Seattle, WA
Superintendent finalist addresses SPS budget shortfall
SEATTLE — Seattle Public School’s incoming superintendent is addressing how he plans to tackle the school district’s massive budget shortfall.
RELATED | Seattle Public Schools names Ben Shuldiner superintendent finalist after nationwide search
Finalist Ben Shuldiner is a former teacher, principal, professor, and school board director, and already has a lot of love for Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.
“This entire community has just rallied around this process. They’ve been so wonderful and warm,” Shuldiner told KOMO’s Jackie Kent in a one-on-one interview on Thursday.
A day after the school board unanimously voted for him to take over in 2026, parents like Erin Combs said they’re “cautiously optimistic” for what’s ahead.
An image of Ben Shuldiner, who was named the Seattle Public Schools’ new superintendent. (KOMO News)
“Her school has had a lot of teacher shuffles; they’ve lost staffing because of what’s happened with enrollment and waitlists,” Combs said about her daughter’s experience at Thornton Creek Elementary School.
This change in leadership comes as SPS faces troubles with enrollment, safety, student learning outcomes, and an estimated $87 million budget shortfall.
Ian Coon is with the Alliance for Education, the longtime local education fund for SPS.
“Conversations have been around cutting budgets, cutting staff, raising funds, and advocating for more money from Olympia. I think there’s going to be a lot of things that need to change,” Coon added.
Shuldiner has served as superintendent in Lansing, Michigan, since 2021 and said he’s ready to work in a district five times the size.
“What I’ve seen in Seattle in the time I’ve been here is incredible teachers and principals and families and children who all want what’s best for our students, and I just think with the right systems and structures we’ll be able to move mountains relatively quickly,” Shuldiner said.
SPS estimates he helped boost the Lansing graduation rate by 26%, attendance by 15%, and enrollment spiked for the first time in decades.
SPS has also touted that Shuldiner increased the Lansing School District’s “fund balance by more than $40 million, creating financial stability and growth.”
“I think what you have is a concerning budget issue, no question about it, but there’s a lot of ways to build efficiencies,” Shuldiner told KOMO about addressing the SPS budget. “I’ve gone through the budget quite often. There’s a lot of departments and I think with that you have redundancies.”
All in all, there’s a sense of hope.
“There’s a lot of trust that needs to be rebuilt,” Combs added.
KOMO News reached out to the Lansing School Board president for more on Shuldiner’s history with the district, and was still waiting to hear back as of Thursday evening.
Shuldiner’s SPS contract is still being negotiated, but he said he plans to make Seattle his permanent home and to retire from Seattle schools.
Seattle, WA
Seattle area Iranian-Americans, activists react to ceasefire deal
SEATTLE — People from Seattle to Redmond are speaking out about the ceasefire deal between the U.S. and Iran after President Trump’s threat of massive attacks.
President Trump on Tuesday announced he would suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for two weeks as part of a temporary ceasefire brokered by the Pakistani government.
The suspension of attacks is contingent on Iran agreeing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
ALSO SEE | Oil prices drop and stock futures jump as US and Iran agree to a 2-week ceasefire
Iran responded by claiming victory, saying ships will be allowed to pass through the strait, but only under the management of the Iranian military.
Shayan Arya is an Iranian-American with cousins and friends in Iran, who have detailed by phone their experiences being near recent warfare.
“In the middle of our conversations, the bombing started,” Arya explained. “And so she said, ‘Can you hear the bombs dropping?’”
He said he was concerned about power plants being bombed in Iran, and is grateful they won’t be targeted, for now.
Meanwhile, on the steps of Seattle City Hall, a group rallied against the Trump Administration’s foreign policy and actions.
“Perhaps we should stop bombing the cradle of civilization and calling it freedom. We should be investing in people, the communities,” one woman chanted through a megaphone.
Counter-protesters showed up, leading to heated confrontations for a short time.
Arya said he feels relief, for now, amid the ceasefire, but that there’s ongoing concern about Iran’s future under its current regime.
“It’s just a matter of time [until the regime collapses], and at what price?” he asked.
CNN reports the White House is preparing for in-person negotiations with Iran to help broker a long-term peace deal.
The developments come just hours after the president posted a message online, threatening, “A whole civilization could die tonight… Never to be brought back again.”
Seattle, WA
1-inch RapidRide G Line error costs Seattle $650,000 to fix – MyNorthwest.com
The City of Seattle is paying $650,000 to fix a bus line error along the RapidRide G Line.
Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) crews removed three orange steel plates that had lifted buses by approximately one inch and repaved the short sections of the roadway along Madison Street where the plates were initially placed.
Those orange plates were a stopgap solution to properly serve riders who use wheelchairs and walkers, as the original construction for the three center-road bus stops along King County Metro’s RapidRide G Line were roughly an inch too high when it first opened in 2024.
The $650,000 construction fix is expected to come from a $144.3 million construction project, which paid for nine new buses, built 8 miles of sidewalks, repaved the road, and replaced or upgraded more than 40 traffic signals, according to The Seattle Times.
The affected stops were Stops 104, 105, and 124. Stop 104 is on Madison Street between Terry and Boren Avenues, while Stop 105 is on Madison Street between Summit and Boylston Avenues, and Stop 124 is on Madison Street at E. Union Street and 12th Avenue E.
An SDOT spokesperson told The Seattle Times the specific bus platforms were “slightly too high for bus ramps to extend properly.” If the platform height is even slightly off, riders using wheelchairs, walkers, or experiencing other mobility issues can’t get on or off the bus.
The RapidRide G Line, which opened in 2024, connects Madison Valley, Capitol Hill, First Hill, and Downtown Seattle.
Seattle, WA
Kraken lose 5th straight game, Jets 6-2 win pushes Seattle further from playoffs
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Kraken dropped their fifth-straight game as the Jets won 6-2 in Winnipeg.
The loss adds to the dwindling Stanley Cup Playoff hopes for a Kraken team that’s made the postseason just once since the team began playing in the 2021-2022 season.
The Kraken’s (32-33-11) 75 points trail the Nashville Predators’ 81 points with just six games remaining.
The Jets, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, and Saint Louis Blues are ahead of the Kraken in the standings as teams jockey for Wild Card spots.
Kraken captain Jordan Eberle opened the scoring in the first period to give Seattle a 1-0 lead.
The Jets then scored once in the first period and twice in the second to take a 3-2 advantage into the third.
Goalkeeper Joey Daccord was pulled after allowing two goals on 12 shots.
Forward Jared McCann scored early in the third period to bring the Kraken to within one.
The Jets then scored two unanswered goals and an empty-net goal to seal the 6-2 win.
Up next
The Kraken play at the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday.
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