Hey, A New School Board Candidate Forum (Finally)
I found a candidate forum (just when you thought we'd just quietly mark our ballots and call it a day).
Tuesday, September 29th, 7:00 – 8:30 pm
GHS PTSA Candidate Forum, Garfield High School
Now, I can find no real info on this forum (I got this from Kay Smith-Blum website) and it is coming up soon. I'll try to find out more.
FYI, if you are interested, Kay's website does have some updates. I can only say she'd be a miracle worker to implement all the initiatives she posts. It's a little unclear what her main focus would be. Again, I wish she was running for public/private partnership czar and not School Board.
Meanwhile, Mary Bass, Betty Patu and Wilson Chin have no updates or calendar events available. (Kay's calendar does also include all the house parties and gala events she will be at in case you want to attend.)
Also, on Seattle Channel there are interviews with all four candidates. I highly recommend you watch them.
In the Bass/Smith-Blum interview, both women came off well. Mary was pretty impressive in explaining herself (although she didn't get asked about the difficulty of reaching her in any meaningful way). I have to be frank, though. Kay was asked about her many ideas and how to get them implemented. I am quite surprised how easily she thinks things can happen.
She said, not once but twice, that money can be reallocated right now. She says we could reallocate money right now for early childhood education and that we could just hire a language teacher for each elementary school and extend the day. With what money? Her answer to that is somewhat breathtaking in its simplicity. She says that of a $550M budget that we cut 10% (she says she knows as a business person it can be done - well, in the public sector that's probably true but much harder). Then, she said the budget gap is $24M and that leaves us with about $26M that could go to fund her new programs. And, that with the money from some programs in the Families and Education levy (which she said could find "other revenue streams"), there's more money.
I'd like to see her tell that to the Superintendent and staff. I'd like her to tell the people who programs that are part of the Families and Education levy how they find these new revenue streams. Look, I have no doubt that we could forge more public/private partnerships but for any new program to work there has to be a long-term vision and long-term funding (Mary said this and I agree). Even the New School Foundation has a deadline for funding South Shore.
There was an odd moment when the host of Seattle Inside Out, CR Douglas, asked Mary about her endorsements and said that James Kelly, the head of the Urban League, hadn't endorsed her and endorsed Kay. Mary smiled and said he had never endorsed her before and she hadn't asked for his endorsement this time. I found this weird because it almost seemed like Mr. Douglas thought that Mary, as a black candidate, should have had the endorsement of the Urban League president. I don't follow this line of thought and I believe Mary handled it well. (Additionally, Mr. Kelly is a somewhat controversial figure and I have to wonder about wanting his endorsement.)
As for the interview with Wilson Chin and Betty Patu, all I can say is that the Southeast lost and lost big time when Charlie Mas didn't clear the primary. They both gave the most bland, banal, lackluster answers I have ever heard. The only real thing I got from it was that Betty agreed with some of Dr. Goodloe-Johnson work but not all of it and Wilson said that Dr. Goodloe-Johnson admits mistakes. I'm not recalling when Dr. Goodloe-Johnson has admitted a mistake but I could be wrong. I think Charlie is right on who to vote for here; if you want someone like Mary Bass (although likely not as well-versed as Mary), vote for Betty. If you want someone like Cheryl Chow, vote for Wilson Chin (although I like to think he's not quite as stubborn in his positions as Cheryl but with these answers, who knows?).
Tuesday, September 29th, 7:00 – 8:30 pm
GHS PTSA Candidate Forum, Garfield High School
Now, I can find no real info on this forum (I got this from Kay Smith-Blum website) and it is coming up soon. I'll try to find out more.
FYI, if you are interested, Kay's website does have some updates. I can only say she'd be a miracle worker to implement all the initiatives she posts. It's a little unclear what her main focus would be. Again, I wish she was running for public/private partnership czar and not School Board.
Meanwhile, Mary Bass, Betty Patu and Wilson Chin have no updates or calendar events available. (Kay's calendar does also include all the house parties and gala events she will be at in case you want to attend.)
Also, on Seattle Channel there are interviews with all four candidates. I highly recommend you watch them.
In the Bass/Smith-Blum interview, both women came off well. Mary was pretty impressive in explaining herself (although she didn't get asked about the difficulty of reaching her in any meaningful way). I have to be frank, though. Kay was asked about her many ideas and how to get them implemented. I am quite surprised how easily she thinks things can happen.
She said, not once but twice, that money can be reallocated right now. She says we could reallocate money right now for early childhood education and that we could just hire a language teacher for each elementary school and extend the day. With what money? Her answer to that is somewhat breathtaking in its simplicity. She says that of a $550M budget that we cut 10% (she says she knows as a business person it can be done - well, in the public sector that's probably true but much harder). Then, she said the budget gap is $24M and that leaves us with about $26M that could go to fund her new programs. And, that with the money from some programs in the Families and Education levy (which she said could find "other revenue streams"), there's more money.
I'd like to see her tell that to the Superintendent and staff. I'd like her to tell the people who programs that are part of the Families and Education levy how they find these new revenue streams. Look, I have no doubt that we could forge more public/private partnerships but for any new program to work there has to be a long-term vision and long-term funding (Mary said this and I agree). Even the New School Foundation has a deadline for funding South Shore.
There was an odd moment when the host of Seattle Inside Out, CR Douglas, asked Mary about her endorsements and said that James Kelly, the head of the Urban League, hadn't endorsed her and endorsed Kay. Mary smiled and said he had never endorsed her before and she hadn't asked for his endorsement this time. I found this weird because it almost seemed like Mr. Douglas thought that Mary, as a black candidate, should have had the endorsement of the Urban League president. I don't follow this line of thought and I believe Mary handled it well. (Additionally, Mr. Kelly is a somewhat controversial figure and I have to wonder about wanting his endorsement.)
As for the interview with Wilson Chin and Betty Patu, all I can say is that the Southeast lost and lost big time when Charlie Mas didn't clear the primary. They both gave the most bland, banal, lackluster answers I have ever heard. The only real thing I got from it was that Betty agreed with some of Dr. Goodloe-Johnson work but not all of it and Wilson said that Dr. Goodloe-Johnson admits mistakes. I'm not recalling when Dr. Goodloe-Johnson has admitted a mistake but I could be wrong. I think Charlie is right on who to vote for here; if you want someone like Mary Bass (although likely not as well-versed as Mary), vote for Betty. If you want someone like Cheryl Chow, vote for Wilson Chin (although I like to think he's not quite as stubborn in his positions as Cheryl but with these answers, who knows?).
Comments
Melissa, you spend a great deal of time criticizing Kay for what you perceive is a lack of understanding of the budget process. But what you consistently leave out is any form of condemnation for Mary’s failure to fully grasp the POLICY process, which one would think is a bit more important.
The overall logic of the Mary supporters really doesn't make any sense (at least for those posting on the local blogs and newspaper websites). I have followed politics for a long time, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone support one candidate by blaming the rest of the body they sit on for that candidate’s failures. I find it very telling that the every single vote Mary boasts about was a “NO.” Sitting on school board has to be about more than simply voting correctly, as some of you seem to claim Mary does. Being an effective policymaker is about having ideas of your own and following through on them. Voting “NO” as often as she does is nothing more than a simple sign of complacency.
Melissa comes down extremely hard on Kay for what can essentially be characterized as over-ambition. And yet, in this crucial time for Seattle Public Schools, I cannot think of anything that we need more. Having a variety of grand plans is not the weakness of Kay’s campaign; it is its strength. Maybe she won’t be able to succeed in every aspect right away, but you can rest assured that she will spend every last ounce of energy she has trying to make her “bold” changes a reality for SPS
Mary, on the other hand, seems decidedly under-ambitious. Where are Mary’s bold ideas for the future of our children? What policies is she and has she been working on? What has stopped her from bringing those plans to fruition in her first two terms? If Mary really is the voice of reason on the current school board, then where are her reasonable solutions to the wide variety of problems that plague our school district?
I went to almost every candidate forum during the primary season and I still haven’t heard a single tangible or even unformed policy idea from Mary. Then again, those forums tend to provide only a brief period for answers, so I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and take a thorough look at her website (www.marybass.com). Under her “Issues & Ideas” section, she gives her brief stances on five topics. But, far from the math curriculum or lack of funding for the arts, Mary discusses taxes, homelessness, healthcare, and LGBTQ rights. Of course, these are very important issues. But they are completely irrelevant to her position on the school board. With the exception of a brief statement about the school closures, Mary has absolutely NOTHING to say about how to address the issues facing our schools. Let me repeat that… she has almost NOTHING to say about the position she is running for, a position she has held for the last 8 years. No wonder she votes “NO” a lot.
I think it is important to emphasize that this is not a personal attack against Mary. She has served her district to the best of her ability and I greatly respect her for that. Instead, this is simply an attempt to point out what no one on this site, or any other, seems willing to say. MARY DOES NOT PRODUCE THE RESULTS THAT WARRANT REELECTION.
I wholeheartedly welcome debate on this issue. But please, PLEASE, don’t come back by repeating your earlier argument’s about Kay’s potential budgetary overreaching. And don’t blame the rest of the board for Mary’s inability to get the results she desires. That argument merely shows how ineffective she has been at garnering support for her “voice of reason.” Instead, lets make this conversation about what the race ought to be about: the future of our children and which candidate has the tools, will power, and track record of success to achieve the RESULTS that we desperately need for the children of our great city.
I have never blamed any Board that Mary has sat on. My consistent criticism of Mary is that she is ineffective (go back and check). I think Kay's major problem is overreach and believing that there are simple answers to complex questions.
That said, Kay would likely do a good job as a Board member. I think she will certainly find some harsh realities to the job she assumes should she be elected.
I think I have been equally hard on both candidates.
I would want someone with some real education experience - teaching on the ground, or understanding of different pedagogies, working with diverse cultures, who has had kids go through SPS so understands the ramifications for kids and families of every decision made/implemented, who can hold an individual face in their mind when they are making decisions on behalf of the kids in the District, who steps out of the box of what education is today/where its headed (thank to Broad/Gates/Duncan et al) and is willing to work to change that, or at least hold the line ...