The Olympia School District (OSD) Board of Directors elected former vice president and District 5 Director Scott Clifthorne as its new president for a one-year term beginning in January 2025.
Clifthorne was the only director nominated for the presidency and was automatically elected after a consensus at the Annual Board Reorganization, Elections, and Statement of Projects, held during a regular meeting on Dec. 12.
Clifthorne was first elected as board director in 2017 and re-elected in 2021. Clifthorne’s term expires next year.
The election of officers was conducted for the roles of board president, board vice president, and Washington State School Directors' Association (WSSDA) legislative representative.
“Every year, we rotate folks through leadership, and we also commit to represent the district in certain committees,” said outgoing OSD Board President Hilary Seidel.
Former District 2 Director Jess Tourtellotte-Palumbo was elected as the vice president for a one-year term beginning in January 2025.
“Each director has tremendous experience. The difference from my own ... the core purpose of being a VP is to be an engager and a mentor— to be curious, committed, and supportive of the president and directors, as well as the community superintendent. And I feel like I've demonstrated a lot of qualities in the year that I have been in this role,” Tourtellotte-Palumbo said.
Tourtellotte-Palumbo won in a 4-1 vote against District 1 Director Maria Flores, who nominated herself.
Flores said the nomination of herself was only due to the district’s tradition of rotating the district leadership. In this case she, as District 1 representative, felt she should succeed Clifthorne.
“I fully support Jess Tourtellotte-Palumbo. I have nothing against her, and I think she'll be a fine member of leadership. I am requesting the nomination to honor the practice, there's no policy or procedure on this, but that has occurred on the board,” Flores said.
Tourtellotte-Palumbo was elected last year, succeeding outgoing director Talauna Reed.
The newly elected president and vice president will serve one full year from January 2025 through December 2025.
Director Darcy Huffman was elected as the WSSDA legislative representative once again, the only position with a two-year term.
“Unlike all of the other roles in the school board, this is a two-year commitment, and we only elect this in even years when we are not also running a school board election locally,” Clifthorne said.
The directors also volunteered to serve as school board representatives to various external committees.
“There are other appointive roles that we do not typically elect, but typically volunteer for. But if we need to have an election, we certainly can. ... Typically, each of those roles is something that we renew annually,” Clifthorne said.
All of last year’s board representatives to external committees retained their roles after volunteering once again.
After serving a year in the role, Tourtellotte-Palumbo volunteered again to be the board’s representative to the Olympia School District Education Foundation (OSDEF).
Director Hilary Seidel also volunteered again to be the board’s liaison to the Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC).
Clifthorne also retained the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) representative post.
Olympia Schools Supportive Education Council (OSSEC) Director Maria Flores also volunteered again for the role.
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