City Hall shouldn't run Seattle Schools

There was an op-ed piece in the Times today written by Cindy McMullen, the incoming president of the Washington State School Directors' Association about the Mayor and his increasing interjection in school district direction/politics. What she says is not surprising but her calm tone and reasoned argument are good.

City Hall shouldn't run Seattle schools

Comments

Beth Bakeman said…
While I agree with much of what Cindy writes here, I think she purposefully blurs the lines between the issues of a city takeover of public schools (which is not being proposed in Seattle), the appointment of School Board members (which is being discussed in Seattle by some people but is not currently being proposed by the Mayor), and the appointment of an interim superintendent who is a political figure (which is being pushed by the Mayor).

I'd argue that a city takeover of the schools is a rotten idea, the appointment of School Board members is an idea worth discussing but it has potential serious drawbacks, and the idea of appointing Norm Rice as interim superintendent is a very good idea that shouldn't be thrown out just because Mayor Nickels is pushing it.

By blurring the lines between the three very different issues, Cindy does readers a disservice.
11/15/06, 10:14 PM
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