"Good Government" As Mandated By Voters

This from today’s Seattle Post-Intelligencer: “District officials say approval of the levies will increase the total school tax bill from $803 last year on an average Seattle home worth $336,000 to a projected $865 in 2005, the first year the new levies would be reflected on tax bills. However, there's a chance taxpayers could also see a decrease, since the amount the district can collect annually on the operations levy is based on state and federal funding received, and some funding levels are dropping.”

That is a replacement property tax levy, by definition. And the voters rightly viewed it as such, despite the last minute effort of a local troglodyte blogger to sew confusion – and the irresponsibility of KIRO tabloid television in running the story on Super Bowl night – when the campaign had no fair means to counter the assertion. Responsible news outlets, like our local daily print media, go into a self-imposed “black out” the day before an election. For reasons of the appearance of partiality – just like that created by last minute hype in the KIRO tabloid story.

I worked on this levy campaign diligently, and hope to observe a rise in the turnout-to-support ratio here in the 98199. I made as many “get out the vote” phone calls as anyone I know, and have heard consistent commentary from informed citizens. They voted for these levy measures to support students and teachers, not bureaucrats and politicians. They want School Board Directors and financial managers to get back to task of empowering teachers and motivating students. They voted in spite of the lingering bad feeling and breach of public trust caused by former schools CFO Geri Lim and Superintendent Joseph Olchefske.

Yet more cause for concern has been the lack of accountability for academic integrity shown in the wake of the “Grade-gate” scandal at Franklin High School. And many members of the public, including those who are lukewarm at best about charter school impact on public education, are outraged at the arrogant lack of public process that preceded the School Board’s “slap down” of the charter schools concept – apparently ruling out even any further study of even a potential role here in Seattle.

Our public education leadership has their work cut out for them. School Board Directors should not assume that they have anything but “job one” to focus on: confusion about that can be cleared-up by any teacher in the Seattle School District.