Seattle Schools Community Forum

Kellie LaRue is a parent in Seattle Schools and, in my opinion, a brilliant thinker on issues about budget and facilities.  This is her professional work and when she weighs in on issues at SPS, I listen.  Here's her take on what to do with the "extra" $11M for next year's budget.  (She sent these thoughts to Linda Sebring in Budgeting and to the Board.) Kellie's thoughts (red bold mine:) I have been following budget and capacity issues since 2002 and I have a incredibly simple and utterly boring recommendation, that would provide an immediate benefit to every corner of Seattle Public Schools - use the $11M as budget reserve to realign the building level staffing and budget cycle. 

I don't know what is up but there is a lot of adding and shifting of meetings in these final weeks of school.

Monday, June 13th Curriculum&Instruction meeting , JSCEE from 4:30-6:30 pm.  Agenda Once again, a jam-packed agenda which would seem to mean little discussion. Tuesday, June 14th OSPI is have a series of forums on the new Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) which replaces NCLB.  There will not be a forum in Seattle but one of the closest ones - in Everett - will be on Tuesday at the Everett Community Resource Center, 3900 Broadway. The next one in our region will be July 19 at the Highline Performing Arts Center in Burien.  There will be a webinar on August 1st.   Wednesday, June 15th School Board meeting , JSCEE starting at 4:15 pm.  Agenda 

Monday, May 24th Special Education PTSA meeting from 5:30-7:30  7:00 pm , JSCEE Room 2765  (When this meeting was first announced, I gave it a thread by itself and had the correct day/time.  Unfortunately, I checked the district's calendar page when I made up the list for this thread and it was wrong.  I apologize for the confusion.) Board Work Session on governance priorities and Superintendent's SMART goals from 5:30-7:30, JSCEE Room 2750.  No agenda yet available Wednesday, May 25th State Auditor's Office Exit Conference , 4:30-5:30pm Board Work Session on the 2016-2017 Budget from 5:30-8:00 pm.  No agenda yet available. Both in JSCEE auditorium   Thursday, May 26th Washington's Paramount Duty campaign kick-off, Sarajevo Lounge, 2332 1st Ave from 5:30-7:30 pm. Saturday, May 28th Community meeting with Director Burke at the Greenwood Library from 10 am-noon.  Also to put on your calendar: Join the Office of Superinten...

From a comment by Board Director Sue Peters: I invite Melissa, Charlie and readers to start a thread or send the Board emails on their Dream Budget or People’s Budget (with a nod to Councilmember Sawant, who initiated a similar proposal with the city's budget): What would you like to see added to the school district budget? What would you like to see removed? Because we are working within the reality of an unfulfilled McCleary mandate and thus limited resources (the state's failure to fulfill its Constitutional duty to amply fund public education), everything we add to our wish list will require an adjustment somewhere else in the budget.

Tuesday, March 29th Special Education Regional Meeting Portion of the meeting for families is from 6-7 pm at Whitman Middle School 24-Credit Graduation Task Force 6:30-8:00 pm at South Lake High School Please join us to offer your feedback on how Seattle Public Schools could best serve students under the state’s new high school graduation requirements. Mayor's Conversation on Education meeting  Mockingbird Society, Treehouse, and YMCA of Greater Seattle from 6:30-8:00 pm The 2100 Building (2100 24th Ave S) , Community Rooms A and B Wednesday, March 30th Work Session from 4:30-7:30 pm Superintendent SMART Goal #5: Bell Times; and Work Session: Budget The Bell Times presentation has some valuable history of the bell times issue as well as current updates (including a request from the district for a summary judgment that may come April 1st pending from a challenge to the bell times around environmental impact issues.) From the presentation, Part Two of Implementat...

It's an interesting week at SPS. Monday, January 25th  Understanding the School Budget - presented by the finance team at SPS.  It's at JSCEE from 6-8 pm.  I hope people go to this event because the district is trying to help further understanding of this important subject.  They’ll share helpful information such as: When the 2016-17 school planning dates occur An overview of the budgeting process How funding is determined and schools are staffed, including understanding information around class sizes and the process for parent involvement Also, Elliott Bay Book Company is having an event about becoming an activist for any topic.  It's at 7 pm. Now in When We Fight, We Win : Twenty-First-Century Social Movements and the Activists That Are Transforming Our World (The New Press), longtime social activist Greg Jobin-Leeds joins forces with AgitArte—a collective of artists and organizers—to capture the stories, philosophies, tactics, and art...

Did you know that the district has rank ordered programs/support activities in district buildings ?  The reasoning is two-fold - for enactment of 1351 for smaller class sizes in K-3 and the growth in Seattle Schools.  Here's the list from a letter that Flip Herndon sent on Oct. 13, 2015 to "Seattle Public School Partners:"