Seattle Times Endorses Christina Posten for D2
The endorsement was made yesterday in the Sunday Times.
Here's their reasoning:
What does Posten say?
Rivera Smith told the Times she would not support selling school buildings. Well, of course, not when they can be a cash cow for the district. All this remains to be seen but it would be folly for the district to sell any property right after the property gets closed.
Rivera Smith offered her clean energy resolution and the Times gave her due credit. But they imply that, given the current state of the district, they don't believe it will get done.
As I have stated previously, I can't really support either candidate. Both have lackluster websites and have said nothing specific about their focus. This race had only two candidates and so there are no primary results to compare. I think it's probably closer in D2 than in D1 where incumbent Liza Rankin has elevated her profile. Rivera Smith may not register with many voters.
Here's their reasoning:
In the case of Seattle Public Schools, board members oversee a gargantuan $1.2 billion budget, so they must be prepared to ask hard questions, demand accurate accounting and challenge the direction of district leaders — especially when student outcomes suggest all is not well.
For these reasons, the editorial board endorses Christina Posten, a former principal, for District 2, on the Seattle Board of Education. The incumbent, Lisa Rivera Smith, made it clear in an interview that she does not believe it is her role to get deep in the weeds of budget-scrutinizing, contract-negotiating or much else beyond broad policy oversight.
For these reasons, the editorial board endorses Christina Posten, a former principal, for District 2, on the Seattle Board of Education. The incumbent, Lisa Rivera Smith, made it clear in an interview that she does not believe it is her role to get deep in the weeds of budget-scrutinizing, contract-negotiating or much else beyond broad policy oversight.
There would have been a golden opportunity for the Times to ask Rivera Smith about SOFG (Student Outcomes Focused Governance) which Rivera Smith supports especially after this statement from her:
“We really rely on our staff to make judgments that are sound,” she said.
I'm with the Times - at this point, the district needs more oversight from the Board.
What does Posten say?
“We hear lots of beautiful words,” she said. “We need to see action.”
What did the Times like about Posten?
But Posten, a former principal at Whitman Middle School, conveys real passion about bridging the gap between conversations that take place in the abstract, at school board meetings, and the ways those decisions play out on the ground with actual kids.
Rivera Smith told the Times she would not support selling school buildings. Well, of course, not when they can be a cash cow for the district. All this remains to be seen but it would be folly for the district to sell any property right after the property gets closed.
Rivera Smith offered her clean energy resolution and the Times gave her due credit. But they imply that, given the current state of the district, they don't believe it will get done.
As I have stated previously, I can't really support either candidate. Both have lackluster websites and have said nothing specific about their focus. This race had only two candidates and so there are no primary results to compare. I think it's probably closer in D2 than in D1 where incumbent Liza Rankin has elevated her profile. Rivera Smith may not register with many voters.
Comments
Vote for Posten
Christina Posten
Kevin Wynkoop
Catherine Brown
Lisa Moland
etc.
No longer with SPS, Posten won’t have to answer to the Central Office bureaucrats or the SEA. That’s a different case than Hersey who got nominated and got in the board while (or because) he was a member of the WEA. Not having any personal obligations to SCPTSA is also a huge plus.
As the Seattle Times gets it, Rivera Smith might as well be replaced by someone else who can appreciate the importance of board oversight of the district operations.
Less Lame
"The incumbent, Lisa Rivera Smith, made it clear in an interview that she does not believe it is her role to get deep in the weeds of budget-scrutinizing, contract-negotiating or much else beyond broad policy oversight... We really rely on our staff to make judgments that are sound,” she said."
"She is wrong. Washington State law explicitly states that “each common school district board of directors, whether or not acting through its respective administrative staff, be held accountable for the proper operation of their district to the local community and its electorate.”
Nothing in state law prevents a Board from involving itself in the actual running of the schools. The Board cannot simply set policy and judge how well the executive management implements the policy without the Board involving itself in the actual running of the schools.
Following the Student Outcomes Focused Governance (SOFG) plan, which resembles those used by corporate and nonprofit boards and applies them to a publicly elected school board, the SPS School Board has eliminated most standing committees, where oversight work and policy development typically happened.
Without Board action families and students lack assurance that their needs will be addressed if the Board doesn’t step in. Otherwise, all the Board will be is a rubber stamp.
The ST education reporters need to make SPS community stakeholders aware that the Board is also working on a “policy diet” in which the Board will give control over many existing policy areas to the Superintendent. The Board is slated to decide which policies to cede by November 2023."
kitten mix