Cleveland High plan is revised, goes back to the board

An $800,000 contract to help Cleveland High open a new science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) program is back before the Seattle School Board for approval of revisions.

In early February, the board voted 4-2 to approve the 3 ½-year contract with the New Technology Network, a national association of 41 schools.

By becoming part of the Network, Cleveland would receive materials, training and other assistance as it phases in its STEM program starting this fall. But after the vote, some district activists complained that certain provisions in the contract differed from what district staff had said publicly.

In particular, the staff had said that Cleveland would remain one school with one principal, but with two academies — one focused on engineering and design, one on life sciences. Staff members also said the two academies would eventually have a total of 1,000 students.

The original contract, in contrast, indicated that the district would have to create two separate schools in Cleveland's building, each with its own principal. It also said that enrollment must be capped at 450 students per school, and that teachers in one academy couldn't teach any classes in the other.

In response to those questions, officials from Seattle Public Schools and the New Technology Network have said that they had verbal agreements that matched the staff's description of the program.

The activists countered that a written contract is a legal document that the district could be compelled in court to honor.

It's not clear when the district decided to modify the contract. But district spokeswoman Patti Spencer said Monday that school officials decided that they wanted to get the verbal agreements in writing before the contract went to Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson for final approval.

"As we really looked again at the details before signing the contract, we realized that it would be most prudent to get that language into the contract," said Spencer.

The contract is just one of the issues still simmering about the New Technology Network contract.

Four parents and a retired Seattle principal have challenged the contract in King County Superior Court, saying the district didn't do enough research into the Network, and that achievement at many of its schools is low, especially in math.

Goodloe-Johnson's memo to the board acknowledges that the record of New Technology Network schools is mixed, but Spencer said district leaders still believe the New Technology Network is a very effective model for a STEM program at Cleveland.

The board is scheduled to discuss the revised contract Wednesday and vote on it on April 7.

In approving the contract the first time, board members who supported it acknowledged the difficulty of spending so much money on one school, but said it's vital to turn Cleveland into an attractive school fast so that enough students want to enroll. Under the district's new school-boundary plan, Cleveland won't be a neighborhood school but one students sign up for to attend.

Linda Shaw: 206-464-2359