tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post5792997225819759977..comments2024-03-28T23:38:22.511-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Elections: Open ThreadMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-41607209406041091782007-11-09T17:16:00.000-08:002007-11-09T17:16:00.000-08:00Having worked closely with many district staff peo...Having worked closely with many district staff people, I would agree with Melissa - many are fantastic (curriculum people like Elaine Woo come to mind, as do budget analysts and accountants), but some of the operational middle mgrs, e.g., in Facilities, Legal, and the vaunted Strategic Implementation Team definitely have 1) firm ideas, and 2) not much use for parents and those in the outside world.<BR/><BR/>Dr Maria - trust but verify!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-60850938553634957922007-11-09T08:29:00.000-08:002007-11-09T08:29:00.000-08:00I think the point that Charlie was making about in...I think the point that Charlie was making about institutional history was that if you have senior leadership that is virtually all new they may depend too much on staff. The district staff are bright, hard-working people but they have their own agendas and many times that agenda does not include what parents or the public want. I would be unhappy if the Superintendent or any senior leadership, because of lack of understanding of the how and why of past history, made decisions solely on what staff recommends.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-37000727248379421562007-11-08T22:11:00.000-08:002007-11-08T22:11:00.000-08:00"Not having that institutional memory" is a line o..."Not having that institutional memory" is a line of BS. "History" is often given as an excuse to prevent needed change. There are more than enough people at the JSCEE that have been around for 10-30 years to provide history (Nan S. comes to mind). In this instance, change is nothing but good. The memories of Sally and Darlene are highly suspect given the tendency to only care about issue irrelevant to a cvast majority of us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-59108045470250011482007-11-08T10:47:00.000-08:002007-11-08T10:47:00.000-08:00This constant turnover in Board members and senior...This constant turnover in Board members and senior staff has left us without any institutional memory and very little local experience at the top of the organization.<BR/><BR/>Director Bass, at six years, is the longest serving Board member. Come January, the next longest serving member will have only two years' experience.<BR/><BR/>We have a new Superintendent, a new COO, and a nearly new CAO.<BR/><BR/>So when they come up with an idea they are going to hear people tell them - a lot - that the idea was already tried and found wanting. Or that the idea violates an obscure rule they weren't aware of. Or that the idea won't work for some other inobvious reason that only someone with experience knows about.<BR/><BR/>Not having that institutional memory among the decision-makers creates all kinds of wasted time and delays. More than that, it is frustrating for everyone and erodes confidence in the leadership.<BR/><BR/>I can only hope that each of these people finds someone who has been around a while and makes a practice of asking about the history of issues before proposing any solutions.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-15120845311517402752007-11-08T08:38:00.000-08:002007-11-08T08:38:00.000-08:00Good luck to the new board members. They should be...Good luck to the new board members. They should be able to get a lot accomplished with the new superintendent in place.<BR/><BR/>This is a new day!!!<BR/><BR/>I would consider the source about the superintendent's job performance. She seems to be willing to hold her staff accountable -- something that hasn't happened for a long time. Her best bet is to purge that district. There is a lot of dead wood that will definitely drag her down. They sunk the last superintendent and a school board.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-10575326025996408232007-11-07T18:12:00.000-08:002007-11-07T18:12:00.000-08:00While I am sad to lose Darlene Flynn as the Distri...While I am sad to lose Darlene Flynn as the District 2 representative, I wish Sherry Carr well and I hope that she will be as helpful and compassionate to my neighborhood school as Darlene has been.<BR/><BR/>Having listened to Sherry in a couple of forums, I am confident that she has the intelligence and financial background to help the Board and the District.<BR/><BR/>The election overall was really sad, from the passage of the latest Eyman nonsense to the loss of Simple Majority. I hope that these results had more to do with low turnout that a sense that Washington voters will not pay more for schools. <BR/><BR/>As far as Simple Majority being "in the bag" - let's all make sure we don't get similarly overconfident about the critical Presidential and Gubernatorial races next year. We have a lot of work to do.<BR/><BR/>StevenS Sternehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17745297343350441737noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-41741300699067779192007-11-07T15:32:00.000-08:002007-11-07T15:32:00.000-08:00I am very happy with the outcomes of the election,...I am very happy with the outcomes of the election, and I have a new found confidence that the school board is in the best shape they have been in for years.<BR/><BR/>I am sad too...that the simple majority did not pass. That's a bummer, and I didn't expect this outcome. I though it was in the bag as everyone I talked with supported it.SPS parenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00766426598026724476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-1296674572290017782007-11-07T13:33:00.000-08:002007-11-07T13:33:00.000-08:00From what I hear from those working within the dis...From what I hear from those working within the district, the superintendent's honeymoon is about over.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com