Seattle Schools Community Forum

Dear Seattle Public Schools families, I am writing to provide you with an update on changes to transportation for the 2012-13 school year, and also to apologize for the concern and confusion transportation issues have caused in the past couple of weeks. After several years of budget shortfalls, we have been working hard to develop a balanced budget for the 2012-13 school year, with a goal of keeping budget cuts away from the classroom. As part of this effort, the School Board recently requested an analysis of options that could generate more savings from transportation. We responded to this request with an option that would have saved approximately $1 million. In response to this option, we heard from many families who were concerned about the potential impacts and the lack of time to provide community engagement. We know that transportation changes, which in turn affect when school starts each day, may be unpopular. We also know that we did not have enough time to thoughtfully...

As we piece together the history of the recent proposal to revise the Transportation Standards, it reveals a story of deception, misinformation, abdication of responsibility, and, more than anything else, hypocrisy. The Board will vote on Wednesday evening on a revised set of Transportation Standards for 2012-2013. We can't say what those revised standards will be exactly - they have yet to release the final version. They will undoubtedly vote to approve - they always do. But what will they approve? Even they don't know. This comes after the Board already adopted transportation standards for the coming school year. How did we get here? It's an ugly, ugly story.

A fascinating, chock-a-block Board meeting to come this Wednesday night and I can only say, "Superintendent Banda, help us!"  That said, this meeting will have it all so he will get a very good look at what's to come. You should make plans to come given the uncertainty of what the Transportation Plan is at this time.  Both the Board and Banda should be able to see parents mean business.    To note: if you want to speak, sign-up starts at 8 am Monday morning, 252-0040 or boardagenda@seattleschools.org.   You have two minutes so time that talk. On the upside, Leo Pfeifer, the young Salmon Bay director, will show his award-winning short film, Who Owns Free Speech, from 5:45-5:55 pm.  (Note to all; if you don't want to watch it, please do not stay in the room and talk.  I've seen this many times with young performers and frankly, some of us DO like to watch the student presentations.)

Here  is the press release from Seattle Public Schools today regarding the Transportation Plan. This is a remarkable piece of dis-information that absolutely begs for critical review.

KUOW just reported that the district has canned the new transportation plan.   They will use the old plan but now with 45-minute trips as opposed to the current 25-minute trips.  This will save $500k, not $1M so the district will have to figure out how to close that gap. The reason given is the huge outcry of unhappiness from parents including the 2,000 signatures to the petition. Parent power.  It's a good thing. Partial from SPS press release: This spring we worked to develop a balanced budget for the 2012-13 school year, with a goal of keeping budget cuts away from the classroom.  To that end, the School Board requested an analysis of options that could generate more savings from transportation.  We re-structured the Transportation Office and asked staff to both continue researching the adopted standards and also to research new cost-saving options for Board review.  That research resulted in proposed modified standards for 2012-13, whi...

I have just a few questions about the Transportation Plan that are bugging me.

In answer to some questioning here about whether the Board is getting feedback, I can accurately say, YES.  Hundreds and hundreds of e-mails, phone calls - yes, the message is being received so keep it up.  To the Times' story which is pretty good and accurately points out the following: The one-year plan was developed without public comment.  It was announced weeks after the end of the open-enrollment period, a violation of district policy.  More than 1,500 parents have signed an online petition against the plan, citing sleep deprivation, student safety and the strain put on parents with children at schools with vastly different start times.  It was expected to save $4 million, but saved only half that, mainly because not as many buses could be taken out of service as expected. Some teachers worry that the proposal could lead to longer hours, said Olga Addae, president of the Seattle teachers union. Then we get to the excuses:   But offi...

Our group will hold a meeting on Monday 5/14 at 5 pm at the Wayward Coffee House at 65th and Roosevelt (parking available off the alley of Roosevelt Court just west of the coffee house).  Our plan is to prepare a presentation to make to the School Board at the 5/16 meeting.  We hope to get a speaking slot in order to present our petition.    We are teachers, parents, and sleep experts who want to see a transportation and school start times that put student's needs first!  Please join us.   Here's a link to our petition.

Pick any or all but do let them hear from you. Also, Marty McLaren is having a meeting tomorrow.   If you can go, let her hear from you. 12:30-2:00 on Wednesday May 9 th at the Southwest Library, 9010 35 th Ave SW school playgrounds not sufficiently lit  issues with adults (teachers or staff) being there to supervise No Public Engagement: The District introduced the new transportation plan at the School Board meeting on Wednesday, May 2 to be voted on at the next meeting, May 16. Staff admitted there was no public engagement prior to introduction of the plan. Furthermore, the proposal acknowledges that 5-6 additional schools will need to be moved to Tier One, but staff won’t disclose which schools will be affected. That robs those who will be affected of the opportunity to evaluate the impact to their school communities and provide feedback. After Open Enrollment: The Transportation Service Standards, adopted by the School Board on February 1, 2012,...

There is a petition out there on this issue with over 500 signatures.  I have Tweeted this and there is also a link for Facebook.  Eric B. has a proposal for transportation:

I got some information on the Transportation Task Force and it is worse than I had imagined.

Seattle Public Schools is planning to radically revise transportation plans and school start and end times for the 2012-2013 school year after the Open Enrollment. They have told the Board that their plans are set and little, if any, variation is possible at this late date. This "late date" is four months before school begins. Despite their total unwillingness to make any changes in their plans, the District regrets their complete refusal to offer any kind of community engagement whatsoever. So they are now trying to remedy that failure by soliciting public input on the transportation plans. They have a web page about the planned changes to transportation.

The District implemented a new transportation plan this year, one just as complicated as the new student assignment plan. It promised shorter bus rides, better driver retention, reduced carbon emissions and $4 million in savings. It also involved tiered bell times, reduced transportation zones, and lots of community stops. This new Transportation Plan was full of promise (or, at least, full of promises). There were a few comments about kids with long waits and long rides on the First Day thread. I know that some families make a practice of skipping the bus for the first week to avoid the inevitable shake out of transportation issues. What has been people's experience?

From the Seattle Times, a story about a former Olympic rower, Portia McGee, who is helping students in three SPS middle schools learn how to row. It's the first year of the program which is a partnership with the George Pocock Rowing Foundation and the school district. It currently runs in 3 schools - Eckstein, Washington, and Aki Kurose - and is going to expand to 3 more next year with the program at nine middle schools by 2013. Not for me but a state legislator is sponsoring a bill to allow parents to teach drivers ed to their children under 18. This came as a surprise to me because I thought the main reason to take driver's ed is to perhaps receive lower insurance rates. Driver's ed is expensive so I can see why this could make a difference to parents (although the stress and the possible damage to your car are also off-putting). The Times has the details in this story. I think the Alliance for Education has a new look for its blog (I doubt they answer comme...

As several people have reported (thank you), the district has quietly extended Open Enrollment thru April 15th due to changes in transportation services. This is at the News and Calendar page but not noted as a change on the Enrollment page. From the notice: A decision expected at the Feb. 16 School Board meeting. The Transportation Department will be sending out letters notifying families about students' transportation eligibility for next year. Open Enrollment is being extended to give families more time to consider whether these proposed changes will impact their choices for next year. What is to note at the Enrollment page is that the SPS Service Center will be closed all day this Wednesday, the 16th for training on the new Student Assignment System. Open Enrollment Period - March 15th - April 15th Tuesday the 17th There isn't an open meeting on Tuesday but there is to be a 3 1/2 hour Executive Session on Tuesday. It is about a complaint against a public employ...

I went to the Transportation meeting tonight at Aki Kurose. There were a grand total of six members of the public there, not counting a reporter. Cordell Carter got it off to a poor start in his introductory remarks by saying that the District's budgeting priorities were to "protect the classroom against all else". It was an unnecessary and unconvincing lie. Mr. Carter did nothing useful except introduce Tom Bishop. Mr. Bishop briefly sketched out the proposed transportation plan and then opened the floor to questions. It was through the questions - I submitted about six of them - that the story came out. The story, put into a coherent order, goes like this: Faced with the mind-numbing revenue reductions caused by the ailing economy, the state has drastically cut funding for public K-12 education in every possible way, including the reimbursement for student transportation. The State has adopted - just since January - a new formula for reimbursing Districts for s...

I have put it in the other threads on the Transportation Plan meetings but the location for the Feb.8th meeting has been changed. It was at Denny and will now be at: Chief Sealth High School, 2600 SW Thistle .

Here are the two additional meetings scheduled for the Transportation Plan. Thursday, Feb. 3 6:30-8 p.m. at Hamilton International Middle School, 1610 N. 41 st and, Wednesday, Feb. 8 6:30-8 p.m. at Chief Sealth High School, 2600 SW Thistle .