Seattle Schools Community Forum

So Hec Ed is starting to fill up. It's a much smaller venue than Key Arena so it feels more intimate. - saw someone go by in the hall with a UW jersey with OBAMA on the back - saw kids from Juanita High who said their school allowed them to miss school for the event with their parents permission - a LOT of young people (but you would expect that with it being at UW) - saw Suzan DelBene (running against Dave Reichert) 10:30 am - the crowd did the wave three times, fun - the White House was streaming the backyard meeting live - the always entertaining Total Experience Gospel Choir just sang "God Bless America", Lean on Me 11:05 -practice the Patty cheer - UW Student Body president tells the crowd that UW was recently ranked 23rd in the world Now we're getting somewhere, here's Dow Constantine. Followed by Suzan DelBene (okay speaker), Jay Inslee (great speaker but holy cow, you have to be a Husky to get elected in this state, lot of good things about UW - said h...

Hey Kids, Well, I'm off to the Obama/Murray rally with all the other masses. Did I mention that I got a press credential to get in? Yeah, I guess Patty Murray's office thinks bloggers are press (just like McGinn office)? So miracle number one happened - I got a press pass. Let's go for miracle number two - hoping there's a Q&A with Obama. What can I ask him about....oh, I know! Education. P.S. Tell your kids my story. Not because it's great or anything but more about the power of persistence. You can lose out on a lot by not just asking or standing up for something.

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...

You have GOT to learn about this. There is a new law in California that allows the families of students at failing schools to demand school reform at their children's school and to take a direct hand in that reform. It's called the Parent Trigger and it is the most amazing and wonderful thing I can imagine. Go to this web site: www.parentrevolution.org , watch the video and learn more about it. Then let's think of how we can get a law like this here in Washington.

The district finally put the contract for the purchase of the MLK, Jr. Elementary property to First AME church. I'm no lawyer but maybe someone out there is because there are a few things that strike me. One is on page 15 section N. It's for something called Exchange Cooperation which is in the U.S. tax code, Section 1031. I can't tell if it was put in as a general course of how you execute this kind of sale or as a prelude to something else coming. From the IRS webpage: Whenever you sell business or investment property and you have a gain, you generally have to pay tax on the gain at the time of sale. IRC Section 1031 provides an exception and allows you to postpone paying tax on the gain if you reinvest the proceeds in similar property as part of a qualifying like-kind exchange. Gain deferred in a like-kind exchange under IRC Section 1031 is tax-deferred, but it is not tax-free. Okay, so the district may be able to put off taxes on the sale. But then there'...

The District's Audit Response web page has been uploaded. It stinks. On the good side, it has links to the relevent documents, starting with the audits. It also has links to a Board presentation on the audit response, the Board resolution regarding the audit response, a link to the minutes of the Board Audit and Finance Committee and... [drum roll]... The District's Audit Response Log , which will, purportedly, be updated regularly as it documents the District's progress in resolving each issue. This is the real meat of the deal. This one, on page 6, is my favorite: Condition: AE3.1 Superintendent did not disclose financial relationship with vendor Response: The Superintendent has publicly disclosed all applicable relationships. (October 2009) Status: Completed It is my favorite because it is WRONG. The disclosure document that the superintendent provided to the Board was not complete. It did not disclose all of her positions on boards of non-profits as she a...

( Update : there is a school meeting on this issue tonight at 6 p.m. at the Garfield Commons.) From the Seattle Times : As part of KingCo Conference sanctions imposed Monday, Garfield will not be eligible for the football postseason this year and in 2011. In addition, the school forfeited its 24-22 win over Sammamish. All of the school's teams are on probation until Sept. 1, 2012, but will be eligible for the postseason. Why? Students who were academically ineligible played in a game on Sept. 10th (which Garfield won). Both the head coach and the defensive coordinator resigned (according to the article both believed they would have been fired had they not done so). The coaches claim they tried to have a system in place for athletes to get grades/homework checked but " miscommunication " led to the ineligible players being on the field. What does Ted Howard, principal at Garfield have to say? When asked about the severity of the punishment, Garfield principal Ted...