School Board Candidate Jim Calleo Calls for Ending Divisiveness, Restoring Classroom Focus

At a League of Women Voters candidate forum, Jim Calleo, who previously served on the Sedro‑Woolley School Board from 1997 to 2017, said he is running to return the board’s focus to classroom instruction and steady local oversight after recent contentious episodes and leadership turnover.

Calleo told the audience he watched the district’s leadership become “divisive” and said the result included the recent superintendent resignation and an associated cost he described as “close to a half a million dollars.” He said that experience motivated him to run again to help the district “get back on the same page” and keep attention on student learning and classroom programs.

Calleo emphasized the board’s role as a local oversight body that hires and guides the superintendent rather than managing daily operations. “Your role is to provide guidance and direction to the superintendent who is the only person that really works for the school board,” he said, adding that the board should avoid “getting down into the everyday operations.”

Funding and facilities were central themes. Calleo said the district’s general fund balance has declined over the last four or five years and that his top priorities would be restoring a balanced general fund and addressing deferred maintenance before small problems grow into larger, more expensive repairs. He said maintaining career and technical education (CTE) and other non‑college tracks is important to prepare students for local workforce opportunities.

Calleo also cited experience leading two successful superintendent searches during his previous board tenure and said fit with the community matters in selecting a new superintendent: “If they don't fit your community, doesn't matter how good they are.”

The forum included time for questions and answers; no formal board actions were taken. Calleo noted opponents did not appear at the forum and asked voters to consider his record of experience and nonpartisan service when voting for the District 1 seat.