By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

Four weeks before Seattle Public Schools superintendent Dr. Brent Jones is due to present a plan for closing a $105 million budget gap next school year, some of the possibilities were previewed at a school board “work session” this week.

The session (see the agenda and documents here) also was intended to be a recap of the challenges – inefficient state funding, according to district administrators, singing out situations such as state funding provided for nine nurses in the district, which has 65 without even averaging one per school. And the measures that closed a budget gap for the current school year also were recapped, including changes to the “central office” budget, which is $441 million. The board was reminded that “central office” includes districtwide services such as meals, far more than just middle and upper management at district HQ. This year the district reduced “central office” expenses by $32 million and is looking at $18 million.

But some of the ways they closed a gap this year are no longer available. And that’s why they’re looking at school closure/consolidation, for example, to create what administrators call “a system of well-resourced schools” – theoretically, larger schools that would have a full set of nurses, librarians, counselors, family support workers. No specific schools have been mentioned so far. But one slide from Tuesday’s meeting mentioned what closures would be expected to save – up to $2 million per closed school:

Another possible way to save money, with existing schools: Going to three bell schedules, for more efficient use of school buses. That could save $5 million, according to district staff. (The most-recent suggestion to do that was shelved amid a firestorm of opposition.)

Maybe higher fees, such as charging for athletic participation, or having families cover the fees the district pays for payments through the SchoolPay system:

Other possibilities could include selling property:

The meeting ran short on time (though it lasted about half an hour longer than planned) before much brainstorming happened, but board director Vivian Song mentioned one thing she saw missing: Raising revenue by growing enrollment (since each added student means more state funding), or at least – given the recent declines – actively working to stabilize it.

Before the meeting got to the discussion of potential money-saving measures, some general philosophical points about the process were discussed. Board director Leslie Harris of West Seattle wondered if any parts of the budget could be put off-limits – “we never really agreed on baselines.” And she also again chided district staff for not yet at least previewing potential closures and consolidations, or at least hinting at what values they’re using to review specific schools: Would those values include keeping K-8 schools? Keeping STEM-focused schools? Keeping small schools that are focused on specialized programs? Some discussion ensued about “focusing on student outcomes.” Board director Chandra Hampson, who has been previously reported as a critic of “option schools” (in West Seattle, that includes Pathfinder and Boren STEM K-8s), declared that those schools “don’t have better outcomes.” In a general observation regarding school consolidations, board director Liza Rankin said, “I don’t want anybody’s school to close, but we’re talking about schools meant for 400, 500 stdents, with under 200” and therefore short on resources now.

WHAT’S NEXT: The superintendent is scheduled to present his plan on Wednesday, November 15th. Feedback from the district’s recent series of community meetings is supposed to factor into it, but that feedback is still being parsed by district staff, chief of staff Bev Redmond said toward the start of this week’s work session.

LOCAL MEETING: Local school-board director Leslie Harris has her next community-conversation meeting set for this Saturday (October 21), 2-5 pm at West Seattle (Admiral) Library, 2306 42nd SW – bring your questions/concerns/suggestions.

While a formal plan isn’t expected until next month, Seattle Public Schools‘ next step toward addressing a budget gap happens at a School Board work session tomorrow (Tuesday, October 17). We heard today from a local teacher who says it’s important for concerned families to turn out for the meeting – at SPS HQ in SODO – because of the recent reconfiguration plans (WSB coverage here) as well as what’s ahead. She writes:

SPS’s management made a mistake. We need families to go to the SPS board budget meeting, TOMORROW. Tuesday October 17, 4:30 pm – in-person at JSCEE. The goal is to get many families in one place to connect and support one another. We URGENTLY need to get currently unaffected schools to support our affected schools because they could become affected schools next.

SPS administrators say they have a budget gap of more than $100 million to cover, and here are some of the possibilities listed in a slide deck for tomorrow’s meeting (part of the agenda documents):

You might recall, the “system of well-resourced schools” is where the possible school closures/consolidations come in, but again, the detailed proposal on that is still a month away. The district collected some community feedback at recent meetings (here’s our coverage of the one in West Seattle), mostly general opinions such as “what do you like about your school?”, and plans a report on the feedback at tomorrow’s work session too. If you’re interested in attending, the district HQ is at 3rd/Lander; if you can’t go, you can watch the livestream here.

P.S. Our area’s school-board member Leslie Harris has her next community Q&A meeting this Saturday (October 21st), 2-5 pm, at West Seattle (Admiral) Library, 2306 42nd SW.

When the Seattle School Board meets later today, they’ll hear from numerous people signed up to speak about a districtwide controversy: One month into the new school year, some elementary students at 40 schools around the district are suddenly being shuffled to different classrooms with different teachers. Some are being moved to split-grade classrooms. We’ve heard from parents at two of the West Seattle schools that are affected. The district explains the situation in this post from last Friday, saying it has to “balance” class sizes in order to get millions of dollars in state funding:

Every fall, all Washington school districts review class size and staffing ratios. To focus on early learning, Washington state law encourages school districts to staff kindergarten through third grade at a smaller class size.

Seattle Public Schools values smaller class sizes for our youngest learners. Our review showed a staffing imbalance that needs to be corrected to meet state requirements at several schools.

What this means for Students and Families

To balance our educator staffing, some students may be moved to new classrooms or have a new teacher by the end of October.

If this adjustment means a change for your elementary or K-8 school, you will receive a separate message from your principal.

Why is this year different?

In previous years, SPS was able to provide extra funding to schools to minimize classroom staffing assignment changes. However, due to the current budget shortfall, SPS is unable to cover that cost for the 2023-24 school year.

The focus is on maintaining the 17:1 staffing ratio for K-3 general education classrooms to secure full state funding. This is a districtwide ratio that includes the classroom teacher and additional educators such interventionists and specialists.

To ensure SPS is eligible to receive $3.6 million in Washington state funding, we must have appropriate staff-student ratios for our elementary grade classrooms.

One of the local schools affected is Alki Elementary; a parent there forwarded us the newsletter in which principal Mason Skeffington explained how it would play out for Alki (which is holding classes at the former Schmitz Park Elementary because of the future rebuild). He explained that the staff-planning process starts with enrollment projections in spring, and continues with “actual student numbers” in August. Alki, the principal wrote, is currently “over … target” in kindergarten class size “but otherwise at or below classrooms caps in all other grade levels.” He wrote that he spent a week of meetings with district officials “pleading our case for why our current staffing makes the most sense for students and learning,” but “received a directive to adjust my class sizes” to what the district wanted to see. The results include two split-grade classes. The principal indicated that families would receive information on “shifts and changes to class placements” yesterday, and tomorrow will be “‘moving day’ where students will join new homeroom classes and have a chance to get settled into their new classroom spaces and routines.” There are no classes district-wide on Friday – in-service day for staff – but the principal also promised that a support staffer “will be on site next week and available to meet with students and classes to help process feelings connected to this adjustment.”

We’ve also heard from a Roxhill Elementary parent who told us that at their child’s school, “A 3rd/4th split class has to be created, which will affect 3rd-5th grade students who have to be moved around and potentially switch teachers. Luckily, we are not losing any staff, but it’s obvious that this will cause a huge disruption for students and teachers.” This parent says, “We want to encourage people to write to the board, watch (tonight’s) meeting and advocate for stability.” Board contact info is online here; tonight’s meeting starts with public comment at 4:30 pm – the agenda is here – you can watch the meeting livestream here. As for other local schools affected – we’ve asked the district for a list of schools but so far have not received it.

Tuesday night is the final meeting in Seattle Public Schools‘ series of community conversations about defining “well-resourced schools” – considered to be a prelude to a possible recommendation of closing/consolidating some schools. That meeting will be held online at 5:30 pm. Superintendent Dr. Brent Jones is expected to deliver his recommendation in November. Also as a prelude, the School Board met this past Wednesday for what was described as a “budget work session,” though few numbers were presented. See the meeting documents here; the video is below:

“We’re back at it again,” Dr. Jones declared, noting that the district had solved a $131 million budget gap for this year, in part with $81 million in non-recurring funding, and now face a “$105 million challenge.” Deputy superintendent Dr. Art Jarvis noted, “Small schools no longer match the state (funding) model.” Our area’s school board director Leslie Harris observed that “closures and consolidations are coming .. this is coming at us like a tsunami.” Though district administrators promised to keep advocating for better state funding, chief of staff Bev Redmond observed, “Our answer has to come from within.” The bulk of the discussion was geared toward process, including this timeline:

That includes the date for Dr. Jones’s recommendation – November 15th.

Back to this Tuesday’s 5:30 pm online community meeting: As of Wednesday’s board session, Redmond said more than 300 people had registered to attend; the link is here. And if you haven’t yet answered the survey that’s been circulating throughout this process – you have until Friday (September 29) – find it here. (If you missed the Southwest region in-person meeting last month, our coverage is here.)

(WSB file photo)

By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

To borrow a sports phrase, this is a “rebuilding year” for the Chief Sealth International High School PTSA, with an all-new board.

This week, they kicked off the year with the first quarterly general meeting, and were heartened by the turnout – ~30 parents, students, staff gathered in the Sealth library to talk about everything from school spirit to the new no-cell-phones-in-class policy.

New co-presidents Shannon McDonald and Cami Peloza led the meeting. First, some internal business – the board still has a few openings, from vice president to some committee chairs. (If you’re interested, email chiefsealthptsa@gmail.com.) The PTSA plans a fundraising auction in December and a “direct drive” in spring. Right now they’re also interested in more members (the coordinator is community member Preston Anderson), to rebuild that base too; here’s how to join. Students are free, and there’s a scholarship fund for anyone else who can’t afford the nominal dues.

That’s all in line with th PTSA’s “strategic plan” for this year, which calls for encouraging more student/staff/family involvement in the organization and with the school in general. Other parts of the plan: Be more inclusive of families of color, to “get the PTSA away from being primarily white women”; to work more closely with the ASB (student leadership) and school leaders; develop strong relationships with staff; work with other major school-support organizations like Denny-Sealth Performing Arts; and to bolster CSIHS’s image in the West Seattle community, shining a light on student achievements, supporting caretaking of the school property, etc.

CELL-PHONE POLICY: As it happens, this new policy (no cell-phone use except before/after school and at lunch, as noted here earlier this week) is also bolstering Chief Sealth’s image – principal Ray Morales says he’s heard from other high schools interested in implementing something similar themselves. But before he spoke, reps from the Building Leadership Team explained how they came up with the policy. A teacher proposed it, said Maha Giundi of the BLT, which is a group, elected by school staff, that meets every other week. They worked on it over the summer; “we were really nervous about it but so far it’s been successful.” Even the rollout to students went more smoothly than expected; Giundi said they thought they’d be booed for it. Parent support is overwhelmingly in favor, according to a survey sent out with principal Morales’s original announcement. “It’s not punitive – it’s a policy, not a rule.”

Overall, Giundi explained, the motivation is increased mental health – it’s been shown that being glued to their phones has been detrimental to that. So far, they’re seeing people “talking to each other!” And there’s no question it’s a boon to teachers too – “we were tired of asking folks to put their phones away.” One attendee described the policy as “courageous.”

Principal Morales followed the BLT reps.

Read More

A new policy at Chief Sealth International High School this year – no cell phone use during class. Under the hashtag #AwayForThe Day, it’s explained: “The expectation is simple. Students will need to keep their phone away for the day. This means that during class time, phones will be in their backpack or bag and remain there until the end of class. Teachers will also have cases, lockers or something similar where phones can be safely stored if the student would prefer that.” After a survey, an FAQ was sent out, with most student questions answered the same way: “You can use your cell phone before and after school, and during lunch.” It’s going to be a topic at the first Chief Sealth PTSA meeting of the year, Tuesday night at 7 pm in the school library, PTSA leaders say guests will include Sealth principal Ray Morales as well as “a presenter from our Building Leadership Team talking about the research that went into making the phone decision.” Community members are welcome at the meeting too, even if you’re not a Sealth parent, teacher, or student. Other topics include discussing “key issues the PTSA will focus on this year.” P.S. We’ve asked Seattle Public Schools if any other schools have a similar cell-phone policy; haven’t heard back yet.

Received from our area’s Seattle Public Schools director Leslie Harris:

HUGE apologies – SPS District 6 Community Meeting is cancelled due to unforeseen mistakes in scheduling.

Next meeting (w/ lasagna) is scheduled for the West Seattle Library, October 21, 2023 – 2 – 5 p.m.

Please make sure to attend the online Well Resourced Schools [online] meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 26th from 5:30 – 7 p.m. and take the poll that allows narrative answers.

And tune in to the Board Work Session on the Budget on Weds. Sept. 20th, 4:30 – 6 p.m.

seattleschools.org – for sign-in information.