice-chair of the House Education Committee). His children currently attend our public schools, he went to public schools his entire life and his wife is an amazing career counselor and school board member. He is a man who is steeped in this work and eminently qualified for this role.

Chris truly gets what our students, educators and parents are facing in our k-12 system right now. I have worked with him on education issues. He makes himself available to teachers and community members, asks for input and listens to our concerns. As we enter this upcoming legislative session, when decisions on education funding loom large, it is more important than ever to have the right person in the driver’s seat at OSPI.

Chris is the candidate with the experience, education and relationships in Olympia that will help us fix our broken public education system. As a teacher and community member, I am 100 percent behind Chris Reykdal for OSPI. I hope you will join me in supporting him with your vote.

Linda Myrick

Bellevue