The Seattle School District No. 1 Board of Directors signaled a preference for candidate 7 in the district's superintendent search after a special meeting reconvened following executive session on Oct. 29.

Board members said they relied on a leadership profile built from input by more than 3,000 students, staff, families and community members and a confidential review process that produced an initial pool of 41 applicants narrowed to two finalists. "My preference is for candidate 7," Director Mizrahi said during the public portion of the meeting. Several other directors echoed that view.

The president of the board said the board would continue to refer to candidates by number while the process remains confidential and that a formal selection requires a roll-call vote. "I will bring a board action report with candidate 7 to you on November 5 for a roll call vote to select them as our superintendent and authorize contract negotiations," the board president said. The president also said the candidate names will be made public on the date of the vote.

Directors who spoke publicly described why they favored candidate 7. Director Clark and Director Mizrahi cited the candidate's financial and operational experience and specificity on budget options; Director Rankin and Director Hersey emphasized urgency to improve academic outcomes and fiscal solvency. Director Yoon said candidate 7 showed a plan to create a transparent organizational structure and a willingness to learn from teachers, students and families. Several directors said both finalists were strong and aligned with the district's leadership profile, but that candidate 7 better matched the immediate needs they identified.

The board entered an executive session earlier in the meeting to evaluate qualifications of applicants for public employment per state law governing executive sessions. The meeting notice said the session was scheduled for one hour with an anticipated end time of 5:39 p.m.; staff announced the board recessed out of executive session at 5:17 p.m. and reconvened in public at 5:24 p.m.

No final action or vote to hire a superintendent occurred at the special meeting. Instead, the board president said she intends to include language naming candidate 7 in the motion that will be presented for a formal vote on Nov. 5. The president also said she would notify candidate 8 of the board's plan to recommend another candidate.

Next steps: the board will consider a board action report on Nov. 5 that, if approved by roll-call vote, would select the preferred candidate and authorize contract negotiations. The board has said candidate identities will be disclosed publicly on the day of that vote.