tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post7501314707691080423..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: K-5 English Language Arts Adoption Melissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-41498421479560033412017-05-01T11:14:18.221-07:002017-05-01T11:14:18.221-07:00From Director Burke today:
"Planning princip...From Director Burke today:<br /><br />"Planning principals (and curriculum) from capital budgets: Each time we open a new school, the capital budget (for any project, BTA or BEX) includes multiple line items for predesign, design, build, commissioning, furniture, technology, and planning staff. This has been the norm for all past projects, but we haven't really highlighted it until we started drilling into our budget gap this year."<br /><br />Not "highlighted" it because no one "started drilling" down on it? This is information that should have been transparent for ALL new buildings.<br /><br />As I said to the Board, the fluidity of money from Capital to Operations and back is troubling. I may go to the State Auditor and ask them to look into it, if only for transparency's sake. Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-71689609567720337472017-05-01T09:38:45.774-07:002017-05-01T09:38:45.774-07:00So I didn't read the letter clearly - the fund...So I didn't read the letter clearly - the funding from Capital for K-5 ELA is for the nine schools (not all schools). It was pointed out to me by parent, Kim McCormick, as a "soft cost" for those buildings.<br /><br />However, she also pointed out something else interesting: that Cedar Park Elementary's principal is being paid for out of BEX IV. I would assume this is for year one. That's kind of weird.<br /><br />https://www.seattleschools.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_543/File/District/Departments/School%20Board/16-17agendas/03_15_2017/I04_20170315_Action_Report_Budget_Approval_Cedar_Park_packet.pdfMelissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-92108492950240553552017-04-29T08:36:36.044-07:002017-04-29T08:36:36.044-07:00Well, it falls under the umbrella of one levy, BTA...Well, it falls under the umbrella of one levy, BTA, which used to stand for Buildings, Technology and Athletics but, over the last 10 years, that "A" has morphed to "Academics." Which means fewer dollars actually going to building maintenance and building needs (which technology does fall under).Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-53811514625809822402017-04-29T07:18:53.323-07:002017-04-29T07:18:53.323-07:00Maybe I'm missing something, but how can capit...Maybe I'm missing something, but how can capital funds be used for curriculum adoption?Kate (Belltown)noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-8624477053061877712017-04-28T21:43:55.261-07:002017-04-28T21:43:55.261-07:00I don't know all of the details, but I general...I don't know all of the details, but I generally support the prioritization of books over buildings. The district supposedly spends over $15,000 per student per year. It seems like the amount spent per books must be less than 1%. At the UW, books and supplies average over 7% of tuition.NE Parentnoreply@blogger.com