Seattle Schools Community Forum

 Last week the district had a "community" budget meeting (I was not invited and had only seen it as a one-line note on the district calendar.)  They invited 400 people and 8 came.  Maybe next time they might just invite anyone from any school community. Luckily the good people from Soup for Teachers sent a rep and here is Jason Rankin's write-up (thank you to him.)  He asks some good questions for the next meeting and hopefully, this thread will generate some more.  (I have to smile as Jason reports that the next meeting is on September 26th from 4-5 pm but it's not even on the district calendar right now.) I'll just note that on page 17, it states that the district had carryover funds of $31M. I'm sure those are restricted in some way but that seems like a lot of unspent money when there is need in all directions.  As well Sped spending has gone up 10% in three years. Page 31 has all the groups paid thru collective bargaining but I see no slide for the...

You might be thinking, "Gee, Melissa, not much notice." My thought exactly. I had seen this on the district's calendar at the end of last week but thought it might be something internal.  But no, it's this:

I wouldn't call yesterday's work by the School Board especially stellar.  (I think the staff did a pretty good job on the budget but, as usual, what was left out is just as important as what was put in.) First came the Audit&Finance Committee meeting of the Whole to discuss the budget. It is unclear to me when the Board received their copies but there had been some small edits.  I am also not sure when the appendices all got put in.  Director Carr told the group she had not read the appendices as she had been on vacation.  President Smith-Blum and Director Patu were absent.  (Smith-Blum is out of town and Patu has a family illness.) I can only point out that one the Board's main duties and powers is to review the budget and then vote on it.  What I saw yesterday did not inspire confidence that the Board understood the budget they voted on. Here are some key links you may be interested in.  Budget Book Appendix A Appendix B Ore-Level Bu...

There are four schools which are cheated by the District every year. They are South Lake, The Center School, The NOVA Project, and The World School. These are high schools which are not funded in accordance with the Weighted Staffing Standard used to fund every other high school. Instead of getting the funding that they are supposed to get, these schools get much, much less. High schools with enrollment under 800 are supposed to be funded with these staff positions: High School Staffing for schools with less than 800 students (AAFTE) Principal 1.0 Asst. Principal 1.0 Admin. Secretary (260) 1.0 Data Registrar (220) 1.0 Attendance Spec. (201) 1.0 Fiscal Specialist (220) 1.0 Activity Coordinator 1.0 Nurse 0.8 Counselor* (per 400 students) 1.0 Librarian 1.0 Academic Intervention Specs 1.0 These schools, however, are not allotted these staff positions. These schools are singled out to be intentionally underfunded. You might think it is because they are small schools, but Rain...

Reminder that the only Director community meeting tomorrow is Director Carr's at 8:30 am at Bethany Community Church across from Bagley Elementary. Also, the Seattle Council PTSA meeting on the nuts and bolts of school and district budgets is Monday the 13th at the John Stanford Center in rooms 2772-2774 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Also a heads up - the City and the district are sponsoring an Arts Education Forum  on Thursday, Feb. 16th at Seattle University, Pigott Auditorium from 6:30-8:00 p.m.   You are invited to join Mayor Mike McGinn, Seattle Public Schools Interim Superintendent Susan Enfield and youth for a lively panel discussion and community forum about arts education, creative learning and student success. Learn about a coordinated effort to create a comprehensive K-12 visual and performing arts plan for Seattle Public Schools. The district recently received a grant from The Wallace Foundation to engage the community in developing a plan to provide greater ...

As most of you know, budgets are now being developed at both the district and school levels.   There is a WSS (Weighted Staffing Standards) Committee made up, I believe, of a several principals and staff members.  At the budget work session last week, the principals spoke up and said they could not take any more cuts and, in fact, needed some money restored. I wasn't at this Work Session but Dorothy Neville was and said you could hear the worry in their voices. I do wonder what would happen if PUSH really did come to SHOVE.   Meaning, what if district administration would give up something BIG to protect the schools?  Like MAP or some athletics programs or ??? - you tell me. If you are interested in the budget process, it will be the topic of discussion at the next Seattle Council PTSA meeting on Monday, Feb. 13th.   Here's their blurb: Join us at our next Seattle Council PTSA General Meeting where we will discuss the nuts and bolts of school al...