Seattle Schools Levy: For or Against?

[Fence]

I typically always vote for more for our schools but there’s quite a backlash this year. I’m wondering what other people are thinking.

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[timeslid]

This is a difficult decision. These are some of the things to take into account:

The state audit of SPS concluded that the district has poor accounting practices – to date nothing has been done to fix them.

The New Student Assignment Plan starting this year appears to show that closing schools (at a cost) wasn’t a good idea. Now they need to be reopened (at a cost).

The MAP testing contract was negociated in bad faith as the Super didn’t tell anyone that she was on the board of the company providing the service.

None of the money in the levy is required to be spent where they say it will be spent. All the money goes to the general fund without specific classroom targeting. This provides an opportunity for more administrative waste.

Basically it comes down to trust with this group. They have said one thing and done another without “Accountability” for too long. They scream about “Accountability” in the classroom, but for the administration – nada.

Voting no sends a message, doesn’t directly hurt the classrooms and a new levy (a better, more targeted one with accountability built in) can be brought before the voters in six months.

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[JoB]

timeslid…

no makes sure that the funds aren’t available to fix the problems that have been identified :(

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[DP]

JoB: If the “problems” are related to lack of accountability, those are clearly not going to be fixed by throwing more money at them. I don’t get your logic here.

Besides, I thought you were pro-accountability. You just said so yesterday. :0)

timeslid, how can you be sure that a “no” vote will send the message you want on accountability? All I recall seeing on the ballot was “APPROVED” and “REJECTED.” I didn’t see a choice that said “REJECTED -because of lack of accountability.”

I kid, but seriously . . . won’t a lot of people read a rejection on this (or any) school levy as people just being stingy with the kids, or maybe being angry at the high cost of their property taxes?

Presumably you have raised these issues elsewhere, at school board meetings and such. Am I right?

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[timeslid]

DP – right you are. I should have included that voting no has nothing to do with anti-tax fever. Having been to more than my share of meetings and discussions with the district and related school committees, it seems that there will be the appropriate message received: “Enough”!

And of course a thoughtful email will go out to the School Board, the Superintendant and the Seattle City Council Education Committee stating the motivation for the “No” vote.

Good Point!

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[DP]

timeslid: I already voted “yes,” on the levy, and would have done so anyway *

BUT BUT BUT . . .

. . . let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help convey your message about accountability to the District.

Please suggest some text for a brief e-mail and give me the address to send it to, and by gorrie, I’ll DO it. (Hell, you know me. Anything to do with complaining, I’m totally there!!)

—David

* I know someone at the District and my you-know-what would be in a ringer if I didn’t vote for school levies. Is this intellectually dishonest of me? Of course it is!

But hey! I care about my you-know-what.

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[JoB]

DP..

i don’t believe that voting no on this school levy sends a message to the district about accountability.

you send that message the old fashioned way by reading minutes and reports and making calls and sending letters and showing up at meetings.

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[timeslid]

JoB – Been there, done that – for YEARS! Nuff said.

DP – I will get your desired info.

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[me on 28th Ave SW]

both sides of the debate: http://www.littleurl.net/0f0817

school board member emails:

michael.debell@seattleschools.org

betty.patu@seattleschools.org

sherry.carr@seattleschools.org

peter.maier@seattleschools.org

steve.sundquist@seattleschools.org

kay.smith-blum@seattleschools.org

harium.martin-morris@seattleschools.org

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[JoB]

me on 28th Ave SW

the question and answer portion of that link was definately biased… a pretty poor presentation of both sides of the story.

this link from the home page gives a more balanced view of both sides of this issue..

Election countdown: Seattle Public Schools Proposition 1

all of the talk about the money raised from the levy being siphoned off to operational expenses is speculative..

but there is one thing we can say for sure..

if we don’t pass the levy the teachers won’t get raises and there won’t be new books….

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[me on 28th Ave SW]

Example of letter that might be written:

Dear XXX,

I am writing today so that you will be aware that although I voted yes for the levy I have serious concerns about the accountability of the district. The State audit of the 2008-2009 school year resulted in a number of findings that are troubling. In particular, I am upset that our own superintendant did not disclose that she was on the board of the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), the company that sells Seattle Schools the MAP tests before the contracts were signed. This was a clear conflict of interest. The Superintendent is accountable to the Board according to the Board Policies and Procedures. Your public is waiting.

Sincerely,

XXXXX

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[westello]

“No makes sure that the funds aren’t available to fix the problems that have been identified”

So fulfilling the teachers contract is the most urgent problem this district has? Because that’s where a lot of the money is going. And, the district just got a federal grant that will allow them to fulfill the contract (sort of like a pilot for the contract) in 34 low-performing schools (that’s a third of our schools).

Textbooks? First, keep in mind that the science and social studies textbooks will have a consultant attached to them as did the Language Arts alignment. Second, the district allowed textbooks – one of the most basic items in the classroom – to not be a line item in their budget for over a decade (this from Director Martin-Morris). The district waits until a THIRD levy to buy books?

The teachers THEMSELVES signed the contract knowing they wouldn’t get raises if the levy failed. They could have held the district’s feet to the fire and said, “If that levy fails, those raises have to happen somewhere else.” But our teachers, our unselfish teachers, didn’t do that. They knew the “somewhere else” would be their classrooms. I don’t think the raise means that much if that’s what they were willing to do.

“you send that message the old fashioned way by reading minutes and reports and making calls and sending letters and showing up at meetings.”

You think that hasn’t happened, in spades? Of course it has. The Board is in awe of the Superintendent and she does pretty much what she wants. And in hard times, throwing an almost $7K retirement party (with a carving station and $100 gift certificates – yes I can show documentation on all this from the audit), seems like a district that isn’t so poor.

The Seattle Times said NO on this levy. That the mostly conservative Times would reject a school levy should tell you something about how serious they believe the situation is.

Vote NO and yes the Board and the Superintendent will get the message. (No, they won’t think it’s because of the economy or that people hate kids. Why? Because we already voted in two levies this year, same economy, same voters.)

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[me on 28th Ave SW]

JoB,

I think we will have to agree to disagree on this. I have been involved in my children’s schools, PTAs, read too many Board Meeting notes, watched the meetings live on TV, attended planning meetings etc to be fooled by the rhetoric. This is not about the children, this is about feeding top-heavy district headquarters administration. For the entire twelve years I have had children in this district, the cry has been about books, teachers and class size. The levys have always passed and here we are all these years later still crying about books, teachers and class size.

.

I invite you to spend time trying to hold anyone accountable in this district. Go to a public meeting. You may think you will get answers but will see what I am talking about. The district has plenty of money to have paid consultants present polished power-point presentations and hand out slick colored copies of them to everyone, but cannot or will not answer the public that show up looking for answers.

..

I am willing to take the risk of the levy failing and I will tell you why; because even if it DOES fail, myself all the other devoted volunteers will still be around fundraising to pay for reading coaches, gym teachers, music instructors, enrichment programs, kleenex, snacks and other supplies that SPSD has not fully-funded for years.

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[Ken]

For the last couple of years we have had to buy copies of the damn school book to use at home since the teachers won’t let the students take them home.

If they are really that short on school books, they should spend the money on that first. This practice has to be hard on parents without the education of my SO and I. Or the language barrier.

Will the levy address that? Has it ever been mentioned at meetings?

I always vote yes on the school levies and did so this time, but the district does seem really top heavy with idiot administrators. Listening to a bunch at a large table at the former Dennys near the HQ building was almost as bad as riding a bus and being trapped with morons.

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[timeslid]

Sorry to pull a Sarah Palin on you Job, but me on 28th beat me to it. I would add

Seattle City Council Chair: Tim Burgess tim.burgess@seattle.gov

and our Super (in-affectionately called) superintendent@seattleschools.org

A side note from personal experience. I have had falsehoods spoken directly to me by our district board member and our “Super”. Excellence for all my behind. Race to mediocrity is the game with corporate profits at the expense of real education.

The Root of all these problems comes from running the district on a business model which does NOT correlate to running the district with education in mind. Look and what happened to our country when an MBA president took the reigns. Running the country on a business model doesn’t work. Crap people look at the facts, the state audits don’t lie. Our district moves money from the classroom to the administration and their contacts. Go to a dang Board Meeting and see for yourself what’s going on. Maybe you don’t have a horse in this game other than your idealism or your taxes. I have that horse and and a bunch of ducks too.

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[JoB]

i don’t doubt that the school district has problems.

but the only ones i have seen suffer from holding a school district accountable by withholding funds are teachers and kids.

somehow i don’t think punishing the kids is the object here…

and although i am sure that me on 28th’s volunteer group does a great job at funding what they can at their school.. there are still a lot of other schools that end up left unfunded…

schools full of kids…

who are far more expensive for the public to incarcerate than to educate.

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[me on 28th Ave SW]

Another thing that voters could do who want to vote no but feel it is taking away from the teachers, students or school is to still vote no, but donate your time (whatever amount) or money (whatever amount) DIRECTLY to a school so that you know it is actually reaching the students. Look at any school website and you will find ways to help; registering your Safeway Club card, donating used ink cartridges, old phones, Campbells’s soup labels, Box Tops for Education, the list is endless. It really can be as simple as one of those things, and it really makes a difference.

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[me on 28th Ave SW]

Seriously, if all WSB readers registered just their Safeway Cards it would really help!

links to our West Seattle Schools:

Alki http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/alki/

Arbor Heights http://arborheights.wikispaces.com/

Gatewood http://www.gatewoodelementary.org/

Highland Park http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/hpel/

Lafayette http://www.mylafayette.org/

Roxhill http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/roxhill/

Sanislo http://www.sanislo.org/

Schmitz Park http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/spark/

West Seattle http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/westseattle/

Pathfinder http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/pathfinder/welcome.html

Denny http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/denny/

Madison http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/madison/

Chief Sealth http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/chiefsealth/

West Seattle http://www.seattleschools.org/schools/wshs/

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[westello]

“somehow i don’t think punishing the kids is the object here… “

Great, one of those “it’s for the kids”. Be a grownup because we are talking grown-up issues here. I’m sure that next fall, when the majority of the School Board is up for reelection, the cry will be, “We can’t change now.” So tell, me when is voting for accountability okay on a school district issue?

We hurt kids when every single tax dollar isn’t carefully allotted. We hurt kids when we DON’T maintain our buildings (as the district hasn’t). We have a half-a-BILLION dollars in backlogged maintenance. The district made the choice – long ago – to spend less and less on maintenance.

So the district decides to spend less on maintenance, buy books in fewer and fewer cycles, basics for day-to-day operations and we shouldn’t hold them accountable?

28th Street is right – if you want to help your neighborhood school, vote NO and donate money and time directly to where it is needed,not to central administration.

One last thing – the Auditor’s office has been working for 2 long years on an audit of the capital building program. When that comes out (sadly after this election), you will look back and say, “I could have done something.” That will be the audit that will grab your attention.

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[JoB]

westello…

yes.. all of those things hurt kids.

but voting against funding won’t help them.

Really? a school where textbooks are already in such short supply that kids can’t take them home to do homework?

And you think we shouldn’t fund textbooks? How exactly do you expect those kids to get an education?

These kids can’t wait for that mythically perfect school board…

they won’t get a second chance at an education.

Making sure there isn’t enough money to rectify the situation might make you feel better but it won’t make the audit any easier to swallow…

There isn’t any way to talk about education …

without talking about kids.

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[westello]

This is NOT a district running lean and mean. There is much evidence to that point. Not freezing the travel budget as promised. A nearly $7k retirement party. Still too many central office staff (this from the Auditor’s office in a previous audit). No, they didn’t “cut” 80 plus jobs – they moved people around and renamed jobs. We’re spending at least $1M for a new website. In hard times, we HAVE to have a new website?

So the district has made decisions to NOT drive money into the classrooms. That is the point of voting NO. We have to tell the district to put the money in the classrooms.

The first line of defense in any democracy is a vote and if you tell me that I can’t ever vote against a school levy/bond because “it’s for the kids”, then you deny me my rights as a voter.

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[JoB]

westello…

and you think voting no will somehow convince the district to put money into classrooms immediately?

Not likely.

I will buy that it is possible they could..

but if what you have reported is accurate..

not that they would.

and that’s my point.

A no vote might thumb your nose at the school board

but it is still going to hurt the kids who won’t be getting those textbooks

and the teachers who won’t be getting those raises.

As for your vote…

isn’t the school board elected here?

i admit i haven’t paid enough attention to them to know..

but even if they aren’t elected you can still put political pressure on whoever appoints them.

replace them if they aren’t doing their job.

but don’t punish the kids by denying them classroom materials…

as for that “infringing on my rights” argument …

tell me you aren’t serious.

it’s not your rights that will be infringed upon if 2/3 of the teachers don’t get raises

and the kids don’t get textbooks.

but it will be your bill to pick up when they come of age without the education that turns them into productive members of society.

You might want to rethink your unbridled anger here

and take a hard look at your best interests.

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[KBear]

The fact that people think teachers’ raises are a waste of money speaks volumes about why our educational system is in its current state.

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[timeslid]

I don’t believe anyone here said that teacher’s raises were a waste of money. I also don’t see unbridled anger. I do see frustration with a district that is being inefficient at best with tax payer’s money with one hand and asking for more with the other. All the while the leaders are being disingenuous about where and how future money will be spent. Voting out the district “5” (the worst School Board members of the current crop) in the coming School Board elections will be a priority as-well-as using the legal system to hold the districts feet to the fire are options to be used. Our current educational system is broken because people have discovered there is lots of profit to be made on District and they are exploiting the good nature of the voters under the guise of “don’t hurt the children”.

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[westello]

“isn’t the school board elected here?

i admit i haven’t paid enough attention to them to know..

but even if they aren’t elected you can still put political pressure on whoever appoints them.”

Hilarious. You don’t even know the governance of the school district here and yet you’re sure of your facts? Look, I have spent years talking to the Board and the various superintendents, worked to elect people, talked to the Mayor (before he was Mayor). Nope, these people need a wake-up call before things get worse.

Unbridled anger? What have I said that is angry? I have stated facts. If you tell me I can NEVER vote against a school levy or bond, yes, yes, it infringes my rights as a voter.

My best interests are a better district for a great city and schools we can feel pride in for our children.

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