Ten + Reasons Why the Seattle Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Marie Goodloe-Johnson, Should Be Fired With Cause

The Seattle School Board will be meeting in an Executive Session on Tuesday, March 1^st, to deliberate on how to move forward after news broke about the scandal involving Silas Potter and the superintendent’s decision to keep the information from the school board.

The information that was brought forward about Mr. Potter having an office inside the Stanford Center and doling out favors and money to minority businesses as well as providing assistance to minority businesses to obtain contracts for government projects that were not related to the Seattle Public School system is egregious enough. That Dr. Goodloe-Johnson chose to keep this information secret and not provide the evidence of this illegal activity to the school board is an ethics violation and could go beyond that with further investigation.

But, knowing the school board members and how most of them have done nothing but nod in agreement with the superintendent during her entire tenure, Sue and I decided that our school board needs to be reminded of many other reasons why the superintendent can and should be fired with cause.

This is the short list:

1. The false 17 percent college readiness “data” scandal produced by “Broad Resident” Brad Bernatek. This 17% number was used by the superintendent to further her agenda of corporate reform. It was a false percentage in terms of students prepared for college but was used widely. With that number she was able to bring people and organizations, including the school board, on board with the evaluation of teachers based on test scores, using the MAP® test to evaluate students excessively and using that test as an evaluation tool for a teacher’s performance. Which leads us to #2.

2. The superintendent was on the board of directors of the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA), the company that designed and sells the Measures of Academic Progress® (MAP®) test which the Seattle Public School District now administers to nearly all its students three times a year. She was on this board before the MAP® test was used in Seattle and it was due to her efforts that our school system now pays for that test to the tune of over $10 million to date. The conflict of interest/ethics violation, cited in the state audit of the school district released last year, was that Goodloe-Johnson was on the NWEA board of directors when the school board was deliberating on whether to buy the MAP® test or not and that she did not disclose to the school board her affiliation with NWEA during these deliberations. Which brings us to #3.

3. According to e-mail exchanges between NWEA members, Dr. Goodloe-Johnson and Michael Casserly of the Council of the Great City Schools (CGCS), there was a sizable grant of $3.7 million from the Gates Foundation that NWEA wanted to get their hands on. It apparently was awarded to the CGCS to “study student achievement gaps.” The Great City Schools  board would determine whose data would be used in the study. Judging by the e-mail exchanges, NWEA likely knew that Dr. Goodloe-Johnson was also on the board of the Great Cities’ Schools’ Council, and  asked her to use her influence to have NWEA’s MAP® product considered rather than the NAEP for providing the assessments. This is another ethical if not illegal violation. Seattle’s school superintendent was effectively shilling for NWEA for millions of dollars in potential grant money, during SPS work hours, using her SPS e-mail, when she was supposed to be taking care of our students, and not some executives at a profit-making organization.

4. Regarding the contract that was developed and signed by Teach for America, Inc. and Seattle Public Schools, it is one of the worst and most one-sided contacts that we have ever seen. It favors TFA, to put it lightly. There are no guarantees or warranties. TFA is held blameless for the performance of their teachers and if things don’t work out, too bad, we don’t get our money back. The original version of the contract also violates the FERPA privacy protection rights of the district’s school children. It would have allowed TFA, Inc. not only access to the private information of Seattle’s school children, but the right to share that information with undisclosed third parties. Sue goes into the details of this contract in her post “Controversial Teach For America Back on the Agenda for Seattle Schools”.

It was due to the efforts of the supe and her appointed CAO, Susan Enfield, that we now have to hire these recruits with five weeks of training to teach our children with no guarantees.

Need I go on? Well, for the school board’s sake I believe that I do.

5. The 2010 Accountability Audit as determined by the State Board of Auditors. The entire document is damning of the school district, citing mismanagement of district resources and calls out the school board for failing to oversee the superintendent. One of the less egregious but interesting exceptions discovered was the $7,000* retirement party for a staffer featuring a carving station, which the superintendent inappropriately charged to her district credit card. (Oops!) This was at the same time that she and district leadership were cutting back on counselors, librarians and transportation for Seattle school children while citing a “budget crisis.” (*The audit cites a $3,800 price tag, but further digging by parent activist and blogger Melissa Westbrook uncovered further expenditures for the party which brought the total up to $7,000.)

6. The Seattle Education Association gave the superintendent a near-unanimous vote of “No Confidence” after teaching staff at several Seattle schools gave her a vote of “No Confidence”.

7. The superintendent closed schools over community protest at a time when enrollment was increasing. Her action also raised the threshold for Title I funding eligibility, causing some schools (such as Thurgood Marshall Elementary) to lose vital funding for underprivileged students.

8. The superintendent rif’ed teachers when her own people were telling her that enrollment would be increasing that fall. The majority of teachers were hired back for the fall semester.

9. Dr. Goodloe-Johnson imposed a new student assignment plan that has resulted in overcrowding in some parts of the district (West Seattle), severe under-enrollment in other parts (McDonald, Sand Point, Queen Anne Elementary), and without ensuring that all schools are equally “quality” schools, as promised, and has re-segregated our schools. Compounded with that is the transportation plan that does not provide bus service from the south end to several of the option schools on the north end and therefore eliminates options for the majority of low-income/minority students.

10. Our superintendent met only 4 out of 17 performance goals that were set by her and the school board at the beginning of her tenure. That’s an “F” grade in my book. [This paragraph has been updated to correct the number of goals, from 20 to 17. -- s.p.]

OK, so those are the top ten reasons why the superintendent should be fired with cause. For the rest of the list, and I am sure that others can add to this, we have, in no particular order:

11. The Native American grant program scandal including the time that a grant proposal did not get submitted on time by SPS and the program was not awarded necessary dollars. It would have been a slam dunk to receive the funds but the supe’s own appointee who was to be in charge of grants, missed the deadline. I guess she was too busy trying to keep up with all the money that Gates and Broad were funneling into SPS by way of the Alliance for Education.

12. The unwillingness of the superintendent to cut the bloated central administrative staff at at time of severe budget crisis. See: “Budget Workshop Recap, Shorter and Possibly More Coherent” by Meg Diaz.

13. The superintendent sent an illegal letter to the district’s 3,000 teachers unilaterally canceling their contract, bypassing regular negotiation rules and practices. This was sent via Certified Mail at an estimated cost of $15,000 to the district.

14. Dr. Goodloe-Johnson proposed lowering the high school graduation grade average from a C average to a D average, over wide community opposition. Was this proposal made so that the superintendent could say that the graduation rate had increased during her watch?

15. The superintendent punished two SPS Special Education teachers for following the wishes of parents for their children not be evaluated by the standardized state WAAS test. Once publicized, she and the district rescinded the punishment.

16. Dr. Goodloe-Johnson recommended a flawed and controversial math textbook (Discovering series), ignoring hundreds of community letters and testimony opposing it.

This decision was appealed by a group of parents, teachers and UW Professor Cliff Mass. The school district lost in Supreme Court and was directed by the judge to reconsider the decision after finding the district had excluded evidence submitted by the public and deemed its selection of the math textbook “arbitrary and capricious.”

The superintendent refused to comply with the judge and instead appealed the judge’s order, which will incur more costs for the district.

17. According to a parent of a special education student, “She oversaw the botched rollout of special education overhaul (Integrated Comprehensive Services delivery model) that: 1) ignores the recommendations in the external peer review audit; 2) fails to provide training and resources to buildings to support special needs children in the general education setting; 3) has demoralized highly qualified special educators who work with children in inclusive settings and 4) fails to provide a true continuum of placements as required by federal law. The district’s actions have created an environment where children that need extra support are now destined to fail, experience misdirected discipline, and potentially regress or suffer emotional damage.”

18. Dr. Goodloe-Johnson presides over a central office that is significantly larger than any similar district in the state. A state audit found the central office to be significantly bloated. Yet, our superintendent has requested even more central staff, including more “Broad Residents” from the Broad Foundation, who cost $90,000 per year to employ.

19. She moved or replaced nearly a third of the district’s principals in less than year, in an unprecedented amount of upheaval, most often without allowing any community input. This has further disenfranchised parents and school communities.

Here’s the list:

Principal shuffles on Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson’s watch 2009-10:

May 2009: Roy Merca from Summit (closed) to AS1, Ernie Severs from AS1 to Sanislo, Debbie Nelson from Sanislo to Jane Addams, Chris Carter from African American Academy (closed) to Jane Addams to Hamilton Middle School, Dewanda Cook-Weaver from Lowell to McGilvra Elementary, Jo Shapiro from McGilvra Elem. to assistant principal at Hamilton Middle School, Wayne Floyd from John Stanford Center central office to Loyal Heights, Cashel Toner from Loyal Heights to Leschi Elem., Jo Lute-Ervin from Leschi to TOPS, Linda Robinson from Bryant to Whittier, Cothron McMillian from Whittier to Brighton, Ed Noh from Lawton to Hawaii?; Beverly Raines from Brighton Elem. to Lawton Elem. to retirement?, Gregory King from TT Minor (closed) to Lowell, Julie Briedenbach from Lowell Elem. to Thurgood Marshall Elem., Winifred Todd from Thurgood Marshall to Dunlap, Greg Imel from Dunlap to Bailey Gatzert, Norma Zavala from Bailey Gatzert to Concord, Sandra Scott from Concord to Hawthorne, Stacey McCrath-Smith was moved from Meany.

July 2009: Jill Hudson to Nathan Hale High School , Henterson Carlisle assigned interim principal of Madison Middle School .

Jan 2010: Kaaren Andrews from Madrona K-8 to the Interagency School, Cheryl Grinager from Green Lake Elementary to McDonald Elem. (to be reopened), David Elliott from Coe Elem to Old Hay (to be reopened)
Dan Warren from John Hay to Sand Point (to be reopened).
Feb/March 2010: DeWanda Cook-Weaver from McGilvra, Beverly Raines from Lawton . May 2010: Oksana Britsova to the Center School, Karen Hanson to John Hay Elem., Farah Thaxton to Madrona K-8, Mary Lane to McGilvra Elem. Joanne Bowers from North Beach Elementary to Green Lake Elementary and Lisa Escobar from Center High School to Rainier Beach High School. As noted in a comment below, the Center School had at least three interim principals from January to June in 2010.

There’s more but we will leave #20 to someone who would like to add to this list.

Dora Taylor and Sue Peters

Post Script:

Overall, these past three years have been the most chaotic and disruptive in recent SPS memory. Many feel this chaos was unnecessary and destructive. There have also been a number of appeals and lawsuits filed in response to district actions, irrational layoffs and then rehires of teachers, a constant churn of principal assignments, and a new student assignment plan that is overfilling some schools and leaving others half-empty, and sending some public school families to seek a more predictable and positive environment for their schoolchildren in private schools.

A BIT OF HISTORY:

2007-08

Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson came to us from the school district of Charleston , South Carolina, in 2007, where she had been superintendent. Before that, she spent time in various education administration positions in Colorado and Texas, and her home state of Nebraska, where she also once taught.

After just one year in Seattle (2007-08), the Seattle School Board awarded the superintendent a 10 percent pay raise. This brought her $240,000 salary up to $264,000. The superintendent makes more than the mayor of Seattle ($150,000), the state superintendent of public instruction, or even the governor of Washington ($163,618). (See: “School chief gets big 10% raise – Her $264,000 salary is more than even the governor’s” and “Seattle schools chief awarded 10% pay raise”)

The district also gives her a $20,000 annual retirement contribution and a $700/month car allowance. Some of us wondered if it was prudent to increase an already generous salary before any measurable work had actually been done. She had presented her “Strategic Plan for Excellence,” but nothing had been implemented yet. Apparently the board also failed to follow its own rules that allow public input into such decisions, as longtime public school activists and watchdogs Chris Jackins and Charlie Mas have pointed out. So there were no voices of the public or dissent permitted at this meeting where the school board voted 7-0 to raise the superintendent’s salary and extend her contract a year (to 2011). This seemed a premature and expensive vote of blind confidence to many of us.

2008-09

The superintendent’s second year in Seattle was marked by the contentious turmoil of her “Capacity Management Plan,” which resulted in controversial school closures, co-housing of potentially incompatible schools, the splitting apart of the district’s highly gifted program, questionable cost savings, the laying off of 172 teachers and educators, a protest rally of parents, teachers and students, a petition opposing the closures that garnered over 1,700 signatures across the district, and growing dissent against the superintendent’s plans and methods. As many as 3,500 children were disrupted by the Capacity Management Plan.

Her evaluation was overseen by Tom Payzant, who is affiliated with the Broad Foundation, the venture philanthropy enterprise of L.A. billionaire Eli Broad which strongly supports the privatization of public schools via charters and has been quietly involving itself in the operation of Seattle Public School District, unbeknownst to most parents. As has been mentioned many times here and elsewhere, Supt. Goodloe- Johnson is a graduate of the Broad Foundation’s “Superintendent’s Academy” and remained on Broad’s board of directors until fall of 2010, an affiliation which many of us still consider a conflict of interest. [UPDATED from original to reflect Goodloe-Johnson's current status with the Broad Foundation board. 3/1/11)

For the Seattle School District to allow someone not from our district and who is also affiliated with the Broad Foundation to be involved in this Broad-graduate superintendent’s evaluation struck many of us as highly questionable and not likely to be objective. Many also felt it would be inappropriate for the board to award the superintendent yet another pay raise in less than two years when the district claimed to be in severe budget crisis and had laid off teachers, closed schools and asked our children to make do with less. The superintendent was not awarded a raise, and her review criticized her lack of communication and interpersonal skills and failure to engage with the parents and community of SPS. (See: “School Board to Give Mixed Review to Supe”) However, later in the year, she was awarded a controversial “merit” based bonus of $5,280 for meeting only 4 out of 20 performance goals (see below).

2009-10

A major focus of this year were the results of the closures and splits, and the development of the new student assignment plan (NSAP). There was also a focus on the teachers’ contract which was renegotiated. Some time in the last year, the board extended Goodloe-Johnson’s contract again, to 2012. It is not clear that any community input was sought in this decision.

The district slogan under this superintendent has been “Excellence for All. Every student achieving, everyone accountable.”

Has this superintendent lived up to her own motto?

SOURCES:

Can Seattle’s Schools Afford Many More Years of Supt. Goodloe-Johnson?

http://seattleducation2010.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/can-seattles-schools-afford-many-more-years-of-supt-goodloe-johnson/

Seattle Times, Seattle Public Schools, and Seattle Public Schools Community Blog.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/PrintStory.pl?document_id=2008726291&zsection_id=2003749464&slug=webprincipals09m&date=20090209

http://www.seattleschools.org/area/news/0910/20100111_principal_appointments.pdf

http://www.seattleschools.org/area/news/0910/20100512_principal_appointments.pdf

Sue

“Fear of Reprisal” – the Poisonous Culture in the Seattle School District under Supt. Goodloe-Johnson

“Fear of reprisal.”  This is one of the reasons cited in the recently released state audit for why people within the Seattle School District central office didn’t speak up about the obviously shady Regional Small Business Development Program.

To those of us within or closely watching the district, we know exactly what the report is referring to.

The Seattle School District is currently infected by a pervasive, poisonous attitude in which dissent or whistle-blowing is met with retaliation, not attention or correction.

This culture of fear and reprisal to some extent predates the arrival of Goodloe-Johnson in July 2007, but has gotten worse – some say toxic – under her leadership.

“It’s my way or the highway,” is a frequent summary of Goodloe-Johnson’s management style by those in the community who have observed or dealt with her.

This appears to be a common attitude among school superintendents across the nation who have been trained by the Broad Foundation. Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson was trained at the Broad Foundation’s “Superintendent’s Academy.” This program, created by real estate billionaire Eli Broad who believes in privatizing public education, trains superintendents to run school districts like businesses, with a top-down central authoritarian management style. Under Goodloe-Johnson, authority and autonomy have been drained from schools and centralized in the John Stanford Center. Under Goodloe-Johnson, dissent is not tolerated, and community input is not truly sought or heeded. This has created an oppressive culture emanating from the John Stanford Center whose administrators apparently feel they must answer to no one. This has helped to make this district prone to fraudulent activities like that of Silas Potter’s scheme.

When the school district dismisses Goodloe-Johnson, this attitude and culture must go too.

During the school closures battle, also known as the superintendent’s “Capacity Management Plan,” from Thanksgiving of 2008 to the end of January 2009, I spoke with a retired principal who was very concerned about an aspect of the proposal and opposed it, having experienced firsthand the problems associated with the plan. Though this principal had authority on the subject, s/he was afraid to publicly speak up about it because s/he was told by another principal s/he’d better keep quiet “If s/he ever wanted to work in this district again.”

I know of a teacher who was also a vocal critic of the superintendent’s school closures plan and got a surprise visit from the superintendent while teaching one day, and then was among the 100-plus teachers who were RIFed by the superintendent (on “Teacher Appreciation Week”) later that year. This teacher remained unemployed for a year.

Another teacher speaks to me only furtively in the school where s/he works for fear of being seen dissenting. Other teachers say the atmosphere in their schools is heavy with fear, in part because of the local and national obsession with teacher evaluation that has zero trust in teachers’ ability or worth, especially that of older, more experienced teachers, beyond their ability to raise their students’ standardized test scores in two subjects. (See my earlier post on this:  Plummeting teacher morale in Seattle’s Public Schools — a serious issue)

I know of a parent whose child’s school was threatened with closure,  eviction and division under the 2008/09 “Capacity Management Plan,” and who expressed disagreement with the plan in an e-mail to the superintendent from work. The superintendent apparently then contacted this parent’s employer at his/her place of work and complained to the boss.

Those of us who know about this incident were floored by such tactics of intimidation used by the superintendent against a parent. For many of us, this set the tone for the superintendent’s tenure here.

Many parents who post information, concerns, opinions on the local education blogs use pseudonyms for fear of reprisal.

Some teachers also post comments mostly under pseudonyms for this same reason.

A school board member once told me that there are “people who want to do harm to the district” when I spoke to him about parental concerns about the children of Cooper Elementary who were evicted from their building and disbursed so that another school of kids could have their nice building. His concern was not for the kids of Cooper, but for the perceived “damage” being done to the district’s reputation by those who spoke up about how their children were treated.

This board member also told me that at a national meeting he had attended, school board members from around the country seemed only interested in talking to him about the Supreme Court case decision that Seattle had lost. He seemed disturbed and embarrassed by this reputation.

It is pretty clear that the school district has an obsession with avoiding “negative publicity.” But the funny thing is, if the central administration and district leadership would simply conduct themselves honestly, make decisions rationally and openly, truly engage with the community, they wouldn’t have to live in fear of “negative publicity.”

An irony of the latest scandal is that one of the most damning elements of it is Goodloe-Johnson’s apparent effort to hide the facts from the board and public rather than deal with them head on.

All we parents have ever asked of this district is to communicate with us honestly about the budget, about our children’s schools. Instead we are told our kids’ schools are being closed to save money, when that isn’t the case. We are told the excessive and costly MAP® test will help our teachers measure our kids, when in fact it is being used to measure and terrorize our teachers. We are told there is no money for smaller class sizes, safe buildings or school counselors, and yet apparently there is money for a bloated central office, $7,000 parties with carving stations and a strange enterprise operating out of the John Stanford Center itself that has nothing do with educating our kids, but offers classes in contract bidding to small businesses, including dog-care workers and makes $1.8 million disappear.

Clearly the priorities at the John Stanford Center are out of whack. This needs to change.

Those of us who have observed and critiqued this district these past few years have done so with no glee whatsoever. I for one would welcome the opportunity to cheer this district on for doing its job well. For building upon and replicating the many schools and programs it has that are doing well – rather than evicting or splitting them. For supporting and respecting teachers rather than demoralizing them. For making sure as many dollars as possible that come into the district make it into our children’s classrooms, instead of being diverted to schemes, outside contractors, standardized test vendors and unnecessary bureaucracy.

I see this moment as an opportunity for Seattle Public Schools. An opportunity for new leadership and a new culture and philosophy of honesty, openness. Once that happens, the school district will not have to fear “negative publicity.”

Let the new era begin.

–Sue p.

My Letter to the Seattle School Board about Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson

UPDATE 2/27/11: Director Kay Smith-Blum is the first school board member to issue an official response to the scandal:

Kay Smith-Blum, Seattle School Board, District 5

Reaction to Criminal Probe of Public School Spending

I am appalled that this financial abuse has occurred, particularly during a 3-year budget cycle that has already been so difficult for families in the Seattle School District. Mismanagement of resources is inexcusable. While confronting these serious issues, we must also remember the critical work that is left to be done for our children.   Our scorecard this past year has highlighted many areas that require better leadership, essential support and more community involvement. It is only with superior academic outcomes that our children and city will succeed.  I am committed to providing quality instruction and 21st century materials in every classroom AND that every school building be future-ready. I will work very hard to ensure that the resources we have available are used properly to attain these goals.

Kay Smith-Blum, Director, District 5  Seattle School Board

MY LETTER TO THE SCHOOL BOARD

(sent Feb. 25, 2011)

Directors,

You have a difficult task before you, but clearly it must be done. The superintendent should be fired, along with her CFO Don Kennedy. No buyout. She has already been generously paid by our district for a job poorly done. We cannot afford to lose any more money on this sorry state of affairs.

As a Seattle Public Schools parent, I am appalled by the latest scandal that has defrauded our district of $1.8 million — or more. Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson should have shown more oversight and should have shared her knowledge of the Silas Potter scheme with the board in a more forthright manner. She should have put a stop to it long ago. Why didn’t she?

“Eakes’ report follows, citing failures by Goodloe-Johnson and other top district officials to maintain proper oversight of the program.” – Seattle Times

The End of the road for Seattle School Supt. Goodloe-Johnson? Fraud Scandal Rocks Seattle’s School District; Many call for Superintendent to be Fired — Seattle Education 2010 blog

I have completely lost confidence in the superintendent’s ability to lead our district with integrity and competence. You should have by now as well. Sadly, “Pottergate” is just the latest in a litany of questionable activities, mismanagement, and even ethics scandals that have happened on Goodloe-Johnson’s watch, including at least one that involved the superintendent directly (see: “Seattle School Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson’s ongoing conflicts of interest”), not to mention a damning state audit of the district last year.

The Seattle Public School District motto is: “Excellence for All. Everyone Achieving. Everyone accountable.” Who should be held accountable for this latest mess?  Clearly the buck needs to stop with Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson, and that means you the board must act.

Our district deserves better.

Our children deserve better.

And you have a responsibility to them. You need to clean house.

Our district needs new leadership, selected locally, among the existing, respected members of the community, preferably a well-regarded principal, who in turns respects our community, knows and values our schools, programs and children, will be accountable to us all, and will demonstrate a sense of judgment and ethics that is currently shamefully lacking in current SPS leadership.

This is your chance to step up and demonstrate your own good judgment and ethics.

Sincerely,

Sue Peters
Seattle Public Schools parent
Co-editor, Seattle Education 2010
Founding member, Parents Across America
Education blogger, the Huffington Post

The End of the road for Seattle School Supt. Goodloe-Johnson? Fraud Scandal Rocks Seattle’s School District; Many call for Superintendent to be Fired

Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson with Fred Stephens (Potter's former boss who now works for the U.S. Dept. of Commerce) and Silas Potter, who is at the center of the fraud scandal and apparently on the lam

It’s hard to keep up with all the headlines that are flying fast and furious in the wake of the revelation earlier this week of a $1.8 million fraud scandal that has rocked the Seattle Public School District. But the latest news is that the Seattle Times and School Board President Steve Sundquist, historically two of the biggest apologists and fans of controversial School Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson, are both saying the superintendent needs to go — either fired by the school board, or  should resign.

(Sundquist also mentions the option of buying out the remainder of Goodloe-Johnson’s roughly $300,000/year contract. But a further expenditure of that kind would not go down well with the Seattle School community. After all, we are all still reeling from the news that, thanks to Potter’s scheme and those who turned a blind eye to it, the school district wasted at least $1.8 million already– money which could have gone into our kids’ classrooms.)

Seattle School Board considers firing superintendent

By Linda Shaw and Steve Miletich

Seattle Times staff reporters

Seattle School Board President Steve Sundquist said Friday the board is considering firing Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson or buying out her contract after a report found she didn’t do more to stop rampant misuse of public money in a district contracting program.

In an appearance before The Seattle Times editorial board, Sundquist said the findings in the newly released report “certainly undermine my confidence in the effectiveness of the management.” — The Seattle Times

(follow link to complete article.)

Seattle school Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson should resign

The Seattle Times Editorial Board says it is time for the superintendent of the Seattle Public Schools, Maria Goodloe-Johnson, to go.

THE emerging details of the financial scandal at the Seattle Public Schools suggest one conclusion: Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson should resign. If she doesn’t, the board should fire her.

She was brought here from South Carolina in 2007 to fix several problems, the first of which was the district’s lax control of its money. The latest mess shows the task has not been done.

The gist of the story is that several years ago the district was having trouble getting enough bids on its smaller construction jobs. It set up a program using capital funds to qualify minority- and women-owned contractors to bid. To run the program, the district hired Silas Potter Jr.

He was a poor choice. Potter was, according to the School Board’s investigator, a “marginal employee” who had left a string of unpaid bills, including his child support and federal taxes. Without permission, he changed the program from qualifying bidders to training people in small businesses, which is not the mission of a public school district.

When the state auditor ruled that capital funds could not be used for such a purpose, the district had to repay the capital fund with $2 million in money that should have gone to the classroom. — The Seattle Times

(follow link to complete article.)

A new “No Confidence” petition demanding Goodloe-Johnson’s removal is now circulating.

More background info here:

Documents detail financial abuse in Seattle schools program

A former Seattle Public Schools manager ran a rogue contracting operation within district offices, replete with overbilling, ethics violations and intimidation of critics, according to documents released by the state Thursday. — Seattle Times

Who is Silas Potter? Or Rather, Where is Silas Potter?

– The Stranger

UPDATE: KING 5 News reported Friday that a Jan. 15, 2009 e-mail by Fred Stephens indicates that Supt. Goodloe-Johnson directed that the school board be kept  in the dark about the damning Sutor Report, which highlighted problems with Potter’s fraudulent operation. [CORRECTION: This paragraph originally stated Dec. 2008 as the date of the e-mail.]

In the summer of 2008, problems persisted and the Sutor Group was hired to conduct an investigation. That December, it reported serious problems with oversight of Potter’s programs.

By then, Goodloe-Johnson was well aware of the report’s findings. She met with others in January to discuss the troubled program. Among them was Stephens.

Two days later, Stephens wrote an e-mail indicating Goodloe-Johnson didn’t want the Sutor report revealed to the school board.

“That’s what I found most concerning, because of the nature of the Sutor Group report, the fact that nobody could remember discussing it with the board, talking about the details of how severe those findings were, I thought was troubling,” said Eakes. The following month, Goodloe-Johnson glossed over the Sutor report at a board meeting.

“It obviously was a missed opportunity for the Superintendent to share with us the full gravity of the situation,” said Sundquist.

By the end of 2009, Potter’s program was actually growing with even more questionable spending than before. — (follow link to KING5 for full report)

SIDE NOTE: At that same time — December 2008-January 2009 — Goodloe-Johnson was in the middle of pushing her contentious “Capacity Management Plan” which consisted of multiple school closures, evictions, and splintering the district’s schools for gifted children. The School Board voted in favor of her plan at the end of January. Is is possible she didn’t want any kind of scandal to interfere with these plans? Why else would she cover for Potter?  Or is it possible that his operation, which funneled money to various local organizations, might have helped quash opposition to her controversial closures plan? That is one theory, CORRECTION: and was cited in the REPORT ON INVESTIGATION RELATED TO THE REGIONAL SMALL
BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM by local attorney Patricia Eakes as the initial inquiry that prompted the school board to retain Eakes in December 2010 to investigate Potter’s program. Eakes did not find witnesses with firsthand knowledge to support this claim. But she did uncover other troubling aspects of Potter’s dealings and various cases of mismanagement within SPS all the way up to the superintendent. – sp. 2/26/11

Sadly, Pottergate is just the latest in a litany of questionable activities, mismanagement, and even ethics scandals that have happened on Goodloe-Johnson’s watch, including at least one that involved the superintendent directly (see: “Seattle School Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson’s ongoing conflicts of interest”), not to mention a damning state audit of the district last year.

The Seattle Public School District motto is: “Excellence for All. Everyone Achieving. Everyone accountable.” Who should be held accountable for this latest mess?  Clearly the buck needs to stop with Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson.

–Sue  & Dora

SHOULD THE SUPERINTENDENT BE FIRED? CONTACT THE SCHOOL BOARD NOW

The Seattle School Board directors will meet next Tuesday <=[UPDATE: AS SOON AS THIS WEEKEND!, according to the Seattle Public Schools Community Blog, which is all over this story] to decide the fate of Superintendent Goodloe-Johnson and how to respond to the Silas Potter fraud scandal.

Parents, teachers and other members of the Seattle Schools community who want to voice their views on whether the Superintendent should be fired or bought out should contact the school board directors now. Here’s how:

District I – Peter Maier	peter.maier@seattleschools.org	(206) 252-0040
District II – Sherry Carr	sherry.carr@seattleschools.org	(206) 252-0040
District III – Harium Martin-Morris	harium.martin-morris@seattleschools.org	(206) 252-0040
District IV – Michael DeBell	michael.debell@seattleschools.org	(206) 252-0040
District V – Kay Smith-Blum	kay.smith-blum@seattleschools.org	(206) 252-0040
District VI – Steve Sundquist (board president)	steve.sundquist@seattleschools.org	(206) 252-0040
District VII – Betty Patu	betty.patu@seattleschools.org	(206) 252-0040

Parents Support Their Teachers in Wisconsin

As teachers return to school to continue their work, parents are taking their places.

Dora

House Bill 1593 and Senate Bill 5667

The following is taking from the Washington State School Directors Association (WSSDA) Legislative Update for today. By the way, this is a great resource for information on what’s happening in education in the state of Washington and daily updates are provided.

The comments in italics are mine.

Dora

2SHB 1593 – would create an alternative route to principal certification. Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos (who seems to be pushing corporate reform big-time) offered several amendments, including making mentoring required for at least one full school year (rather than six months) and that provisional certificate holders would demonstrate some progress toward completing an alternative route program to maintain their certificate. (Weak at best but Santos seems to be willing to do anything to see this bill pass. Hmmm, I wonder who will be financially backing her next campaign?) Committee chair Kathy Haigh, D-Shelton, voiced concerns but indicated she was willing to keep the bill moving (Why?)– although she would be a no vote. The bill passed 15-3, with Rep. Sells and Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor, also voting no. (At least some folks saw this as a wacky way to hire principals. Don’t we have enough qualified staff and teachers to fill principal positions now?)

 

A similar bill, SB 5667, had a public hearing today in the Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education Committee. The bill had a mix of support and opposition, with school administrators, teachers and others speaking against the bill, and the (Broad and Gates backed) League of Education Voters , (ditto) Stand for Children and the Partnership for Learning (An organization made up of business folks who know sooo much about education with Norm Rice, President and CEO of the Seattle Foundation, on the Board of Directors) endorsing the concept. Since the bill failed to pass the policy committee by today’s deadline, it is considered “dead.” (Logic and common sense ruled the day at least with this committee). However, please remember that nothing is ever truly over until the gavels finally fall on the last day of session. (It would be a good idea to contact these representatives and thank them for using their critical thinking skills to save our schools from another reform-of-the-day wacky idea.)

“The Inconvenient Truth Behind Waiting For Superman”

The trailer.

Dora

Go Wisconsin!

If you can’t view the awesome video above, check it out on YouTube:

Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill Protest

Protesters in Wisconsin

On the SEIU website is a list of actions in solidarity with the workers in Wisconsin including a rally on the steps of the capitol in Olympia at noon today.

Rachel Maddow did a great two day series last week on what is happening in Wisconsin.

Recommended reading on workers’ rights in Wisconsin and in fact throughout our country:

Wisconsin Power Play by Paul Krugman in a New York Times Op-Ed

Why America’s teachers are enraged by Diane Ravitch

Anthony Cody’s column: Wisconsin Teachers Show Us How to Resist the Shock Doctrine

American Corporatocracy: Wisconsin Style

The Looting of America: How Wall Street Fleeced Millions from Wisconsin Schools

Dora

Post Script: And for some great photo’s of the protests in Wisconsin check out on Facebook:

Protest Against Scott Walker’s Union-busting, Feb. 16, 2011

Wisconsin is America’s Egypt. Madison is Cairo. Get There!

Day 4, Wisconsin is America’s Egypt, Madison is Cairo

House Bill 1593: Another Wacky Bill

SHB 1593 – alternative routes for principal certification.

First there was a bill last year that allowed for alternative certification for teachers which was the foot in the door for Teach for America, Inc.

Now some of our legislators, including our very own Reuven Carlyle, think that it would be OK to hire someone without any experience in the classroom to come into a school and manage teaching staff, handle the day-to-day issues of students needs while understanding what teachers are trying to achieve and dealing with in their classrooms while at the same time offering support to all and mentoring junior staff. Life would be so much easier if schools could be run like a business where just about any Tom, Dick or Jane could come in with some “management skills” and run a school. Oh yeah, that’s what they do in charter schools.

The bill passed through the House Committee on Education Appropriations & Oversight last Friday, 2/18/2011 and will go into Executive Session today.

We’ve seen the Broad Foundation place their graduates with backgrounds in business and the military into positions as superintendents around the country. Let’s make sure that they don’t do that with our principals.

You can contact the following state representatives and let them know what you think:

Representative Sharon Tomiko Santos, Majority Whip sharontomiko.santos@leg.wa.gov

Representative Reuven Carlyle, Assistant Majority Whip reuven.carlyle@leg.wa.gov

I would also suggest contacting your local representative and sharing your thoughts on this bill.

Dora

The Charter, uh, Innovation School Bill, House Bill 1546, Has Been Modified

A substitute bill for the original House Bill 1546 was approved in committee on Friday, February 18^th.

Substitute Bill Compared to Original Bill

Source:  Substitute Bill Analysis report

The original bill authorized any school district to designate Innovation Schools and Innovation Zones and then apply to the state for endorsement of innovation plans. The substitute bill creates a review and approval process by the ESD and the OSPI for up to three Innovation Schools and Innovation Zones from each ESD. The original bill required waiver of a large number of state laws and rules for any state-endorsed innovation plan. The substitute bill authorizes a specified list of waivers and allows for identification of additional waivers to be forwarded to the Legislature by the OSPI.

The original bill required the OSPI to submit as a package, requests for supplemental funding from Innovation Schools and Innovation Zones. The substitute bill provides for two rounds of applications: a first round in 2012 that must be implemented without supplemental state funds, and a second round in 2013 where supplemental state funds may be requested. For the second round, the OSPI selects and forwards to the Legislature no more than 10 applications and provides grants if funds are appropriated. The original bill allowed staff in an Innovation School or Innovation Zone to opt out of collective bargaining agreements. The substitute bill allows a school district to agree to modify agreements if necessary to implement an innovation plan. The original bill did not limit the duration of an Innovation School or Innovation Zone. The substitute bill provides that both the first and second round of designations operate for six years, and that the bill expires June 30, 2021

Staff Summary of Public Testimony in Opposition to the Original Bill

The bill outlines many things that go into creative and innovative schools. Washington is already a leader in innovation. There are over 200 schools using alternative learning experience programs, and there are digital learning programs. Innovative schools have occurred without any barriers or trouble. There is a concern that by setting up these proposal and approval processes, obstacles will be invented that currently do not exist.

The Superintendent supports innovation, but not this bill. Waiving many of the laws that are listed could have unknown or unintended consequences. The bill requires that the OSPI and the SBE make a list of laws that can be waived, but provides no authority to determine whether these laws should be waived. The provisions that allow employees in some schools to opt out of collective bargaining are largely unworkable and should be removed. There are significant concerns with allowing a waiver of provisions under chapter 28A.400 RCW, which includes such topics as employment practices, sexual misconduct, and crimes against children.

Innovation is supported, but not adding another layer of bureaucracy. This bill could only be implemented with additional resources. There is concern about waiving things like minimum graduation requirements and passing state assessments. One of the laws that could be waived is the requirement to hire fully certified teachers, which is counter to the desire to improve student achievement.

Dora