Seattle Parents: Good news! I just found over $400,000 in unspent Amplify dollars!
It’s been a wild week since “25 or something” Seattle Public Schools were blindsided with staff cuts. After the initial shock, parents came up with surprising ways to push back and work together.
A new group formed, called Kids Not Cuts, with the goal of advocating for ALL schools facing staff cuts. This was a revolutionary new approach to parent organizing in Seattle.
Traditionally, during staff “reassignment” periods, the district allows individual schools to raise money to offset staff cuts. This allows wealthy schools to mitigate painful staff reductions, while poorer schools get to struggle with less resources.
This time parents said: NO MORE.
Another group of parents dubbed T.R.A.P. – Teacher Retention Advocate Parents – staged a spoof bake sale in front of district headquarters. The goal was to draw attention to the absurdity of trying to fund basic education with bake sales and carwashes. (Full disclosure: I helped organize the bake sale.)
Throughout the week, the district has been steadfast in its refusal to reconsider its plan or release any information to prove these cuts to school staff was a decision of last resort.
So, here’s a little good news for a frustrating week: I just found $433,160 in unspent Amplify money!
Back in June, a split vote by the Seattle School Board prevented the district from Seattle Parents: Good news! I just found over $400,000 in unspent Amplify dollars! | Seattle Education:
