Seattle Schools Community Forum

Sharon Peaslee has been elected President of the Seattle School Board by a vote of 4-3.  Sherry Carr was also nominated. Betty Patu was elected unanimously to be Vice-President. Marty McLaren was elected unanimously to be Member-at-Large. Superintendent Banda conducted the elections. I'll have a longer wrap-up of the Board meeting but a few notes. Blanford recused himself from two votes that involved his wife who works for the district in CTE. Blanford, Martin-Morris and McLaren won't be having any December community meetings (for various reasons - Martin-Morris was unable to find a space).  They all said you could contact them via e-mail.   The majority of public testimony to the Board were on three topics.   One, allowing current 7th graders at Hamilton to stay on and finish 8th grade there.  One speaker said that they had been told there was not space but now the finding is that there would be space.  As well, they said Laurelhurst 7th...

I attended the Oath of Office ceremony this afternoon for our two new and one returning Board members.  It had all the usual trappings; family, supporters and a fair number of staff.  There were speeches (mercifully brief) but, from talking to others, there is one person who stood out to many of us. I think I'll write this thread as straight as I can and you can be the judge of what stands out.  (I saw some readers so they can let you know if I get it mostly right.) Vice-President Peaslee (now the top person in leadership given President Smith-Blum is gone) welcomed everyone.  She almost got ahead of herself by having Sue Peters come up but remembered that Superintendent Banda was to say a few words.  He mentioned that he himself had served on a Board and is often asked how it is to work with a 7-person Board.  He said that he sometimes wonders if it's a trick question.  He said it was very much like being in a large family. Then Sue Peters ca...

I wasn't able to attend the Executive Committee meeting this morning but Board staff were kind enough to give me the handouts (thanks Lily and Teresa). As a heads up, a couple of things from the Legislative agenda (aka School Board agenda). - November 20th.  The Growth Boundaries discussion/vote is the fifth Action item on the agenda.  Two items ahead of it will likely go quickly but the Special Ed item and possible closure of Pinehurst are likely to have some amount of discussion (and, with any luck, Pinehurst will be pulled off the agenda).  Altogether the Boar has 13 Action items to vote on (whew!) plus three Intro items.  One of those is acceptance of RTTT money for the three IB programs. I let you know this simply if you are trying to time your arrival (unless you want to come for Public Testimony but by then, it will all be over but the shouting).  If I had to call it, I'd say the Growth Boundaries discussion and vote will not start before 6:30 p.m. ...

I print  that title because I just read the Parent Map editorial about the School Board races. It's a race that should be viewed as  a bellwether for the future of the national debate about public education. That's a big statement but the editorial goes on to note the concern over: big money in a school board campaign negative campaigning Dale Estey, who claimed not to be aware of or in control of some of her campaign P.R. machinery, also admitted to me on Election Night that such tactics are a calculated risk. She said experts had told her that the gains from negative publicity far outstrip the losses. This blind faith in "experts" contradicts the image Dale Estey sought to portray, that of a homegrown girl in touch with the concerns of Seattle families. Had she listened to  the people whose doorbells she rang,  instead of experts, and followed her own instincts, she might have understood early on that negativity was a problem, especially when n...

From Dale Estey's campaign page: Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Over the last several months I have had the tremendous honor of meeting with thousands of voters across the city and hearing their hopes and desires for high quality education for all of Seattle’s kids. It has been an inspiring and overall fun adventure. I have learned a great deal from hardworking educators and leaders throughout the District, families who are deeply invested in making public education work, and thoughtful student and other community leaders. We have helped push the District and the community toward finally making progress on long-standing challenges, and we have kept conversations focused on solutions. It appears that the votes aren’t there to win this election, and I just called Sue Peters to congratulate her on a hard fought victory. I wish Sue and the entire board great success in their work for Seattle’s 51,000+ public school students. I am deeply grateful to each of our hundre...

 Update:  The Superintendent has asked that the Mann Building item be pulled from the agenda.  I'm not sure if I'm glad or sad but I do know it's not good.  I suspect that the Mann building is NOT cleared so there may be some other news about this in the next couple of days.  Whether the Superintendent goes forward with these leases or not, he still needs to clear that building.   End of Update Between the Growth Boundaries Intro and the Mann building, it stands to be quite a night for a School Board meeting. There are 63 people signed up to speak (they will also 25). The majority are about the Mann building and I expect some pretty fiery rhetoric. (I plan to try to split my time - 1 minute whole minute on boundaries and one whole minute on Mann. I note that Charlie is also speaking and he's always entertaining.)  One tip: whether you speak or not, the Board likes to have your comments in front of them.  The Times has finally gotte...

  Update:  the next tally of numbers will come at 4:30 p.m. today, Wednesday, the 6th. From King County Elections: District IV: Sue Peters: 51.46% - 39,177 votes Suzanne Dale Estey - 48.18% - 36,676 Write-in - 0.36% - 273 votes District V: Stephan Blanford - 87.60% - 64,540 votes LaCrese Green - 11.93% - 8788 votes Write-in - 0.47% - 344 votes District VII: Betty Patu: 98.49% -  586,889 Write-in - 1.51% - 871 votes I just left a very happy Sue Peters election party.  Directors Smith-Blum, McLaren and Peaslee were in attendance.  KUOW's Ann Dornfeld's take on the Dale Estey/Peters campaign parties (very funny): At Peters’ party, it’s a mostly middle-aged crowd milling about the room, drinking wine and cocktails. There are purple balloons, sandwiches and cured meats. It’s a festive mood. It’s less festive at Estey’s campaign party, where there’s a sparser crowd and most of the guests appear to be drinking water.  

From Publicola: Ballot returns for tomorrow's off-year mayoral election are coming in lower than expected, according to King County Elections spokeswoman Kim van Eckstrom, who estimates that "about 250,000 ballots have been returned" as of this morning (that's about 40,000 more than you'll currently see on King County's official elections web site, which only reflects returns through Friday night.) "The numbers are definitely lower than we anticipated," van Eckstrom says. "We have no way of knowing if this rate is going to continue or if it's going to pick up." The estimated 250,000 ballots that have come in so far represent about 21 percent of the King County electorate; King County Elections has predicted a 55 percent turnout. Every vote counts - make sure you get yours in and check the cut-off time for any mailbox you use.  Here's a link to KC Elections and their ballot box locations. What's on your mi...

Honestly, I don't get it.  Why is Suzanne Dale Estey running such a negative campaign?  A new mailer has come out has come out that tops them all.  (Apparently, some people have received this but, if they sent it citywide, some of you may not see it until Monday or Tuesday.) It is a flyer that uses an illustration created FOR No on 1240.  It very clearly has a sticker with No on 1240 and says it across the bottom of the piece. Dale Estey's campaign knew this when they created it.  (My campaign did not create this illustration nor did the teachers' union campaign.  It was created by one person who wanted to express their opinion.  Dora Taylor, Sue's co-writer, put it up at the Seattle Education Blog for others to see during the 1240 campaign.)   The title Dale Estey's campaign uses  is “Evil Doers” and looks like something straight out of the National Enquirer. Below you will find the original illustration.    h...

Looked like the word "boobies" will be used in a Supreme Court case over two girls, who in 2010 were then 12 and 13, who were trying to raise awareness for breast cancer.  They violated their school's ban on bracelets and wore pink bracelets that said, "I heart Boobies!"  A lower court said the district didn't prove the bracelets had disrupted learning.   The district won't back down and has hinted it will take it all the way to the high court.  (What's interesting is that the district sees this as interfering with their right to make policies about discipline versus the girls' belief in free speech.) A new website about Native Americans called - what else - Native American News .  Has news from around the country on a variety of topics including public education. The Times got off a nice little shot of support for their favored School Board candidate in District IV.  They had yet (another) editorial about PTAs sharing fundraising dollars.  I...

I have consistently stated that Suzanne Dale Estey appears to have a great resume.  She seems to have broad policy experience at different levels of government.  But, based on attendance at and viewing of some videotapes of various campaign events, I realized that she has this tendency to embellish what her resume says she did.  So I decided to check some of what is on her resume AND what she has been saying at campaign stops.  Here's what I found: Working for Governor Locke Here's what her campaign website says: Federal Legislative Analyst for Washington State Governor Gary Locke Her LinkedIn resume goes further: Federal Legislative Analyst Washington, DC Office of the Governor of Washington State 1998 – 1998 (less than a year)Washington, DC Monitored Congressional legislation and federal agency activities on behalf of the Governor and the State of Washington. Worked with Congressional staff, White House and federal agency officials, national associati...

Last I read, King County Elections has only about 10% of the ballots back and, in an off year, may only get 30% back, so naturally, every vote counts.  It counts even more for School Board elections as the number of people who actually vote for School Board candidates is even smaller than say, for Mayor.  Proud to say, our household has cast four solid votes for Sue Peters in District IV.

Los Angeles Superintendent John Deasy told his district's top leadership that he would be leaving in a few months.  He came from the Gates Foundation and is yet another Broad superintendent to get exited or who left a job.  He has been on the job since 2011.  Into this issue wades Robin Lake of the Center on Reinventing Public Education (basically a local think-tank for ed reform).  She lauds Deasy for leaving "a comfortable job at the Bill&Melinda Gates Foundation."  Then she goes all in: In nearly any other sector, a man like Deasy—who is able to articulate a strong vision of change and pursue it relentlessly—would be able to get people to follow him and accomplish most anything. But this was LAUSD, where for decades strong leaders were eaten alive by the politics of race and unions and poverty and rampant district dysfunction.  Note that ed reform jargon: dysfunction (again), politics of race and unions and poverty.  Then she expla...

Following up on my analysis/thoughts on the Peters/Dale Estey race in District IV, I had promised a thread on this issue of so-called School Board "dysfunction ." As I have pointed out, in the Board evaluation, not a SINGLE member of the Board called the Board dysfunctional.  One Board member said if they didn't trust each other more, they would become "the poster child for a dysfunctional Board."  That's far from saying that they are.  (One senior staff member did call them dysfunctional.) Now if you read the whole evaluation, you can see there are issues.  No denying that.  BUT, what the Times and Dale Estey and all these people leave out are all the pages of comments - by both the Board and senior management - about the good things said about the Board as people and as Board members. Also, as previous reported, the Board voted in unison or 6-1 about 98% of the time.  That's not a dysfunctional Board.   This lack of balance in the election ...

In some ways, it's been a disappointing School Board election season.  With no challenger for Betty Patu and no real challenger for Stephan Blanford, neither have really been heard from.  For whatever reason, more forums have only featured Suzanne Dale Estey and Sue Peters.  This is something of a disservice to voters because, while I like Betty Patu, I think anyone running to retain their seat should be questioned.  Ditto on any new candidate like Blanford. But to the marquee race that is Peters versus Dale Estey.   Money : Dale Estey's own campaign has raised a little over $124k (spent $70k). Peters' campaign has raised  just under $31k (spent $13k). PAC for Dale Estey's campaign (Great Seattle Schools) - $102k (spent $52k). Blanford's campaign has raised just under $31k (spent $22k). So Dale Estey's supporters have raised about $226k.  There has NEVER been that kind of money raised before in the history of Seattle School Board elections. ...

As some of you may have heard, there was polling done on the upcoming elections by Strategies 360.   They state:  None of the firm's clients paid for the survey, and Strategies 360 is supporting neither client.    (Yes, but someone thought up those questions and I can guarantee it wasn't all Strategies 360.)  The poll was 400 likely voters, 78% white, skewed to the north and highly educated.  Nineteen percent have children in public schools while 11% have children in other schools. Sad to say but in this poll, the School Board ranks only above "Republicans in Congress" and below Obama, Inslee, Democrats in Congress, Ed Murray, the City Council, and Mayor Mike McGinn.  The totals were favorable-37%, unfavorable, 32%, ouch. They asked a number of interesting questions about Seattle Schools, the School Board and the role of the Mayor.   They asked about which of the following items " will be most important to you in deciding who...

Here's a link to the SE Chamber of Commerce event in early October.  Note: the lighting was harsh and does not flatter either candidate.  The video is also a little low. The first question seems to have gotten cut off - it was something to the effect of how many SE schools each candidate has visited. Also, the City Inside/Out show had a panel interview about Seattle schools and the races.  The panel included Lynne Varner of the Times, President Kay Smith-Blum, Tre Maxie of Powerful Schools and Phil Gore, the head of Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA). Notable quotes from the City Inside/Out show: - Smith-Blum noted that the Board evaluation NEVER said that the Board called itself "dysfunctional."  She said there were some trust issues but that they had voted 98% in unison or near unison. - Mr. Gore chimed in that 4-3 votes can be a sign of problems but that the Seattle School Board's voting record doesn't show that happening much. -...

That's not my title - that's KUOW's for Ann Dornfeld very good piece on the one contested school board race - Sue Peters and Suzanne Dale Estey in District IV. Seattle school board candidate Suzanne Dale Estey and her supporters are poised to raise more money than any other school board candidate in state history – even though a Washington state law passed last year put a cap on campaign contributions in school board races. There’s a catch: Although campaign contributions are capped, donors can give to political action committees that support the board candidates. That has raised questions about whether a handful of rich donors could sway the school board races this year. How much money: The Great Seattle Schools PAC is not the first in the state to fund school board races. But it is the most flush. Campaign finance records show that t he PAC has brought in $100,405 so far. Almost all of the money raised came from just a few people, including retired M...

Parents beware - Facebook has changed its policy regarding minors and their pages.  From the New York Times: Facebook has loosened its privacy rules for teenagers as a debate swirls over online threats to children from bullies and sexual predators.  The move, announced on Wednesday , allows teenagers to post status updates, videos and images that can be seen by anyone, not just their friends or people who know their friends.  They’re hitting kids from a neurological weak spot. Kids don’t have the same kind of impulse control that adults do,” said Emily Bazelon, a journalist and author of the book “Sticks and Stones: Defeating the Culture of Bullying and Rediscovering the Power of Character and Empathy.”  Two stories from The Stranger on Suzanne Dale Estey.  One about the public disclosure e-mails a nd the other a story they did when Suzanne Dale Estey worked as a lobbyist for WaMu .  I was wondering when they would get to t...

The Stranger editorial board has come out with its endorsements for the General Election.  Here's what they had to say about the School Board races (note, this is The Stranger writing so do keep that in mind when reading if you don't normally read their prose): Director District No. 4 Sue Peters Dear god, it's school board time. Kill us. The Seattle School Board is the most brain-liquefying thing short of embalming fluid. No matter what interesting outsiders and concerned parents and magic space aliens we send to the school board, the board somehow absorbs them into a giant blob of uselessness and continues operating like the tone-deaf, institutionally racist, mathematically illiterate shit-stain it's been for years. Despite being fed up with that, and despite most of us believing that having children should be illegal anyway, we endorse in these races because children are technically our future, etc. Here's what you need to know in this race: Sue...