(Cart awaiting missing book; photos courtesy Cheryl Sullivan)
Tomorrow is the last day of classes for Seattle Public Schools – and among the loose ends to be tied up before that last bell sounds, administrators are trying to get students to bring back school-owned materials. At Chief Sealth International High School, assistant principal Cheryl Sullivan says, “We currently have more than $47,000 in lost/ outstanding books and fines that we are desperately trying to recoup. That includes almost 400 math books alone.” And yes, there’s a price for not returning something – she explains:

Current and former students of Chief Sealth International High School are being requested to bring and return all library and/or textbooks to the school this week. Our current 5th period classes are having a bit of a friendly competition to see who can clear their accounts fastest. As a reminder to families, students will be unable to participate in athletics, overnight field trips, dances, and other extra-curricular activities in the 14-15 school year if they have overdue/lost books and/or fines on their student account. Questions regarding individual student accounts may be directed to Cheryl Sullivan, Assistant Principal, at 206-252-8708 or by e-mail to chsullivan@seattleschools.org.

Optimally, families will find these items and get them back by the end of school tomorrow. If you turn something up over the course of the summer, Sullivan says she’s planning to spend a day or two at Westwood in mid-August to collect items. Here are some of the notices up about who owes what:

But even if your student goes to another school, taking one more look around for anything to return will doubtlessly be appreciated; we suspect Sullivan’s sentiment applies elsewhere: “As everyone knows, we don’t have much by way of materials budgets any longer; any books located and returned would be much appreciated.”