Update 2: So I have seen a message from President Liza Rankin on why she, Director Evan Briggs, and Director Michelle Sarju backed out of this meeting. In a nutshell: - She says there was no organization to the meeting which is just not true. They had a moderator lined up and naturally the board members could have set parameters for what to discuss, length of meeting, etc. All that was fleshed out. - She also claimed that if the meeting was PTA sponsored, they needed to have liability insurance to use the school space. Hello? PTAs use school space all the time and know they have to have this insurance. - She seems to be worried about the Open Public Meetings law. Look, if she has a meeting in a school building on a non-personnel topic, it should be an open meeting. It appears that Rankin is trying, over and over, to narrow the window of access that parents have to Board members. She even says in her message - "...with decisions made in public." Hmmm - She also says that th
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Today, June 4, 2010, union members of Sanislo Elementary voted “no confidence” in the Seattle School District Superintendent. They approved the following motion by a vote of 18 to 1 with no abstentions.
Whereas the Seattle Schools Superintendent is a member of the board of directors on the Broad Foundation, which lobbies for and financially supports charter schools across the nation, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s strategic plan was drawn up by the McKinsey & Co, under boycott by SEA for their nation-wide advocacy for charter schools, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s performance management plan does not address the real needs of struggling students but instead holds teachers and schools accountable for issues beyond their control, and
And whereas the Superintendent’s performance management plan relies on MAP testing purchased from the NWEA, on which the Superintendent is a Board Director, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s “inclusion model” for special education and English Language Learning students does not provide sufficient resources to support these student’s needs without having reduced class size, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s poor judgment and handling of school closures, resulted in needless disenfranchisement of minority families and the overcrowding of schools, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s new student assignment plan will result in increased racial and economic segregation, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s poor management resulted in laying off then rehiring needed teachers, and
Whereas the Superintendent has failed to submit a certified Record on four grassroots-initiated law suits in violation of RCW 28A.645.020, thereby circumventing citizen’s rights to due process,
Be it resolved the union members at Sanislo Elementary School hereby declare we have NO CONFIDENCE in the leadership of Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson.
so, four schools now... Ballard, Sanislo, Schmitz Park and Franklin...
Wonder how many more no confidence votes it will take before the Board starts to have the courage to consider firing Maria Goodloe Johnson....
If you want change in the District, please keep the late afternoon/early evening of June 16th free and join us in a rally at the JSCEE before the Board meeting... more details soon...
We are also considering another event for July 7th...
We need to keep the momentum going, build stronger ties with all the interest groups (that means every single community in SPS, who all have long lists of complaints about MGJ and her conflicts of interest and incompetence)and stand together with one voice to effect the beginning of change in the District...
If you want to know more/be involved either individually or as a representative of your own interest group, please email me at metamind_universal@yahoo.com and I'll link you up...
Sahila ChangeBringer
member, Seattle Shadow School Board
This includes:
Whereas the Superintendent’s poor judgment and handling of school closures resulted in needless disenfranchisement of minority families and the overcrowding of schools, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s new student assignment plan will result in increased racial and economic segregation, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s poor management resulted in laying off then rehiring needed teachers, and
Whereas the Superintendent has failed to submit a certified Record on four grassroots-initiated law suits in violation of RCW 28A.645.020, thereby circumventing citizen’s rights to due process,
Be it resolved the staff at Schmitz Park, by majority vote, hereby declare we have NO CONFIDENCE in the leadership of Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson.
Link to document HERE
I think there are a number of somebodies who should keep a record of these. The SEA should track them. The Seattle Times should track them. The Board should track them.
Right now, I don't think they are being tracked anywhere but on local education blogs.
It reminds me of the old saying, that it's not the votes that count, but the person who counts the vote. If these are not being tracked by the Board then the Board can (and will) feign ignorance of them. If these are not being tracked by the Seattle Times then the general public will remain ignorant of them. If these are not tracked by the SEA, then other teachers will remain ignorant of them. People cannot act on facts unless they are aware of them.
5-26 ... Ballard 35-1
6-3 .... Schmitz Park 15-0
6-4...... Sanislo 18-1
The Franklin H.S. vote was a Straw Poll, perhaps they may have a more formal action in the next few weeks.
I would add that:
The Superintendent believes that exclusion of evidence is permissible and believes that a legal judgment that questions one of her outrageous recommendations is a violation of separation of powers. The Superintendent clearly sees herself in the role of dictator.
How anyone can find an Order of Remand that only requires the Board to remake their high school math instructional materials decision using "All the Evidence" as over stepping bounds and violating the Districts core powers and independence from the court system is just "Unbelievable".
Yet this is exactly what Goodloe-Johnson and those who back her appeal of the Spector decision in Appellate court believe. That would be Directors Sundquist, Maier, Carr, and Martin-Morris supporting her appeal-decision.
Don't think they are supporting it with their paychecks however .... No No it is the public that is raising funds to pay for the original lawsuit fees of $13,140 and now even more for this defense of the Spector decision in Appellate court.
Anyway, if anyone else in West Seattle is planning on these votes and happens to see this, I invite you to report it directly to us as well, editor@westseattleblog.com - we keep the same journalistic ethics we kept for a quarter-century in the "old media" world (actually, stronger since it's our own company). And you're of course free to report anything else of interest, not just this topic!
- Tracy Record, West Seattle Blog editor/co-publisher (and admirer of this site, which we often tout as the BEST coverage of Seattle Public Schools, period, in any medium)
to a printable flyer for the Rally at 5:30 PM on Wednesday June 16, to express dissatisfaction with the Superintendent and oppose any contract extension.
"I request that this message to the Board be included in the record relating to the Board's evaluation of Superintendent Maria Goodloe Johnson and to any subsequent decisions made by the Board as to her retention, renewal (if any) of her contract, pay rises and bonuses awarded (if any), AS PER RCW 28A 645.020
Directors - four schools now - Ballard, Sanislo, Schmitz Park and Franklin - have voted "no confidence" in Superintendent Maria Goodloe Johnson... here are the voting numbers and texts of the resolutions ...
1: Sanislo Elementary (18 in favour, 1 against, no abstentions)
Today, June 4, 2010, union members of Sanislo Elementary voted “no confidence” in the Seattle School District Superintendent.
They approved the following motion by a vote of 18 to 1 with no abstentions.
Whereas the Seattle Schools Superintendent is a member of the board of directors on the Broad Foundation, which lobbies for and financially supports charter schools across the nation, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s strategic plan was drawn up by the McKinsey & Co, under boycott by SEA for their nation-wide advocacy for charter schools, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s performance management plan does not address the real needs of struggling students but instead holds teachers and schools accountable for issues beyond their control, and
And whereas the Superintendent’s performance management plan relies on MAP testing purchased from the NWEA, on which the Superintendent is a Board Director, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s “inclusion model” for special education and English Language Learning students does not provide sufficient resources to support these student’s needs without having reduced class size, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s poor judgment and handling of school closures, resulted in needless disenfranchisement of minority families and the overcrowding of schools, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s new student assignment plan will result in increased racial and economic segregation, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s poor management resulted in laying off then rehiring needed teachers, and
Whereas the Superintendent has failed to submit a certified Record on four grassroots-initiated law suits in violation of RCW 28A.645.020, thereby circumventing citizen’s rights to due process,
Be it resolved the union members at Sanislo Elementary School hereby declare we have NO CONFIDENCE in the leadership of Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson.
2: Ballard High School:
I am going to show this per the statement issued to SEA by the staff at Ballard High School on May 26, 2010 (I will provide the appendices if you wish, or you could go here: http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2010/05/30/no-confidence-motion-whereas-dr-goodloe-johnson-superintendent-of-seattle-public-schools-is-an-ineffective-leader/ to read them for yourselves...
No-confidence motion (35 in favour, 1 against, 2 abstentions)
Whereas Dr. Goodloe-Johnson, superintendent of Seattle Public Schools, is an ineffective leader in the following ways:
Her conflict of interest in selling the school district an unproven standardized student assessment plan sold by a private corporation on whose board she sits, and her failure to disclose this conflict of interest to the School Board at the time of the sale.
http://www.publicola.net/2010/02/12/seattle-schools-superintendent-on-board-of-nonprofit-that-got-370000-contract-with-seattle-public-schools/
b) Her mismanagement of human resources in last year’s RIF included unnecessary layoffs, a mock “firing” of all members of our collective bargaining unit, and a retraction by certified mail that cost the school district $18,000.
c) Her contemptuous attitude toward public and staff. For example, at the March meeting of the School Board, she entered the meeting only after public testimony was concluded. For the May meeting to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week, she paraphrased a heartwarming but fictitious story about a fictitious teacher and fictitious student. Using this story was at best intellectually dishonest and suggests she knows no stories about Seattle’s teachers.
d) Sneaky accounting practices and diversion of resources to fund pet programs (Appendix 3)
e) Effective resegregation of SPS through redistricting and eliminating busing programs
f) Ineffective management of grants important for sustaining minority programs, particularly Native American programs (Appendix 1)
g) Widespread and growing public dissatisfaction with Seattle Public Schools leadership
http://www.cppsofseattle.org/News/May10/supt-surveyMay2010.pdf
h) Attempting to charge PTSAs for donating money (a way to divert donated money to pet projects)
i) Using outside consulting firms (at what cost?) to hire principals. By the way, this fancy firm advertises on Craigslist. http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/edu/1737149149.html
j) Non-transparent links and finances with Broad Foundation. See this link http://saveseattleschools.blogspot.com/search/label/Broad%20Foundation
Vis-à-vis Broad Foundation consultants working in-district.
k) Ineffective communications and an inability to develop consensus among stakeholders led to public relations debacle and messy withdrawal of the initiative to lower graduation GPA requirements
l) Failure of “Southeast Initiative” (Appendix 2)
m) Confused initiative to close schools led to extra expenses to reopen 5
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2009-10-21/news/seattle-schools-closing-one-day-opening-another/
n) An accounting system that can’t provide answers: “About $100,000 in equipment and electronics and as much as $500,000 worth of copper wiring and other assets are missing or were stolen from area schools, according to the State Auditor’s Office. Though district officials dispute the numbers, they’re unable to determine exactly what’s gone or put a precise value on the loss. A year after the copper wiring was stolen, the district says the cost is still “unknown.”
http://www.seattleweekly.com/2009-08-19/news/500k-in-stolen-school-supplies-and-no-report/
We, the teachers of Ballard High School, move to express our lack of confidence in her ability to move our school district, our teachers, parents, and students forward in a positive and equitable way.
3: Schmitz Park
Today, June 3, 2010, union members of Schmitz Park Elementary voted “no confidence” in the Seattle School District Superintendent. They approved the following motion by a vote of 15 to 0, with 3 abstentions.
Whereas the Seattle Schools Superintendent is a member of the board of directors on the Broad Foundation, which lobbies for and financially supports charter schools across the nation, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s strategic plan was drawn up by the McKinsey and Co, who advocate for charter schools nation-wide, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s performance management plan does not address the real needs of struggling students but instead holds teachers and schools accountable for issues beyond their control, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s poor judgment and handling of school closures resulted in needless disenfranchisement of minority families and the overcrowding of schools, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s new student assignment plan will result in increased racial and economic segregation, and
Whereas the Superintendent’s poor management resulted in laying off then rehiring needed teachers, and
Whereas the Superintendent has failed to submit a certified Record on four grassroots-initiated law suits in violation of RCW 28A.645.020, thereby circumventing citizen’s rights to due process,
Be it resolved the staff at Schmitz Park, by majority vote, hereby declare we have NO CONFIDENCE in the leadership of Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson.
4: From the Save Seattle Schools blog (Thursday June 3, 2010) Melissa Westbrook reported:
I was just told of a straw poll, not an official staff survey nor an SEA staff survey, but just a poll of Franklin High staff about Dr. Goodloe-Johnson's effectiveness as a superintendent.
27 Yes (no confidence)
1 No
2 Abstained
2 Blank ballots
Directors - how many more 'no confidence' votes and rallies, emails, phone calls, board meeting testimonies, surveys, media articles will it take before the Board starts to have the courage to consider firing Maria Goodloe Johnson? You have plenty of cause...
Sahila ChangeBringer,
member, Seattle Shadow School Board
Look for a contact renewal: Probably 4-3 or 5-2, depending on how DeBell votes.
How anyone can find an Order of Remand that only requires the Board to remake their high school math instructional materials decision using "All the Evidence" as over stepping bounds and violating the Districts core powers and independence from the court system is just 'Unbelievable'.
Well, this is probably from that crack legal team of theirs; you know, the one that lost the Supreme Court decision, and pays out millions in settlements related to lawsuits.
They continue to do nothing about the achievement gap size in mathematics and in fact toss legal fees into continuing it.
The ongoing thrust for educationally baloney is very sad.
SUPERINTENDENT'S CONTRACT EXTENSION
The School Board's considering extending Seattle Schools'
Superintendent Dr. Maria Goodloe-Johnson’s contract until 2013
Hasn't Dr Goodloe-Johnson done enough damage to our schools and children already?
COME TELL THE BOARD WE DON’T WANT HER HERE ANY LONGER!
WHEN: Wednesday, June 16, 2010 at 5:30PM
WHERE: Seattle Schools' Central Administration Building,
2445 3rd Ave. South, Seattle, WA 98134
The School Board meeting starts at 6:00 PM
As of June 4, 2010, teachers at Ballard, Sanislo, Schmitz Park and Franklin schools have voted NO CONFIDENCE in the Superintendent’s leadership.
This rally’s being organized by the Seattle Shadow School Board,
a loose coalition of parents from all of the major communities within SPS - general education, special education, APP, alternative/option schools, ESL,
Native American, Latino, African American.
Call 206 679 1738 for more information
http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/
http://www.petitiononline.com/S3B62010/petition.html
I am interested in learning how this ended up. I am a community member in Spokane WA and we are experiencing similar problems in our district. In fact, our superindent's behavior and ideas bear a striking resemblence to yours. Any input/advice would be greatly appreciated. Please email evgetthefacts@hotmail.com with any advice or information.