Seattle schools proposal wouldn't guarantee siblings could attend together

Parents at a Seattle School Board meeting Wednesday night protested a proposed new assignment plan that — at least during its transition phase — would not guarantee that younger siblings could go to the same school as an older brother or sister.

A group of parents called "Keep Our Kids Together" presented more than 3,000 signatures asking that the current priority for siblings in new school assignments be maintained in the plan that would take effect in September 2010.

"The new plan does not keep families intact," said Jill Davies, one of the petition organizers.

The School Board voted to move forward with the new student-assignment plan, but postponed a decision on the sibling issue until a detailed transition plan is developed along with new attendance boundaries in the fall.

Board member Peter Maier cautioned that reserving a seat for a sibling will mean one fewer seat for a neighborhood child. He said the current plan, which offers a wide choice of schools, works against low-income and non-English-speaking families who don't always have information about deadlines or the best schools.

He said the district currently spends about $29 million on transportation, and much of that could be saved and put to use in the district's classrooms.

The goal of the new assignment plan is to return Seattle schools to a neighborhood-based system, which would significantly reduce busing costs. Under the proposal, students would be assigned a spot, based on their home address, at a nearby elementary, middle or high school.

While the proposal would give parents more certainty about school assignments, it also would likely draw more narrowly the attendance boundaries at certain popular schools. That means the younger siblings of currently enrolled students might not be able to attend the same school.

Some parents asked that current families be "grandfathered" to allow all siblings to attend the same school that an older one now attends. The proposed plan says that if there isn't space where an older sibling now attends, all the children in one family may attend the newly assigned school, but not necessarily the current school.

Meg Diaz, a parent with children at McGilvra and Lowell elementary schools, said the district hasn't done a good job of letting parents know about the proposed change to its assignment plan. "For most families, this is going to come as a rude shock," she said.

Also on the board's agenda was Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson's annual performance review. The board praised the superintendent for "decisive and courageous leadership," but said parents and the community could be better informed and engaged.

The board praised the public process that led to the closure of five schools, saying that despite the controversy, many voices were heard.

But it said that on other issues, the community wasn't adequately involved and it asked the superintendent for improvement. It gave her C+ grades in strengthening district leaders and in ensuring excellence in every classroom.

A career educator, Goodloe-Johnson is completing her second year as superintendent.

Regarded as a smart, focused leader, she has won praise for her emphasis on educational quality and for tackling tough issues at a time of budget cutbacks. But critics have accused her of being unresponsive to community concerns and of making decisions in a blunt and sometimes politically tone-deaf manner.

Earlier this spring, she angered the teachers union by sending a letter effectively telling members they'd be laid off next year if they didn't agree to one less paid day.

The move was prompted by statewide cuts, but few other districts notified teachers in such a threatening way, the state teachers union complained.

Lynn Thompson: 206-464-8305