Seattle Schools Community Forum

 Update:  here's the updated story from Queen Anne/Magnolia News .  Some interesting history but also some expensive trouble for the district. The building had various uses after it closed like being the home to the African-American Academy and a temporary fire station. The "uh oh" is that it has landmark status thru the City in a large way.  This means much higher costs than if they could just renovate it without that status.  This has been a problem at many schools like Roosevelt, Cleveland, and Garfield.  I'm trying to recall the last elementary that had a major update that had this status but I know Coe, Stevens and maybe T.T. Minor. end of update Opened in 1927, Magnolia Elementary School served the neighborhood’s children for nearly six decades, before it closed in 1984 due to declining enrollment. From then on, it served as a temporary site for several schools, including Adams (from 1987 to ‘89) and John Muir Elementary (1989 to ‘90). ...

The Board is having a multi-topic Work Session today with an update on the Families and Education levy, more Board policies and a  presentation to the Board on the 2025-2016 Budget.  I don't know if it's because I don't read many budgets but I am finding this presentation documentation hard to understand.  It appears - on page 10 - that the district is trying to pay for "strategic initiatives/grant backfill " to about $5M.  Seems like a lot given that's money that is NOT going to the classroom.  What is also troubling on that same page - if I am reading it correctly - is that the district says the "materials, supplies, operating costs" are at $20.3M .  And yet, they will get $16.5M from the Operations levy.  Obviously the two numbers are not equal but the problem for me is that the district gets money from the state for operations.  If there is state money plus local levy money, how are they not able to corral the $20M? They ...