tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post8817906457879918293..comments2024-03-29T02:41:52.718-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Audit and Finance Committee Meeting on Tuesday (Part 1)Melissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-2946243273176511432010-12-11T17:09:30.672-08:002010-12-11T17:09:30.672-08:00Where is Part 2 of Tuesday's meeting?Where is Part 2 of Tuesday's meeting?The Real Arnoldnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-11805738300697769332010-12-11T11:26:29.077-08:002010-12-11T11:26:29.077-08:00Man! I can't wait for Part 2 when Director Car...Man! I can't wait for Part 2 when Director Carr returns and Mr. Treat describes the Ethics Program.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-2281454286087256162010-12-10T11:44:12.769-08:002010-12-10T11:44:12.769-08:00"The staff's practice of speaking in twis..."The staff's practice of speaking in twisted language - or very briefly or not at all - is an intentional technique designed to shake off Board oversight."<br /><br />Watched MGJ's apology on tv. Only MGJ could make the 17% figure appear to move the district forward. ;)Sarahnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-2114400321875562492010-12-10T10:32:30.634-08:002010-12-10T10:32:30.634-08:00Charlie: isn't the answer to at least PART of...Charlie: isn't the answer to at least PART of the staff resistance for maybe, say, the Board President to sit down with MGJ and just lay it out -- that Board (and public) perception is that the staff (in the best case) sometimes comes unprepared to answer obvious questions -- the kind they should be able to predict and prepare for -- and in the worst case, they give every appearance of trying to avoid candid, thoughtful, and factual responses, and that she -- the head of all staff -- needs to order it to stop. Immediately. Or there will be some "accountability" going on?<br /><br />WV says -- staff needs to step up the content and accuracy of their communications with the board, or risk being "blysted."Janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09923777229601243321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-55620145441341548132010-12-10T10:28:13.477-08:002010-12-10T10:28:13.477-08:00What about making audio-recordings of all the comm...What about making audio-recordings of all the committee meetings and posting them online? <br /><br />Some Board members & district officials were asked about doing this (using the example that the WA State Board of Ed always makes their audio recordings from all meetings available), but of course the district was not excited about that request.<br /><br />Accountability starts somewhere, why not at these these meetings also, especially as it seems that whatever is recommended in these meetings is what is accepted and passed at the actual Board meetings?SPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12726295210572942506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-84290060217322585982010-12-10T09:10:25.169-08:002010-12-10T09:10:25.169-08:00Appreciation, thanks for the kind words. I do wan...Appreciation, thanks for the kind words. I do want to state that I do try to be as much a reporter as possible. That's why these reports tend to be long. If I summarized, I might editorialize AND you miss hearing the actual words used. I think that is important.<br /><br />But yes, obviously, I have my opinions and they do get into these reports but it's usually because I'm dumbfounded.<br /><br />As Charlie says, the minutes of these meetings rarely reflect the total of what was said (or not said).Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-9363627744325142202010-12-10T08:22:44.770-08:002010-12-10T08:22:44.770-08:00I've been seeing the Board try - without much ...I've been seeing the Board try - without much effectiveness - to actually do some oversight.<br /><br />Their effectiveness has been diminished first by Directors who oppose Board oversight. Some of them don't think it is appropriate for the Board to do this sort of work. Regard Director Martin-Morris' statement before the vote on the annual approval of schools in which he said that the Board should not question the veracity of staff's statements.<br /><br />Their effectiveness has also been diminished by staff's resistance to Board oversight. The staff stonewall, and obfuscate, delay, and neglect. A Board director asks a question but doesn't get an answer or gets a self-contradictory answer or gets an incomplete answer or gets an answer so nuanced and riddled with provisos and contingencies that it is meaningless.<br /><br />The staff's practice of speaking in twisted language - or very briefly or not at all - is an intentional technique designed to shake off Board oversight.<br /><br />These wrestling matches happen in Committee meetings much more than they happen in regular legislative meetings of the Board. It is weird to see a Board member press forward - tactfully! - to get an answer, to see the staff person bob and weave, and to see another Board member run interference for the staff to shield them from the question.<br /><br />In committee meetings, where there is no verbatim record, you can often see staff tell the Board members things that simply are not true. It's jaw-dropping. The Board members generally lack the detailed knowledge needed to challenge the statements. Or the staff will say something that directly contradicts something they either just said or something they said at the previous meeting. Again, it is absolutely astonishing. Mostly for its boldness.Charlie Mashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17173903762962067277noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-13266076981167988452010-12-10T08:17:50.238-08:002010-12-10T08:17:50.238-08:00Melissa, Dorothy, and others,
Thank you so much f...Melissa, Dorothy, and others,<br /><br />Thank you so much for attending these meetings. What a commitment to our kids! You are right, these meetings are the core decision-making process. And if there is no public attending, that is a problem. <br /><br />As an aside, I also have to say that in this post I appreciate the style you use: very journalistic, straightforward, and the facts speak for themselves. Thank you for this investigative journalism that is professional and civil and factual.<br /><br />Appreciation MomentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-17974722150777870902010-12-09T22:51:59.039-08:002010-12-09T22:51:59.039-08:00Also, in my previous life... we used to whiteboard...Also, in my previous life... we used to whiteboard processes in less than a day to document them and revise them for new incoming technology (such as a new payroll system.) <br /><br />Again, not an overly expensive or extraordinary time consuming process.<br /><br />Provided you have the buy in from upper management that is...StepJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11375599834945035820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-6470231972869300792010-12-09T22:46:11.388-08:002010-12-09T22:46:11.388-08:00Totally with you on paragraph one Melissa.
Comple...Totally with you on paragraph one Melissa.<br /><br />Completely true. Only worth it to attend in person if a.) You want to at least stare them down as they duck their heads when making their votes, or b.) You are giving a group a chance to vent - as in you have media coverage and a big group turn-out. The outcome won't change but perhaps a mere parent will at least be heard by the media if not by the Board or the District.<br /><br />The forecasted 9th grade attendance is totally false s*i%.<br /><br />The Board and District were all -- we can't create a reasonable plan to transition from the old plan to the new - as in create reasonable boundaries and not split families in the process --because of their stated reason of accommodating the multitudes returning from private school. If you are anticipating multitudes it would stand to reason enrollment would increase.<br /><br />So now they want to say that having the result desired -- having kids returning from private was not anticipated? Total crock.<br /><br />With genuine public engagement (listening) all could have been planned for and voila a MUCH smoother transition to the NSAP.<br /><br />As it is status quo -- trying to create the US vs. THEM fight among parents so all the other crapitude is ignored.<br /><br />Dang - how do these people sleep at night?StepJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11375599834945035820noreply@blogger.com