Seattle Schools Community Forum

A very busy week before the holiday break next week.

I spoke at the School Board meeting on Wednesday.  One of my topics was the fact that in order to understand the raging budget deficit facing SPS, I was told to file a public disclosure request.  I pointed out to the Superintendent and Board that this was not transparency at its best and if they want support from the community, it might be useful to be open about the situation. This information  is not some state secret and, in fact, the finance/budgeting folks probably all know the numbers by heart.   To my surprise, I was sent this information by JoLynn Berge,Assistant Superintendent of Business and Finance. Great but, once again, not specific enough (but, of course, that's by design.)  I'll first note the obvious for every single one of us adults - when creating a budget, you start with what money you DO have and what you owe/needed spending and THEN you see what is leftover for other things.  The district seemingly operates with what they WANT ...

Last week, I asked district Communications a couple of questions about the projected $70M+ budget deficit for the 2017-2018 via email.  I also spoke to a member of the Communications team. When I asked, I was told that was probably a question they would get from many reporters and they would get that info.  (Makes sense, no?)

Despite it being a holiday week, there are SPS meetings happening.

One statement that Superintendent Nyland likes to say is "We can do anything, we can't do everything."   This week Seattle Schools hosted  two community meetings (which, for some reason, they called "work sessions." Confusing.)  At the meeting I attended on Tuesday, the 25th, there were four community members including me. Here's what staff said in their announcement for the meetings(partial):

Monday, October 24th The district is still looking for input on the K-5 ELA instructional materials (at select schools or on-line) until November 30th.

Besides this being #ClosetheGaps week for Seattle Schools, it is also DiscoverU week.  What is DiscoverU? DiscoverU is an exciting week for our community to come together and support students in exploring career and college options. Through fun activities in school and in the community, students throughout Seattle and South King County will have opportunities to explore their futures. DiscoverU puts student interests at the center and helps connect their aspirations with the many pathways to get there. Career & College Exploration   The opportunity for students to participate in fun activities and conversations that help them explore their career interests and learn about the education and skills needed to get there.  We promote all pathways that prepare students for careers in our thriving economy. This includes technical training, two year and four-year degree programs which we refer to as T-2-4. For All Students   All students pre-ki...