Proposal would reduce schools' self-rule

Giving school-building leaders the power to decide on hiring, how they spend their money and how they get students to make the grade has been a hallmark of Seattle Public Schools.

That autonomy, hailed as a catalyst for innovation when the district began to decentralize in the mid-1990s, may not be working to help students learn better because the money's not being used effectively in some instances, Chief Academic Officer Steve Wilson told the School Board yesterday.

As Wilson enters his second year as the district's academics chief, the former Ingraham High School principal proposes to use a new accountability system that would tighten the leash on schools whose students are not making sufficient progress in core subject areas, such as math and reading. Where there is "significant evidence" that students aren't learning, the central administration would reassign staff, take away budget authority and dictate the staff training, Wilson told the board.

Several board members accused Wilson of being long on theory and short on details about how his suggestions for more teacher training and more district scrutiny would be different from the status quo. The board plans to take up his proposal at a retreat next week.

One board member questioned how effective a more-centralized authority would be: A recent district survey shows school staff members at all grade levels believe district administrators have little respect for them. A few board members also questioned whether the millions spent on professional development would be better spent on reducing class sizes.

The board's direction on these issues could affect the $453 million general budget for 2005-06, also introduced yesterday, and how members will grapple with an estimated $14 million shortfall in the following school year. The board is scheduled to hold a public hearing Monday on the budget, with a vote July 6.

Wilson's proposal for the district to intervene in a school failing academically is one of the actions required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The district effectively is on a state watch list because too many of its diverse student groups are failing the Washington Assessment of Student Learning. The law requires the Seattle district to show improvement or face the threat of the state taking over management of its schools.

After Seattle schools Superintendent John Stanford's death in 1998, the School Board committed to carry on his vision of decentralizing school operations. Giving principals more authority over staffing and budgets was intended to nurture innovation. Giving more money to schools with predominantly poor students than to schools serving mostly middle-class students was a means to create more equity. Schools that didn't perform well under this decentralized system would be closed, the theory went, and students reassigned.

Superintendent Raj Manhas this spring proposed closing 10 schools, some of them long known for poor performance. Manhas later withdrew the plan, which lacked political support and drew widespread criticism for not weighing some schools' good academic performance.

Yesterday, Wilson said reasserting the district's authority would ensure that curriculum and assessment were standardized across grade levels and between schools. That authority also would ensure that all teachers were trained in teaching methods proven to work with diverse student groups.

Board member Darlene Flynn said she saw no analysis of how central managers were going to be held accountable for schools not making enough progress. But she supported the idea of putting the district back in charge of some functions.

"We've had decentralization — decentralization to the point we have no consistency, very little accountability and the reflection here of friction," Flynn said, referring to teachers' feeling disrespected.

Board President Brita Butler-Wall was concerned that Wilson's plan would force schools to adopt a "cookie-cutter approach" and harm innovative teaching.

Sanjay Bhatt: 206-464-3103