Rankin Seeks To Shut - It - Down

 Update:

However, I see a couple of issues. 

 

One, the Superintendent has already withdrawn those hearings at the district website. If you read Rankin's motion, the Board will withdraw the hearings if the Superintendent withdraws the preliminary recommendation. So it appears, the right hand does not appear to know what the left hand is doing. 

 

However, Legal counsel Greg Narver had referenced Board policy 6883, School and Instructional Site Closures, several times at the Board meeting. While that policy does have the process for closures, it does NOT have any mention of what happens if the Board accepts and then rejects staff preliminary recommendations. 

 

As well, I checked Washington State law and, like the Board policy, it says nothing about the process for the Superintendent to withdraw preliminary recommendations nor the Board withdrawing legally required public hearings. I cannot access WSSDA's (Washington State School Board Directors Association) policy recommendations but I suspect I would find the same thing. I'll give them a ring on Monday.

So it is unclear who should be doing what but Narver had urged the Board to get their ducks in order because the hearings had already been announced publicly as the legal requirement states.

Two, Vice President Michelle Sarju indicated at the meeting that she DID think closures were necessary. Will other directors follow her or Rankin?

To note, there will be Board elections for leadership (president, VP and member at large) in just a few weeks. Rankin's presidency can't end soon enough.

end of update

 

Boy, Seattle School Board President Liza Rankin has a bee in her bonnet about shutting down the current school closure process.

I had first noticed that Director Gina Topp was having a community meeting on Tuesday, November 26th, from 6:30-7:30 pm at the West Seattle Library. 

But an alert reader let me know that there is a Board Special Meeting the same day at 5 pm. Now Rankin had said the Board needed another meeting to set their future goals in order for a new strategic plan to be crafted by Superintendent Brent Jones and staff. I thought this might be that meeting.

But no. It's a motion What is interesting is that it is slightly written as most BARs on the agenda are except it gives no notation who brought it forth. 

Action Items (Intro and Action)

I move that the School Board withdraw direction provided to the Superintendent regarding the presentation of preliminary recommendations for school closures, including the Board's most recent direction provided October 9, 2024 specific to presentation of preliminary recommendations for up to five school closures to be implemented for the 2025-2026 school year.

The Superintendent is authorized to withdraw the preliminary recommendations for school closures from consider for the 2025-2026 school year. If withdrawn, the School Board will not hold public hearings on the preliminary recommendations.

Immediate action is in the best interest of the district.

I do wonder if Rankin did this on her own and did she give any advance notice to other directors.

I'm assuming Topp will cancel and reschedule her meeting.