Seattle Schools Community Forum

I did want to write up a post about the Coe event as I thought some interesting things were said.    (This is long so get a cup of joe or tea.) 

There's a story about it in the Seattle Times this morning and boy, are the comments angry.   The arguments against seem to fall in three categories: mismanagement of the district and accompanying scandals doubling of the levy amount during a recession spending money on anything not directly related to the classroom (social services like health care, family support, etc).   What to think?  I'm going to play devil's advocate here and put out some questions.  (This does not mean I necessarily believe these questions to be true but I'm trying to get an idea of what the thinking may be out there.) Did the Mayor and the City Council make a mistake doubling the levy during a recession?  Yes, I would say so.   It does mystify me given the recession and the general climate around our district.   I would have thought some austerity about the amount and a gut check about our district might have been in order.  Has the levy been ...

KUOW's Phyllis Fletcher did a piece on the budget on Wednesday.  There wasn't a lot new but I note that Steve Sundquist seems unwilling to admit that yes, some people received raises strictly based on the "market study" or "internal equity adjustments." From the story: Board President Steve Sundquist says some of these came about due to the elimination of 90 jobs. Sundquist: "In situations where an employee is being asked to do significantly more work we need to make sure to retain that employee, so they're in a position to serve the public, that they're fairly compensated for that work. It's admittedly a difficult thing to talk through with people. " No, Steve, we would understand if the district cut back on staff and asked the remaining staff to take on more and paid them for it.  What is tiring is your deflection of the fact that some people got raises just to get raises.  Who paid for the market study?  Why was it impor...

A reporter from the West Seattle Blog - one of the few remaining outposts of original journalism - is following up on the supplemental school levy. You can follow his adventures here .

We'll post and update election results here. Here's a link to the county's election results web page Here's a link to the state's election results web page. As of 4:30PM 11/4/10 Proposition No. 1 Seattle School District Supplemental Operations Levy YES 101,463 65.18% NO 54,198 34.82% Referendum Bill No. 52 APPROVED 800,998 44.35% REJECTED 1,005,282 55.65% United States Senator Patty Murray (D) 941,361 51.27% Dino Rossi (R) 894,897 48.73% Initiative Measure No. 1098 YES 641,716 34.85% NO 1,199,822 65.15%

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...

So I guess the folks at Schools First are getting a little desperate. Because in not one but two radio interviews, their spokesperson said things that were just plain wrong and/or misleading. I want to point this out because no matter how much you want to win, you do not tell voters wrong information. Not if you want to have your group keep any integrity going forward. Exhibit 1. This afternoon, Dorothy Neville of the Committee for Responsible Education Spending debated Sharon Rodgers from Schools First on KUOW. Sharon stated, that "no money was lost" in the audit. Yes, it was. The district overpayed something like 80 employees over a series of months and is working to get the money back. It is unlikely this will happen. Missing assets (equipment) was also another of the findings. The Superintendent's gifting of public funds in the form of the gift certificates she gave out at the retirement money is money lost (this from the Attorney General's office...

Okay, here in one place (but if I missed something please let us know): information about both sides of the Seattle Schools Supplemental Levy. Schools First - the levy support group Committee for Responsible Education Spending - the group challenging the levy Facebook page for Teachers Against the Levy Facebook page for No on the Supplemental Levy CRES page with links to: official resolution, explanatory statement for Voter's Guide, teachers contract and levy, and endorsements There are 11 days until the election. You have your ballot. Sadly (and I think this hurts everyone) the levy is the last item on the back side of the ballot after judgeships. I have no idea how this bodes for either side as my experience is that many people don't vote for judges because they have no idea who to vote for. So look for a huge drop-off of votes for the levy which means every vote counts. Seriously. What can you do? Well, vote of course. Also, follow the directions . I can...

So I'm a veteran of school levies, working for and against them. I have never campaigned against a levy because I thought the district didn't need the money. It has always been about the circumstances and/or use of the money. In every levy that I have opposed, I got "you're hurting the kids." (I had one fine community member tell me how I must like kicking puppies.) This levy campaign, whichever way you fall on the ballot, is certainly interesting. (I have to wonder how much more attention it would get if it was the only item on the ballot. This is such a crowded ballot that members of our Committee have gotten blank stares, "What school levy?" or "Didn't we already do that?") The endorsements are certainly all over the place. I would say I find that the League of Women Voters (who have taken the position of "no position") had the most anguished answer. Here's what they had to say: "The League of Women Voters decided to t...

A number of people have let me know about an e-mail that the Superintendent sent out on Friday to all staff. She says this in the opening paragraph: "I am writing to share some facts with you about the operations levy on the November 2 ballot. I ask you in turn to share this information with your family members and neighbors to ensure they are fully informed about the purpose of this levy request. " She goes on to outline info about the levy and then urges people to remember to vote. She does not tell anyone how to vote. I called and talked to the PDC about the e-mail. Because she does give information on how much the levy is asking for and its costs to taxpayers, that is considered to be balanced. (Yes, I know that is funny that including the amount of the levy balances her message.) As well, I was told by the district that she frequently discusses policy issues via e-mail. So the e-mail is legal. I asked a couple of people I know at UW if they ever get e-mails a...

The Stranger invited both sides of the Supplemental School Levy to write posts for their news blog, SLOG. You can read them here and here .

I thought Lendee was joking when he/she posted that . I am surprised and shocked to my core. The Times has been so seemingly myopic in their education vision, so one-sided in their coverage and now this. I do think that seeing that other groups (the 11th district Dems, the 43rd district Dems and the League of Women Voters) expressing lack of confidence in the district helped. I think having staff on the Committee (Ken Berry of Van Asselt and Eric Muhs of Ballard) lends an inside voice. But I think that Dorothy Neville and her quiet, persuasive manner have made many people listen. I don't know what it means (in many directions). Will it influence the outcome of the election? It is hard to say. Someone at Hamilton asked me last night after I spoke about the levy, "How do you know if the levy fails that the district will take it as a referendum against its direction or if it is the economy?" Well, just like EVERY election, you cannot say why voters went one way. The...

Because it's for the kids. Stranger Endorsements .

The Seattle Times ran a story today on the supplemental levy campaign. Despite a headline about the opposition, the bulk of the article was about the YES campaign. There was no effort to provide objective facts about the levy, just statements from each side.

Monday the 11th, 2 p.m. - the City Council is taking public input on their consideration of the supplemental schools levy. You sign up to speak before the meeting starts and you have 2 (whole) minutes. Tuesday the 12th, 4-6 p.m - Audit and Finance Committee meeting on audit issues. The Board committee members are likely to continue their way through the long list of audit issues and staff will tell them what they are doing. Wednesday the 13th, 4-6 p.m. - Board Work Session on Special Education. A presentation from Special Ed staff is expected. I urge anyone who wants to make a presentation on behalf of the Special Ed PTSA to tell a Board member NOW that you want 5-10 minutes for your presentation. As Director Martin-Morris has pointed out, there is no policy that says only staff can present. Be the test case. (Now staff is going to read this and try to head you off at the pass. They may tell the Board they might not be able to answer questions if time is taken away from t...

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...

The Committee for Responsible Education Spending (opposing passage of the supplemental levy) has been going to different venues to speak. Our goal is to give people the fullest picture of what the levy will and will not do. I'll write up a separate thread and try to go through each statement by the district. (We did get support from Dem. district #11 who voted a No on their endorsement and the 43rd Dems voted to give no endorsement at all. It's interesting because some PTAs are choosing to remain neutral and/or still haven't taken a vote.) One question we have gotten is " what happens to the teachers' raises if the levy doesn't pass ?" We researched this question and here's the answer and readers can all try to decipher how it got bargained this way. (By the way, this is information the district and Schools First haven't answered at all.) According to the contract, if the levy doesn't pass, the teachers will not get their raises for ...

For the upcoming elections, the Seattle Times is running a feature called The Truth Needle . The Seattle Times political team investigates the claims of candidates and campaigns and renders an opinion on whether the claims are true or false. I have submitted the claims, by SchoolsFirst! , that the supplemental levy is needed to restore cuts to the District budget resulting from reduced support from the State. While I am fairly confident that any comparison between the budget cuts and the planned spending for the levy revenue will disprove the claim, I am much less confident that the Seattle Times will choose to examine the claim. I think it would be helpful if a number of other people also suggested that the Truth Needle review this claim by SchoolsFirst! (and other levy supporters). You can submit a claim for review from the Truth Needle web page.

So a new school year has started, the Superintendent wants to meet you, and there's a campaign to defeat the supplemental levy (Charlie and I are part of it with Dorothy Neville, Meg Diaz and Ken Berry.)

Open Thread Friday; what's new and different? Also, the district needs to find someone(s) to write the rebuttal for the voters pamphlet for the upcoming supplemental levy. Please let me know at sss.westbrook@gamail.com. You must be willing to sign your name.