tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post3638998902782512629..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Dr. Nyland Issues a Heartfelt "Whoops" over Gates Preschool GrantMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-16301766818503416322014-11-26T18:39:53.963-08:002014-11-26T18:39:53.963-08:00Thank you for filing a complaint with the State Au...Thank you for filing a complaint with the State Auditor, Melissa.<br /><br />To n's point: Shouldn't the district's attorney advised Nyland on this contract? Oh, to be a fly on the wall. Who was in the room with Nyland discussing this issue?Watchingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-30949148143582294122014-11-26T16:48:14.310-08:002014-11-26T16:48:14.310-08:00I haven't read all the posts but seems to me t...I haven't read all the posts but seems to me that if Nyland didn't know, Ron English certainly did his job is to forewarn. nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-35885790433794392632014-11-26T12:47:39.296-08:002014-11-26T12:47:39.296-08:00Today, I filed a complaint with the State Auditor&...Today, I filed a complaint with the State Auditor's office over this issue.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-55056842304764344732014-11-26T12:47:20.270-08:002014-11-26T12:47:20.270-08:00Po3, there are large agendas at work, both within ...Po3, there are large agendas at work, both within and without. <br /><br />Maybe all those issues you named are quietly being worked on. But again, why so much fanfare over one preschool opening when we've had this before?<br /><br />Why does Nyland take every chance to talk about the passage of 1B? Charles Wright "to support the community" on this issue? (Where is his support for bell times?)<br /><br />And, where is the district staff and Board saying thank you to voters for 1351? I don't even care if it's a hedged thanks (like "I'm worried what this means for McCleary").<br /><br />Where the love for that initiative which will reach MANY more children?<br /><br />CricketsMelissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-9860961914742154392014-11-26T10:34:25.035-08:002014-11-26T10:34:25.035-08:00what is starting to irk me is all the work that is...what is starting to irk me is all the work that isn't getting done:<br /><br />new middle school math?<br />science curriculum?<br />social studies curriculum?<br />and...how's that high school math going? are students making any progress with Discovery Math? Cannot remember the last time the board was updated.<br /><br />seems like it's PreK this, PReK that, what happened to K-12?Po3noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-26572507862741654032014-11-26T09:53:28.729-08:002014-11-26T09:53:28.729-08:001B wanted SPS to implement prek and the city would...1B wanted SPS to implement prek and the city would run prek. The Gates grant sets-up this structure.Watchingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-59028521689773148302014-11-26T09:27:41.536-08:002014-11-26T09:27:41.536-08:00"Time will tell where Nyland stands on the Pa..."Time will tell where Nyland stands on the Partnership Agreement with the city."<br /><br />No, you don't need time. Nyland has gone out of his way publicly to lavish praise on the City for 1B's passage. No, he's all in.<br /><br />But you are right - just as this is a pilot program for the City, it should be a short-term agreement. After all, we can't hire a superintendent for longer than 3 years.<br /><br />Reader 47, I have asked for documentation around your issue. I have trouble believing something isn't already signed.<br /><br />Lastly, I was perusing the RCW the other day. Turns out we were all wrong on what the Board can truly do. <br /><br />Separate thread to come.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-69013072003901037342014-11-26T08:46:09.491-08:002014-11-26T08:46:09.491-08:00This just gets stinkier the more I think about it....This just gets stinkier the more I think about it. Who wants to wager Mr. Nyland has already signed some kind of "agreement" with the City over pre-k - "ooops...silly me, I didn't know..."<br /><br />Charlie is right - this isn't an "oops" its a flat out "cover my backside" lie - though I don't think Mr. Nyland is alone in concocting this little mea culpa story for one minute.<br /><br />I applaud Directors Peters & Patu for trying to get answers. The rest of you? Shame on you - you have ONE employee to supervise and you can't even do that right. bleeahhhh<br /><br />Reader47noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-26065245288066488412014-11-26T07:51:05.507-08:002014-11-26T07:51:05.507-08:00Let' be clear: The Gates grant involved accep...Let' be clear: The Gates grant involved accepting the grant AND entering into a partnership with the city. The grant was accepted BEFORE the Partnership Agreement had been signed with the city.<br /><br />Director Peters and Patu argued that it was improper to accept this grant before a partnership agreement had been signed.<br /><br />Nyland claims ignorance regarding funds. Time will tell where Nyland stands on the Partnership Agreement with the city.<br /><br />The board was told- repeatedly- that they were only accepting grants and conditions with the city were dependent upon a Partnership Agreement.<br /><br />Let's watch: What will happen with the prek Partnership Agreement with the city? <br /><br />Will the board disallow the city to put prek charter schools into SPS space? What happens if the city hires TfA and wants to "loop" prek teachers into K?<br /><br />Lastly, the board would be smart to only contract with the city for 3 years. Time will tell.Watchingnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-30705331052242820922014-11-26T07:00:55.723-08:002014-11-26T07:00:55.723-08:00Marysville school district was a mess under Nyland...Marysville school district was a mess under Nyland <br />http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20140810/NEWS01/140819955<br /><br />Given the disastrous state of SpEd at SPS why oh why would the board hire Nyland who sat on his chestnuts while Marysville SpEd unraveled.<br /><br />People it's time to realize we have the wrong people on the bus.<br />We need a wholesale change of our school board ASAP.<br /><br />dryyti waiting<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-89974663110300024842014-11-25T21:50:16.004-08:002014-11-25T21:50:16.004-08:00Nyland served Marysville school district.
Accordi...Nyland served Marysville school district.<br /><br />According to Marysville School District policies, gifts of $100 or more needed board approval.<br /><br />Hard to believe Nyland would sign an agreement for $750K without board approval.<br /><br />https://app.eduportal.com/documents/view/387404#BSnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-44311322976492601932014-11-25T19:53:38.931-08:002014-11-25T19:53:38.931-08:00Well of course. A MSM mea culpa is what the apol...Well of course. A MSM mea culpa is what the apology is meant for. Not so much for the K-12 students and families that will ultimately be most impacted by the City's "P-5" alignment scheme.<br /><br />Always a good sign when things start off with oopsies and "oh wells"mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-33658134775733476662014-11-25T18:38:18.769-08:002014-11-25T18:38:18.769-08:00Nyland and the Gates grant makes the Seattle Times...Nyland and the Gates grant makes the Seattle Times.Wownoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-47711689372715126322014-11-25T18:09:28.578-08:002014-11-25T18:09:28.578-08:00I just spend a very long time trying to get to the...I just spend a very long time trying to get to the COW meeting but traffic was unbelievable. I don't even know if it happened but to announce a meeting, then make it a maybe before a major holiday and it's about the most important person in the district?<br /><br />You have to wonder.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-83329086417974094002014-11-25T17:17:19.395-08:002014-11-25T17:17:19.395-08:00Okay. Here's a throw down for the board:
If ...Okay. Here's a throw down for the board:<br /><br />If you take your job seriously, and you find your one employee has, either ineptly or deliberately, not done his job - why do you extend his contract rather than reprimand and demand the contract be terminated.<br /><br />I'll wait.mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-22833133851437776602014-11-25T16:57:41.282-08:002014-11-25T16:57:41.282-08:00It appears that either the Alliance for Education ...It appears that either the Alliance for Education and/or the Gates Foundation gave Nyland the grant.<br /><br />Where was Ron English? Would Nyland NOT have asked legal for advice before signing.<br /><br />Did Nyland NOT realize that he needed board approval?<br /><br />This story is really starting to stink.<br /><br />I hope someone gets to the bottom of this story.<br /><br />PollyAnnanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-44029056120677397342014-11-25T16:53:05.333-08:002014-11-25T16:53:05.333-08:00Pollyana,
If you have career climbers like Toner ...Pollyana,<br /><br />If you have career climbers like Toner and her mentor Codd, then what do you care? You have your lateral move to some other remunerative transfer waiting in the wings.<br /><br />TransparentcyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-73633298502897292302014-11-25T16:49:27.695-08:002014-11-25T16:49:27.695-08:00.
"What I know now, but did not know then, i...<br />. <br />"What I know now, but did not know then, is that we have a routing form for all contracts which require multiple signatures by different departments – ending with the superintendent."<br /><br />Who was the genius that brought this item to Nyland for his signature? Are we to believe, that high level administrators, do not understand that grants in excess of $250K require board approval? <br /><br /><br /><br />PollyAnnanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-44041129730460310702014-11-25T16:44:28.494-08:002014-11-25T16:44:28.494-08:00I, for one, will not leave Director Peters' ha...I, for one, will not leave Director Peters' hanging.<br /><br />Perhaps it is the specter of re-election campaigns that call some directors to question their convictions. Because, well, we know that money talks and BS walks.<br /><br />TransparencyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-38444664218008132532014-11-25T16:33:17.748-08:002014-11-25T16:33:17.748-08:00ConcernedSPSParent:
I don't expect a board a...ConcernedSPSParent: <br /><br />I don't expect a board apology. From an earlier thread from Melissa:<br /><br />"I have e-mails from Burgess and others around the planning of the preschool program. They repeatedly talk about meeting with staff (and apparently love Flip Herndon) but guess who they NEVER reference? The Board. The only reference to the Board is an e-mail that Director Peters wrote with some pointed questions and they call her 'misguided.'" <br /><br />If Sue Peters is 'misguided' in the eyes of Burgess and other City officials, yet remains the only board member who persistently asked questions Cashel Toner refused to answer, the majority of our board is toothless or clueless. Not good.<br /><br />Westside<br /><br /><br />Westside<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-83255037212306251082014-11-25T15:35:07.122-08:002014-11-25T15:35:07.122-08:00There is another Superintendent Procedure that sho...There is another Superintendent Procedure that should be followed as well. It is SP6220.F <br /><br />http://www.seattleschools.org/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/1583136/File/Policies/Board/series6000/6220SP.F.pdf?sessionid=fa4d52e79e0980d4954a83e668d288bd<br /><br />and it includes this language:<br /><br />"Grant awards are designated for specific purposes and are usually accompanied by a statement of terms and conditions that guide the District or school on the use of these funds. The award document normally includes a written description of the approved<br />program, including a line-item budget, a statement of the specific terms of conditions of<br />the award, and information on how funding under the award can be accessed by the District. In accepting the award, the District accepts and honors the obligation to expend the grant funds in accordance with the terms of the award."<br /><br />Further...<br /><br />"The grant award must meet all of the following criteria:<br />(1) It must be consistent with the District's mission, core values, beliefs, and goals.<br />(2) It must have a value or benefit that is greater than the obligation under the grant<br />award. <br />(3)It must be consistent with Board policies and administrative procedures.<br />(4)It cannot create or increase inequities in funding.<br />(5) It cannot violate bargaining unit agreements.<br />(6)It cannot usurp management rights.<br />(7) It cannot carry any conditions that would divert school or District efforts away from the District's primary mission.<br />(8)It cannot expose the District to insurance losses or risk.<br />(9)It cannot commit the District to unbudgeted or unplanned expenditures."<br /><br />Besides all of the other policy and procedure violations already acknowledged, this grant does NOT meet these conditions. <br /><br />1. Where is the statement of the terms and conditions of the grant, with the LINE ITEM BUDGET? <br />2. "It cannot usurp management rights." The grant specifically states that in year two the costs of the BG preschool are transferred to the City's program. Isn't that a usurpation of management rights with no MOU in place?<br />3. "It cannot commit the district to unbudgeted or unplanned expenditures." SEE Number 1. Without a line item budget that details how enrollment services for preschool will be paid for, how the Principals time managing the preschool will be paid for, how the materials for the classroom will be paid for, and how HR will be reimbursed for the hiring of preschool teachers, this grant is committing the district to unbudgeted expenditures.<br />4. "It cannot carry conditions that would divert the District away from it's primary Mission." The District Primary mission is K-12. Flip and Charles have definitely diverted attention away from K-12. They are running around working with/for the City on their Preschool plan instead of dealing with the very real problems with K-12 over crowding and Special Ed and so on. 20 kids to be served, while thousands more have no safe transportation to school, are in overcrowded schools, and don't get enough time to eat lunch.<br /><br />How is it possible that they broke so many of the rules, and no one is being called to task? <br /><br />What kind of example is this to our children? Never mind, break the rules all you want as long as it's "for the kids."<br /><br />flabbergasted againAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-34779976484982724612014-11-25T15:30:01.790-08:002014-11-25T15:30:01.790-08:00I'm sorry. "Mr. Nyland's claim that h...I'm sorry. "<i>Mr. Nyland's claim that he 'didn't know' simply is not credible.</i>" is a little too euphemistic. Let me try again:<br /><br />Mr. Nyland is lying.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-87665099794170213382014-11-25T15:28:09.706-08:002014-11-25T15:28:09.706-08:00Mr. Nyland's claim that he did not know that g...Mr. Nyland's claim that he did not know that grants in excess of $250k required Board approval is not credible. It's a lie. Either he knew or he should have known.<br /><br />Mr. Nyland got the interim superintendent job on July 18, so he had been in the role for a couple of months when he signed the Gates grant. That's plenty of time for him to have read the policies and procedures. There aren't that many of them and most of them are very short. You could read them all in a single afternoon. Why hasn't Mr. Nyland read them?<br /><br />Even if he has not yet read the policies that describe the scope and limit of his duties and authority, he had, in his two months on the job seen a number of grants and contracts that have been brought to the Board for approval. The BAR for each and every one of them referenced the need for Board approval for any grant or contract in excess of $250k. There were, in fact, several at his very first Board meeting.<br /><br />Mr. Nyland's claim that he "didn't know" simply is not credible.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-22421782794793396802014-11-25T14:17:58.197-08:002014-11-25T14:17:58.197-08:00State auditor, anyone?
-- Ivan WeissState auditor, anyone?<br /><br />-- Ivan WeissAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-83257292568396886192014-11-25T13:59:58.104-08:002014-11-25T13:59:58.104-08:00Uh, can I have a "lack of internal controls&q...Uh, can I have a "lack of internal controls" please?mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.com