Seattle School Board Meeting, 10/12/22, Part One

There will be two parts to this report on the latest Seattle School Board meeting last Wednesday because it was a five-hour meeting. I have to smile because, well, I thought the Board wanted shorter meetings. And what do they do? They are going to have Work Sessions in the middle of Board meetings. Agenda (includes Work Session on the Budget documentation).

This positioning of the Work Sessions does several things, none of them that would benefit the public or parents.

1) As I stated above, it's gonna make ultra-lengthy Board meetings at least once a month and I can only think of one person who would stay for that (besides me). That would be uber district-watcher, Chris Jackins.  This Work Session came before the Intro and Action items so that anyone who might want to hear the discussion of the sole Action item (the amended calendar for this school year) and the discussion of the Intro/Action of the School Board Director Redistricting Plan as well as the discussion for the Intro for the new Student Outcome Focused Governance plan, would probably miss it. 

2) Staff only has to stay for one long day for Board meetings. Otherwise, if you have separate Work Sessions, then staff has more long days in the month. I can understand that desire on the part of staff to not have late days but again, how is this helpful to the public and parents? Could the Board not put the Work Sessions at the END of Board meetings rather than the middle? Seems odd.

3) It also may scare off any regular media that might want to cover these issues because they have deadlines. 

Here's how it went:

• The Superintendent was his usual bland but perky self. He mentioned the "journey" that he and the Board are on for Student Outcome Focused Governance. He mentioned some interim metrics and I look forward to hearing about these which I'll be writing about in Part Two. But specifics? Nope.
• I wish Board members who do not attend the actual meeting would identify themselves before speaking. Also, if they have a dog or small kids, it might be worth being aware how much noise that can be if you are speaking from home. I won't name names this time but I hope that director sees this. If you have to stay home, at least be professional about it.
• Chris Jackins made a couple of interesting observations during Public Testimony. He said that it seemed odd that the district is making the choice to totally replace buildings instead of modernizing them (he was speaking of Mercer Middle School). He also said that it looked like the Madison Middle School field project looked to benefit adults who use it at night more than the actual students. 
• Yet another Montlake resident, Jessica Whitsitt, came forward to decry the expansion of the Montlake building from about 300 students to 500 students. Why does every elementary remodel need to fit 500 students? She said the new design would take up 57% of the lot versus the current 33%. The playground will shrink by half. So more students and less playground...in elementary? Sure, that makes sense.
• Parent Robyn Reed really laid into the Board about the revised calendar. She had many good points including national tests like IB and AP that have to happen at certain times. She also noted that it is likely many parents may have made summer plans and will take their kids out a week early at the end of the year, especially given that is likely to be filler time for both students and teachers. She asked why the problem couldn't be solved by shaving off days from Winter and Spring Breaks. (Clearly, that's a contractual problem but it wouldn't seem impossible.) She also suggested starting school a week earlier. 
• A Sacjawea parent complained about how the third grade at that school is 40 kids with one teacher because of understaffing. The district's answer is for the school to create grade-level split classes. Gee, no work for school staff in doing that plus all the kids who suddenly have a new teacher. 
• Glad to see the district Archives named for its first (and long-time archivist), Eleanor Toews. She is a treasure and very helpful to me in the past.  

Work Session on the Budget

This was scheduled for 60 minutes but ran 30 minutes over. Staff consistently creates work sessions that run nearly an hour and seem to leave only a small cushion of time for director questions. This has gone on for years so it's baked in. So, if you see a Work Session on the Board meeting agenda, just know it's not going to be an hour.

Deputy Superintendent Rob Gannon is exceedingly professional. He stated that they had no solutions to the very real budget deficit but that "this is just level setting."

Superintendent Jones, like many a superintendent before him, said that the district does need to "tell our story" to stem the loss of students. He said that communities may be "unsettled" by some of the actions that may need to be taken. He said that they need legislative action on Special Education and transportation but that the district can't wait until the legislative session ends in April. (Apparently Representative Gerry Pollet has a plan to put forward on Special Education funding and I'll write a separate post on that.) 

Mr. Gannon said they needed the budget to be finished by May 1st and it will be adopted by the Board on July 5th. April 3rd is the displacement date but he said this is an annual event. 

Director Song Maritz asked about enrollment goals. Interim Budget director Linda Sebring said that the middle to the end of February is when projections come in. She said that key date is February 28th so the schools can start their budgets in March. 

Director Harris asked what the district will be doing differently this year in attracting more parents. She suggested "uplifting" smaller schools, PD for Enrollment staff and perhaps a "road map for each school's specialties. 

Jones jumped in and said he's on the same page and it was discussed at the recent Alliance for Education luncheon. And yet, he offered no ideas. He said the district has been "timid" in telling "our story." 

Director Rankin came into say how hurtful the word "displacement" is and is it a legal term? Sebring told her it was an internal description and Rankin said it was "negative and scary." As opposed to what? Laid off?

Head of Accounting, Amy Fleming, said that the district had to get school level expenditures to OSPI by November 5th. I found this interesting because I had never heard this before. I'll have to ask for that document.

New head of Operations, Marnie Campbell, took questions about enrollment. Director Rivera Smith asked a question about predictions and Campbell said there was an enrollment planning team that does the analysis. Harris asked about who replaces former head of Enrollment, Ashley Davies, and Campbell said that was under her wing. Harris asked about a demographer but the district only uses consultants. 

One interesting item is that the Oct 1 head count and the AAFTE (Annual Average Full Time Equivalent) numbers are not the same thing (see page 6 of the Work Session PowerPoint).  The latter number tracks changes through the year and the district is funded by the state on AAFTE.

Campbell explained that enrollment continues to fall but not at the rate it had been. She ventured that a falling birthrate AND parents not really knowing the district well were possible issues. 

President Hersey asked for a "grade band"chart to see where the attrition is happening most. He asked, "Should we be looking to communicate with families who have school-aged kids who left or new parents that we communicate to that SPS is a meaningful option?"

Director Harris spoke about the continuing gentrification of Seattle and that possibly being a factor.

Campbell said they are tracking largely at the 6th and 9th grades where you see a large amount of chance due to those being years when many students change schools.  She even suggested - gasp! - "exit interviews" with parents who leave the district. She said they needed to be "strategic and effective." 

Director Song Maritz asked about enrollment projections by school. Campbell said that is a "complex" questions. She said they have historical data for each school but they need data that is year over year to see historical declines. 

Fleming, in speaking about ESSER dollars, said that the feds have extended the time for spending from 2023 to 2024. Given the reverence that staff speaks about those dollars, they are going to stretch those dollars as far as they can.

Director Hampson expressed concern over keeping social worker/counseling positions. 

Sebring also pointed out some other costs like upgraded cleaning and air filters. How long will that go on and will those costs will make it into the General Fund rather than ESSER dollars. She also noted that the Special Education inclusion initiative has transition costs. 

Page 10 of the PowerPoint is an interesting one because you see $160M end fund balance from year before last. The district managed to get that a variety of ways. One was simply not having to fund transportation and nutrition because they were not providing them. So that money from the feds was banked. 

As I pointed out previously, staff used capital funds to pay for basic maintenance costs which should be coming from the General Fund. It was explained that the district found a legislative workaround so they might be able to do that one more year. Director Song Maritz said she would "be hesitate to bank on that."

I'll point out that TAXPAYERS did not see this explained when the district went to voters for those capital dollars. So do remember this for the next BEX or BTA levy - it's as I have stated for years and years. The district uses those dollars in near any way they want to and are not telling voters the complete truth when they ask for those dollars. I find that shameful.

Deputy Superintendent Gannon stated that they missed former head of Budget, JoLynn Berge, at this point. There was laughter all around; clearly she is missed.

He was also careful about the slide about the collective bargaining agreement with SEA. He said, "We made these choices and now we have to figure out how to resource them." 

Sebring noted that the district now has to pay for medical costs for part-time staff which is another expense.

The Board's economic stabilization fund is at $39M.  This fund is stated on page 10 as "School Board's reserve, currently 4% of the budget from 2020-2021. Director Hampson, ever helpful, asked Sebring, "So that's the massive petty cash fund?" I could feel Fleming, Gannon and Sebring wince. Sebring said that money is closely guarded and if a department or school comes forward to ask for help, they have to explain how they have exhausted all other possibilities. 

Gannon said there were no simple solutions to the current $48M shortfall. If the Board says to take the economic stabilization fund, it is gone and there is nothing for next year. 

Then there was an odd moment when Harris asked about enrollment numbers, one of which was 47,500 but there are more students than that so where is that revenue? There was silence and Sebring then said that they updated the numbers and "it's a complicated formula." Gannon then chimed in and said that 47,500 number was "incorrect" and that he had just said it "from memory." 

Really? This meeting is ALL about the money that comes from state funding for students enrollment and Gannon just came in with some number off the top of his head? 

Gannon went on to talk about how the district overspends on Special Education and Transportation versus what the state allots because they have to commitment to those efforts.  

He also said they have "no secret plan for program reductions." But he didn't say they weren't working on on, either. 

Hersey pointed out that Shoreline SD had this issue a couple of years back. Sebring said the answer was they took a loan for their next year's funds. Hersey asked if that came with Board input and Sebring said she had never been through that process.

Hersey said he thought the State thought that SPS overspends on Special Education and Transportation. He asked if the State is prepared to see SPS struggle without fully funding Sped and Transportation. 

He then said that there were probably just 20 people watching this meeting and that the community was going to be surprised when big cuts come. He then said,"A lot of us are not going to be here when that conversation comes up in 2-3 years and yet we are leaving this to them." I'm glad he is acknowledging that yes, there IS going to be change on the Board come November 2023 and maybe this current Board should not leave the hard conversation to those new Board members.

 He also noted that SPS is not famous for holding onto superintendents and that he hoped Jones would stay.

He said there needed to be an open and public conversation of the nature of the deficit and figuring it out. 

I think that would be great to have that conversation but the Board hasn't given much to public engagement except quick and dirty surveys or 1-2 meetings. That's NOT real public engagement. 

Of course, it would help if the major news outlets like the Seattle Times and KUOW would actually cover the school district happenings in any meaningful way.

Harris mentioned that former senior staff Stephen Nielsen had worked at Shoreline SD when they had budget woes and it might be worth contacting him. She said they "had to help Jones succeed." She finished by saying, "I'm terrified." 

Every single director had something to add at this work session except Director Sarju who seems content to sit and knit. She does it on the dais as well. I'm not sure I believe her heart is at all in this work.