School Board Candidates for this Fall's Election
School Board Candidates
"Seattle School Board President Michael DeBell will run unopposed.
Five candidates filed for the Southeast Seattle seat held by Cheryl Chow, who is not seeking re-election. They are: Wilson Chin; Bookda Gheisar, executive director of Global Washington; Charlie Mas, investment adviser and school activist; Betty Patu, longtime ninth-grade intervention coordinator for Seattle schools; and Greg Wong, an attorney and former teacher.
Incumbent Mary Bass, who represents Central Seattle, has three challengers: Joanna Cullen, a self-employed writer and editor and 2001-03 president of the Seattle Council PTSA; Andre Helmstetter, co-owner of MezzaLuna Bistro and parent who protested the decision to close T.T. Minor Elementary; and Kay Smith-Blum, co-owner of Butch Blum clothing store and organizer of a large 2004 fundraiser for school music programs."
I'll go through each of these candidates soon. If anyone knows of any one of them or knows them personally, let us know.
Here's what I know:
SE
Wilson Chin is on the Schools First board, a group that coordinates the school district's levies/bond elections.
Bookda Gheisar came to the U.S, from Iran at 17. She works for the Social Justice Fund, a foundation gives out multiyear grants, encourages advocacy work, and supports fledgling organizations unable to get funding from other foundations because they have no track record. From the Global Washington website: "In 2007 Bookda received the Bill Grace Leadership Legacy Award from Center for ethical leadership, in 2006 recognized by YWCA and ACT theater of Seattle in the list of “Seattle women to Celebrate”, and in 2006 recognized by Seattle Weekly News, Best of Seattle Edition: Best Grassroots Philanthropist."
Charlie Mas - we know of this guy and I'll leave it to him to fill in what he wants to do as a Board member and how he's qualified. Has a website.
Betty Patu - a long-time Pacific-Islander activist and works at RBHS.
Greg Wong - from his work website: "Prior to joining K&L Gates, Greg was an eighth grade science teacher. He also coordinated a tutoring center for immigrant children living in public housing."
Central
Joanna Cullen - I've been acquainted with Joanna since she was Seattle Council PTSA president. She frequently attended Board meetings. Knows the district.
Andre Helmstetter - a parent at TT Minor, member of the Squire Park Community Council and owner of Cafe Vega.
Kay Smith-Blum - has a degree in marketing and statistics, organized a fundraiser for music in public schools (but for a couple of schools) in Has a election website.
Mary Bass - two-time Board member, one time Board President.
NW
Michael De Bell - current School Board President, has a website.
Comments
http://www.mas4schools.com/
Our 2004 fundraiser done for EIM (elementary instrumental music) raised $183,000 - distributed to not "a couple of schools" but to 63 of the 70 elementary schools in existence in 2004 in the city of Seattle. It also "purchased" 2 more full time music teachers, serving the city wide program.
Additionally, as a lifetime public school advocate, I have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Seattle's Public Schools since 1992, by establishing the first ever annual fund in a Seattle public school, and either established or consulted in the creation of numerous other school annual funds and fundraising strategies. thanks, Kay Smith-Blum
On that note: Mary won't be getting my vote nor the vote of any of the many parents who are asking me for voting advice.
... as far as I can tell, has NEVER included answering emails or holding regular office hours."
Mary Bass, has held regular public community meetings (office hours, if you will) for years! Since long before any of the other board members have been on the board, and in fact I would say she was a pioneer in Board public engagement (at least in modern times). Her meetings don't always seem to get on the district's online Board Calendar, which may affect attendance. This month her meeting is scheduled for June 19, 6-9pm.
Email may be different story, as I have heard she is not particularly responsive, but I have no personal knowledge.
This is not an endorsement, or a non-endorsement of Mary, I just couldn't let that comment go without a response.
Like I said, I often agree w/ Mary's votes. But I can no longer endorse any board member who isn't ready to engage on a regular basis with the community...the whole central community in this case...since this area isn't getting much better in terms of the achievement gap between north and south schools...and because I am feeling increasingly disenfranchised from District staff proposals(apart from the SAP process). I need to be able to count on my board members to see parents as partners.
She does not respond to mail or e-mail and she has failed to show up at office hours. School board is a thankless, payless job. Maybe she is burned out.
The Central Cluster needs someone who is 100% engaged. It is time for someone else to have the thankless, payless opportunity.
Thanks, Harium.
I'm just wondering why Director Bass is getting the full force of the venom if others are similarly (or more) uncommunicative.
Personally, when I watch Board meetings, it seems like Director Bass is one of the most questioning Directors on the Board. She really digs deep. Sometimes she's speaking to address points to the public, granted, sort of a way to get her ideas out, but she also holds people's feet to the fire, something I admire. I think Director Martin Morris is doing this, and Director DeBell, also.
She has shown a lot of courage during her time on the Board. She was isolated in her first term by other Board members who sometimes wouldn't even give her the courtesy of a second to a motion she would make. She was the only Board member who refused to vote for a budget because, although she didn't know exactly what was wrong, she knew it was wrong. She was right and it cost us $25M.
She is a strong advocate for the Central Area and has had regular community meetings for years.
But, that said, she doesn't answer e-mail (I don't call Board members so I can't speak to that). At Board meetings, she can sometimes be very soft-spoken and rambling to the point where you don't understand her point. She frequently complains that she doesn't have staff to do her own research (as she has learned to be wary, and rightfully so, of data put in front of her by staff). She often laments not having more time to go over issues (and she's not always wrong on this). With Mary, sometimes it "if only".
In the past, Mary has said that she has alternative ideas or proposals and yet, they never materialize. She would assure me she had a plan and I never heard from her again. I know she loves and cares for her district but at this point, it's not enough anymore. We need someone more effective on the Board. I honor her service to Seattle Public Schools but we need a more forceful advocate to sit on the Board.
What would make a Board Director "effective"
(and what effective should they have?)
She often laments not having more time to go over issues (and she's not always wrong on this). With Mary, sometimes it "if only".
In the past, Mary has said that she has alternative ideas or proposals and yet, they never materialize. She would assure me she had a plan and I never heard from her again. I know she loves and cares for her district but at this point, it's not enough anymore. We need someone more effective on the Board.
For future election cycles: I don't know Peter well enough to say the same as the comments about Mary...but I'll be doing some digging on his effectiveness. My impression is that he needs to "step it up."
Sherry is responsive and asks good (and getting noticeably sharper and better) questions of staff during public meetings. (Hey, she looks speakers in the eye and listens to all three minutes of each person's testimony and that's more than I can say about others at the Head Table.) Generally, though, she votes as staff recommends. Would like to see more public counter-proposals out of her. NE's issues are hers too. My Jury of One is out there too.
Steve is out in the community a ton...but on both the Cooper closure and Denny/Sealth issue his engagement process was publicly bumpy, and both of his votes were controversial. Pragmatically, he's at risk of losing his seat "next time" if only because the issues in West Seattle have publicly put significant pieces of the population on the "losing" side of votes.
Then, you have others who want more than modest oversight and feel the Board is there to represent the people who elected them in a more personal manner.
And there's the rub. What makes a good Board member to you might not be what I seek.
One thing for me is that I no longer believe that being bright and having more than a passing interest in the district is enough. No more "on the job learning". I don't expect everyone to be able to know every program or every school but you cannot come in and not know certain things.
For example, if I were asking questions of the candidates, I'd ask a few litmus ones like:
Name the 3 parts of the Advanced Learning program and describe one part.
What are BEX and BTA?
What is the difference between AP and APP?
Name the schools with language immersion programs.
I also think a commitment to be accessible (answer e-mails or have a weekly or monthly meeting) is important.
This is just off the top of my head.
For me, an effective Board member is one who can influence their Board colleagues and the staff. They would have to influence the other Board members through a logical argument supported by facts. They would have to influence the staff through patience and resolve.
i'm not saying she didn't truly believe what she was saying when she said it - i'm saying she had many opportunities to help shape the plan, including meetings with staff and sup't, and if she didn't use them to communicate or get what she wanted, that's her issue and noone else's.
in addition, i've heard her say stuff that i could never understand, e.g., martin luther king elementary was never given a chance/didn't have enrollment because of the size of the reference area it had...?
because there was space available in that school, anyone in the city could have gone there (and several outside the city did) - and anyone from the cluster > 1 mile away from the school could have had yellow bus transportation to boot.
i'm left with 1) she knew that and said what she said anyway because it played well with the followers, or 2) after 2+ terms on the board, she still didn't know that.
either one is disquieting.
We are mostly concerned that MB didn't do more to stop the wrong-headed APP split. Voting against it really isn't enough especially when you know you don't have the votes. I feel that director Carr and others did more to give a voice to our concerns than the one voted onto the board to represent us.
I sent Peter a heartfelt email explaining our situation. I told him how we can't get into our neighborhood MS, Eckstein, and that we were assigned to JA and were willing to make the best of it, until we found out a few days later JA might be dismantled. I told him that I am more than willing to give JA a try, and work hard to build a strong program, but need to know that JA has the support of the district before I invest in the school. I told him that I can't and won't commit to a school that the district won't commit to. And I let him know that it would be a tough decision, but if the district didn't make a solid decision regarding the future of JA one way or the other, by Sept 9 (first day of school) that I would have to send him to Shoreline.
I received a 2 sentence reply from him last night that basically said sorry you feel you have to leave SPS, and best wishes to you in Shoreline.
So I sent him this email:
I wonder what you would do if it were your child that couldn't get into his or her neighborhood middle school? I wonder what you would do if your child was assigned to a brand new k-8, where you couldn't meet the teachers or see the classrooms? A school that had two principals and now it has one. A school that was supposed to be 500 students with a strong middle school, but instead only has 300 students, and only 100 in middle school. And what would you do if one week after you learned you were assigned to this new school that it was already in threat of being dismantled?
Saying "I'm sorry you feel you must leave Seattle Public Schools" doesn't help, and is not what I wanted to hear from a board director.
I voted for you and trusted that you would speak for the families of this district.
What I want to hear from you, for once, is your position, and how you plan to work to fix this situation. What you will do as a board member?
That is what I would like to hear, instead of an apology and best wishes in Shoreline.
"The board wanted to open a K-5 and a MS a year ago, staff was unwilling to discuss opening a school while also closing them in Central and South."
The comment above comes from a Board member's response to a request sent by Deirdre F to the Board, asking them to support JA K-8...
IS THIS FOR REAL - the Board wanted to open a K-5 and a MS in the north end a year ago and the Staff didnt want to talk about it???
Who serves whom here? This is a case of the tail wagging the dog...
Why didnt the Board stand up to the Staff and insist, especially as we parents presented plenty of verifiable data about the need in this area of the city?
Is this enough for a recall, on the grounds of malfeasance?
(and thanks for researching these folks! Good work!)
The guy sounds like a real go-getter, taking lemons and making lemonade down there in that unfunded rural town.
Of course, the story also brings up issues about Teach for America: Relatively untrained teachers (I mean, clear the table of paper before using flame for science! but good for him for using flame for science!) and also they are only there for a short time before they're pulled out. How about a program that actually gets teachers into those (these!) schools for the long haul?
But a good story. Not saying he'd be a good Director, but it appears that he's quick on his feet and an inspiration to the students he had down there....
How can any school board director be effective if this cannot be their full-time job.
I say, fire or remove 6 or administrators down at the Stanford Center, pay those salaries to school board directors, so they can quit their money-making jobs, do school board full-time with pay, and then we may get a board that can do the work that we all need.
they get WAY more than 3000....I think it's 4000!
Yes, pay would help (if in fact they quit their day job to free up time)
As would a staff of researchers to help them muddle through the mounds of action, policy, nuance and minutiae...
As I have said before, I think we would be better off with an elected superintendent and an appointed Board. Much of the problem is that the public accountability point - the Board - is not a point of much actual authority.
In many school districts, this is still the case. That's why the legislature won't get in any hurry to reform how school boards work - because this particular problem is limited mostly to large urban school districts.
Charlie? Can you make that commitment?
First, I really would like to see north-end elementary APP in a north-end location.
Second, would this commitment allow NOVA or the SBOC to spend some time at an interim site while Meany is renovated - as the District promised the SBOC they would do? Even if that were not a violation of the commitment, I'm not entirely convinced that this co-location will work out.
Third, I don't like Van Asselt at the AAA. I'd like it to go back to Van Asselt. We don't need two attendance area elementary schools three block apart (Van Asselt and Wing Luke), we do need an elementary school near New Holly, and it is a waste of a building configured as a K-8 to use it as a K-5.
Would this commitment preclude the re-opening of a renovated Genessee Hill or T T Minor?
Would this commitment prevent any changes at Hawthorne, that got EBOC students? Would it preclude changes at Leschi that got a Montessori program? Students from Meany, AAA, and Cooper went to a number of schools. Would this commitment preclude changes at all of them? Would the commitment forbid changes at Aki Kurose because they were impacted by the closure of AAA?
I think instead that I could make a commitment not to capriciously mess with student assignments, to strive to keep communities intact, to be sensitive to the impact of changes in program placement, to work to provide net benefits for every student and family, and to mitigate the damage to every extent possible.
Greg Wong and Bookda Gheisar have withdrawn from the race in District 7.
Also, Charlie Mas and Betty Patu received a dual endorsement from the 37th District Democrats in the District 7 race. Mary Bass received their endorsement for District 5.
Andre