Election Results
We'll post and update election results here.
Here's a link to the county's election results web page
Here's a link to the state's election results web page.
As of 4:30PM 11/4/10
Proposition No. 1 Seattle School District Supplemental Operations Levy
YES 101,463 65.18%
NO 54,198 34.82%
Referendum Bill No. 52
APPROVED 800,998 44.35%
REJECTED 1,005,282 55.65%
United States Senator
Patty Murray (D) 941,361 51.27%
Dino Rossi (R) 894,897 48.73%
Initiative Measure No. 1098
YES 641,716 34.85%
NO 1,199,822 65.15%
Here's a link to the county's election results web page
Here's a link to the state's election results web page.
As of 4:30PM 11/4/10
Proposition No. 1 Seattle School District Supplemental Operations Levy
YES 101,463 65.18%
NO 54,198 34.82%
Referendum Bill No. 52
APPROVED 800,998 44.35%
REJECTED 1,005,282 55.65%
United States Senator
Patty Murray (D) 941,361 51.27%
Dino Rossi (R) 894,897 48.73%
Initiative Measure No. 1098
YES 641,716 34.85%
NO 1,199,822 65.15%
Comments
Good luck!
121K is fewer than the number of votes cast in Feb 2010. I think it is about 33% of the ballots cast. That means we have a lot more ballots to count. Looks like turnout so far was 49% for Seattle.
Just to say, after seeing all the other results tonight, for me personally, it is great that Patty Murray won. I hope the Senate holds only because I cannot see how a Republican Congress and Democratic President, in this political climate, will get anything done. And we need things to get done in this country.
I am very surprised at 1053. We may see a lot of issues here for schools (also since it looks like 1098 is going down as well).
Thank you Dorothy, Melissa, Erik, Ken, Meg, and Charlie (hope I didn't forget anyone.)
Playing smoke and mirrors with the truth, just to win, may win the battle, but just like cheating on a test to gain a temporary pass -- in the long term real life will find the hollow and collapse it.
But *sigh* it would feel so much better to win the first time.
Still won't see necessary dollars in our classrooms.
This was our only hope at stopping silly reform efforts.
It looks like Boxer may hold on, Brown defeated Whitman, Oregon is keeping its senator and maybe governor. Washington looks like it may keep Patty Murray.
Gotta say, all those "right to hunt" measures in the South are interesting. Who knew it was such a burning issue?
Harry Reid may have pulled it off in Nevada.
They are asking for much better data than before, and the staff is STILL giving them the runaround for some of it! But the board is showing persistence and asking again. and again.
We showed what a grass roots campaign could do with NO money spent at all besides some photocopying and shoe leather.
Who wants to continue? Meet and strategize. Shall we plan to get together to continue? Partner with other true grassroots citizens? Parents Across America Seattle is having a meeting this weekend (I will be out of town unfortunately). Find them on Facebook for more information.
At the end of the day, no organization is perfect. They all have waste, and accountability issues. That doesn't mean you shouldn't fund them.
Seattle Parent
You're right, Seattle Parent, we parents should have absolutely no say in how our kids are treated by the School District. Who are we but a bunch of parents and teachers with kids in SPS? What do we know? We should just roll over and accept every bad decision they make and blindly vote for every levy, year after year after year, regardless of any incriminating evidence the state turns up in its audits, year after year after year.
All joking aside, if this is truly how you view the severity of the audit, SPS accountability and MGJ's performance as Superintendent, then you honestly are seriously out of touch with reality and have a pretty arrogant disregard for the genuine and well-founded concerns of an ever-growing number of SPS parents and teachers.
I have it as a WORD document, but I'll post a link to it as soon as it is uploaded to the District site.
They also have a message on their home page that says: "THANK YOU, Seattle! - Operations Levy passing at 64%"
Seattle Parent
"The results today demonstrate the continued strong support by the community for Seattle's students."
We'll see if this message changes to say that the results demonstrate support for the administration and Board.
Seattle Parent.
In the Seattle Times Michael DeBell is quoted as saying that the results show that voters have confidence in the school district.
Yes, I - and others - did seek a rebuke, and it appears that we didn't get it.
I guess that one got through to my thick brain.
The Anonymous postings last night & this morning signed as "Seattle Parent" are not from me...
I also think you should link to the election counts -- it's too hard to keep it accurate and up-to-date in a blog post.
I briefly toyed with voting against the levy, but in the end, I just couldn't support taking money away from the system when I thought most other tax initiatives were going to go the other way. So I voted for the levy. I'm not anti-district administration, but I think my vote is not an affirmation of the administration. I just didn't think that the failure is so systemic and broad that it would be wrong to give them money (say, as opposed to some countries in the developing world).
More important was the budget workshop. They were discussing a draft WSS "floor" document. Remember, when the WSS was implemented, that cut funds to schools and started the push to larger class sizes. That was before the economy crashed and the district had plenty of money. They simply did not choose to spend it on teachers and direct services to children (such as librarians and nurses and counselors).
Since implemented the WSS have been reduced each year, for a total of $10 Million in reductions. At the same time, overall revenue and spending in the district has gone up every year. The proposed new floor would restore $3.5M to the WSS. While Kay is furious that it doesn't include career counselors (actually does not restore anything to high schools and does not address CTE) a few others on the board are reluctant to even slightly suggest that they might like to commit to this restoration.
Meg pointed out to me that the superintendent's executive budget has increased more than $3.5M in the past few years. (did I get that right?)
How many PTAs have increased their fundraising in the last three years to cover more staffing due to WSS and the annual WSS cuts?
The Secretary of State's Web site has the statewide totals. I hope this is helpful.
--
Ivan Weiss
And Seattle Parent #2, I keep pestering people to run, only to be reminded that you need to be independently wealthy - not necessarily to fund the campaign but have that much energy directed away from earning an income for 4 years.
"All the complaints about the oh so horrid audit which turned up a few thousand here and there."
My mother used to say, "Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and be known a fool".
Melissa and Dorothy- Thanks for your hard work, dedication, passion and determination. Taking an unpopular stance on the Levy was difficult. Our district is in a better place because of it.
MGJ has been validated, by a long shot, and by parents.
You just go ahead and fool yourself into believing that if you want. If you think that those who voted for the levy were voting in support of Goodloe-Johnson, the evidence doesn't support that fairytale.
Twelve schools voted NO CONFIDENCE in the Superintendent. Hundreds of parents also signed a petition of NO CONFIDENCE in this Supt. The teachers' union voted nearly unanimously NO CONFIDENCE in her. She has failed to win or earn the support of the SPS community so she has failed in her leadership role. Throughout the District parents are dismayed or disgusted with her and the Board's 'leadership' -- from the "Capacity Management Plan" fiasco that closed or split schools to allegedly save money, only to reopen 5 schools at a cost of $48 mil (some of them half empty, while schools elsewhere in the District are stuffed to the gills), the poorly planned New Student Assignment Plan that has split siblings and overcrowded schools like Garfield and many others, the RIFing of counselors while the District keeps 110 "teaching coaches" on staff at $100K each, the costly and resource-draining, dubious $4.3 mil-plus MAP test bought from a company on whose board Supt. Goodloe-Johnson sat -- the list goes on and on. Also, if you think SPS parents aren't disturbed by Goodloe-Johnson's conflicts of interest -- her failure to disclose her connection to NWEA at the time the District decided to buy MAP from them (a breach of ethics that the state auditors also found serious enough to call out in their audit, and which resulted in Goodloe-Johnson having to resign from the Northwest Evaluation Association board just a few weeks ago), and her 'let them eat cake' attitude as exemplified by her $7,000 party on the District credit card at the same time she told all our kids that there was no money to spare and they have to make do with less in their schools, then you are deluding yourself.
Also, as Melissa has reported, the losses highlighted in the state audit add up to millions. This is serious mismanagement of public resources boarding on fraud.
Those who voted for the levy most likely did so because they thought they were supporting the kids, not because they think Goodloe-Johnson is doing a great job.
The main reason even more people aren't outraged by the Superintendent, Board and state audit is because the mainstream media is seriously underreporting it. One 11th hour exception though, is the Times' opposition to the levy, which was based on the state audit -- and apparently had to be spelled out to them by Dorothy and Melissa, to their great credit. I guess that makes the Seattle Times editorial board a bunch of "whiners" too by your definition.
I'll make the corrections.
Here is a link to the story in the Seattle Times about the levy vote in which Michael DeBell is quoted.
Dear SPS employees:
I am delighted that preliminary results show that the $48.2 million operations levy on yesterday’s ballot is passing at an approximate 64% approval level. To view and track results, visit King County Elections.
I am very grateful for this show of support for our students and our schools during these challenging economic times when many families are struggling to make ends meet. It is truly gratifying to know how much the community supports our schools.
We would not enjoy that level of support if we did not have a corps of dedicated and talented teachers, school staff and central staff. Families and community members see how much you care about each student, and about doing your job – whatever it is – with the best interests of our students as your guide.
Thank you – for creating a system that has earned this level of community support, and for all your efforts to share information about our levy with families and the community.
Approval of this levy means that we now have the funds to implement the historic contract with the Seattle Education Association. Among other provisions, the contract includes additional collaboration time for teachers; career ladder stipends to create mentor, demonstration and master teachers; stipends to high performing teachers who work in high needs schools; and a new evaluation system.
We also will be able to proceed - this school year - with curriculum adoptions and textbook purchase for elementary music, middle school language arts, and high school science and social studies. The plan is to take these adoptions to the School Board for approval this spring, so that professional development can take place this summer and materials be available in schools this fall.
As important, the levy will contribute toward partially filling the unprecedented budget gap that we estimate for 2011-2012. In the next several weeks, we will be asking you to provide input and feedback about next year’s budget via a web-based survey.
Once again, thank you!
Sincerely,
Maria L. Goodloe-Johnson, Ph.D.