Seidel is new Olympia School District Board President

The Olympia School District Board elected incumbent Vice President Hilary Seidel as its new president and Director Scott Cliffthorne as its new vice president for the one-year term beginning January 2024.

At a regular meeting on Thursday, December 14, the Olympia School District (OSD) Board of Directors held a reorganization, and newly elected directors took their oaths of office.

Board Reorganization

The board elected new officers and appointed members to special organizations as school board representatives to the community. 

The board also appointed directors to serve as liaisons to the following community organizations:

• Olympia School District Education Foundation (OSDEF): Director Jessica Tourtellotte-Palumbo
• Olympia Schools Supportive Education Council (OSSEC): Director Maria Flores
• Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC): Director Hilary Seidel
• Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA): Director Scott Cliffthorne
• Legislative Representative to the Washington State School Directors' Association (WSSDA): Director Darcy Huffman
• School Safety-related engagements: Director Scott Cliffthorne

Oath of office

Re-elected District 1 Director Maria Flores and District 4 Director Hilary Seidel took their oaths alongside newly elected District 2 Director Jessica Tourtellotte-Palumbo. The district directors will serve four-year terms.

Tourtellotte-Palumbo succeeded outgoing director Talauna Reed, who filled in the unexpired term of former director Justin McKaughan after his resignation in August last year. Following this, Reed formally took the seat during her oath in October.

Tourtellotte-Palumbo’s site states she is “a long-time resident of Washington. She is a compassionate and innovative leader with over a decade of professional and personal experience lifting up underrepresented communities in the fields of education, employment services, and the independent living movement.”

Seidel thanked Reed for her service, “Talauna, you entered the application process from the very beginning incredibly serious about the work. You were prepared. You are already doing meaningful service and organizing, directly benefiting students and families in our community.”

Reed also led the development of OSD’s Equity Policy and School Safety Citizens Advisory Committee. She also represented OSD as a liaison for the Olympia Education Foundation, whose executive director, Katy Johansson, also thanked her for her service.

“The Olympia Education Foundation is grateful for Director Reed’s service to both the Olympia School District, and more specifically, to our organization during the past year,” Johansson said. “In that time, she went above and beyond the duties of a non-voting member by attending additional committee meetings and volunteering at our events.”

The directors recited and signed the oath required for Thurston County records and the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI).