Specifically, the recall petition itself reports that Seattle school board members have: Delayed reopening Seattle schools to full-time, in-person instruction, compared to the great majority of other districts; Violated their legal duty to provide special needs students with access to in-person instruction; Given away school property in West Seattle in violation of legal standards; Failed to correct a 2015 school board decision to take $2.7 million in private money while keeping the donors name secret; Approved contracts on planned Rainier Beach High School and Northgate Elementary construction projects which involve conflicts of interest and violations of environmental review laws; Failed to protect student privacy online; Failed to consult the Duwamish Tribe regarding environmental review of the Northgate Elementary project; Failed to provide adequate school-day recreational areas for students; Sold school property to a favored buyer without holding a public hearing; Discriminated against students by canceling the Highly Capable Program at Washington Middle School; Violated the rights of Kimball Elementary School students by improperly changing the attendance area. March 8 @ 4:30 pm - 7:00 pm. Al-ansi noted that DeWolf was pushing for a HIB investigation because he is familiar with the law and the level of scrutiny that is required around a racial claim., She calls it an institutional tactic where DeWolf is trying to find a different way to discredit their named experiences., The choice to move forward with an investigation is the most institutionally racist way you can do it, Al-ansi wrote, according to the investigation. Both Hampson and DeWolf, according to the complainants, were upset that they lost control over the anti-racism policy to two Black women. Medicare open enrollment is here and SHIBA can help! Some of the biggest changes: District 2, which incorporates Green Lake and Phinney Ridge, has expanded west to include Ballard and Magnolia. Map of the seven director districts. But the authority over direct policy lies in the hands of the governing directors, not staff. Students entering their junior or senior year are eligible to apply for a one-year term that will begin August 2023 and conclude at the end of the 2023-24 school year. Inspired by the Angela Davis quote that Walls turned sideways are bridges, the board recognizes the organizational structure of the district can create a wall between decision makers and the students the district serves. Hampson had been a last-minute addition to the conference call. The student school board positions are new positions, created by School Board Policy No. Board member Zachary DeWolf will not be running for re-election to the seat representing District 5, which covers the bulk of Capitol Hill, the Central District, downtown and the area near the stadiums.. It's a tumultuous time for Seattle and the city's . And their commitment to turning an anti-racist policy into a pro-Black anti-racist policy is instructive. And its costing taxpayers thousands of dollars. And thats not an unbiased source of data.Carlyle is working to get legislative support for his idea before lawmakers reconvene in Olympia in January. Seattle reporter Jason Rantz noted that, in leaked emails, the school district actually refused to request the mayor's office sweep the camps for illegal activity. Staff involvement was a privilege, not a right, Hampsons attorneys argue in court documents. His complaint appears to come from her wanting to work more independently from him. 2400 11th Avenue East Seattle WA 98102. Selection of School Board Student Members; Approval of the Amended 2021-22 Superintendent . School Board Special Meeting: Executive Session: Supt Eval Check-In; Work Session: Policy Diet. Student board members will not be voting members but will serve as advisors to the Seattle School Board. She is the second School Board director in recent memory to resign. Applicants must be a Seattle Public Schools student entering their junior or senior year of high school at the time of selection, on track to graduate, and continue to be enrolled in Seattle Public Schools through the school year of their term. The experiences of the past year have taught parents a hard lesson just how little power they have in the current system of public education. Paralegal. As soon as the call began, DeWolf raised his voice at the two women who made the allegations and accused both of them of being dishonest about their collaboration on the anti-racist policy, according to the report. The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only and do not reflect the opinions of The Seattle Times. The tension came to a head during an Aug. 28, 2020, phone call between Hampson, DeWolf, the complainants, and SPS staff. The two staffers sent the board a memorandum in September 2020 that said Hampson and DeWolf orchestrated a campaign of bullying, escalating intimidation, gaslighting, and retaliation, according to court documents. Apr 2013 - Jan 20162 years 10 months. And, moving forward, new school board members would be required to take training on HIB conduct. DeWolf totally disagreed with the allegations and described himself as conflict averse and being careful in this situation.. But you wont find the report on the districts website. DeWolf has represented District 5, which includes Capitol Hill, downtown and the Central District. MFR investigators said DeWolf repeatedly and persistently mistreated the two complainants, violating the HIB policy. (One recently-appointed member is not eligible for recall.). The judge does not rule on the truth of the charges, only their legal sufficiency under state law. The conduct violated SPSs policy against harassment, intimidation, and bullying (HIB). Theyre not against racism; they want to favor one racial group over others. So, the actual people who actually do the job clearly like it and want to keep doing it.Mas argued theres a better solution to the fact that the job can be demanding, a solution that doesnt involve paying board members.They dont need to be paid themselves, they need some paid staff to answer those emails, to do some independent data gathering, he said. Work Session: Building Relationships with Youth Continued (with Kings) . They expressed concerns about the expected Public Records Act disclosures after the investigation concluded., The report also notes that some witnesses asked MFR not to take notes during parts of their interviews.. It was dated Sept. 18, 2020. Hampson appears easily slighted and is disrespectful to many people. Contact us with questions about applying to be a School Board Student Member. BCS is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. During a group phone call in August 2020, the situation took a turn for the worse. March 24, 2021 Updated Wed., March 24, 2021 at 8:31 p.m. Should classroom learning time be cut down to 4 hours a day in Washington state. Students entering their junior or senior year are eligible to apply for a one-year term that will begin August 2023 and conclude at the end of the 2023-24 school year. Bier on the Pier takes place on October 7th and 8th and features local ciders, food trucks and live music - not to mention the beautiful views of the Guemes Channel and backdrop of downtown Anacortes. 2023 Bonneville International. These meetings are held Wednesdays at 4:15 p.m. at John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence. The district's decades-long record of failure helps explain why three Seattle mothers, Emily Bramwell Cherkin, Jennifer Rebecca Olson Crow, and Beverely Diann Goodman are leading a broad coalition of concerned parents asking voters to recall six out of seven Seattle school board members. Some school board directors even declined to be interviewed for fear their comments would become public record. The student-led Selection Committee will support the Board's selection of three (3) students for the 2023-24 . Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. General election date. The report further concluded Director Hampson and Director DeWolf violated [the policy] because they intended to and did degrade and humiliate [staffers] in their workplace.. Enrollment ('17-'18) 54,573 students. Melissa Westbrooks local blog which I just discovered actually covered this story back in October. Beginning with the 2022-23 school year, the board will annually seat School Board student members to represent student voice through board committees and regular board meetings. Yes, they get reimbursed a little for expenses such as gas and supplies but certainly not for their time. While serving, School Board student members must be enrolled in courses that ensure normal progress towards graduation and maintain the number of credits necessary for advancement to the next grade level. School Board student members should also possess an awareness of challenges and barriers that they or others experience in education and in society. Nothing comes up. I dont want to rehash our own private conversations.. The board vacancy came on the heels of Director Betty Patu announcing her departure from the school board, and without enough time to [] Hampson, on the other hand, is in office until 2023 and its unclear if shell run for re-election. Part of the reason that I personally chose not to run is that it is such a huge commitment, particularly for someone who has a full-time job, and we have three board members who have full-time jobs.Smith-Blum said that there are good quality candidates who dont ever run because of the fact that its so overwhelming, with no compensation.But others doubt that board pay is a panacea.I dont think we are going to get a better corps of board candidates for that level of pay, and I dont think anybody who is doing it is doing it for the pay, said Charlie Mas who writes for the Save Seattle Schools website. Although the report didnt find clear evidence that Hampson and DeWolf discriminated against the two staffers because of their race or gender, it did conclude that both board members violated board policy 5207, which prohibits harassment, intimidation and bullying. For example, in one email, DeWolf called out Scarletts dishonesty in claiming she was working with him on the anti-racism policy. She coordinated with DeWolf in an attempt to limit the complainants from speaking about their work on the policy and from offering input. 11% of the management team is Black or African American. As a result of the SPS investigation conducted by the MFR Law Group PLLC, Hampson, who was elected in 2019, and board member Zachary DeWolf, who has since left the board because his term expired, were required to review the board policy that prohibited harassment, intimidation and bullying. Any immediate political consequences are unknown. 2445 3rd Ave. S, Seattle, WA 98134
Did you like this opinion piece? Two Black women staffers who still currently work at SPS were working with Hampson and DeWolf on developing an anti-racism policy, but as disagreements started, contentious conversations followed. School Board 1971 (PH 007-25) Archives. 206-252-0000, Distributing Information to Students and Schools, Northwest Coast Art by Andrea Wilbur-Sigo, Squaxin/Skokomish, Posting documents for regular Board meetings at least 3 days in advance of the meeting to allow for public review, Maintaining accurate and timely information on the School Board?s website, Noticing all Board meetings on the District?s website in a timely manner, Responding to and tracking constituent communication, Complying with requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA), Providing administrative support to Board members (e.g., travel arrangements, expense reimbursements, and document preparation). School Board Special Meeting: Ad Hoc Community Engagement Meeting. The district elections map only affects who can run for school board (candidates must live in the district they run for) and which board members people vote for. Board members must first be elected to the 40+ member BCS Corporation. In an emailed statement, the district said its not able to comment on personnel matters but that Seattle Public Schools is committed to nondiscrimination in all our educational, employment and staff endeavors., We firmly believe this commitment to anti-racism increases student success, the statement continued. GSBA, Comcast, and other partners are working to address disparities in access to financial resources with the Ready for Business fund. Zirahuen Herrejon-Crutcher, a student at Ballard High School, details her experience with sexual assault and how it was handled, to the Seattle Public Schools school board, on Wednesday, December . Seattle Times staff reporter. While I started to look into it then, I purposefully withheld my reporting until now. Carlyle's plan would pay board members, starting in the biggest, most complex district in Seattle, a salary in-line with state legislators, which is $42,000 per year. Normally, this investigation would be posted online three days ahead of a school board meeting. Kirby has served as Board Chair at Special Olympics of Washington, where he helped bring the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games to Seattle. Consequently, media coverage has been scant and inadequate. A Seattle school board member has gone to court to fight the outcome of a district investigation that concluded she harassed, intimidated and bullied two Seattle Public Schools employees. The company, which has offices in the Pacific Northwest and New England, created various maps based on legal requirements, community and board member input. Applications for the 2023-24 student member positions will be open Monday, Feb. 27 - March 24. By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. And District 6 in West Seattle now stretches to the other side of the Duwamish Waterway and includes Georgetown and South Park. Served on Corporate Advisory Board at the University of Arizona, School of Retail. Another Washington community is having to deal with the possibility of rogue sex offenders. In other words, they are far-left activists who dont practice what they preach on anti-racism, nor do they serve the kids they are supposed to protect. There was also confusion among board members and staff about the timeline of the anti-racist policy, the emails show. Student board members will not be voting members but will serve as advisors to the Seattle School Board. AMDG; For the Greater Glory of God; Seattle Preparatory School. West Seattle news, 24/7. Every 10 years, in accordance with the U.S. census count, Seattle Public Schools board members have the task of approving a new district election map. As crime increases, our safety measures must too, GSBA is closing the disparity gap with Ready for Business Fund. Attorney General Bob Ferguson's office could arrest or civilly commit conservatives for uttering mainstream positions under a terrifying and illegal plan. But given the events of a recent school board meeting, this shouldnt come as a shock. Admissions. The findings note that four of the 13 witnesses they interviewed opined that Dir. The recall petition must be reviewed and approved by Superior Court Judge Patrick Oishi. With just a week before the Seattle School Board is scheduled to vote on a plan for instruction this school year, which begins Sept. 2, some members including Chandra Hampson say the district's . It's easy to be accused of fearmongering regarding crime, but Seattle residents might have good reason to be concerned for their safety. Lets remember, six of the last seven people who had the job ran for re-election. All students and the more than 100 full-time faculty members live on the grounds. Emails and meeting notes appear to back this claim. Email the Board of Trustees . The Seattle Public Schools board unanimously approved the new district elections map last week. The lack of choices and the disrespectful treatment of children and parents by those in power will have to change if officials are going to be accountable, or have any chance of earning back the publics confidence. School Board (1882 present) minutes, indexes, correspondence, email, public hearings and administrative documents. Posting comments is now limited to subscribers only. Posting comments is now limited to subscribers only. It unnecessarily meddles in the employment practices. SPS board members wrestled with the district boundary lines over the course of various public and community meetings, and debated how race played a role in the redistricting process. The motion also waived the need to post the report on the districts website, which typically needs to happen at least three days before public meetings. If a superintendent or board member directed staff to get something done by a certain time and the employee refused to and claimed that was bullying, I mean thats just unworkable, said Talmadge, who served as a state senator for 16 years. The investigation is damning both for the directors who misbehaved and the complainants who use their wokeness to prove any investigation into anti-Blackness would be futile. Ghislaine Maxwell has appealed the conviction and 20-year prison sentence she received for trafficking girls to Jeffrey Epstein for sex, with her . At least one of the employees was supposed to present a 10-minute update on the anti-racist policy. Last week, the Seattle School Board approved two measures involving African Americans males by a vote of 5-1, with the lone no vote on each measure cast by senior school board director Leslie Harris. District officials said that number will increase because the case is ongoing. School Board student members should reflect the impressive diversity of the district and represent a variety of interests, perspectives, and backgrounds. They say it's not safe. A district that I know ardently strives to be a safe, welcoming and anti-racist institution. This is my Executive Committee meeting, the report said he told her. Once selected, student members will need to obtain written permission to work from their parent or guardian. Seattle Public Schools hired MFR Law Group PLLC (MFR) to conduct an extensive investigation into school board directors Chandra Hampson and Zachary DeWolf. 'Time for an intervention:' Seattle School Board member resigns, cites 'dysfunctional culture Jan 07, 2021 at 7:22 pm Hampson and DeWolf were required to review the policy, according to the motion passed by board members, and the district was to provide harassment, intimidation and bullying training to all new board members as needed.. The number of hours a month may vary, but should not exceed 20 hours. The report was never posted to the Seattle Schools website. The Stranger, normally interested in amplifying claims of racism, offered the bare minimum in covering the story, only to link to the Seattle Times. Winner of President's Cabinet for top performance in 2006 and 2008. Board Member @ Seattle Public Schools Vice President at Seattle School Board @ Seattle Public Schools President @ Seattle Public Schools see more Have at least a high school diploma or a certificate of high school equivalency. The petition is accompanied by a detailed list of news reports, recorded school board votes and official school board resolutions to back up the recall petitions claims. Earlier this month, in response to the school board's proposal, Washington Senator Jamie Pedersen introduced Senate bill 6282, which would require school districts to create individualized . It was public during the September school board hearing. Students on the selection committee must: Students on the selection committee will be able to earn community service hours for their work. Elise Takahama. Subscribe to thepodcast here. DeWolfs last day in office was Wednesday; he was elected in 2017 and did not run for a second term. Right now they are relying on the superintendent and staff to provide them with data. This fall, the community can expect three new members to join the Seattle School Board . An unnamed board director who worked closely with DeWolf in 2020 declined an interview. Hampson did acknowledge the group phone call was terrible, the report said, but denied violating harassment, intimidation and bullying board policies. But Scarlett and Al-ansi wanted more legitimate community engagement with the Black community before passing the policy. They were victims of HIB, no doubt. Hampsons attorneys are seeking to overturn the finding that their client violated the districts harassment, intimidation and bullying policy and say the district has not explained how events that led to the investigation meet the threshold of causing substantial harm to staffers under the policy. SPS upholds all board policies and superintendent procedures and thoroughly investigates workplace complaints.. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Northwest for Underrepresented Regions. He made these comments several times. John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence
The Seattle school board voted unanimously Wednesday to fire Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson over a $1.8 million financial scandal involving a district business development program. Student School board members will receive an orientation from staff and board directors and will be paired with a School Board Director mentor and staff mentor for ongoing support. Districts of Seattle's size are also limited by state law to seven School Board Directors. I found out about this a week or so before my vacation, thanks to a listener tip. John Stanford Center for Educational Excellence
Two woke Seattle Public School board directors who claim to be anti-racist progressives were found guilty of harassing, intimidating, and bullying Black staff. Arizona school board member says district should reject hiring teachers with Christian values: 'Not.safe' https://lnkd.in/gsiKn_qu Explore the Fox News Theres been an issue on whether the staff of Seattle Public Schools runs the district or if the superintendent and board do, said Hampsons attorney, Philip Talmadge, a former Washington State Supreme Court justice. Capitol Hill's school board seat will have a vacancy this year, and the incumbent has some thoughts for anyone interested in running. School Board student members will also attend the regular meetings of the School Board of Directors on a roughly once-per-month rotation and will have an opportunity to report on the work of their committee, offer opinions on the motions and resolutions before the board, and communicate other topics of student interest or concern. A list of School Board Members and Superintendents. The district has improperly employed [the harassment, intimidation and bullying policy] to rebalance the power between elected directors and staff., Board members are elected to advise and approve policies, Talmadge said. The events that took place between Seattle public school staff and board members Chandra Hampson and Zachary DeWolfe . "You will not see me supporting your business and I find it intriguing you think that crime is just in Tacoma, said a Tacoma Councilmember. A hearing is scheduled for April 16th. "It is unreasonable to . DeWolf did not respond to requests for comment. Currently, Liza Rankin holds the district 1 spot, Lisa Rivera Smith represents district 2, Chandra Hampson represents district 3, and Leslie Harris represents district 6. By. Hes no longer in office, with Nov. 17, 2021, being his last day serving on the school board. Embattled Seattle School Board President Chandra Hampson deleted critical comments from her Facebook page. School board members Lisa . This year's inaugural class was nominated by a student-led committee in May, and was approved by the board in June. Geary won in the general election on November 3, 2015. The School Board has not yet voted on the policy. Board members also believe students possess valuable insight and should have a voice in the education received from the district and the decisions made by the board.