Seattle Schools This Week, August 17-21, 2026

Update via the SPS Facebook page:

We're hiring! Assistant Superintendent of Special Populations

Seattle Public Schools is seeking an exceptional leader to serve as our next Assistant Superintendent of Special Populations, a cabinet-level role that helps shape opportunities for thousands of students across Special Education, Multilingual Learner Services, Highly Capable Services, Native American Education, Career and Technical Education, and Early Learning programs. 

This is more than a job. It's an opportunity to help build systems where every student is seen, supported, challenged, and empowered to thrive. Working directly with the Superintendent and district leadership team, you'll help drive inclusive practices, strengthen family and community partnerships, and ensure equitable access to rigorous learning and future-ready pathways.

Salary $209,393 - 268,881, closing date 8/25

We're hiring! Assistant Superintendent Student & Family Support

Seattle Public Schools is seeking a visionary leader to serve as our next Assistant Superintendent of Student & Family Support, a cabinet-level role dedicated to ensuring students feel safe, supported, connected, and ready to succeed. 

This position provides leadership for student and family support services, including safety and security, coordinated school health, student discipline, family outreach and engagement, mentoring, tutoring, and community partnerships.

Salary $209,393 - 268,881, closing date 8/24

I could say something about those salaries but I won't. I will say this seems fast - the jobs were listed last Tuesday and the application window ends early next week. 

end of update


The Board's Finance and Audit Committee met yesterday. Agenda.

I am happy to report from the agenda that the new Public Advisor to the committee is Albert Wong. Great choice because of Mr. Wong's ability to deep dive on data. 

Under Special Attention Items:

Oversight of spending: Discussion of areas of budget with potential for volatility

Uh oh.

What is noted there are Special Education Contracts* and Purchased Services Overview.

They are also looking at:

- Grants/MOUs

- Programs/Contracts

- Approval of 2026-2027 Compensation Bulletin for Non-Represented Staff

Under the Materials link, there is an important page - Purchased Source. This page simply lists costs for different items. For example, Student Transportation Services purchased from another source - $60.5M. 

What is listed (partial) but not with a cost attached are legal services for district support (is that different from anything else Legal does?), Interest on Short-Term Debt, Special Items and Extraordinary Items. I'm sure these have a cost but not sure why they have no cost listed. 

One HUGE item way down near the end of the budget listings is this one:

John Stanford Building Refunding Bond - the balance as of 8/31/2026, $3,459,000. This is item also says this - Last payment 12/1/2026. 

Great, great news for something that did NOT save SPS any real money and actually acted as an albatross around the neck of SPS. 

Also, the Interfund Loan from Capital Projects fund to the General Fund is to be paid back in full by June 30,2028. The amount authorized was $35M. 

* Also on this agenda, a section "Special Education Finance Overview" given by the head of Special Education Devin Gurley. It's a sobering report as the number of students with IEPS has  increased by nearly 1,000 students (going from 7,186 to 8,010.)

What is fascinating is in a later slide (#9) that charts K-12 Students with IEPs going from 7,186 in 2018-2019, with a drop in 2021-2022 to 6,959 (COVID) and then going up for 2023-25 to 8,010. 

Safety Net applications increased from 161 to 421, an increase of 161%. Safety Net funding increased from $5.5M to $28.7M

Another item under Special Education Revenue is that the State has ended the funding cap on enrollment. 


The Board is having a special meeting tomorrow, the 19th, at 4:30 pm. Agenda for this "Informational Study Session."

The discussion is around "Understanding the Weighted Staffing Standards Model" and will be led by Superintendent Ben Shuldiner and Dr. Kurt Buttleman, Assistant Superintendent of Finance. This includes General Education Teacher funding, Special Education Staffing, Multilingual/ELL.TBIP Staffing, Social Workers/Counselors, Nurses, and Stipends.

They also will be introducing the 2026-2027 Superintendent Evaluation Tool (there is nothing attached yet to this item).

As well, there is a "Board Engagement Proposal" which makes for interesting reading. It's a basic outline but with real specifics. 

What is also of importance on this agenda is this item - School Board Committees Discussion from the June School Board Retreat. They want to discuss questions like:

- Should every BAR (Board Action Report) be reviewed and voted on by a committee? This is something that used to happen and acted as an early warning system for any issues in a BAR. 

- Which BARs to which committees?

- Should a committee get a full BAR or just a summary?

- If a BAR is not recommended to move forward with a recommendation, what are next steps?


Then, next week on Wednesday the 26th, there will be another "Special Meeting" right before the regular Board meeting. The Special Meeting is from 3:30-4:00 and there is no agenda yet available. Given how short the meeting is, I have to think it's not a big deal. 

The Board meeting agenda is also not available. I will post these two agendas when they are available. 

Comments

HC Observer said…
Hi Melissa — as you noted earlier this year, OSPI has now adopted new regulations governing Highly Capable programs.

I think two provisions in particular deserve more attention: WAC 392-170-034 and WAC 392-170-035. Section 034 is completely new and, for the first time, specifically defines what “accelerated learning” and “enhanced instruction” must include, including requirements concerning new content, higher standards or grade levels, and curriculum advanced beyond the general education curriculum. Section 035 also now specifically addresses students’ need for advanced grade-level curriculum.

Would you consider doing a short post reproducing or linking to the text of 034 and 035 and asking readers what, if anything, they have heard about changes SPS is making in response?

I think there are some important implications for Seattle’s current Highly Capable service model, and I’d be interested in responding with some specific observations and hearing what other families and teachers are seeing.

Thanks, as always, for your reporting on this.
8/18/26, 2:07 PM
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