Who's in Charge in Seattle Public Schools? Part One

Who's in charge in Seattle Public Schools? I ask that question because after Tuesday's Board meeting, it does not seem clear. At all. 

The bottom line - to me - is that the process to close schools is broken. It didn't have to be if both sides had been open and honest. 

The Superintendent and staff made a good decision initially by pulling back from their ridiculous first attempt, trying to close all the K-8 schools. Other districts, like Chicago, are doing their closures slowly and I think staff decided to follow suit. So they delivered the four school version. 

But again, they made mistakes:

1) They thought that most parents whose school was not affected would breathe a sigh of relief and ignore the process. What I see happening is parents joining together across the district against closures. 

2) A very SPS mistake was to think that if they wrapped the closures up in pretty paper, with words like "well-resourced" on it,  parents would go along. Basically, by having some pain, things will be better for your child. Problem is, as always, is that they could not back it up. 

More staff in a big building? Not really. There would be a full-time librarian but in a 500+ elementary, there would be no full-time AP or nurse? As well, one of the many wonderful speakers at the meeting said, through tears, that a shiny new building does not make a community. 

Know what would have helped? "Here are challenges we see in moving students to a new building and possible solutions but we really want to hear from you on that." Did that happen in person so it would be a conversation? Nope.

3) Closing schools doesn't save that much money relative to the jam SPS is in. AND, there are many costs that TO closing schools that staff refuses to plainly state. 

3) The emperor had no clothes. Meaning, what plan? The Superintendent and staff had MONTHS - given to them by the Board - to come up with a plan. That plan needed to explain things like transportation, enrollment, Special Education, transitioning, staff transfers - NONE of that was in the plan. You cannot ask parents, who are adults, to just buy into your promises. When SPS treats parents like children, they always fail.

Which brings me to the Board. They are absolutely complicit in this mess and it is deeply troubling. When they did not hold staff's feet to the fire for details way back in May, they set the stage for what has unfolded.

At Work Sessions, the questions were few from directors and the only person who was truly firm was Director Brandon Hersey and then it was only to save his region's schools. Which did happen and how nice for him. 

I know that the Board is full of newbies but this issue was not something like renaming a school - staff wants to close schools. It is each director's job to get up to speed and do their homework. It is each director's job to ask hard questions. However, Board leadership, in the form of President Liza Rankin appears to have somewhat muzzled the other directors, probably because of the governance model SOFG. 

I believe in using SOFG the Board made this issue worse than it had to be and know what? That got proven at the Board meeting in spades. 

I read somewhere that someone said Jones was hired to be the fall guy for whatever happened when closures got brought up. Maybe but I do believe he is in over his head. Between him and Rankin, the district doesn't have good leadership. Even though I think both should step down, at this point it would only muddy the waters. 

What WOULD help is when Board leadership positions are up in early December, that the Board vote Rankin out as president and elect Director Gina Topp who seems to be next Board president.

I am more than interested in what YOU think should happen next. 

 

I will go in a linear fashion through the meeting, stopping along the way for editorial comments.

It was a nearly three hour meeting and yet little actual business got done. They had to put aside "goal setting" for the next strategic plan and Rankin said they absolutely had to have a special meeting for that. I suspect that will come before the end of the year. 

Another thing I see is that Rankin does 90% of the talking. It used to be that each director would talk about committee work (but that's gone), good news in their region's schools, and community meetings. Now most Board members say nothing.

Next up, public testimony.