Flimsy Community Engagement in Seattle Schools
Just to note, yesterday Director Vivian Song Maritz and Director Liza Rankin had a "community discussion facilitated by the SCPTSA about state legislative issues, the impact on the SPS budget and what it all means for our students now and into the future."
I had meant to tune in but had not registered and when I looked, SCPTSA closed the registration on Sunday the 26th for the meeting on Wednesday, the 29th.
I would suggest to directors that if they are going to allow any outside group to facilitate for them, there should be registration up to the time of the meeting (or at least up to the day before). I would also say that if they want to claim this as "community engagement," I would take issue with that.
I do not believe the meeting is available otherwise so we have no idea what Rankin or Song Maritz may have said about the budget. If anyone did attend, could you let us know what was said?
Comments
Such a limited gene pool breeds some scary creatures.I skip any SCPTSA event as needless District boostering.
Sorority Sisters
“The job of the school board is to represent the vision and values of the community. That is its one and only job. The job of the school board is to represent the vision of the community (What is it that as a community we want our students to know and be able to do?) and the values of the community (What are the non-negotiables that this community says must be honored in the journey toward accomplishing that vision?). It does not matter how the board is derived. It’s job remains the same. Whether its appointed or elected, the job of any school board is to represent the vision and values of its community, and I expect that of the elected board. And if it ends up being an appointed board, I would expect the same thing of them as well.”
He says this here in Seattle pretty often, but this specific quote is transcribed from the interview he gave yesterday about the Texas takeover of Houston ISD (around the 24 minute mark) available here:
https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/shows/town-square/2023/03/30/447853/education-reform-advocate-aj-crabill-on-how-school-boards-can-become-more-effective/
But our board doesn't genuinely engage with the Seattle community. Our district doesn't send out surveys. The district and the board don't know what we, the people of Seattle, want from our schools. And since they don't know what we want, they can't represent our vision or values.
Tweedledee and Tweedledum believe they were anointed by their city-wide election in 2019 and now wield a sacrosanct mandate. They think their views can be substituted for the views of residents and voters and citizens and parents.
Genuine community engagement is actually required to know what the community's vision and values are.
OK Where did he get that from because it's false.
The main JOBS of the board is to oversee the superintendent, approve the budget and spending and to set the vision and policies for the schools to follow. If the board wants to engage the community that's a bonus but to say it its only job is pure fraud.
getting wierd
We are also a city headed towards the path of places like Chicago and New York where the ruling party has given the school district over to mayoral control. The ruling party likes centralization of power, and the BruceBrentBrandon coalition gives them that.
And they are doing the community engagement that matters: playing to the old soup crowd, SCPTSA, certain non-profits.
SP