Larry Seaquist, former legislator for the 26th Legislative District, has announced his bid for the state Superintendent of Public Education position.

“We have an important opportunity to remodel our school system. I want to lead that change. With the new Every Student Succeeds Act, the Feds opened the door to a fresh start. With local control (mostly) restored we can now realign and fully fund our whole state system of public education,” Seaquist stated.

During his tenure as state legislator, Seaquist was chair of the House Higher Education Committee. Known for his inclusive and bipartisan leadership style, he invites the whole state to rethink our commitment to thriving as an educated society in a high tech, high skills world. Seaquist asks the public to recommit to two broad goals, to graduate more students at all levels and to decrease dropout rates to near zero. He feels that these goals can be worked toward by enacting two immediate actions, restoring trust in our teachers and drawing a bright line around ‘basic and ample’. The legislature would decide what specific “basic” costs they will pay to furnish reliably “ample” funding when state money replaces local levies. Seaquist feels parents, teachers, school boards and local taxpayers need to see a detailed and politically credible proposal.

Seaquist feels that education is the most important issue on the ballot this year.

“I will run a strong campaign to bring us together in a new consensus,” Seaquist stated. “I invite everyone to join this statewide discussion. I look forward to continuing to travel the state to talk with educations, parents, students and local community leaders.”

For more information, please visit www.larryseaquist.com.