Tweets from Press Conference

Kyle Stokes ‏@kystokes 1h1 hour ago

“It’s a balancing act,” says @seapubschools’ Jacque Coe — says there are schools that beat enrollment projections and in need of teacher.

Kyle Stokes ‏@kystokes 1h1 hour ago

“These are not cuts. No one is losing their job,” said @seapubschools spox Jacque Coe of impending teacher shuffle. #waedu

Kyle Stokes ‏@kystokes 1h1 hour ago

Why not allocate teachers conservatively to avoid cuts? @seapubschools says that's logistically tough. Adding teachers also disruptive.

West Seattle Blog reporting:

Coe says they’re “moving less than 1 percent of teachers,” and that these are “not cuts,” no teachers are losing their jobs. Teachers will be “moved to positions of highest needs” – if one school has less enrollment, they’re being moved to one where “children have a need for a teacher because of class sizes … it’s a balancing act … it occurs in every district around the state.” 

Class sizes?  Again, the district should, within a week, tell us the class sizes in every building so we can all contrast and compare.

Herndon:

When we’re talking about the overall class ratio .. there’s going to be some variation from school to school.”

Last year, more than 300 students opted out to other districts, Herndon said, this year, more than 1,000. But, he says, they don’t know why those parents opted out. 

Coe: 

She says this was “earlier notification” than in years past. 

She says that they don’t want to slow down the process, because “waiting (longer) will be just as disruptive.”  

Asked again why they don’t have a list of schools that are losing and gaining teachers, Herndon said, “Because we’re still working through the process.” He also said they’re trying to work toward “the least disruption.” Asked how these moves save money, Herndon says, because if they’re moving a teacher from one position to another, they wind up with one position instead of two. The number that’s been circulating, 25, they say, is accurate so far as they know. Coe says she’s hopeful we’re going to have a list “soon.” 

She says almost every elementary school has “an extra teacher” at their building, “but that’s not enough.” Friday, she says, is when they “should know all the staff who are being moved … but it’s still a very fluid process.” The deadline for changes to be in place is October 26th.

Coe says that “private funding” (like the Alki Elementary fundraiser, though it wasn’t mentioned by name) “lets the legislature off the hook” and they would “encourage parents to talk to their state legislators.” 

Asked about the letter that legislators sent to the district asking them to hold off on these changes, Coe says, “When last I checked, the Supreme Court was waiting” (for legislators to fully fund education). She reiterates that it’s not responsible to “dip into reserves.”

I know that Jackie Coe is new but the DISTRICT is also being left off the hook for basic education funding via massive PTA spending on staffing.