Seattle Schools Community Forum

(This is going to be an excerpt from the Audit&Finance Committee meeting held on Tuesday.  I note that this information is likely to be again discussed at today's Operations Committee meeting from 4:30-6:30 pm.  Also at the Operations Ctm meeting, there will be a bell times analysis update , a Facilities Condition Assessment and Study and Survey by the group, MENG , 2015-2016 proposed growth boundaries adjustments and Title IX update. I also know that many of you are waiting for updates on MAP and other testing and I promise to get that up in the next day or so. It's been a very busy week to cover.) There were two rather extraordinary presentations (and a couple of just plain "huh" ones that I will also get to later) at the Audit&Finance committee meeting on Tuesday.  One was about Title IX and sexual harassment which I just covered in the Garfield field trip rape update thread posted today. The other was the discussion lead by Flip Herndon, the head...

Looks like most of the operations/technology levies for Puget Sound regional schools are passing - Bellevue, Lake Washington, Issaquah, Northshore, Mercer Island, Shoreline, Federal Way and Kent.  Bond measures for buildings - which have to have 60% to win - are a mixed bag. Bellevue's, at $450M, was passing easily while Lake Washington's is just short at 57% for their $775M measure (larger than SPS' last BEX).  Mercer Island revamped their last capital bond measure that lost in April 2012 at $196M to one at $99M.  It appears to have easily passed.  It is still a shame that our districts have to beg voters for the money needed to run our schools instead of our state legislature fully-funding those costs.  It's interesting that the state wants new initiatives like Common Core but doesn't seem to want to pay into what needs to be done to make sure they roll-out well. Speaking of capital money, Seattle legislators like Gerry Pollet and Reuven Carlyle (among...