Seattle schools aim to change image

In the next year, the Seattle School District will ask taxpayers for $887 million, search for a new superintendent and hold elections for a majority of its board.

That would be a tall order for even the best of times. But in recent months, Seattle school officials have focused much of their attention on dispelling the notion that the district is in political and financial turmoil.

In a telling indication of the public mood, state Sen.-elect Ed Murray, D-Seattle, is considering introducing legislation in Olympia that would replace Seattle's elected School Board with an appointed body. Murray's constituents "are tired, exhausted of dealing with a school district in crisis," he said.

The troubles in the school system contradict Seattle's image as a place of wealth, education and polite politics. The student body is poorer and more ethnically diverse than the rest of the city, making race a central issue in many district decisions. Cash-strapped, the schools must cut services while trying to retain middle-class families — all while enrollment trends show steady decline. During the board's twice-monthly meetings, "Seattle nice" has been supplanted by an atmosphere where board members sometimes fear for their physical safety.

After a contentious round of school closures in 2006, the board now boasts the district is on firm financial footing, though the outlook even two years from now is bleak. While the board has been buffeted by criticisms from City Hall and other quarters, there is evidence of a backlash, a gathering of political strength on the part of board members and their supporters.

How well the board handles both politics and finances over the next year may well determine how the district performs its primary duty: teaching kids. But many civic and academic observers have low expectations for the kind of change they say is needed to boost confidence in public education in Seattle.

"A more stable position"

To the folks at Standard & Poor's, the investment-research firm, the Seattle School District is actually doing well.

In early December, two months before the district goes to the ballot for a levy and bond issue to pay for extra teachers and refurbished buildings, S&P upgraded its outlook and affirmed Seattle's AA credit rating, which is above average for school districts. While analysts mainly focused on how the debt would be repaid — local property taxes — they also examined how the district was spending its money.

"We do have confidence that, in the recent couple of years, they have made choices that put finances in a more stable position," said Gabriel Petek, an analyst in S&P's San Francisco office. But, Petek said, school officials told him the district would be in financial trouble in the coming years if expenses and revenue were to stay the same.

A projected shortfall of $21 million is expected to hit in 2007-08, and it's expected to grow to $126 million by 2010.

That puts Seattle roughly in line with other districts, said state schools Superintendent Terry Bergeson.

"The urban districts along the I-5 corridor are getting closer and closer to the edge of real financial difficulties," she said, a situation aggravated by rising costs for teachers, diesel and electricity. At the same time, enrollment is declining, which reduces state funding.

It may seem odd that Seattle schools are in a money crunch while the city boasts two major sports stadiums and a downtown building boom. But the district has no control over its revenues — the state limits what districts can ask of taxpayers. The board intends to lobby Olympia for additional dollars, and Seattle is among a group of school districts, PTAs and unions that may sue the state for more classroom funding.

Seattle School Board member Michael DeBell, chair of the board's finance committee, said the district achieved a surplus this year through reduced benefits to part-time employees, increased state funding for tutoring and additional federal dollars to educate kids who fled Hurricane Katrina, among other factors.

This year, DeBell said the district may consider charging for yellow-bus service if parents choose schools outside their neighborhood, moving more high-school students to Metro buses and lowering utility costs by "wresting control of the thermostat from teachers and principals."

While additional school closures are likely in the future, don't expect new announcements this year.

"I don't think it's good political move," DeBell said. "We accomplished three-fourths of what we set out to accomplish, and it created a lot of disruption. It's time to put that aside."

Board members deserve some credit for strengthening the district's books, said Paul Hill, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education at the University of Washington. But, he cautioned, even harder choices lie ahead. "Nobody seriously thinks that what they did this year can handle the budget deficit two years from now."

Changing perceptions

Just before school let out for winter break, the board sent home an open letter to families to "take a moment to celebrate the successes we have achieved together."

The letter was part of a larger public-relations campaign to bolster the image of Seattle schools that included a guest editorial in The Seattle Times by Superintendent Raj Manhas and appearances by board members on the city's cable channel.

The effort came weeks after Mayor Greg Nickels suggested former Mayor Norm Rice take over schools and the board took a beating from editorial writers and others.

Manhas said he's not good at politics, preferring instead to let the accomplishments of the district speak for themselves. But over the past months, Manhas said, he learned a belated lesson about the importance of managing public opinion.

"I've become more aware of the fact that sometimes perceptions become real," said Manhas, who announced in October he would step down at the end of the school year.

The board's counter-offensive may be working. City Hall's push for Rice to be the next superintendent fizzled, and Murray said several Seattle City Council members — he wouldn't say who — recently reversed themselves and said they wouldn't get behind his ideas for a new board. Without strong local support, Murray said, his reform proposals won't go far in Olympia.

The ascension of Cheryl Chow as board president in December may have something to do with the improving political climate. Chow is a former City Council member and educator with long connections in the community.

However, the fact that she is Asian American isn't likely to defuse long-simmering racial tensions in the district. Those feelings erupted during public meetings about the school-closure plan, which mostly affected students of color. Chow herself was the target of one remark, a reference to the 1983 Wah Mee massacre that occurred in the Chinatown International District.

In an effort to bring order to its meetings, the board is changing the public-comment period to make sure people talk about what's on the agenda.

That was the arrangement for public testimony during a special meeting Dec. 20, but it took only 13 minutes and two speakers before the board was called racist and incompetent.

Different perspectives

Perhaps no other issue divides the board and its critics as much as the search for a new superintendent.

Since John Stanford died in 1998, the district has witnessed a leadership vacuum, first with Joseph Olchefske, who stepped down amid a budget scandal in 2003, and now with Manhas.

A national search for a new superintendent failed in 2003, but the process begins again this month when a consultant hired to find a new leader gathers public input.

Contrary to some perceptions, Seattle has a stellar reputation, Chow said during an executive committee meeting.

"We just keep bashing ourselves, but we have always been a positive beacon across the nation," she said.

Nickels disagreed. The political situation is so dicey in Seattle, he said, that the district is unlikely to attract the best people. Hill, the UW researcher, is also dubious of the board's plan to name finalists in April, let alone by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, the bond and levy campaign, scheduled to kick off Jan. 8, appears to have adopted an informal theme: Whatever you think of the district's leadership or finances, the kids deserve a share of your property tax.

Alex Fryer: 206-464-8124 or afryer@seattletimes.com