Seattle Schools Community Forum

Today I received a notice about the kick-off for the Seattle Schools levies via Schools First.  They also asked for money to help support and run the campaign.  But they started out saying: Fifty-two thousand students in Seattle’s public schools need our help. And I thought, "What? That's not the number of kids in SPS." So I went to the district's Fast Facts and here's what it says:

Not so many comments but a lot of QAE parents coming in support of Principal David Elliott.  Several of them did manage to speak on QAE via BTA IV and thought acquitted themselves quite nicely.

OSPI has two  job openings of interest. - Special Education, Dispute Resolution Program Supervisor - Privacy and Records Governance Manager Yikes! the Schools First! group (the group that manages the district's levy elections) has "Mayor" Mike McGinn as honorary co-chair.  Wonder if anyone told them about Ed Murray. They have Lauren McGuire as BOTH an honorary co-chair AND a Board member. Both. She's busy. From the Wait, What? blog, Jonathan Pelto reports this: The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium has provided its member states with most of the results from the spring’s Common Core SBAC testing. Unlike Connecticut, where the Malloy administration is apparently keeping the information secret as long as possible, the State of Washington has been updating the public about the results as they came in. As of two weeks ago, Washington State had already received the results for more than 90% of its students.

The Times is endorsing both levies but with a caveat (and it's not exactly what you might think).   They are worried about "leadership."  And here I thought it might be complete accountability for that $1B especially for capital funds. I find it troubling that both the Times and Schools First don't make that accountability -given the strife since the last BEX/Operations levies - a promise not to be forgotten.  (In the past, Schools First members have repeatedly told me, off the record, that they, too, are worried about the transparency and have pledged to me to follow-up.  I have never seen that effort come after the election.) The Times misses no opportunity to complain about the Board and the Superintendent in ways that have little to do with the levies. The School Board continues to struggle to work as a coherent body. New Superintendent José Banda appears unable to defuse a teacher boycott of a standardized test that he and other district leaders ...

From Schools First (the group that works to support SPS levies): Seattle (December 17) – Schools First, the grassroots, volunteer-led campaign organization that convenes every three years to build support among Seattle voters for renewing the Seattle Schools operating and capital levies, announced today that it has begun its work to pass the 2013 levies, which will be on the ballot on February 12. The Operations Levy provides more than a quarter of the funds needed to operate the Seattle Public Schools, including funding for day-to-day teaching and instructional programs such as a sixth period for high school. The Capital Levy (BEX IV) will provide essential funding to maintain and improve Seattle’s aging existing schools, provide earthquake safety upgrades at 37 schools, and build and renovate schools in growing communities across the city. These levies replace the expiring operating and capital levies. “It is important to note that both of these critica...

So it's the eve before the ballots are opened. The committee that got formed in opposition to the levy, Committee for Responsible Education Spending, wanted to get issues out there. We wanted parents especially to be better informed about levies and the specifics about this one. I'd like to think that we accomplished that goal. I want to thank the members of our committee for their hard work; Dorothy Neville and Meg Diaz (two crack spreadsheet and data analysts), Eric Muhs (Ballard high science teacher), Ken Berry (IA at Van Asselt Elementary) and Charlie Mas. It was very helpful to have staff on the committee who could lend their voices as those with feet on the ground and in our schools. I ask going forward that each of you consider each future levy carefully. Each levy IS a tax and we are dependent upon our friends and neighbors who don't have children in SPS to help us pass levies. There are those people for whom $48 a year (plus all the other levies and initi...

I spent a frustrating time today in a room with some folks from Schools First! Schools First! as you may know, is the organization that promotes the passage of school levies. As a government entity it would be inappropriate for the District to take political action, so Schools First! plays that role. Dorothy and I spent time with three folks from Schools First! at the offices of The Stranger as they prepare their endorsements for the upcoming ballot. For the folks at Schools First!, this whole thing boils down to this: the District is going to get less money from the state in the coming years. Therefore we should take this opportunity to get more money from local taxpayers to mitigate the loss in total revenue stream to the District. Regardless of your opinion of how the District spends money, there are sure to be negative impacts on classrooms and students from the reduced state contribution, so having a bit more money from any other source could reduce those impacts. Schools Fi...

SchoolsFirst is a political organization that acts as the committee to get school bonds and levies passed. They pretty much run the "Vote Yes" campaigns for the Operations Levy, for BEX and for BTA. That's all good and everything, but Schools First gives the District blind, unquestioning support. No one from Schools First has ever - or apparently will ever - demand any sort of accountability from the District. No one from Schools First has ever - or apparently will ever - demand that the District engage the community. Moreover, Schools First has put out a lot of misinformation and, in the case of the Chief Sealth/Denny co-location, disinformation. Schools First gives the District exactly the sort of support they want from the community: straight from the checkbook. I suspect this see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil culture is pervasive at Schools First. One Board member, Peter Maier, came to the District from the Board of Schools First. As a School Board member, Dir...