Seattle Schools Community Forum

Well, that teacher evaluation law change - the one Arne Duncan was using as something of a blackmail stick - went down with a whimper, not a bang.  I attribute this to a couple of things.  One, there seemed to be confusion about what the money was for and how much any district actually used (and therefore might lose).  Two, Duncan had not given any guarantee for the waiver if the law got changed.  That made changing it suspect. Three, as my own state senator, Jamie Pedersen wrote to me: I hope that the federal government will appreciate that we have done significant work in this area and give our system time to bear fruit, rather than denying us the waiver and triggering the unfortunate consequences. This speaks to the idea that Washington State HAS been ahead in a teacher evaluation law and could the DOE give it a chance?   Four, the WEA put on a forceful show in Olympia to point out that linking test scores to teacher performance doesn't hav...

Publicola is reporting that some legislators - notably Senator Rodney Tom - aren't really interested in putting more money into our K-12 public education system.  Apparently, even with all the mandates (including Common Core),our schools have enough money. I keep asking - over and over - how Senator Tom would spend the money for better outcomes.  What are districts spending the money on that he thinks they shouldn't and what would HE spend it on?  I never hear that answered. From Publicola;

The Times has an article about the smackdown between Governor Gregoire and State Superintendent of Schools Randy Dorn.  The issue is that the Governor is looking for more cuts and instead of prioritizing cuts, she's asked all state departments to submit cuts for taking 10% from their budgets.  That would mean about $97M in nonbasic education cuts.  Dorn said no.  He is refusing to submit any cuts, saying: "I cannot, in good conscience, submit a budget ... that is consistent with (your) requirements," he wrote. Now this is posturing because they largely protected K-12 last time around but now, cuts will be made.  (He is also spending a bushel on Common Core standards which are less stringent than the Washington State standards.  He could start there.) The outcome? And by not submitting a list of ideas to guide the Legislature — as all of the other agency directors have — Gregoire spokesman Cory Curtis says Dorn is making it harder for the state ...

I attended a Crosscut lunch with their guest, Senator Ed Murray.  There wasn't a lot to smile about in listening to him.  The September revenue forecast is unlikely to be good.  The Governor has already sent out signals that she expects departments to find another 10% to cut. As the Senator points out, K-12 is somewhat protected because of the constitutional mandate.  However, that doesn't mean they might not cut something else.  As I mentioned elsewhere, Director DeBell is worried the Legislature will tie money to attendance , forcing a really big mandate on schools and school districts.  Don't be surprised to hear more about attendance at your school. What was sad was that he said that he didn't feel many of his fellow legislators held that kind of regard for higher ed.  He said some of them felt the state should get out of the higher ed business (which begs the question of whether it is a "business").  That felt a little scary because we ar...

Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey is the Donald Trump of politics.  There is not one dopey statement this guy won't say.  The latest?  This story from the New Jersey Star-Ledger is the biggest and latest smackdown from Christie over funding of K-12 education.

Here's what may be happening in K-12 funding: Class size reduction for current year eliminated; schools would lose payments mid-year. Federal "Edu jobs" money absorbed into current state budget. HB 3225 summary HB 3225 bill - Both House and Senate Ways and Means committees will meet Saturday morning; members are expected to move to floor around noon. View via TVW Contact your legislator. In addition to millions in administrative reductions, cuts include: $51 million in across-the-board cuts to state universities $39 million to eliminate K-4 class-size enhancement $9.1 million in planned K-12 education reform activities $27.7 million in Basic Health Plan (freezes coverage and lowers enrollment as people drop off the plan) That federal "edu-jobs" money was to keep teachers in classrooms; it will likely get absorbed into the state's General Fund to off-set cuts throughout the system.

( Update: Couldn't find a direct link to the actual ruling. Here's a link to the KOMO story with a link at the bottom of the story.) In what is sure to be a huge story (and possible battle royale with the Governor and the state versus the school districts), the Times reports that King County judge John Erlick has ruled that the state is not " providing ample funding for public schools ." The judge expressed that he had no doubt this was the case. From the article: "He ordered the state Legislature to establish the actual cost of funding an ample education, and then to fund it with stable and dependable sources. One question mark is the timeline determining the cost and how to pay for it. Attorneys for both sides said they would have to first read the full decision to see if the judge set a deadline. If the judge decided on 2018, the year that the Legislature has said it planned to increase education spending by an estimated $1 billion a year, the state woul...

From Directors Carr and Maier, a Town Hall to discuss the K-12 Education Budget and Funding Issues from a state and school district perspective. This is with Representative Scott White who represents the 46th District. 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, October 20 Olympic View Elementary 504 NE 95th St State Representative Scott White white.scott@leg.wa.gov">white.scott@leg.wa.gov Director Sherry Carr sherry.carr@seattleschools.org Director Peter Maier peter.maier@seattleschools.org"