Seattle Schools Community Forum

Update from the News Tribune (by the way, want to read good reporting? read the News Tribune): That increase in the levy lid is set to expire in January 2018, causing school district officials to seek an extension . Some lawmakers argued that school district officials won’t need the increased levy authority if the Legislature meets its obligations to fully fund public schools before 2018. The compromise budget says the Legislature will revisit the issue next April, if lawmakers determine they aren’t on track to fully fund public schools by April 30.  “We have got to be committed to the solution,” said state Sen. Bruce Dammeier, R-Puyallup, who called the plan a “well-worked compromise.” Other lawmakers said school districts need more certainty than the budget provides. State Sen. Mark Mullet, D-Issaquah, said many school districts will have to plan for layoffs and budget cuts without the extension of the levy cliff. “This is a devastating blow to school di...

Washington's Paramount Duty has a new website and is still working hard to see McCleary fully enacted. Here's how their home page reads: The shameful, endless STATUS QUO Parents and their children live and breathe it every day: overcrowded classrooms ... lack of basic textbooks and supplies ... disappearing arts and sports programs ... unsafe buildings ... overwhelmed teachers ... Pretty much says it all. Now for something pretty funny - former Governor Christine Gregoire is now the CEO of a group - Challenge Seattle - to work on "transportation and education issues."  From Geek Wire:  The new organization officially came out of stealth mode earlier this month, announcing plans  to solve the region’s pressing transportation and education problems with the help of government, the University of Washington, and 17 leaders from some of the largest and most successful local companies. I'll be honest; when I see more business types than any other in a g...

  Update: the Governor's office has a list of bill signings this week.  The charter school bill - 6194 - is not on it.  A signal he might let it quietly pass into law? Consider giving his office a call to veto it, 360-902-4111 E-mail

I finally received one charter school's documents that I had requested via public disclosure; these were from Green Dot's Destiny Middle School.  Now it took some doing because initially a couple of charters did not want to give me anything, saying they weren't public schools.  When I pressed them on handing over documents that were created during the time that they were charter schools, then I got an okay but was put off to "March or April."  I'm still waiting for a couple of other schools.  (I note that Rep. Gerry Pollet also got this runaround which should tell you something.) Green Dot itself only sent them to me in hard copy which, of course, makes it more difficult to copy from and track.  They said they have to buy special "software" to send them to me electronically.  Guess what was in the huge stack of documents?  A letter dated October 2015 to a law firm saying that Green Dot would be sending them public disclosure documents...electron...

The Seattle Special Education PTSA will hold a SECOND March meeting tonight at the JSCEE auditorium from 7-9pm .  Our guests include SPS' new Manager of Behavioral Health David Lewis. We've asked him to talk about the district's implementation of its multi-tiered system of supports for social-emotional needs (MTSS-B). Hope to see you there.

Tuesday, March 29th Special Education Regional Meeting Portion of the meeting for families is from 6-7 pm at Whitman Middle School 24-Credit Graduation Task Force 6:30-8:00 pm at South Lake High School Please join us to offer your feedback on how Seattle Public Schools could best serve students under the state’s new high school graduation requirements. Mayor's Conversation on Education meeting  Mockingbird Society, Treehouse, and YMCA of Greater Seattle from 6:30-8:00 pm The 2100 Building (2100 24th Ave S) , Community Rooms A and B Wednesday, March 30th Work Session from 4:30-7:30 pm Superintendent SMART Goal #5: Bell Times; and Work Session: Budget The Bell Times presentation has some valuable history of the bell times issue as well as current updates (including a request from the district for a summary judgment that may come April 1st pending from a challenge to the bell times around environmental impact issues.) From the presentation, Part Two of Implementat...

By my rough count, probably half of Seattle Schools' school buildings are probably pre-1986.  That's a key date, according to this NY Times story on schools nationwide worrying about lead in the water.