KUOW Interviews Seattle School Board Candidate in D1, 2023

 KUOW is interviewing candidates by district in the races for Seattle School Board. They are getting some illuminating answers that might be of interest to voters.

This round is for candidates in the District 1 race, Debbie Carlsen, Blaine Parse, Michael Christophersen, and Liza Rankin.

NOTE: These responses have been minimally edited to improve clarity and style. Christophersen did not submit answers to KUOW's questionnaire.

 Editor's note: I am going to pick out highlights for each question. Please go to the KUOW site for full answers. As well, kudos to KUOW for questions that don't exactly speak well of the current Board.

1) If you’re elected to the school board, what would be one of your top priorities and why is it important to you? 

Carlsen: The board should be able to explain the budget in a digestible way to the public, SPS families, and state legislators. To ensure our schools are fully funded, the board needs an independent party to examine the district’s spending, so we can show our state legislators that the state is not fulfilling its paramount duty of fully funding K-12 education. Because the district is not transparent with how it spends its dollars, many state legislators, even among the Seattle delegation, do not believe SPS is spending its money wisely. 

To help daylight the district’s spending, I will support a biennial independent audit of the budget that will be reported directly to the board. This independent budget audit would happen in a timely manner to provide the space for the board to analyze, ask questions, receive answers, and provide feedback to the district.

Parce: Community engagement, transparency, and accountability. I would also like to figure out why the district doesn't have longevity amongst the board and superintendents.

Rankin: My priority is equitable student outcomes. I will continue to prioritize eliminating barriers to education for marginalized students and families and provide direction to the district in policy that is based on the vision and values of our communities — of public schools that are safe and welcoming places where every child is meaningfully accepted and included, and has access to high-quality instruction that affords them the opportunity to graduate from high school prepared to pursue opportunities and interests of their choosing.

Oh look, it's the "vision and values" of the communities that the Board has NEVER explained how they know this and where that information came from.

2) Seattle school officials estimate they’ll save about $28 million by consolidating schools for the 2024-25 school year. How do you view this solution to the district’s continued financial woes? What other solutions should the district explore?

Carlsen states: Based on what happened during the last school closures and the negative impact it had on families and the district; school closures are the last option. The district hasn’t proven with the public how closing schools will save $28 million. 

She also mentions "a more proactive response to enrollment," advocating for the Legislature to expand the definition of basic education to include nurses, counselors, and social workers, so those positions can be fully funded, reducing the student-teacher ratio, and eliminating the special education cap.

Parse: "I would definitely say cut down at the headquarters is a first, minimize staff and utilize other buildings in the surrounding areas. This is how it was done before, and in some cases, it was the most beneficial. I also think there are other ways to train staff, and look at how we can increase productivity with current staff, among other things."

Rankin: "The number of students and schools in SPS has fluctuated since it was founded, with as many as 100,000 students in the 1960s and as few as 43,500 in the 1980s, when I was an SPS student. Since the state provides funding to districts on a per-pupil allocation formula, and SPS also allocates resources to buildings according to the number of students enrolled, school consolidation could be part of maximizing funding for student benefit by reducing the number of buildings they are spread out in. But SPS should explore a variety of possibilities."

Rankin tries a tactic that climate change deniers use -  saying that the weather has always fluctuated. In this case, she's talking about enrollment. She also doesn't mention any of these "possibilities."

 

3) Declining enrollment has fueled SPS’ budget issues in recent years. What should the district do to attract and retain students?

Carlsen: "Parents have communicated that they want smaller class sizes, expanded special education, safe schools, arts, music, sports, and adequate support staff. The district should launch a comprehensive campaign to talk about the high-quality education Seattle schools are offering. The district should aggressively explore more public-private partnerships regarding increasing preschool, child care, and after-school programs using school spaces. Providing more after-school options at schools is imperative for working families. The district should advertise what they offer, option schools, social-emotional learning, accelerated programming, and more in local online publications, with families and in communities.

 In order to better understand why families are leaving the district, they should seek out their feedback. "

Good and not-so-great here. The district does have a long-standing partnership with the City for preschool and indeed, continues to expand that program into more and more schools. But that does mean fewer spaces for childcare which is enormously important to families.  As well, not sure the district should advertise how they are stripping away at the highly capable program. 

Parse: "I could be wrong, but as I feel like the district is catering to a specific group of people and students. There is still the fact that the city is still segregated and put a focus on the highly capable cohort. As our families are not feeling the support they need for their students, they are moving to other districts/states and pulling students from SPS." 

I'm not sure exactly who or what she is speaking of but her last sentence is dead on. 

Rankin:  Declining enrollment is a trend across the country and is exacerbated in Seattle by the compounding impact of lower birth rates and lack of affordable family housing.

But not any fault at all of the district's? Sure. 

The district should focus on serving SPS students and families well.  

Not sure you can get more simplistic than that but the exodus from the district shows that is not happening. 

The district should collaborate with the city to align school capacity with increases in housing density and affordability, so that when student population increases as it is projected to, SPS is ready to welcome them — and not into overcrowded buildings or portables.

Wait, what? When did they project a student population increase of any notable size? And overcrowded buildings? Well, that IS what will happen because if you close schools, move those students into an already populated building and fill it to the brim, where would you put those new students?  And portable have ALWAYS been the first choice for extra students. It's almost like she doesn't know this district.

4) Some students and educators have been pushing SPS to require ethnic studies and Black history classes. How should the district address these concerns?

Carlsen:  "I believe that all students deserve access to ethnic studies, and it should be mandatory for all SPS students, no matter their race or socioeconomic status.  I believe that all students should be required to take at least one elective to graduate from SPS Liberatory Education classes which include Black and Filipino history classes. I would add an LGBTQ+ history class as well as other histories of marginalized communities to these elective choices."

Parce: "I think this is a major step in correcting the past's mistakes. Being able to identify is the greatest thing a young learner should be able to experience. Without teaching the whole history, we are just falsifying information. "

Rankin: "We need to commit district funding and resources to regular curriculum adoption and updates that meet the needs and honor the histories, contributions, and identities of our diverse student population and community. SPS should provide staff and educator access to professional development in individual content areas and in incorporating ethnic studies into all teaching, and seek feedback and input from students on the impact and their experience.

 

 

5) In the wake of the shooting at Ingraham High School last fall, concerns about safety in and around school buildings have grown. How should the district improve safety, and what role, if any, should police play?

Carlsen: "I do not believe the police have a role in schools. However, I do know schools have requested school security specialist presence, which I do support. School security specialists are professionals that build relationships with students and educators, de-escalate volatile incidents, and help create a positive school environment.

 I think there should be more mental health services available to students, social-emotional skills taught at all grade levels, an increase in stakeholder partnerships of violence prevention after-school programs and board advocacy at the state level for gun-responsible policies."

Parse: " I have been in schools that have had officers in the buildings. I have also experienced counselors that could mediate for schools. I think SPS can help create safer environments by being active in schools, listening to parents, and families. 

I think this tragedy was totally preventable, yet it still happened. Ingraham is a huge school, and do not put the blame on IHS staff entirely, SPS believes and puts forth all these policies and procedures, but what about "when/if" this happens — are we prepared and how to proceed? "

That last question is a good one. 

Rankin:  "The district should continue the work being implemented since 2020, including board-approved expenditure of converting all internal classroom locks, about 10,000 doors, to those that could be locked from the inside, upgraded main building entrances to secured buzzer entry with cameras, and the board-adopted School-Based Threat Assessment policy, which directed the creation of clear procedure and responsibility when a threat is made to a school."

"Police should serve as emergency responders; there is ample national data that shows armed police inside schools do not make schools safer."

I'm going to have to check that "since 2020" because my recollection is 2021. Plus, the district has more than enough capital dollars to get those locks changed a lot faster. Why isn't the Board pushing that?

 

6) District officials project only about 19% of Black boys in 7th grade are proficient or higher in math, and roughly a third of Black boys are proficient or higher in reading — meaning the district is not on track to deliver on its academic goals for the student group they say is “furthest from educational justice.” What specific strategies should SPS use to improve educational outcomes for Black boys and all students?

Carlsen: "We need to ensure that schools have reliable methods to determine if their strategies are working. Generally, the district strategies concentrate on ensuring teaching methods and the educational environment are culturally responsive to Black boys and students of color. A proven method of increasing academic success for all students is investing in one-on-one teaching or mentoring. I believe the district should invest more in math and reading mentoring programs or one-on-one tutoring that are culturally responsive for students furthest from educational justice and for all students who could benefit."

Good idea to try other methods of raising student scores and one-on-one tutoring is a great idea.   

Parse:  "This all starts again with the district holding community meetings that some of us have been through that should help shape the strategic plan for SPS and the Student Outcomes Focused Governance. This has been done before in previous years. There is no accountability in the district, and this is a never ending cycle."

Rankin's is a word salad that I'm not printing because it truly says nothing. One good question, though, is if the Board is tracking the Superintendent's work on this issue, why hasn't any kind of real feedback come about it? 

7) More students than ever are grappling with mental health challenges stemming from the pandemic. Should the district expand or in any way change its mental health service offerings?

Carlsen brings in a couple of groups in her answer which I like because it is specific to modeling how SPS can do better.

 The district must advocate for smaller student to school counselor, nurses, and social worker ratios. The Seattle Student Union set a great example of partnering with the City of Seattle for more mental health dollars to increase behavioral health therapists at Seattle middle and high schools. 

Parents must also be informed of resources they can access for their children. I randomly found out about mental health services for my child at a local PTA meeting. The district should create a guide to mental health for SPS families and students providing mental health services and other resources. This guide must be user-friendly like the Special Education Guide created by the Seattle Special Education PTSA.

Parse: "I think that since we are reviving from a pandemic, we should be looking at things lighter and focus on the well-being of our students as they are entering our schools and buildings. SPS says that the SEL is for the child as a whole, but remained focused on test scores."

Rankin: "Comprehensive support and implementation of practices that promote positive school culture, provide social-emotional learning at all grade levels, restorative practices, and access to a school counselor all have an impact on student mental health, and should be continued and increased. For more individual therapy and services, SPS should work with partners and providers to increase access for students at school, through school-based health clinics, community partnerships, and providing space for students to access telehealth appointments with a mental health provider."

 

8) What do you think Seattle Public Schools is doing particularly well right now? 

Carlsen: "I appreciate the district’s dedication to the Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) which incorporates academic growth with behavioral and social emotional needs. This curriculum is an evidence-based practice for early learning. I also appreciate the district’s commitment to teaching phonics to early readers using culturally responsive methods.

I appreciate the Black Lives Matter week where students learn more about African American communities and have deeper conversations about race. I highly recommend the developmental preschools Seattle Public Schools offers. My child benefited from this program and as a volunteer in my kid’s kindergarten class, I have seen firsthand the impact it had on my child’s academic success. I appreciate the evidence-based approach in teaching social emotional skills, and the practice of restorative justice in schools. I really support the work of special education educators in the school district and hope their support may increase.

Parse: I don't think they are doing anything particularly well.

Rankin:  "I think SPS is showing remarkable resilience emerging from a global pandemic with a number of challenges that would be hard individually — budget deficit, enrollment decline, increased gun violence, threats to public schools, education, and curriculum nationally, and adapting to the implementation of a board governance model that demands systemic change to improve student outcomes and increase board and district effectiveness — all at the same time."

And yet, SPS had a murder - gun violence - in one of its own schools. Hmm. 

"Every building I go into, I see hard work, dedication, and commitment to our kids and to the joy of learning. Our students, families, educators, and staff are the district, and we are showing our collective commitment to our students and public schools by working together to do very hard things because we know our kids and communities deserve it."

Analysis

I think if you read each candidates' answers, you get a fairly good picture of the director they would be. I think if you took the names out and asked someone, "who is the incumbent?" that it would be easy to pick out. Because Rankin had the smooth, polished answers of an incumbent but very few specific suggestions. 

Parse seems unprepared for this job but it's clear she has valuable experience in the district. 

Carlsen was the one with the most specifics and that's what I like.