tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post8163321367547001647..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Scoop! State Auditor Says Sale of MLK, Jr. Building ValidMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-3618374176866002102012-02-09T12:10:33.347-08:002012-02-09T12:10:33.347-08:00I agree with Melissa that MGJ [and her friends in ...I agree with Melissa that MGJ [and her friends in Olympia] were able to override the entire process to arrive at a pre-determined result. This is exactly what an Auditor should be watching out for: executives overriding procedures and internal controls originally designed to prevent such a thing! Did I hear correctly that the Board has improved oversightFlat for rent Aberdeenhttp://www.irentaberdeen.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-64930606647122749612011-10-25T10:16:39.190-07:002011-10-25T10:16:39.190-07:00As to the Dark Lord…:
In connection with the publ...As to the Dark Lord…:<br /><br />In connection with the public bidding process, local governments often obtain information which bidders would not voluntarily divulge to their competitors. Such information may be exempt, if the “public loss” factor can be met. In any event, it would be wise to promptly notify a bidder if the city receives a request<br />for such records.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mrsc.org/publications/pra09.pdf" rel="nofollow">Public Records Act for Washington Cities, Counties and Special Purpose Districts</a><br /><br />If a city or county intends to rebid a public works project after all bids have been <i>opened and rejected,</i> must the previously rejected bid documents be disclosed in response to a request for public disclosure? <br />Yes. There is no exception to public disclosure that would exempt the bid documents from disclosure (except for proprietary information that might qualify under RCW 42.56.270).<br /><br />Any more questions, Guichon?mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-84674981531177868832011-10-25T10:15:51.635-07:002011-10-25T10:15:51.635-07:00Guichon,
What makes you think I submitted this co...Guichon,<br /><br />What makes you think I submitted this complaint?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kingcounty.gov/operations/auditor/Reports/Dept/~/media/operations/auditor/documents/1996Documents/wstpoint.ashx" rel="nofollow">West Point and Renton Treatment Plants Performance Audit</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.sao.wa.gov/AuditReports/AuditReportFiles/ar1000008.pdf" rel="nofollow">Port of Seattle Performance Audit</a><br /><br />Both audits speak to the importance of separating procurement from other agency administrative functions.mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-37103000633199431322011-10-25T09:56:10.618-07:002011-10-25T09:56:10.618-07:00Guichon,
What makes you think I submitted this co...Guichon,<br /><br />What makes you think I submitted this complaint?<br /><br /><a href="http://www.kingcounty.gov/operations/auditor/Reports/Dept/~/media/operations/auditor/documents/1996Documents/wstpoint.ashx" rel="nofollow">West Point and Renton Treatment Plants Performance Audit</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.sao.wa.gov/AuditReports/AuditReportFiles/ar1000008.pdf" rel="nofollow">Port of Seattle Performance Audit</a><br /><br />Both audits speak to the importance of separating procurement from other agency administrative functions.<br /><br />As to the Dark Lord…:<br /><br />In connection with the public bidding process, local governments often obtain information which bidders would not voluntarily divulge to their competitors. Such information may be exempt, if the “public loss” factor can be met. In any event, it would be wise to promptly notify a bidder if the city receives a request for such records.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mrsc.org/publications/pra09.pdf" rel="nofollow">Public Records Act for Washington Cities, Counties and Special Purpose Districts</a><br /><br />If a city or county intends to rebid a public works project after all bids have been <i>opened and rejected,</i> must the previously rejected bid documents be disclosed in response to a request for public disclosure? <br />Yes. There is no exception to public disclosure that would exempt the bid documents from disclosure (except for proprietary information that might qualify under RCW 42.56.270).<br /><br />Any more questions?mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-44673525385706121702011-10-24T20:07:04.705-07:002011-10-24T20:07:04.705-07:00@mirmac1: "I'm surprised the SAO did not ...@mirmac1: "I'm surprised the SAO did not fault the method in which information was shared with parties both within and outside the district. Best Practice dictates that, during a competitive procurement (bid or proposal), there should be a firewall of sorts between agency and bidders. All contacts with bidders should go through a designated individual - not randomly to parties who may have an interest in the outcome."<br /><br />What specific best practice are you referring to? can you give a reference to some sort of manual or guide? Did you give this information to the auditor's when you submitted your questions about MLK? If you actually read the report it tells you what their specific focus was - not what you THINK it should have been, but what it was, based on what they describe as citizen "hotlines." In the first paragraph it even states that they are limited in what they can look at: <i>"While our Office does not have the authority to reverse a real estate sale as requested by two citizens who contacted us, we do have the authority to examine circumstances surrounding the sale of public property and to determine whether the sale complies with state law."</i> Also, <i>"State law and District policy give the School Board the authority to decide to whom it will sell its property,...."</i> So if state law doesn't preclude this type of activity and board policy (which is like law for this district)allows it, how can they legally say otherwise??<br /><br />Do you really think they would list out the "circumstances surrounding the sale" and implicate legislators if they were whitewashing something? Instead, wouldn't they just say "nothing to see here, move along," and leave it at that? Their reports don't usually editorialize, and this time they are saying that some big-wigs in Olympia were meddling.<br /><br />Oh, and the report also makes clear that your evil-nemisis (Ron English) actually wanted to withhold the bids but couldn't since their is no exception to the public records law that would have allowed them to withhold the bids (according to the report). Would you rather the district have withheld the bids and then get sued for not releasing the documents? It looks like that CCC group, not AME, wanted to have an advantage over everyone else.Guichonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-91950260790940147522011-10-24T19:40:49.712-07:002011-10-24T19:40:49.712-07:00Well this from the Times article is confusing:
&q...Well this from the Times article is confusing:<br /><br />"DeBell, in an interview Monday, said the school was the last of five to be converted to community centers under what he described as a successful program using state and city funding."<br /><br />Uh, is it a community center? Just because there is some community use does not make it a community center. I think a community center is one the COMMUNITY controls.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-10025564674884868092011-10-24T19:32:43.346-07:002011-10-24T19:32:43.346-07:00Michael H,
thanks I needed that.Michael H,<br /><br />thanks I needed that.dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-18829984005025896322011-10-24T19:31:42.926-07:002011-10-24T19:31:42.926-07:00Hey..... So where is the Seattle Times article on ...Hey..... <b><i>So where is the Seattle Times article on the policy change that facilitated the "near give away" of assets? </i></b><br /><br />........MLK to AME paid for by State Taxpayers and Seattle Taxpayers .... coupled to we have a budget shortfall at both the State and Seattle levels.<br /><br />With decision-making like MLK => AME ... no wonder there is a financial crunch ... Recession? not a problem lets give away assets and ask for a levy passage.dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-28942768195480723792011-10-24T19:26:54.735-07:002011-10-24T19:26:54.735-07:00Seattle Times article here: Times ArticleSeattle Times article here: <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2016599566_schoolaudit25m.html" rel="nofollow">Times Article</a>Michael Hnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-2074744571430268372011-10-24T17:40:09.427-07:002011-10-24T17:40:09.427-07:00jaded,
I have the same feeling as you, that there ...jaded,<br />I have the same feeling as you, that there might surely be connections betwen Pottergate players and the First AME. Both of these two stories "broke" at the same time a few months ago, and it did seem that there were connections.seattle citizenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16724175257161649500noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-4025992843221491482011-10-24T17:25:36.071-07:002011-10-24T17:25:36.071-07:00How is it that the label "bullshit" wasn...How is it that the label "bullshit" wasn't one of the labels for this post?rugleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08303636114796314295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-86548763962153960132011-10-24T16:09:47.855-07:002011-10-24T16:09:47.855-07:00I want to know if any of the recipients of Potter&...I want to know if any of the recipients of Potter's pot of money turned around and made donations to these state reps, thus buying off their help in turning over the property to the church. The same SPS players seems to be involved in both scandals.<br /><br />jadedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-25212223529035053892011-10-24T15:31:25.704-07:002011-10-24T15:31:25.704-07:00ack - that should have read and Washington Conserv...ack - that should have read and Washington Conservation Voters - one of those days..someonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-48030435224182535882011-10-24T15:30:20.554-07:002011-10-24T15:30:20.554-07:00Mr. Traisman's firm is indeed still the lobbyi...Mr. Traisman's firm is indeed still the lobbyist for SPS, at least according to the PDC database - he's also lobbyist for several environmental groups<br />including Washington Environmental Council and Washington Environmental Council. Prior to that he was Dir. of Intergovernmental Relations for City of Seattle. He was also the legislative assistant to Seattle Councilmember Martha Choe among other things.someonenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-78161429586952052022011-10-24T15:28:17.728-07:002011-10-24T15:28:17.728-07:00The District regards the MLK property as too small...The District regards the MLK property as too small to be of cost-effective use as a school.<br /><br />Per the State Auditor's report:<br /><br />"<i>In 2008 the Board approved a change to District procedure related to property sales in an effort to obtain a higher return. The former Board President said the Board asked staff to explore the sale of surplus schools to benefit the District's mission that would not require the District to accept the highest dollar amount but that still would meet the 90 percent requirement in state law. He stated this was an effort to keep the buildings for community use, rather than turned into private-use facilities.</i>"<br /><br />The Board adopted a revised board Procedure (<a href="http://www.seattleschools.org/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/1583136/File/Policies/Board/h/H02.01.pdf" rel="nofollow">H02.01</a>) at their meeting of March 26, 2008. The motion passed unanimously (as did every other motion considered that evening).<br /><br />At the time, the Board consisted of: Cheryl Chow (President), Michael DeBell (Vice-President), Steve Sundquist, Peter Maier, Sherry Carr, Harium Martin-Morris, and Mary Bass.<br /><br />The revised policy pre-dated the RFP for MLK by a year and was used four times (for the sale of University Heights, part of Fauntleroy, Allen, and the Queen Anne Gym) before it was used for MLK.<br /><br />For the record, I think the District got cheated on all of those other deals as well.<br /><br />The District should not be subsidizing the community use of old school buildings. The District should not be subsidizing ANYTHING. They can't afford it.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-29754151656308619482011-10-24T15:23:13.239-07:002011-10-24T15:23:13.239-07:00Nice Link from Chris S.
March 26, 2008 Policy H02...Nice Link from Chris S.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.seattleschools.org/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/1583136/File/Policies/Board/h/H02.01.pdf?sessionid=c304762735cf99086d73b462750bae46" rel="nofollow">March 26, 2008 Policy H02.01</a><br /><br />On July 6, 2010 the auditor's report wrote about putting funds at risk.....<br /><br />This looks like a policy to nearly give valuable assets away with sales below even bargain basement prices.<br /><br />The class of 2007 (Carr, Sundquist, Maier, Martin-Morris) had only been in office about 5 months at the time of this approval.<br /><br />Head nodding to everything MGJ was well underway.dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-71258004478631307492011-10-24T15:03:34.014-07:002011-10-24T15:03:34.014-07:00Sales policy revision March 2008
http://www.seattl...Sales policy revision March 2008<br />http://www.seattleschools.org/modules/groups/homepagefiles/cms/1583136/File/Policies/Board/h/H02.01.pdf?sessionid=c304762735cf99086d73b462750bae46<br /><br />Definitely the work of the class of '07Chris S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/17016898261120819596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-11065224492633105592011-10-24T14:47:44.026-07:002011-10-24T14:47:44.026-07:00Joanna - Yes! You are right!
-skeptical-Joanna - Yes! You are right!<br /><br />-skeptical-Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-50163318099755982852011-10-24T14:35:04.904-07:002011-10-24T14:35:04.904-07:00I know the district doesn't own the property. ...I know the district doesn't own the property. I am just wondering how the property is being used at the moment. <br /><br />And if we need sq. footage in that neighborhood to help with capacity issues?Po3noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-33995872789310828202011-10-24T14:24:12.472-07:002011-10-24T14:24:12.472-07:00Really all those living in the 37ths where schools...Really all those living in the 37ths where schools were closed and MLK was sold at a record pace of action for any closed school in the history of this District. It still was a usable school with a larger site than either Madrona or Montlake and in an area with homes and kids. <br /><br />Yes, the Board is ultimately responsible and certainly should have been able to see logic beyond the Superintendent. However, this story clearly demonstrates that State Representatives and City Council members, mayors pay attention to these issues. The next time you need help and any of these elected representatives tell you that they don't get involved in school issues and they aren't school board members, let them know you expect help, and that you know that they can influence decisions. What is really sad here is how involved they were willing to get to sell a school to AME and how little involvement they have shown in saving schools here from closure and ensuring that we have great schools that anyone would want to attend with walkable assignment areas. Questions should be asked in the next round of elections. Are we getting the representation we deserve? Could we get better representation?joannanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-40706147467818959472011-10-24T14:20:18.714-07:002011-10-24T14:20:18.714-07:00@Po3, MLK is no longer owned by the District. It&...@Po3, MLK is no longer owned by the District. It's been reported that First AME Church, who now owns the property, has made some improvements to the property and makes the property available to the community daily.<br /><br />A friend of SeattleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-80626302918511811652011-10-24T14:20:09.265-07:002011-10-24T14:20:09.265-07:00@Po3, MLK is no longer owned by the District. It&...@Po3, MLK is no longer owned by the District. It's been reported that First AME Church, who now owns the property, has made some improvements to the property and makes the property available to the community daily.<br /><br />A friend of SeattleAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-13671080967585869012011-10-24T14:12:26.169-07:002011-10-24T14:12:26.169-07:00I have a couple of questions. What programs are c...I have a couple of questions. What programs are currently in the MLK Building?<br /><br />And do we need the space for capacity?Po3noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-16801696554606973442011-10-24T14:09:21.613-07:002011-10-24T14:09:21.613-07:00Geez, was Ron English "just following orders&...Geez, was Ron English "just following orders" in Pottergate too? If you ever met the dude, he's no pushover. Frankly I find most of what he says disingenuous, to say the least.<br /><br />Remember the "emergency" CSHS elevator change order that didn't comply with statutory deadlines. He called it "a small noncompliance".mirmac1https://www.blogger.com/profile/10183460709639638172noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-61528261796937529762011-10-24T13:59:33.187-07:002011-10-24T13:59:33.187-07:00Ok, so a bit off thread, but to the point of votin...Ok, so a bit off thread, but to the point of voting in the right school board, I thought readers might be interested in this article from the Nation entitled "Big Money, Bad Media, Secret Agendas: Welcome to America's Wildest School Board Race."<br /><br />The story's about the school board race in Denver, but makes you wonder about where we are going to end up in Seattle.<br /><br />http://www.thenation.com/blog/164122/big-money-bad-media-secret-agendas-welcome-americas-wildest-school-board-race<br /><br />FedMomof2FedMomof2noreply@blogger.com