Seattle School Board Meeting, November 19

There is to be a rally by parents worried about the four possible school closures before the Seattle School Board meeting scheduled for Tuesday, November 19th. The rally will be from 3:45-4:15 pm; the meeting begins at 4:15 pm. From Seattle's Child:

In announcing the rally, event organizers Stressed: “It’s time for all of us to wrap around the four school communities proposed to be closed to show them and the School Board that this proposal is not supported by the community. We need families, students, grandparents, engaged residents, local businesses, everyone to come help us support all of our kids.”

The Save Our Schools rally is being orchestrated by the parent-led All Together for Seattle Schools and will take place from 3:45 to 4:15 p.m. at John Stanford Center ( 2445 3rd Ave S. in Seattle). Rally organizers encourage those who attend to bring signs in support of keeping North Beach, Sacajawea, Sanislo, and Stevens elementary schools open. 

They also urge participants to wear red.

For those new to the fight for fully funded, equitable education, Erin Combs explains, “Red for Ed” has been a symbol of support for public education in cities across the country since the 2010s. Wearing red is a sign of solidarity to support our teachers and schools.” Combs is a spokesperson for All Together for Seattle Schools and parent of a second grader at Thornton Creek Elementary.

I do want to add this paragraph from the story as it implies you have to sign-up to attend the board meeting; the sign-up is to speak, not to attend.

All Together for Seattle Schools also urges parents to attend the SPS School Board meeting on the day of the rally. Sign-up is limited and starts at 8 a.m. on November 15. 

However, here is what the board agenda says:

Members of the public who wish to address the board in person or by teleconference may sign up online beginning FRIDAY, November 15, 2024 at 8:00 a.m. The public testimony list will be posted MONDAY, November 18, 2024.

So everyone who has waited until Monday may be out of luck. I certainly wish there had been a better notification of this.  

Seattle's Child also has a story on the petition to remove Liza Rankin as school board president.

There is a point made in the story that I believe I can make a clarification on.

Further, the petition charges that on April 6, 2022, Director Rankin led a meeting where directors voted to approve the closure of three instructional program sites for Interagency Academy School without conducting requisite community meetings or gathering public input. The vote occurred at the same meeting at which the closure proposal was introduced. The petition says that action violated state law under Rankin’s board leadership. 

RCW 28A.335.020 requires that a school district “conduct hearings to receive testimony from the public on any issues related to the closure of any school for instructional purposes during the 90 days before a school district’s final decision upon any school closure, the school board of directors shall conduct hearings to receive testimony from the public on any issues related to the closure of any school for instructional purposes.” 

My understanding of the law - from my previous experience on a closure and consolidation committee - is that, for purposes of this law, the school has to be in a physical building that the district owns. These are "instructional sites." So I do not believe the district had to hold any hearings. 

HOWEVER, it is quite unseemly to it in this fashion as it was Intro/Action and there is no notation about any kind of community input. But did they do it illegally? I don't think so.

An interesting item on the agenda is one for Intro/Action - Authorizing the District to pay the necessary expenses of defending Seattle School Board Director Liza Rankin in judicial proceedings to determine the sufficiency of recall charges. Director Rankin legally had to ask the district for this help and did so. Legal counsel Greg Narver okayed it. The Board has to approve it.

I note that in the Board agenda for Tuesday, the Board is being asked to approve higher amounts for the Operations levy by nearly $75M, from $673.8M to $747.0M. There is no explanation given.

As well, the district announced three people to be on the approval side for the Operations levy in the King County voters' pamphlet - including Mayor Bruce Harrell - and also that there were no applications submitted to serve on a committee against it. 

The three people serving on the approval side for the BEX levy are Dow Constantine, Samantha Fogg and Stephan Blanford. Mr. Constantine is the King County Executive, Ms. Fogg is on the board of the SCPTSA and Blanford was a former board director. 

For rejection of the levy, there is one person, Chris Jackins.

The Superintendent will give an update on the school closures issue but there is no documentation attached yet. 

Then yet another Work Session on "goal setting." It's a fairly long document that I will try to read over. 

I would recommend reading the "Board Director Questions and Staff Responses for November 19, 2024 Regular Board Meeting." Interesting reading with many questions from Rankin and Director Clark. It's at the end of the agenda.