Auditors: Fragmented, decentralized system is swamping the district

Seattle Public Schools is buried under so many old plans, initiatives and policies that it can't make any use of them, an audit released Wednesday said.

The audit by Phi Delta Kappa International joined a chorus of outside evaluators and new district leaders calling for more centralized decision-making at the 45,000-student district. Letting schools govern themselves starting in the late 1990s has led to a "fragmented" system that lacks accountability, consistency and equity, the report said.

Consultants from Indiana-based Phi Delta Kappa, a group of professional educators, looked through thousands of documents over the spring and summer and visited more than 900 Seattle classrooms in October. The district paid $124,000 for the 400-page report, which technically audited only curriculum, but touched on many of the district's larger functions.

Among other things, the audit cited:

• A lack of central decision-making that has led to a "fragmented" system with "diluted accountability";

• Unfair lack of access by poor kids to the district's best programs; • Teaching methods that aren't up to the district's own expectations;

• "Inadequate" board policies to guide district staff in decisions about curriculum;

• An array of unattainable districtwide and schoolwide plans that aren't being used;

• An inconsistent use of data to improve curriculum and make other decisions;

• A backlog of maintenance and repairs that, in some places, interferes with students' learning.

The curriculum audit is one of seven reviews the district ordered over the past year. The district has hired outside consultants to review its communications department and the programs that serve its at-risk, gifted, special-education and bilingual students. In addition, McKinsey & Co., an international consulting firm, is helping the district combine the information into a strategic plan.

Chief Academic Officer Carla Santorno said the curriculum audit fits in well with the district's move toward a few focused goals instead of a bunch of competing initiatives.

"The information we're getting from McKinsey is focus, focus, focus, and be narrow in what you want to do," she said.

School Board President Cheryl Chow recalled when, as a new principal years ago, the district handed her a copy of the district's book of policies. "I think it's about 8 inches thick," she said.

Chow is leading a new board majority elected this fall to set up a system to review old policies and keep them updated.

Seattle Education Association President Wendy Kimball said teachers have felt the district's lack of focus.

"What they care about is that they are asked to do things that are not connected well," she said. "There's no coherence in what the district is asking them to do."

The report was critical of the achievement gap between white and nonwhite students, and Santorno questioned whether the district has enough state funding to address the auditors' concerns.

Although the board and district leaders say they are working toward providing equal access, the report notes, "a systematic plan to eliminate inequalities does not exist."

Auditors pointed to unequal parent-group fundraising and access to advanced courses, and said the district is inconsistent in the way it intervenes when students or a school are not doing well.

Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246 or eheffter@seattletimes.com