Rainy Day Recess

Christie and Jane interview outgoing Seattle School Board Director Chandra Hampson at the end of her four-year term. The focus of our conversation is the Financial Policy, co-authored by Hampson, that the Seattle School Board recently passed.

We also talk about PTA funding, the belief gap, community engagement, special education spending, and a potential financial audit.

See our show notes.

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Rainy Day Recess music by Lester Mayo, logo by Cheryl Jenrow.

In our latest Seattle Hall Pass episode, we're confronting a critical issue: the focus on kids furthest from educational justice is so far not bearing fruit. More kids than ever are falling below proficiency for math and reading - goals set by the Seattle School Board as part of Student Outcomes Focused Governance. Despite the concerning trends, there's a silver lining: the district and the school board are addressing these challenges with open dialogue.

See our show notes.

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Rainy Day Recess music by Lester Mayo, logo by Cheryl Jenrow.

This episode of Seattle Hall Pass has some breaking news — we have a preview of the fiscal stabilization plan to be presented at the School Board Meeting on Wednesday, November 15, that was sent to us by an anonymous source. This plan maps how the superintendent is advising that the district should address the structural budget deficit for future years. 

DRAFT Fiscal Stabilization Plan - "Direction for 2024-25 & 2025-26 Fiscal Stabilization Plan to Create a System of Well-Resourced Schools"

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Rainy Day Recess music by Lester Mayo, logo by Cheryl Jenrow.

This episode of Seattle Hall Pass covers the Financial Policy that will be voted on at the November 15, 2023, school board meeting. In the first part of this episode, Christie and Jane will give a high level summary of the Financial Policy. And then School Board Director Vivian Song joins us for a great discussion about her proposed amendment to the policy. 

See our show notes 

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Rainy Day Recess music by Lester Mayo, logo by Cheryl Jenrow.

Jane and Christie cover the Seattle Public Schools board meeting on October 25th.

• The community engagement committee is sunsetting after 13 meetings. They completed some "one pagers" about board-community engagement but did not finish a full plan or toolkit.
• The legislative agenda for the upcoming state legislative session was introduced. Priorities include special education funding, transportation funding, supports for students of color, and allowing more capital funding to be used for operating costs.
• Progress monitoring, a key part of the Student Outcomes Focused Governance model, was not done at this meeting or the prior one. The board is supposed to spend 50% of meeting time on progress monitoring.
• Board directors discussed possible criteria for deciding which schools to close, including size, proximity to other schools, transportation costs, and unique programs/populations.
• The next meeting on November 15th will likely include the district's plan for cutting the 2024-25 budget. The new board will join at the following meeting in December.

For sources on the facts cited in the podcast and other supporting documentation, see our show notes here.

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Rainy Day Recess music by Lester Mayo, logo by Cheryl Jenrow.

Jane and Christie interview Ron Davis, a candidate for Seattle City Council, District 4

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Rainy Day Recess music by Lester Mayo, logo by Cheryl Jenrow.

This episode of Seattle Hall Pass covers the October 17 Budget Work Session, the second in a set of 10 meetings that will span the entire school year.

Some of the topics covered are:

• Why Seattle Public Schools needs to cut $105 million
• Cost-saving ideas being tossed around
• Potential criteria for school closures and consolidations
• The budget-planning timeline, and how the election will play into that
• An initial report on the key takeaways from the Well-Resourced Schools community meetings 

For sources on the facts cited in the podcast and other supporting documentation, see our show notes here.

We want to hear from our listeners. Email us with comments, questions, or corrections at [email protected].

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Rainy Day Recess music by Lester Mayo, logo by Cheryl Jenrow.

This episode of Seattle Hall Pass is part 1 of 2 that covers the October 11 School Board Meeting (part 2 is coming soon). In protest of the 40 elementary schools that are being disrupted so that the district can comply with a state-mandated student-teacher ratio, public comment was full of parents, teachers, and union staff sharing their thoughts with the district. 

Christie and Jane also share why they think it’s important for “our district” to listen to criticism from the people on the ground.
 
For sources on the facts cited in the podcast and other supporting documentation, see our show notes here.

We want to hear from our listeners. Email us with comments, questions, or corrections at [email protected].

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Rainy Day Recess music by Lester Mayo, logo by Cheryl Jenrow.

In this episode of Seattle Hall Pass, we cover the recent teacher reallocations at elementary schools. We explain the upheaval at elementary schools, as Seattle Public Schools shifts teachers and students among classes in order to be compliant with a state law.

For sources on the facts cited in the podcast and other supporting documentation, see our show notes here.

We want to hear from our listeners. Email us with comments, questions, or corrections at [email protected].

Support the show

Contact us at [email protected].
Rainy Day Recess music by Lester Mayo, logo by Cheryl Jenrow.

In this episode of Seattle Hall Pass, we cover the September 27 Seattle School Board Meeting. Because five anti-trans activists signed up for public comment, the Seattle Public Schools community came out in droves to support Seattle’s LGBTQIA+ youth. We share audio clips from many of the pro-LGBTQIA+ commenters. Christie and Jane also report on the Ad Hoc Policy Committee’s work.

For sources on the facts cited in the podcast and other supporting documentation, see our show notes here.

We want to hear from our listeners. Email us with comments, questions, or corrections at [email protected].

Support the show

Contact us at [email protected].
Rainy Day Recess music by Lester Mayo, logo by Cheryl Jenrow.