Smith-Blum New School Board President
: From: Office of Public Affairs
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 7:04 PM
Subject: School Board elects new officers
Seattle School Board elects new officers
The Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors on Wednesday night elected the following new officers for the 2013 calendar year:
Kay Smith-Blum – President
Betty Patu – Vice President
Sharon Peaslee– Member at Large
Smith-Blum was elected by a 4-3 vote, with Directors Betty Patu, Sharon Peaslee and Marty McLaren voting for her election and Directors Michael DeBell, Harium Martin-Morris and Sherry Carr voting against. Director Carr was also nominated as Board President but her election was defeated by a 4-3 vote, with Directors Patu, Peaslee, McLaren and Smith-Blum voting no.
Both Patu and Peaslee were elected to their positions unanimously.
As Board President, Smith-Blum will preside at all Board of Directors and Executive Committee meetings and sign all papers and documents as required by law or as authorized by the action of the Board. Smith-Blum will also serve as the Board spokesperson. In addition she will be responsible for appointing committee chairs, and those appointments will be announced in January.
“It’s my opinion that a leader of any organization is only as good as their ability to listen, and I intend to do a great deal of that in this coming year,” Smith-Blum said.
Patu, the newly-elected Vice President, will serve on the Executive Committee and preside at Board meetings in Smith-Blum’s absence.
As Member-at-Large, Peaslee shall serve on the Executive Committee with the President and Vice President and shall preside at Board meetings in the absence of the President and Vice President.
The officers are elected for one-year terms and serve as the Executive Committee of the Board. The Executive Committee provides:
■ Leadership for the Board in the areas of government relations with national, state and local agencies
■ Coordination of the Superintendent evaluation
■ Board training
■ Development of the Board’s annual work plans, agendas and schedules
■ A forum as the sounding board for the Superintendent and the executive management team
The new officers will assume their duties after the board meeting on Wednesday night.
More information on Board leadership, activities and upcoming events can be found online here<http://www.seattleschools.org/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=189059&sessionid=7c346566a982e4ec2bddb2c65c88414e&t> or call the School Board Office at (206) 252-0040.
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2012 7:04 PM
Subject: School Board elects new officers
Seattle School Board elects new officers
The Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors on Wednesday night elected the following new officers for the 2013 calendar year:
Kay Smith-Blum – President
Betty Patu – Vice President
Sharon Peaslee– Member at Large
Smith-Blum was elected by a 4-3 vote, with Directors Betty Patu, Sharon Peaslee and Marty McLaren voting for her election and Directors Michael DeBell, Harium Martin-Morris and Sherry Carr voting against. Director Carr was also nominated as Board President but her election was defeated by a 4-3 vote, with Directors Patu, Peaslee, McLaren and Smith-Blum voting no.
Both Patu and Peaslee were elected to their positions unanimously.
As Board President, Smith-Blum will preside at all Board of Directors and Executive Committee meetings and sign all papers and documents as required by law or as authorized by the action of the Board. Smith-Blum will also serve as the Board spokesperson. In addition she will be responsible for appointing committee chairs, and those appointments will be announced in January.
“It’s my opinion that a leader of any organization is only as good as their ability to listen, and I intend to do a great deal of that in this coming year,” Smith-Blum said.
Patu, the newly-elected Vice President, will serve on the Executive Committee and preside at Board meetings in Smith-Blum’s absence.
As Member-at-Large, Peaslee shall serve on the Executive Committee with the President and Vice President and shall preside at Board meetings in the absence of the President and Vice President.
The officers are elected for one-year terms and serve as the Executive Committee of the Board. The Executive Committee provides:
■ Leadership for the Board in the areas of government relations with national, state and local agencies
■ Coordination of the Superintendent evaluation
■ Board training
■ Development of the Board’s annual work plans, agendas and schedules
■ A forum as the sounding board for the Superintendent and the executive management team
The new officers will assume their duties after the board meeting on Wednesday night.
More information on Board leadership, activities and upcoming events can be found online here<http://www.seattleschools.org/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=189059&sessionid=7c346566a982e4ec2bddb2c65c88414e&t> or call the School Board Office at (206) 252-0040.
Comments
Our district is leaderless.
Sign me,
-Counting on someone, anyone, to step up.
-IMHO
-Counting
His working relationship with the new board leadership will be more collaborative and less secretive/coercive.
Patu tells it like it is. She's worth 10 Sherry Carrs any day.
More Power to the Moms!
I think he is overwhelmed, and I know I am underwhelmed.
-Counting
He's earning more than she is.
-Counting
-IMHO
-Counting
(Actually, Goodloe-Johnson didn't do anything too visible her first year here (2007-08), but then, Broad- and Gates-funded ed reform-orama, and the rest is history.)
Or do you want him to come flying out the gate and randomly fire a popular principal like Interim Enfield did, only to have to retract that major gaffe after public outcry?
As for the new board officers, congrats to Smith-Blum and Patu.
DeBell's uncollegial reign is over, hurrah.
There appears to be actual animosity between DeBell and Smith-Blum. Carr and Martin-Morris don't appear to like Peaslee. And then there's Patu, who Carr, Martin-Morris and DeBell seem to barely tolerate. McLaren is out in the "wilderness of West Seattle" and in marching to her own drum doesn't appear to have much interaction with the rest.
Doesn't give me much hope in the board, frankly.
DeBell seems downright surly these days. Peaslee and Patu are often non-coherent in their board comments. Smith-Blum has an edgy know-it-all attitude that doesn't become her. Martin-Morris is more disengaged than ever - which is hard for him to do, in my observations.
Specifically it doesn't give me much hope that the thorny capacity and transportation problems can be solved, let alone more grand visions such as success of all students and inclusiveness of community.
EdVoter
As for Banda, we're already seeing an individual that desires authentic community engagement. Smith-Blum has always been responsive to community needs.
Smith-Blum has the ability to maintain strong boundaries with outside groups. Certainly, this is a welcomed change.
Seems the desire for transparency went a long way in getting Smith-Blum elected as president.
Smith-Blum does not suffer fools and has little tolerance for fiscal irresponsibility or mismanagement.
I strongly suspect we'll be the usual suspects heading to the newspapers to intimidate, coerce and unfairly discredit Smith-Blum. This is a shame.
I expect him to have some plan, some idea of how to implement it, and the ability to clean up the mess that is JSCEE.
When are going to start demanding that central office start doing its job?
-Counting
I watched the whole Business Reformers vs. Community lineup in the last election and silently predicted exactly what I'm seeing. Board members and their backers still bitterly locked in a philosophical tug of war while the basics of day to day operations of the district continue to crumble. I don't blame Banda. He's too new. But I am both fed up and troubled by the board and their backer personalities that get in the way of practicalities.
I say board backers because their personalities seem part of the problem too. This is a specific shout out to the Reformer Crowd behind DeBell and Carr and Martin-Morris. Wayyyyy to much about their own egos and their causes/grants. Wayyyy too little about helping the district to run.
Meantime my students and neighbors are drowning in district doo-doo. Not a pleasant picture.
EdVoter
And he has said that he plans to address the weak math curriculum in the district.
When selected, he indicated that he didn't plan to initiate a whole lot of new churn for the district straight off the bat. He knew we'd all been through enough of that these past four years. Good for him.
How do you know, Counting, all that he is and isn't doing?
Yes, there are changes and appointments that need to be made and addressed, and soon. But I'm willing to give him a chance.
I find it odd that a number of commenters here are lamenting a supposed lack of leadership in the district on a thread that announced that Smith-Blum has replaced DeBell as board president. -- Is that who you really looked to for leadership?
-Counting
My impression of Banda is that he is wisely taking in all that he can in terms of Seattle, its culture, its communities and its students.
It's a wise and prudent approach that will put him in good stead in the months and hopefully the years to come.
Dora
-Counting
I've seen KSB micro-manage, obstruct and divide. I haven't seen her lead and I haven't heard from her a reasonable plan for getting things on the right path.
-Counting
happy constituent
This looks to me like the newly elected board members taking power from the older ones. DeBell and Martin-Morris, for example, oversaw and approved of Goodloe-Johnson hiring and unsuccessful policies, the absurdly foolish school closings that are a major factor in our current capacity issues, and the accounting and personnel issues that lead to the financial scandals.
Isn't this a good thing that Kay Smith-Blum and other more recently elected board members are taking more control?
The cronies getting paid in Ed, Director and HR positions are worse than "vacant" positions.
Again, somebody needs to "step up" and Banda has shown he's not up to it..........yet.
Maybe KSB can help him.
Also, I think Banda is a go slow guy. That our district has many problems that need to be addressed cannot be doubted but we had a go-fast superintendent last time. I'd rather have a careful person myself.
"I've seen KSB micro-manage, obstruct and divide."
Could you give specific examples?
I'm with David; a little surprised at this reaction especially given DeBell's actions over the last year.
I support President Smith-Blum and I am more than willing to give her a chance. And I am glad that the majority of the Board (who do have a majority) are willing to put their votes out there.
Frankly, where Banda was channeling DeBell or fear the paternalistic smackdown/media smear/career undermine, I hope he can now feel he can be his true self (and I trust his sincerity and caring for struggling students and families) and can feel secure in collaborating fully with the board.
I understand Countings anger over HR etc. However, I trust Smith-Blum's intolerance for mismanagement and fiscal irresponsibility will be an asset.
--Rome wasn't built in a day
I have in the past, written to several School Board members - KSB is the only one who actually responded in a thoughtful manner - and who regularily sends out email updates to those who have contacted her in past.
Time will tell if this change helps or hinders - I'm sure Mr. Debell will have a lovely career in politics elsewhere down the road - he lost my trust this year when his manipulative behavior came to light.
I think that's an excellent exec. comm lineup. Congrats to the directors on their new positions!
-sps mom
That Board was HORRIBLE! So this board, disagrees? Thank God!
WSDWG
However, maybe they should be called the "ladies who drink" crowd. I, for one (admittedly old-fashioned), don't think our paid employees (the now gone Enfield and Lora but still current Ed Director Dusseault) should be out drinking and talking district business at the same time. This also occurred during the TFA negotiations, where allusions to wine and drinking were prevalent in emails. Both the "ladies who lunch" emails and TFA emails are replete the same kind of banter that you might hear from college students who are planning their next bar excursion. The "ladies who drink" guests put way too much emphasis on the next wine bottle for my taste. That they involve the former superintendent and her deputies is very disturbing. These are public servants who should have a higher and different standard of behavior than a business person using these methods to network or make a deal.
Sure, there are always going to be some community "events" where alcohol is involved, but these emails continue to highlight exclusive dinners and meetings for drinks that both cause and add to the boundary and ethical issues that have plagued this district for so long.
Glad the Post Menopausal Posse seems to be more aware of basic propriety (and demonstrate more maturity in general). Thanks for continuing to shine light on these shadows, Mirmac.
--enough already
Director Patu, like many of us, is not a product of Western culture. She is from another culture with another epistemology that does not equate clear speach with clear thinking.
When I listen to Director Patu speak I sometimes have to actively remind myself not to allow my cultural bias to discount what she says because she doesn't express it fluidly, precisely, or cleverly.
-observer
Whoa, Nellie. This comment is highly disturbing on many levels. Arrogance dressed up in Philosophy 101 language brings to mind the Ann Richards comment--you can put lipstick on a pig but it's still a pig.
--enough already
-observer
happy constituent
Kay (and Betty) need to know that parents will back them as they try to reorient decision-making into a community-oriented, rather than edreform-oriented, endeavor. Will this be smooth and pretty? Doubtful (spoiled children are NEVER easy to deal with -- especially at first, and ed reform has acted like a spoiled child for a long time). The fact that the ed reformers view themselves as the grownups in the room will only make it harder.
Clear, calm resolve to bring good governance and management to Seattle Schools is what is required, by the board AND those who wish the district well.
"His working relationship with the new board leadership will be more collaborative and less secretive/coercive."
You bet! More power to the new guard!!
Enough already: both here and in the advanced learning thread you sounded very biased against smart people. You might think about that when you post put-downs like the one you gave Charlie.
My one wish? That Banda would decrease the size and cost of admin. It is way too bloated.
Patu cares about kids who rarely have advocacy. Eloquence often leads to pretty BS.
--enough already