Washington state's top elected school official, Randy Dorn, announced Thursday he will not run for a third term as Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2016.
But Dorn said he would remain involved in policy discussions. The statement announcing his decision said, "neither the Governor, the Legislature nor the Court have provided … leadership" in an ongoing debate over school funding.
"Regarding my future, I am keeping my options open," Dorn's statement read.
Dorn's statement echoes his long-running critique of state lawmakers' efforts to fulfill the mandate the state Supreme Court laid out in its McCleary ruling, which called for increased spending on K-12 education and a remedy for school districts' over-reliance on local property tax increases to pay teachers competitive salaries.
"Some promising proposals have been introduced in the Legislature, but none have made it even to a committee vote. And the state Supreme Court has yet to impose sanctions meaningful enough to compel the Governor and Legislature to act," his statement said.
Dorn, a former teacher and school principal, represented Eatonville in the Washington State House as a Democrat for seven years. Dorn defeated incumbent state superintendent Terry Bergeson in 2008 and won re-election easily in 2012.
Two candidates have already launched campaigns to replace Dorn.
In July, State Rep. Chris Reykdal, D-Tumwater, joined Tacoma school district educator Erin Jones in the race for state superintendent. Reykdal has already raised more than $62,200 in contributions for his run, according to state public disclosure numbers.
Jones, who declared her candidacy last spring, has raised $15,900.
In July, the Tacoma News Tribune reported former state lawmaker Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor, is also considering entering the race.
