Seattle Schools Community Forum

 FYI

Superintendent Search Watch The Board will be having a "special meeting" on Tuesday, August 26th at 4 pm at the JSCEE. No agenda yet available. According to HYA rep Micah Ali, the "leadership profile" will be shared at that meeting. - Then, from September 1-15, it would be shared with communities. - The application process for candidates will end on September 15th. - September 17th, final update to the Board. - September 26th, slate of candidates presented to Board. This is unlikely to be something the public will have access to as it's a longer list and some candidates may still be at other districts. - October 9-10th, Board picks final candidates. I believe this means those candidates will be announced to the public. - October 13th, Board discussion (so that means a Board meeting) with a pick made between October 15-22nd and the Board making an offer to that candidate. As has been previously stated, even if the candidate who gets the offer then accepts ...

Update One bit of commentary from me. Look at that schedule; it goes on for over a month. The district RARELY stretches out public engagement that long. Maybe because it will be the beginning of the school year and not fair to parents to have meetings all in one week? But to stretch it out like this is interesting. Maybe they are really trying harder on public engagement.   Via SPS email to families: Dear SPS families and staff, Seattle Public Schools (SPS) is excited to invite you to a series of upcoming engagement sessions this fall! These gatherings are a chance for families, staff, students, and community members to come together, share ideas, and help shape the future of Highly Capable services in SPS. The district is especially thrilled to introduce Dr. Paula Montgomery, the new Director of Highly Capable Services. Come meet Dr. Montgomery and be part of the conversation as we work to create more equitable, enriching learning experiences for all students. Your voice matters, ...

Update 2: So I did go back and readThe Times' editorial on the Rivera campaign using their endorsement language to make it look like they endorsed Rivera (when they clearly endorsed Joe Mizrahi). I had forgotten the language around the statement that was used and yes, taken alone, it's a pretty sketchy thing to use.  Also, somehow I had missed the article where The Times DID talk about the Jewish PAC and the flyer in support of Vivian Song. That's on me. Update The Seattle Times is not happy with D4 candidate, Laura Marie Rivera. Her campaign took an excerpt from their endorsement editorial for D4 and used it in a flyer. The Times took exception because the reference makes it sound like they endorsed her and they didn't.   In endorsing Mizrahi before the primary, we noted: “He has four opponents. Among them, Laura Marie Rivera is the strongest, and she clearly has a heart for kids. But her views on fiscal stewardship are not grounded in reality.” Rivera’s campaign extr...

Wednesday, August 13th at Denny International Middle School from 6:30-8:00 pm. This is for the Native American community. Thursday, August 14th at Byrd Barr Place, 722 18th Avenue from 6:30-8:00 pm. This is for the Black community.  The District says: While the sessions will focus on communities we have not yet heard from, as with all Seattle Public School events,  anyone is welcome to attend. Food will be provided at in-person sessions. ASL interpretation will be available. 

Update: On the Ad Hoc Budget Committee meeting: - The members want to tie enrollment numbers to the budget (which goes without saying but it is very important). - Warth talked about asking other districts about their public engagement on budgeting.  - It appears that they will only meet once a month. - The biggest news - which I apologize for not putting in the original post - is this from Director Clark: I'm under doctor's orders to work remotely until I get an approval for in-person work. I am hoping to be cleared after that. Finally. She can keep her health issues private but she should have said this publicly earlier.  end of update Hey Kids, I'm back...from Seattle. Hilariously, I went to the first meeting of  the newly-formed Ad Hoc Committee on Budget. I was the only one there in person (save the Board administrator and doer of ALL that work, Julia Warth). I had thought maybe a couple of the Board directors would be there.  Director Sarah Clark is chair with m...

From The Seattle Times: (I’m doing this on my phone so a bit wonky.) https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/politics/seattle-school-board-primary-whos-ahead-in-early-count/ Two races saw clear and dominant front runners while another is neck and neck. D2 is the close race between Director Sarah Clark and challenger, Kathleen Smith. Clark got 43.6% of the vote and Smith received 44.8. Eric Feeny received 11.1% of the vote. How Clark and Smith might split his 11% is anyone’s guess.  I eyeballed the vote count and this was the race with the most votes at about 16k.  In D4, incumbent Joe Mizrahi received 67.4% of the vote while second place went to Laura Marie Rivera at 18.4%. This was the race with the smallest vote count at 11k. In D5 , Vivian Song got a big 72.3% of the vote while second place went to Janis White at 16.4%. This race had about 14k votes.  I’m think the amount for each race might be based on the size of the director district. I do recall when they redrew...