S2 E2 - August 28 School Board Meeting

[00:00:00] Christie Robertson: Welcome to Seattle Hall Pass, a podcast with news and conversations about Seattle Public Schools. I'm Christie Robertson.

[00:00:13] Jane Tunks Demel: And I'm Jane Tunks Demel. In today's episode, we're unpacking the August 28th school board meeting, which covered several crucial issues facing the school district.

[00:00:23] Christie Robertson: The board meeting touched on school closures and the inadequacy of state funding, and the board approved a new principal's contract with more protections for principals. 

[00:00:33] Jane Tunks Demel: There was also some discussion about highly capable services. The main focus of public testimony was the district's dual language immersion schools, which many fear will be a casualty of school closures. 

A quick note that every person's opinion featured on this podcast is their own and that we edit audio clips for length and clarity.

[00:00:53] THEME: School closures

[00:00:53] Jane Tunks Demel: So Christie. how much did they talk about school closures at this meeting?

[00:00:58] Christie Robertson: Everybody's thinking about it, but they didn't talk about it very much. And, as you've probably heard by now, the district did not release the list of 20 schools that will be closed at this meeting. 

[00:01:08] Jane Tunks Demel: That said, Superintendent Jones did make the case for school closures in his introductory remarks. 

[00:01:15] Brent Jones: Reducing the footprint of our elementary schools will help us achieve two goals - creating better learning environments for students and balancing our budget. For instance, consolidating schools not only saves money by reducing fixed operational costs, but it also means more teachers per grade level, which increases collaboration and helps teachers better understand and support their students. It also saves money by reducing fixed costs associated with operating a school. 

We estimate that creating a system of well-resourced schools will save our district approximately $30 million of our $100 million deficit. While this may seem like a small portion, relatively speaking, it's crucial because this deficit compounds over time,  and this will threaten the long-term stability of our schools. Maintaining the status quo is simply not an option. Without these changes, we risk further cuts to essential services, which could lead to larger class sizes, limited preschool options, and reductions in programs like athletics and music. 

[00:02:19] Christie Robertson: Dr. Jones also went through a timeline of when more information will be coming, although it was rushed and a bit hard to parse, so we're going to go through it slowly here.

[00:02:29] Jane Tunks Demel: First off, the district will launch a website hub with “analysis” and “insights”.

[00:02:34] Brent Jones: during the week of September 9th, we will be launching a new well-resourced schools hub on our website. This hub will provide a detailed analysis of our current portfolio of elementary school buildings and offer insights into what these changes might mean for you and your families. 

[00:02:53] Christie Robertson: Second, there will be family engagement throughout the months of September and October, which would be before the preliminary list is announced. The type of engagement was vague. Here's what Superintendent Jones said.

[00:03:05] Brent Jones: We will also be connecting with families throughout September and into early October to host opportunities to gather feedback, answer questions, and continue to refine our plans.

[00:03:16] Jane Tunks Demel: Then, at the mid-September school board meeting, 

[00:03:20] Brent Jones: We'll present another update to our board on September 18th, with a preliminary recommendation expected in October. Site-based hearings will follow this preliminary recommendation.

[00:03:32] Jane Tunks Demel:  Okay. So that sounds like the preliminary list of schools to be closed will be announced at the October 9th meeting. 

[00:03:40] Brent Jones: And then the board will then introduce and take formal action in the following months. 

[00:03:45] Jane Tunks Demel: So, Christie, when will the final vote be on which schools will be closed?

[00:03:50] Christie Robertson: Well, they kept that pretty vague, but the board has previously made clear that they want all of this settled before winter break.

[00:03:57] Jane Tunks Demel: Even after the final recommendation, there will still be a 14-day public review, a public hearing, a school board discussion of the superintendent's final recommendation, and then the school board's final action on closure.

[00:04:10] Christie Robertson: That's a lot of work that needs to happen. Vice President Michelle Sarju had an analogy for the situation the school district is in. She invited everybody to join her in baking a cake.

[00:04:22] Michelle Sarju: Years ago, I had a friend who was engaged in a seven-plus-year battle with breast cancer. She ultimately won. And I miss her. 

One evening, I'm at her house for an event. In the kitchen, there's a full spread of food including the most exquisite desserts I have ever tasted. I asked, how is it that she's baking, given her situation? Before every chemo appointment, she baked for her care team. She told me. "Michelle, when life gives you lemons, you bake a chocolate cake and let the B’s wonder how you did it." 

[00:05:06] Brent Jones: Hmm. 

[00:05:08] Michelle Sarju: Before us, we have a bowl of lemons which includes a very large budget deficit, tough decisions that none of us, and I mean, not a single one of these seven board members, are excited about making. And we have very, very serious structural issues in this district that need to be solved. 

What I'm asking my fellow board directors is to take this bowl of lemons that we've been given and bake the best possible cake we can for the kids in our district. We have very hard decisions ahead of us. Our job is to focus on outcomes for students, which includes making tough decisions. So will you bake this cake with me? Because our kids are depending on it.

[00:06:05] THEME: State Funding

[00:06:05] Christie Robertson: While closures are looming large in everybody's minds, they weren't the main focus of this meeting.

[00:06:10] Jane Tunks Demel: Yeah, they also went over a tentative timeline for budget planning for the 2025 to 26 school year. It looks like they'll have to cut $94 million. And even though they've said that they hope to save $30 million by closing 20 schools, that still leaves $64 million left to cut. 

Which brings us to something that almost everyone can agree on. Washington State is not adequately funding K-12 public education.

[00:06:39] Christie Robertson: Assistant Superintendent of Finance Kurt Buttleman talked about the three legislative priorities that many educational advocacy organizations are coalescing around, which includes special education, transportation, and MSOC, which stands for Materials, Supplies, and Operating Costs, and also includes insurance, which has gone up a lot in recent years. 

[00:07:03] Jane Tunks Demel: And President Rankin agreed with these priorities but had more to add.

[00:07:07] Liza Rankin: Without increasing progressive revenue and without addressing the underlying prototypical school funding model, these will still never be adequate to meet the educational needs in Washington State. My understanding in discussing with people from other districts and with legislators, addressing the prototypical funding model is a big lift that people are not interested in.

But we have to be really clear that even this is not a long-term fix because inflation is going to continue, student needs are going to continue to change, and the problem is, we inequitably and unamply like... the state's revenue stream for education will never be adequate because of our regressive tax structure.

And while addressing these in terms of gaps is significant and meaningful, it still cannot make up for the fact that the underlying formula is also flawed and inadequate.

[00:08:07] Christie Robertson: Assistant Superintendent Buttleman went on to talk about the worrisome possibility of binding conditions. Okay, we better define binding conditions. How does a district land in binding conditions and then what does it mean for them? 

[00:08:22] Jane Tunks Demel: Ok, yeah, this is confusing. The definition of binding conditions is when a school district is spending more money than it gets in revenue, meaning that its budget isn't balanced. So when a school district is under binding conditions, there is a fiscal officer assigned to act as a consultant to the school district.

[00:08:40] Christie Robertson: SPS has avoided binding conditions the last two years only because they both drained the rainy day fund and also borrowed money from their capital fund, both of which are legally allowed. And that's why there's a concern that SPS might have to go into binding conditions if state funding doesn't increase. 

[00:09:00] Jane Tunks Demel: Here's a back-and-forth with Assistant Superintendent Buttleman and President Rankin about this.

To that point, Seattle is not... we're not the only district in this situation. It was just brought to my attention yesterday by Superintendent Reykdal that OSPI has created a binding conditions website. Because there are five districts in binding conditions now, so if you want to learn more about that, and what some of the communications are... So this is not unique to Seattle, this financial situation.

[00:09:27] Liza Rankin: Can I just... the alarm to be raised by five districts going into binding conditions... binding conditions is something that one or two districts go into every few years. Five in one year is alarming. That the response is a website for binding conditions instead of the acknowledgement by the state that this is not unique, it's not mismanagement, it's a huge problem that's going to impact over a million kids. And, we get a website instead of a solution. 

[00:10:02] Christie Robertson: Definitely, the district and the board have their eyes pointed toward the state legislature.

[00:10:07] Jane Tunks Demel: And did you notice, Christie, that right at the end of his presentation, Assistant Superintendent Buttleman mentioned the financial policy and how they're going to push back its implementation?

[00:10:18] Christie Robertson: I actually didn't notice that until you pointed it out to me. If you want to learn more about the financial policy, we covered this last year in episode 11 with former director Vivian Song and in episode 14 with former director Chandra Hampson.

[00:10:33] Jane Tunks Demel: And here's how Assistant Superintendent Buttleman explained it.

[00:10:37] Kurt Buttleman: The discussion here is in an effort to minimize the disruption to schools, in light of the fact that a number of the items outlined in that policy, 0060, are dependent on the new strategic plan and the implementation of decisions around a system of well-resourced schools. It is recommended that the full implementation start with the 25/26 year when some of those issues are more resolved. 

And it is anticipated that full implementation will take more than one year, and there are a few specific items in that policy around the weighted staffing standards model or whatever it would be called in the future, more equitable access, lowering the dependence on PTA and other external funding to make it more equitable across the system.

So all of that is interdependent on the strategic plan and some of the decisions around the number of school buildings that will continue. And so, this is saying we need to make sure all that context is taken into account as implementation of Policy 0060 goes forward. 

[00:11:38] Christie Robertson: So what practical implication do you think this has for Seattle schools, Jane?

[00:11:43] Jane Tunks Demel: Well, the biggest things are that it directs the district to find a way to equitably distribute PTA funds. And also it gives the district permission to open up collective bargaining agreements.

[00:11:57] Christie Robertson: Aha. So they're saying not this year.

[00:12:01] THEME: Dual Language Immersion / DLI

[00:12:01] Jane Tunks Demel: Our next topic is Duolingual Immersion, or DLI, which was the topic that came up most in public testimony. DLI is a core program at a handful of elementary and middle schools that teach kids in two languages from day one. And these are considered option schools. And as we know, many people think option schools are among the ones that will be closed next school year. And because these programs are so valuable to heritage speakers, there were a lot of people that came out to support it that night.

[00:12:31] Christie Robertson: Let's listen to some of the great testimony from this board meeting. You'll hear from Dorian Gorski, Rebecca Sanchez, Katie Knave, Jose Estrada, Jackson Lum, Peachy Anne Aquino, Juan Garcia, and Patty Lu. 

[00:12:46] Dorian Gorski: I'm a proud father of an 11-year-old trilingual Mexican, Japanese, American boy. I'm here to express support for the DLI program. To do that, I need to tell you a bit about my history. I'm a child of the eighties. And at that time it was a very common misconception that it was a bad thing to teach your child multiple languages. So, my parents made the unfortunate decision not to teach me Japanese. And I guess the thought at the time was it would cause confusion, or it was un-American, but we now know that's incorrect. Research indicates students in these programs often develop superior levels of problem-solving skills, display higher creativity, and typically meet or exceed the academic performance of their non-immersion peers. The proof's in the pudding. Look at the data. You'll see these kids consistently are some of the top performers in the district.

[00:13:37] Rebecca Sanchez: I was born and raised in Santiago de Chile. We moved with my family to Seattle five years ago when our son was not yet three. A time came where he could not speak a whole sentence in Spanish. When we first arrived, we assumed sometimes when meeting other members of the Hispanic and Latino community that we could communicate in Spanish, but we learned quickly how assimilation has made it so that whole generations of immigrants raised in the US have lost their linguistic heritage. So when we learned about the existence of DLI programs like John Stanford, we felt deeply embraced by the city. And I must say, belonging does not come easy for immigrants.

[00:14:13] Jose Estrada: There are 110 public schools in the state of Washington with dual language programs, yet only nine are in SPS. Far too few for one of the most diverse school districts in the state, where 86% of students are non-English, English language learners. The bottom line is that SPS's dual language students and their schools are thriving. As a Nicaraguan-born former refugee, I've worked really hard to give my daughter a better life than I had it at her age. And from there, finally having access to a public option with a language immersion program has been a complete game changer. Even in the short week where my daughter attended Jump Start at the school campus, she's already started showing more interest and curiosity in her Hispanic roots. Please consider increasing the set-aside at the DLI option schools to give more access to heritage and native speakers like me outside of the geozone. 

[00:15:09] Jackson Lum: My name is Jackson Lum, and I'm proud to say that I'm an immigrant from Malaysia. Good afternoon, niihau, salama patang, nihoma. I speak four languages. My grandma spoke only Cantonese, selling cigarettes, fruits, and drinks from a small, sweltering stall outside a movie theater. We rose above those humble beginnings. It is the reason that a grandson can dream of and ultimately achieve a better life. Dual language education gave me the freedom to come to the United States, where I could further my education, live openly as a gay man, and build a wonderful family. Without it, I might still be in a country where my identity would be oppressed.

[00:15:53] Peachy Anne Aquino: As an immigrant parent from the Philippines, I was really pleased to know about the DLI program when I moved here in Seattle, about eight years ago. Living in a predominantly white community, I cannot overstate the importance of diversity for families like mine. And I believe I speak for many immigrant parents when I say that while we want our children to thrive in American culture and language, we also are concerned that they may lose their cultural heritage and racial identity in the process, something that we've witnessed in our community. And choosing JSIS for my son was more than just about the DLI program. It was about its diverse student body. It's important for me to see my child learn alongside children who look like him with parents who look like me.

[00:16:41] Juan Garcia: I have two daughters that are attending McDonald's. One is going to first grade and the other one to kindergarten. I'm here to advocate for the continuation of the program, of the dual language immersion program. This is important to me because I want my daughters to be bilingual like I am and to have the opportunity to communicate in Spanish with my family and other Spanish-speaking people. We've always told our daughters that being bilingual is their superpower. My family lives in Peru. And when we visit or they come to visit, I enjoy my kids talking to them in Spanish. And it's such a gift that they can do that and be able to keep the culture and the heritage. 

[00:16:41] Patty Lu: My parents immigrated to the United States from Taiwan in their early twenties. When my older brother was born, their pediatrician, a supposed expert in children, told my parents that speaking Mandarin to my brother would affect his ability to learn English and hinder his academics. So this, as any Asian knows, strikes at the deepest fear of many Asian parents. So my mom and dad limited their Mandarin around my brother, and later to me. As an adult, a grievous loss of culture. When my eldest was accepted into Dearborn Park through school choice, it felt like winning the freaking lottery. The dual language programs are a form of restorative justice to me and my family. 

[00:18:16] Jane Tunks Demel: And usually, board directors don't respond to public comment. But President Rankin let the audience know that the school board has also heard from the broader community that dual language immersion is a key priority.

[00:18:30] Liza Rankin: We have heard, as a body, how important multilingual learning is to our entire Seattle community. And so, as you're watching us go through the process and participating in the process with us of developing our next strategic plan, I feel pretty confident in saying that that issue is going to continue to be one that is it's a high priority for us to address in the next strategic plan. So, just to share that. 

[00:18:56] Christie Robertson: So, that would seem hopeful for our DLI families, although we'll have to see if it shows up in the new strategic plan that directs which priorities the district actually pursues.

[00:19:07] THEME: Principal's collective bargaining agreement

[00:19:07] Jane Tunks Demel: Another item that warranted more attention than it got during the meeting, I think, was the new principals' collective bargaining agreement. Some of the issues of it were raised by Seattle Council PTSA co-president Sebrena Burr in public testimony.

[00:19:22] Christie Robertson: And just to note that the principals' union is called PASS. 

[00:19:27] Sebrena Burr: When I read the PASS contract and the language that is still in there from the last contract that gives principals the authority to investigate themselves, it's troubling. And I wonder how many lawsuits come from it. The organization is not set up for this. And if you vote on this, please know that you are voting against the moral and fiduciary responsibility that you have. 

 Please do not vote with this clause on page 27 tonight. Because if you do, you are going to put kids in grave harm, and you're going to put principals in a hard situation. Seattle Public Schools is not set up for this. And I am begging you to make sure that this part of the contract is amended. Thank you.

[00:20:34] Christie Robertson: Here's the language in the contract:

The Seattle School District believes that principals are empowered to and should addresss complaints about or concerning themselves in a fair, expeditious, and appropriate manner.

Therefore, unless exigent or emergency circumstances exist, the Board of Directors, Superintendent, and Senior Leader staff should refer complaints or problems about a principal to the principal with the expectation that the principal will address the complaint collaboratively, if appropriate, timely, and in a manner that best meets the needs of the educational setting.

[00:21:12] Christie Robertson: So, to me, it really sounds like principals are to investigate themselves, except in extreme circumstances.

[00:21:19] Jane Tunks Demel: Yeah, and there were some questions from the school board directors about this. President Rankin, for example, alluded to the problems last year with the Rainier View elementary principal. 

And the head of human resources, Sarah Prichett Goodman clarified how principal investigations actually worked. And she referred to Sebrena Burr's testimony as she explained. 

[00:21:41] Sarah Pritchett Goodman: I think that there was an allusion to people investigating themselves, and that really isn't how that works. It's actually meant to, for people to be able to address complaints first with the person that they're having the complaint with, similar to if we had parents or somebody come in and talk with, say, you know, Mrs. Smith is, is, you know, I'm upset with whatever. And we ask the person, have you talked to the teacher yet? 

[00:21:52] Christie Robertson: There's other ways that the contract veers toward increasing protections for principals, rather than making it easier to hold them to account, in both the evaluation clauses and the complaint process. And we will put these changes in the show notes. 

[00:22:04] Jane Tunks Demel: After the discussion, the principals' collective bargaining agreement passed with a vote of five to two, with Evan Briggs and Michelle Sarju voting no.

[00:22:30] THEME: Highly Capable Services

[00:22:30] Christie Robertson: Next up was an amendment to the school board's policy about highly capable services.

[00:22:35] Jane Tunks Demel: President Rankin brought this item to the board, and it was a little bit hard to understand what it actually was. So here's how she explained it.

[00:22:43] Liza Rankin: There's an annual report required to OSPI to affirm that school districts are providing highly capable services. as required by state law. There's a form that OSPI requires. It's a series of checkboxes. Once OSPI gets that form from the district, they say, okay, great, and they send the district's money for providing those services. For me, and I know many other directors, receiving a copy of what is being sent to OSPI is not sufficient for our understanding of how these services are actually being provided.

[00:22:57] Jane Tunks Demel: So the intention is for the superintendent staff to also include an explainer about what services are being offered instead of just a bunch of check boxes.

[00:23:18] Christie Robertson: Right, which is important because the stand-alone highly capable cohort schools like Cascadia and Decatur are being phased out. And the idea is that these services will be provided in neighborhood schools.

 There was a lot of back and forth between the directors about what it was that was actually before them. It's clear that most of the board directors, not to mention SPS parents, don't understand what highly capable and advanced learner services are currently available in neighborhood schools.

[00:23:57] Jane Tunks Demel: And Director Evan Briggs kept pushing, asking the question we've all been wondering. 

[00:24:02] Evan Briggs: So basically, if we're phasing out the cohort program, if that's going away, what is going in its place? And what is the timeline for that, what is that going to look like, how is it going to be implemented? And what when are we going to get that information?

[00:24:15] Jane Tunks Demel: And then when neither President Rankin nor Superintendent Jones could answer her question, Director Briggs said this. 

[00:24:22] Evan Briggs: I think what I'm getting at is just like going forward, how will we even know if the services are being delivered if we don't know what the services are? So that's really my plain and simple question. 

[00:24:37] Christie Robertson: So, Jane, there actually was an answer to her question, and it was so short and buried in a document that had a late update that was on the consent agenda that I wonder if any directors besides President Rankin actually read it or knew what it was. 

[00:24:57] Jane Tunks Demel: Yeah, it was really hard to find.

[00:24:59] Christie Robertson: It's so short that we can read the whole thing to you here.

The type of services provided can vary by school, grade level, and student needs. Generally, the following are offered. Differentiated Instruction, Small Groups, Enrichment Integrated into Content, Extracurricular Enrichment, Educator Collaboration and PLCs, Supplemental Instruction, Schoolwide Enrichment Opportunities.

And then it says, 

Each school's continuous school improvement plan details the instructional strategies that will be used to support students with advanced learning or highly capable designations.

[00:25:40] Jane Tunks Demel: So that sounds like it's basically up to each school. To all you listeners out there, we're really curious to hear what your school's continuous school improvement plan says about highly capable and advanced learners, so please email us at hello@seattlehallpass.org.

That concludes this episode of Seattle Hall Pass. 

Please see our show notes at seattlehallpass.org and contact us at hello@seattlehallpass.org. We'd love to hear from you.

[00:26:06] Christie Robertson: If you like this podcast, you can support us by donating at seattlehallpass.org, subscribing, or reviewing us on your podcast app. I'm Christie Robertson.

[00:26:16] Jane Tunks Demel: And I'm Jane Tunks Demel. And our awesome intern, Jasmine Pulido, also worked on this episode. 

[00:26:22] Christie Robertson: We'll be back soon with another episode of Seattle Hall Pass.