Seattle Schools Community Forum

District staff have put the the Action Report for Intro/Action at Wednesday's Board meeting for the "Approval of lease of space to Africatown Center for Education & Innovation." I have NEVER read such a disjointed and ridiculous Action Report  - with no less than six question marks.  There should never be question marks in an Action Report.   The staff either knows or doesn't know the information.  If they don't, then they have no business submitting such a report. I suspect the issue is that they cannot get clear answers from Africatown leadership and/or staff can't get information they have requested to be provided to them. There is a long and tortured history of what has been going on at the Mann Building (and I believe both sides would say it is not entirely accurate).    It is ridiculously long. Here's what I believe from this Action Report and its woefully state.  Staff is worried about blowback from having to ask police to help...

I am beyond baffled about what is going on with the district, the ACEI, Nova and the Mann Building.  I am saying - upfront - that I believe there is much more to this story than we know (there's a backstory there somewhere).  I continue in my belief that it will not turn out well.  I am also dismayed to see this all happening so fast as I wonder if African-American parents - throughout the entire district - have not been consulted and, as has been pointed out previously, no one group is monolithic so no one group can claim to speak for everyone. As we know there was this hastily thrown-together, unadvertised taskforce around some of the groups that were squatting in the Mann building.  Then, I read about the ACEI's plans for the outside of the Mann building and the votes taken on what the district should do.  The district's notes from the last taskforce meeting are here (partial):