tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post222709437068707816..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Updates on the Budget Issues in Seattle SchoolsMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-57589794550027061492019-03-21T19:17:13.196-07:002019-03-21T19:17:13.196-07:00JoLynn Barge cannot explain any details of the dis...JoLynn Barge cannot explain any details of the district budget nor explain any of the department budgets within the district. She shows up with printouts of a PowerPoint with graphs with old data and assumed projections and if you ask a direct question, she will falter and have to get back to you with an answer or change the subject with an inferior additude. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-59364159458788977002019-03-14T16:05:03.028-07:002019-03-14T16:05:03.028-07:00@ Concerned Parent,
Here is my best attempt to e...@ Concerned Parent, <br /><br />Here is my best attempt to explain the mysterious "staffing capacity." <br /><br />The New Student Assignment Plan (NSAP- 2010) migrated SPS from a 100% choice plan, to a "limited choice plan." Because SPS had been a 100% choice district, there was considerable effort inserted into the NSAP, to preserve choice wherever possible and to minimize disruption to families wherever possible. <br /><br />The are multiple places in the NSAP where choice is protected on a "space available" basis. Now unfortunately, the document itself never defined "space available." This is because in the years 2004-2009 when the NSAP was being created, "space available" was a widely understood term. Every school in the district had a capacity number, and after that number of students were enrolled, a wait list was started. <br /><br />The problem with widely understood terms is that institutional memory fades. While anyone can pull the 2007 or 2008 enrollment and can get a snapshot of that number, since that definition is not written in the document, "space available" was "re-defined" in 2017 as Staffing capacity. <br /><br />In 2017, multiple new schools were to be opened with corresponding boundary changes. This was also the same year as the first levy cliff and budget staff were attempting to be "very conservative" with their spending. <br /><br />Families at Whitman Middle School were promised that since there as not a capacity problem at Whitman, any family that wanted to stay at Whitman would be able to do so. This promise was posted on the SPS website as well as verbally repeated at community meetings for two years. <br /><br />Then come post open enrollment, that promise was broken. The reason for the broken promise was there might be "physical capacity" but there was no "staffing capacity." <br /><br />Staffing Capacity was then defined as the "initial staffing allocation given to a school BEFORE open enrollment." <br /><br />While Whitman Middle School had more than enough physical capacity to accommodate 100% of the families on the waitlist, the "initial allocation" of teachers was not enough to meet the demand for families to remain at Whitman. <br /><br />Historically, SPS did a small pre-open enrollment allocation, followed by a post-open-enrollment adjustment to match staff to the enrollment demand. But starting in 2017, SPS used the term "staffing capacity" to justify, not honoring that there was physical capacity. <br /><br />It is important to note that this practice had already been employed at Cleveland and other schools but the term was first used to justify the broken promises to the Whitman community. <br /><br /><br /><br />kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01322661098626555834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-91549373574602914362019-03-14T15:47:11.136-07:002019-03-14T15:47:11.136-07:00WEA, I appreciate your information but without bac...WEA, I appreciate your information but without backup - like how do you know what WEA was planning - don't infer what you cannot prove.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-47529119245586323432019-03-14T15:08:08.050-07:002019-03-14T15:08:08.050-07:00WEA worked to get 20% raises - or more-in Lake Was...WEA worked to get 20% raises - or more-in Lake Washington and Edmonds. Seattle was stuck between a rock and a hard place.WEA Swipenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-81247623796202521112019-03-14T15:05:19.682-07:002019-03-14T15:05:19.682-07:00WEA's plan was to swipe the entire billion off...WEA's plan was to swipe the entire billion off the table. They didn't give a damn about the levy cliff. <br /><br />We fought to prevent the legislature from pushing us over the levy cliff, a few years ago. Then, WEA came along and pushed us over the cliff. WEA's plan was to return to Olympia and get the $$ this year. How is that working out?<br /><br />WEA Swipenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-47967100348393205412019-03-14T15:00:37.533-07:002019-03-14T15:00:37.533-07:00The state legislature requires districts to provid...The state legislature requires districts to provide four year budgets. The district needs to release their four year budget projections:<br /><br />Spokane provided double digit pay raises. These raises are/were not sustainable and expected to rise over the next few years:<br /> <br />"Spokane Schools board of directors approved a $465 million operating budget – up from $444 million before the contract settlement.<br />That swung the district’s budget from an $8 million surplus to a $12.6 million deficit, easily covered by the district’s reserve of $37 million. <br />However, next year’s projected deficit is $40.6 million. Barring intervention from the state, the deficit would grow to $49.2 million for the 2020-21 school year and $57 million the following year."<br /><br />http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2018/sep/20/spokane-schools-looks-to-trim-staffing-to-pay-for-/<br /><br />Districts and boards can not spend what they do not have. Negotiations coming up, again, this year. It is time for WEA to back-off.<br />WEA Swipenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-38890766120798213452019-03-14T14:05:52.394-07:002019-03-14T14:05:52.394-07:00Concerned Parent, not in any forum I have been to....Concerned Parent, not in any forum I have been to. The lack of pushback from the Board is troubling.<br /><br />I would say that the root of the issue is the last teacher raises. Of course, I believe the teachers deserved the raises but I also thought that the district had budgeted properly for them. What I believe they did is gamble that the new McCleary money would cover them (given teachers are basic education) but that senior staff did not think that the legislature would give them more money BUT cut the levy funding amount. <br /><br />Is that the whole reason we are here? I'd say that and not fully funding Special Education. They lost dollars when students left but that's on the district (and they seem tragically uninterested in why).Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-27186709640061464972019-03-14T12:26:33.527-07:002019-03-14T12:26:33.527-07:00Concerned parent:
"question"?
Hahahaha...Concerned parent:<br /><br />"question"?<br /><br />Hahahahahaha!<br /><br />Dream on.Elsanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-50322423909476145622019-03-14T10:24:07.886-07:002019-03-14T10:24:07.886-07:00And has anyone point-blank asked our elected schoo...And has anyone point-blank asked our elected school board and/or budget director JoLynn Berge to explain the proposed budget the board is being asked to vote on? Explain the cuts, enrollment projections on which budget and cuts are made, the tradeoffs being proposed and the restoration plan?<br /><br />If so, what is the answer from the board and the budget director? Or Juneau, for that matter?<br /><br />Concerned parentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-58307384387745891422019-03-14T10:21:52.851-07:002019-03-14T10:21:52.851-07:00Kellie,
Can you please explain the "staffing...Kellie,<br /><br />Can you please explain the "staffing capacity" policy and how it works in practice? Thank you so much for sharing your hard-earned knowledge! Is this related to WSS? Or the fact that SPS takes the funding it gets from the state and feds and then allocates staff positions to schools and not dollars to be used as needed at individual schools?<br /><br /><br />Concerned parentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-84918766096789384172019-03-13T21:47:57.405-07:002019-03-13T21:47:57.405-07:00One important thing to point out is that it won...One important thing to point out is that it won't just be parents here on the blog raising these questions. State legislators are extremely skeptical of SPS's management practices and use of money. I don't always agree with that skepticism and often it's used by legislators to make excuses for underfunding our schools. That being said, SPS *will* get hit with these same questions from legislators when they arrive in Olympia to ask for more money. SPS will have to give clear and credible answers to legislators on this. If they can't give clear and credible answers to parents, then they may be in for some uncomfortable conversations in Olympia.Robert Cruickshankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06906581839066570472noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-86384948944890978322019-03-13T09:20:58.571-07:002019-03-13T09:20:58.571-07:00I want to go back and address Stuart J's comme...I want to go back and address Stuart J's comment about "out of district" enrollment. It is a complicated topic and it has a huge impact on enrollment. Because in addition to Public Charter Schools, out of district public school enrollment is a viable option for many SPS families. <br /><br />The concept of "what you measure matters and what you don't measure is invisible" is familiar to many people. Out of district enrollment is one of the EASIEST things to measure but yet, it is not included in the enrollment analytics. That is a huge oversight that causes lot of disruption. <br /><br />It is easy to measure because there is a clean paperwork trail. When a student lives in one district but attends public school in other district, there is annual paperwork to be completed, so that the MONEY follows the student to the new district. <br /><br />Most school districts LOVE out of district enrollment. While school districts have an obligation to enroll every student who resides in their district, school districts are able to open "out of district" enrollment, on a school-by-school and grade-by-grade basis. Out of district enrollment enables school districts to be far more efficient in their operations and when operations are more efficient, students benefit. <br /><br />This is one of the many reasons why "staffing capacity" is such a toxic policy. When SPS closes a school with ample physical capacity to its own students, it is also closing that school to "out of district" enrollment. There are many schools, like Center School and Nova and Cleveland, etc, that could have easily filled to their historic enrollment levels as they have a long history of "out of district" enrollment. But when SPS implemented "staffing capacity," these schools began to shrink. <br /><br />As the baby boom echo has worked its way through SPS and surrounding districts, other districts had the option of managing their capacity via ending "out of district" enrollment. In recent years, Shoreline, Bellevue, Mercer Island and Highline have closed their doors to multiple grade bands. This has had rather obvious impacts on Seattle but yet ... they are never measured. <br /><br />By ignoring 'out of district" enrollment, lots of mythology can take root in enrollment. Mythology is story without data. Out of district enrollment is a critical data point and a large piece of the enrollment narrative. <br /><br /><br />kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01322661098626555834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-12026730245235888152019-03-13T09:18:41.930-07:002019-03-13T09:18:41.930-07:00The limits enrollment places on K-8 options may be...The limits enrollment places on K-8 options may be one factor driving people out of the district/to private at middle school. My daughter was #3 on the waitlist for Hazel Wolf 6th grade in 2016, and I believe she took the last available slot. There were nearly 50 people still waiting. I would not be surprised if many of those behind us who were interested in the lower-key K-8 environment for their kids chose not to enroll in their big regional middle school. Especially for those in N. Seattle -- you can move a few miles north up to Shoreline, Lynnwood or MLT and pay much less for housing (both renting and buying).<br /><br />LakeCityMomAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-20814900580778669172019-03-13T08:57:42.628-07:002019-03-13T08:57:42.628-07:00Thanks for the multiple kind comments. They really...Thanks for the multiple kind comments. They really mean a lot. <br /><br />Thank you Seattle Citizen. That's a kind comment but I'm a systems person who really cares about public education, not a trained educator. I have so much respect for the folks that do the hard work of educating our kids and I get powerfully frustrated when bad data analytics make life harder for teachers and families. <br /><br />Which leads to Cascadia mom's comments. Cascadiamom is correct. The baby boom echo peeked with the 2007 births but yet, SPS did not sensitize their enrollment information and BEX planning based on this. <br /><br />I was one of multiple people who provided information that the focus on adding multiple extra elementary schools, like Decatur, was premature because elementary school enrollment had leveled out and there was every reason to expect elementary enrollment would slow or stall. <br /><br />NE Parent is then asking the right question. If there are more kids in this age group and more kids in Seattle, then WHY is there is a slowing of middle school enrollment. When you ask that question, you have a better conversation. <br /><br />Trite answers without any data like "housing prices" are toxic to this process. It could be housing prices but if that was the case you would EASILY be able to track the enrollment shifts to other districts and you would also be able to follow this data via housing stock and other analytics. But there is little to no evidence to support this. <br /><br />Middle School enrollment took a sharp turn with the opening of Meany and RESMS, prior to that that it was solid and expected to grow so much that we would need a 12th comprehensive high school. When you look at that shift, you have a better question. <br /><br />Enrollment does not live in a vacuum. Director Burke had it right, when he said SPS "earns enrollment." When you examine the enrollment data, you can start to spot the patterns of where there are demographic shifts and where the enrollment is just not being earned. <br /><br />The 800 students enrolled in Charter Schools tells us that there are plenty of students in SE and SW Seattle that SPS has "not earned."<br /><br /><br />kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01322661098626555834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-73186016525596149432019-03-13T07:05:55.456-07:002019-03-13T07:05:55.456-07:00CascadiaMom - that may be in terms of birth rate, ...CascadiaMom - that may be in terms of birth rate, but there isn't any significant wave coming through SPS if you look at the P223 reports.<br /><br />NE Parent Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-49911271200087750102019-03-12T22:18:26.500-07:002019-03-12T22:18:26.500-07:00Re Capacity: The 2007 birth year was the largest s...Re Capacity: The 2007 birth year was the largest single number of births in US history. (4.3 million) Those kids are currently in 5th and 6th grade. So there should be a capacity wave hitting high schools in 2-3 years. I've never gotten SPS to tell me how this is impacting them. <br /><br />CascadiaMomnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-60184874809054552672019-03-12T18:02:34.365-07:002019-03-12T18:02:34.365-07:00Lincoln will not be completely GE though as Wallin...Lincoln will not be completely GE though as Wallingford, Queen Ann neighborhood boundaries have alot of HC kids, including in the current 8th grade. Likely it will be similar to other neighboring high schools in upcoming years, but if it remains a north end pathway school it may end up with more HC kids in the future if it pulls from the neighboring schools and Ingraham. We are now post open enrollment so they should have somewhat accurate data on enrollment at Lincoln and the other schools. <br /><br />RH momAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-75901062667986301242019-03-12T15:25:34.209-07:002019-03-12T15:25:34.209-07:00Unclear "So...if Lincoln will open with very ...Unclear "So...if Lincoln will open with very few HC 9th graders, and even fewer HC 10th graders, Lincoln is likely to be almost completely GE for several years, even though it's officially the north end HCC pathway school. "<br /><br />Yes, it could have fewer HC students as Ingraham, Roosevelt, Ballard in upcoming years.Perhaps with each class the numbers will grow if there is a reason for HC kids to choose Lincoln over their neighborhood school. Kids also want to be with their friends from middle school. They are around 80-125 in the most recent 9th grade class depending upon school. Lincoln will add yet another school. Basically what we will likely see is north end HC kids split up amongst four schools that offer AP & IB options. In high school there is really no HC, just access to the right classes in sequence, and I think most parents are aware. In addition, the general education population drive the AP class schedule in all schools. <br /><br />RH momAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-63021359084285335502019-03-12T14:43:24.518-07:002019-03-12T14:43:24.518-07:00kellie for Superintendent.
: )kellie for Superintendent.<br /><br />: )seattle citizenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16724175257161649500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-15281501679452359272019-03-12T14:42:06.958-07:002019-03-12T14:42:06.958-07:00Thanks for the correction, everyone, it was unclea...Thanks for the correction, everyone, it was unclear in what I read.seattle citizenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16724175257161649500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-20862021505041923892019-03-12T14:38:23.165-07:002019-03-12T14:38:23.165-07:00@ Mel,
A demographer would certainly help. Howev...@ Mel, <br /><br />A demographer would certainly help. However, at this point, a lot of the problem is common sense and simply listening to the boots on the ground. <br /><br />In a lot of ways, enrollment information can best be thought of as a "conversation" between schools and the communities and downtown. The more voices and points of view represented in the conversation, the more accurate the data will be. <br /><br />I remember the first time, that Tracy Libros invited me to an enrollment "conversation" in 2005. That was also the first time I met Charlie. Tracy genuinely wanted to hear from people in the neighborhoods and wanted to know what they were seeing. We talked about the impact of Pay for K on enrollment trends. (Hint: this was the first warning sign of impending capacity issues.) <br /><br />As you know, under Superintendent Nyland, enrollment was further silo'ed from the community. IMHO, the natural result of distancing enrollment from the committees this information represents is that each year of this policy, enrollment data has been less accurate. <br /><br />It will be interesting to see if Juneau decides to go for more community and transparency or if she continues to further silo enrollment and budget from the community. I really think it is past time for another capacity related advisory group of some sort. There is so much talent in our district that could be leveraged to make this information more timely and more relevant and less disruptive to schools. <br /><br />kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01322661098626555834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-46321272322104266252019-03-12T14:25:19.849-07:002019-03-12T14:25:19.849-07:00@ unclear,
All of the information on the Ballard...@ unclear, <br /><br />All of the information on the Ballard and Roosevelt to Lincoln geo-splits was included in the Boundary discussions. <br /><br />IIRC, 100-150 students would be split from Roosevelt and 150-200 students would be split from Ballard to make the 10th grade class. No HCC students were to be split as the would have made the programming too complex and both Ingraham and Garfield had plenty of space to keep those students. <br /><br />We are after open enrollment and the final numbers should be done. <br /><br />kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01322661098626555834noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-66305763067047371252019-03-12T14:12:07.204-07:002019-03-12T14:12:07.204-07:00Seattlecitizen yes you are mistaken.... "Rhs2...Seattlecitizen yes you are mistaken.... "Rhs22 and ram - in my reading of the District's info, it seems an HCC student in the Lincoln zone (Wallingford, Fremont, QA and part of Magnolia) could choose any another school besides their assignment school. Am I mistaken?"<br /><br />Their only other option in this case (for current 8th and younger) would be Ingraham as their neighborhood school and pathway school are both Lincoln. The older crowd in that zone who will be 10th next year had a chance to go to Garfield or Ingraham grandfathered. <br /><br />RHS momAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-39585654267425081732019-03-12T14:09:44.918-07:002019-03-12T14:09:44.918-07:00Seattle citizen, supposedly the pathway preference...Seattle citizen, supposedly the pathway preference ends at 9th grade. So Lincoln area hcc students could have chosen another school for 9th grade (Garfield or IHS), but if they chose their attendance area school, they're in with attendance area kids and are being geosplit for 10th. We know a couple kids in this boat.<br /><br />Rhs22Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-88217599251523945482019-03-12T14:09:29.199-07:002019-03-12T14:09:29.199-07:00seattlecitizen HC 8th graders can choose their nei...seattlecitizen HC 8th graders can choose their neighborhood zone school (like any other kid) or their pathway school which would be Lincoln if they live north end. They can also choose to do IB at Ingraham as an option, but there are usually limited spots except for last year. If a student becomes HC eligible in 9th grade however the rules are different, and they have no access to a pathway school like Lincoln. They must attend their neighborhood school. <br /><br />RHS momAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com