Jessica Olson resigns from Everett School Board

EVERETT — Jessica Olson, an unapologetic critic of her fellow elected school leaders and the district administration, has ended her often stormy tenure on the Everett School Board. She sent an email of resignation Tuesday.

Olson said she always felt that school board terms should be four years and not six. Everett is one of few districts in the state with six-year terms. She is stepping down after four years.

“I never wanted to serve six years,” Olson said in an interview.

She often was at odds with her colleagues on the board, who voted to censure her on two occasions. “It’s clear that the citizens really want the status quo,” Olson said. “They don’t want reform. They don’t want people like me. I gave it the old college try.”

This is the second resignation from Everett’s school board in a little more than a month.

Former board President Jeff Russell abruptly resigned on Dec. 1. The remaining three members of the school board are scheduled to meet Thursday to interview five candidates and select one to fill Russell’s position. A similar process later will choose a replacement for Olson.

Olson said she tried to push for transparency, including campaigning to have public meetings video-recorded. When she was elected four years ago, she vowed not to be a rubber stamp for the administration. Olson said she often was frustrated that the board wasn’t more aggressive in scrutinizing district finances.

For example, Olson said she feels the district should have let voters decide whether they were willing to pay for a new $28.3 million school district administration building.

“In four years, with the exception of putting in the track at Cascade (High School), I can’t think of one thing that the board of directors has done to improve the lives or education of children,” she said.

Olson’s resignation email, sent to board President Pam LeSesne at 12:34 p.m. Tuesday, simply said: “I hereby resign from the board of directors, effective immediately.”

“I’m amazed,” LaSesne said minutes after reading the email.

LeSesne said she saw no indication that Olson was about to resign. “I wish her the best,” she said.

Olson said she was disappointed that two “reform candidates” — Rod Reynolds and Kim Guymon — lost in the November general election. Had they won, she might have finished her term, she said.

With that in mind, Olson recommended the board consider appointing the incumbent she unseated in the 2009 election to replace her. Olson defeated Karen Madsen with 54.5 percent of the vote. Madsen did not offer herself as a candidate for the opening left by Russell’s resignation.

For the opening created by Olson’s departure, the school district will accept emailed nominations through Jan. 16 and direct applications through Jan. 23, said Mary Waggoner, school district spokeswoman. The school board plans to select the finalists on Jan. 24 and interview them on Feb. 3.

Superintendent Gary Cohn could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Olson has ardent supporters, both among the public and watchdog groups advocating for government transparency.

In 2010, the Washington Coalition for Open Government gave Olson its Key Award in recognition of her work to make government in Washington open and accountable to the public.

Yet Olson was controversial nearly from the start of her tenure, censured by fellow board members twice in seven months.

The first censure occurred in February 2011. It carried no legal weight — it was simply a public reprimand. The resolution alleged that Olson publicly disclosed, without board authority, confidential information from executive sessions about potential real estate purchases, in violation of school district policy.

Olson maintained that she was fighting for openness and had vigorously questioned what items can be discussed in executive sessions, which are closed to the public under certain exemptions to the public-meetings law. “These are people that don’t ask questions and seek to effectively silence someone of the minority view,” she said.

Ed Petersen, who at the time was school board president, had a different assessment.

“It’s a reprimand by four colleagues against one who’s behaving outside the norms,” he said. “It’s a clear and more direct message to her and the public that we’ve got a problem.”

One of the most dramatic events involving Olson occurred in August 2011. A school board meeting ended in calls to 911 after three board members, one of whom was Olson, grappled over a document during an executive session. Olson videotaped part of the scuffle, and it was widely viewed on the Internet.

The following month, four board members voted to censure Olson, accusing her of intimidation and harassment of staff, undermining public trust with false accusations, wasting the superintendent’s time, ignoring the board’s email policy and violating the school district’s records rules.

Olson called the action “an exercise in farce.”

“You know, if the stated reason for censuring me was that I can be overly strident, or that I’m not always polite, or that I can be overly tenacious when arguing for a point I believe in, I would sit here before you, raise my hand sheepishly and say, ‘Guilty as charged,’” she said.

Guymon, who mounted an unsuccessful bid for the school board in November, said she had no indication that Olson was about to leave the board. But Guymon said she understood Olson’s frustrations. “She found out very quickly her opinion and voice were not welcome,” she said.

Guymon said she thinks some board members will celebrate Olson’s departure.

“I believe her heart was in the right place for the public, wanting transparency,” she added. “But the way she went about it, that’s for her to decide whether it was right or wrong.”

Meantime, a marathon board meeting that begins at 3 p.m. on Thursday is scheduled to culminate in a nighttime decision on a replacement for Russell. The person chosen will serve the two years remaining on Russell’s term.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Bodies of two men recovered after falling into Eagle Falls near Index

Two men fell into the falls and did not resurface Saturday, authorities said. After a recovery effort, two bodies were found.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.