Times Talks About the Seattle Schools' Levies
In a surprisingly candid piece, the Times lays out the case for the levies. The district, following its usual script, has not been as forthcoming but the Times points out the obvious:
How much is the district asking? The flier does not give the amounts, but the levies total $1.25 billion — the district’s biggest request to date.
Much of that money, as the flier does say, would simply renew measures that otherwise would expire. What the flier doesn’t say is that the district also is asking voters to open their wallets a little wider.
This year, the owner of a $400,000 house paid about $1,000 in local school levy and bond taxes. If both levies pass, that bill would go up by $160.
That basic information that, while true, is probably not exactly what the district wants to say right out loud (nor Schools First).
The district says:
The district also points out that Seattleites would pay half of what homeowners in many nearby school districts do — just under $3 per $1,000 of assessed value, compared with $5 to $6 in Issaquah, Highline, Kent, Shoreline and Federal Way.
District officials also defend the plan, saying larger elementary schools will cost less to operate, and that they need to have enough room for the additional 7,000 students that are expected to enroll over the next 10 years. If the levy passes, they say, they’ll be able to reduce the number of portable classrooms and shrink a big
How much is the district asking? The flier does not give the amounts, but the levies total $1.25 billion — the district’s biggest request to date.
Much of that money, as the flier does say, would simply renew measures that otherwise would expire. What the flier doesn’t say is that the district also is asking voters to open their wallets a little wider.
This year, the owner of a $400,000 house paid about $1,000 in local school levy and bond taxes. If both levies pass, that bill would go up by $160.
That basic information that, while true, is probably not exactly what the district wants to say right out loud (nor Schools First).
The district says:
The district also points out that Seattleites would pay half of what homeowners in many nearby school districts do — just under $3 per $1,000 of assessed value, compared with $5 to $6 in Issaquah, Highline, Kent, Shoreline and Federal Way.
District officials also defend the plan, saying larger elementary schools will cost less to operate, and that they need to have enough room for the additional 7,000 students that are expected to enroll over the next 10 years. If the levy passes, they say, they’ll be able to reduce the number of portable classrooms and shrink a big
Dearborn Park teachers support MAP boycott
Here is a letter from 17 teachers and staff members at Dearborn Park Elementary to Superintendent Banda in support of the teachers boycotting the MAP:
January 30, 2013
Jose Banda
Office of the Superintendent
MS: 32-150
P.O. Box 34165
Seattle, WA 98124-1165
Dear Superintendent Banda:
We, the undersigned teachers and staff at Dearborn Park Elementary School, are writing to voice our concerns about the Seattle School District’s use of the MAP assessment. The teachers at Garfield High School did us all an important service when they announced that they were boycotting the test this winter. The MAP assessment takes valuable resources of teaching time, computer lab access, and district money away from where it is most needed. The MAP test provides little to teachers in the way of guidance on the needs of students, and it does not reflect or assess what students are actually learning on a day-to-day basis in class. In addition, the MAP