St. Paul school board member Steve Marchese said Friday that he has accepted a job in Seattle and will resign from his elected position Feb. 28.
An attorney who led pro bono efforts for the Minnesota State Bar Association, he’s been named director of the City of Seattle’s Office of Labor Standards.
Marchese, 53, was one of four new board members elected in 2015 with help from the teachers union, which was unhappy with the previous board and then-superintendent Valeria Silva. The new board quickly bought out Silva’s contract, replacing her a year later with Joe Gothard. Marchese won a second four-year term in 2019.
As a board member, Marchese has pressed administrators to craft more strategic budgets and to focus on reversing the trend of declining enrollment. He’s also spoken out against the teachers union’s influence on district decisions, and he’s been the board’s strongest proponents of returning to in-person instruction during the coronavirus pandemic.
The district plans to start bringing elementary students back to school Feb. 1, although the teachers union wants them to wait till teachers and staff have the chance to be vaccinated.
This will be the seven-member board’s third vacancy in five years, following the death last year of chairwoman Marny Xiong and the 2016 resignation of Jean O’Connell, who was upset over the way Silva was fired.
The school board is expected to solicit applications and appoint a temporary replacement for Marchese, who would serve until a special election is held Nov. 2.
By law, the winner of that special election will serve through 2023.
The vacancy will be on the same ballot as three other school board seats offering full, four-year terms.
Up for re-election are board chairwoman Jeanelle Foster, who was elected in 2017, and vice chairman Jim Vue, who was appointed by the board last year and then elected by voters to replace Xiong.
John Brodrick’s term is up, too. He has said he will not seek a sixth term.
Following a 2019 pay increase, board members are paid $18,000 a year and receive subsidized health insurance from the district. They typically meet at least twice a month as a full board and have committee assignments.