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The_Jail_playground.JPG
Arbor Heights Elementary in West Seattle was built in 1948. A 2009 analysis gave the southwest Seattle school the worst rating of any building in the district. Students call this play area "the jail." (Linda Thomas photo)

Why public schools want $1.2 billion from Seattle taxpayers

February 3, 2013 @ 6:03 pm (Updated: 9:12 am - 2/4/13 )

"Ready, one, two, here we go. Bow, lift place. Bow, lift place."

Elementary school musicians lift their bows and place them on violins, as directed by the music teacher. The first-year violin students are slowly getting it as they begin to play in unison.

Their music program could go away if Seattle voters don't pass a three-year $552 million operations levy for the city's public schools.

Principal Christy Collins shows me around her school - Arbor Heights Elementary in West Seattle. A 2009 analysis gave the southwest Seattle school the worst rating of any building in the district in terms of educational adequacy.

"We try to make do as best we can," Collins says.

It's the poster child for why the Seattle School District says it needs a six-year $695 million capital levy to pass too. Both levy requests are on ballots voters need to have postmarked by February 12.

"This is what they call the jail," she says, as we walk by a sheltered play area contained by chain-link fences. "This is where they play when it's raining, and it's often raining."

Built in 1948, we walk past the area the kids refer to as the jail, down the fluorescent halls, past the classrooms with yellowing Plexiglas windows and end up in Mr. Fisk's portable classroom. Some days it's so cold students can see their breath.

"Often the drapes are drawn in order to keep heat in," says Collins. "Mr. Fisk can no longer use his chalkboard because it won't even allow chalk on it anymore."

A blackboard that's so old it doesn't take chalk?

"We do have teachers who have used their own money, or they have used their allotment from the PTA which is a couple hundred dollars, to buy small pieces of whiteboard to put over their chalkboards," Collins explains. "As far as instruction, my concern would be that our students are at a disadvantage in this digital age."

A few weeks ago, the classroom didn't even have computers. Someone broke in after removed the hinge pins from a door on the portable.

"They were able to take the locked Mackintosh computers, brand new desktops, out in seconds before the alarm was tripped and police and security were able to come to the school," she says.

After describing the need, Collins explains how your tax money would be used.

"Making sure that special education services are there for students, learning assistance programs are there for students. Transportation. None of this is fully funded by the state and therefore we have to ask the voters to help support kids," Collins says.

"As far as these buildings go, trying to upgrade security, upgrade boilers, replace buildings that obviously need to be replaced or add capacity for those buildings that are bursting at the seams. It's something that I don't believe is extravagant."

Last year, the owner of a $400,000 house in Seattle paid about $1,000 in local school levy and bond taxes. If both levies pass, that bill would go up by $160.

"That's too much for me," says Marvin Anderson, who lives near a north Seattle middle school. "I don't have kids in school and I worry that schools waste too much money. I get tired of schools asking for a hand out every year. This year, I don't have it. Sorry."

The operations and capital levy requests of $1.25 billion are the district's largest request ever.

Seattle has one of the lowest levy rates in the region at under $3 per $1,000 of assessed value for property owners. Lake Washington Schools are at about $3.50, Issaquah Schools are $5.00 and both Federal Way and Shoreline schools are close to $6.00.

The Washington State Supreme Court has ruled the state does an inadequate job of funding public education, which is why districts ask voters for support. That will change, in theory, when the legislature finds a way to fully fund schools by 2014.

"The maintenance and operation is 26 percent of our budget. If that doesn't pass, that's a huge hit," says Collins. "That would be a huge hit for us and I think for all schools, I know for all schools."

By Linda Thomas

Full disclosure, I have two children in Seattle public schools

More from Linda Thomas

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Comments (64)


  • Add A Comment

  • cloey wrote...
    Get the Facts Straight
    February 3, 2013 6:04 pm
    You mean $1.2 BILLION, don't you?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Cat50 wrote...
    no more money
    February 3, 2013 9:48 pm
    until the teachers stop bullying students.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Pair o'dimes wrote...
    And the real world is where?
    February 3, 2013 10:13 pm
    There is no doubt plenty of waste in our public schools, and no doubt that the education system could be better. That being said, public education is the system used in much of the developed world, and often with more success than we see here in the U.S. More success not because it is privatized, but because they do it better. The public education system is the place where the greatest opportunities exist for the poor to change their economic status. Public education has had a great deal of success, and like any human enterprise, its share of failure, but scrapping it for a privatized system will only hurt those who cannot afford a private education. The purpose of the public system was to provide an education for all, and in so doing, benefit the entire society. John Adams the second president said “Before any great things are accomplished, a memorable change must be made in the system of education and knowledge must become so general as to raise the lower ranks of society nearer to the higher. The education of a nation instead of being confined to a few schools and universities for the instruction of the few, must become the national care and expense for the formation of the many.”
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Paul Kersey wrote...
    some people never learn, they just become victims over and over.
    February 4, 2013 4:45 am
    Don't fret Seattle taxpayers, it is assured that the people who rip you off this time will again be good Democrats. The last one was so good, Obama gave him a job at Department of Commerce. You do want to help your party bosses, don't you?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Zagnut wrote...
    Don't confuse a privatized school system with a school system that you pay for privately.
    February 4, 2013 5:31 am
    The source of school funding is OK, but the schools should be privatized.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Forrest wrote...
    Zagnut... privatize the schools,
    February 4, 2013 6:29 am
    but public subsidy for businesses such as the NBA is OK.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • wsualumn wrote...
    Public Schools
    February 4, 2013 6:06 am
    Yes they work. No they aren't perfect. Certain people want to hold student performance entirely on the schools. The schools do a lot more than people realize. How do I know, for one I went through the system(I'm ready for your daily dig AJ) and my wife has been a public school teacher. I don't know how many times I went to her school on the weekends and helped her get things ready for the upcoming week. Correcting papers, organizing, and putting packets together. Yea, I know, they work just 6 hours a day and get summers off. I would strongly suggest to critics that are more than happy to blast a few "bad apples" and claim that they represent the majority, that feel privatizing and home schooling is the answer to go into some of the really low performing schools. These schools are lower socio-economic based. These schools are in areas where survival is the priority. Please go into some of these schools and volunteer. They will more than happily accept volunteers. Help tutor these kids. Ask them to take their school work home and please return it the next day completed. Give them one on one help. Help the teacher with others. See how much of your help gets these kids turned around. It's real easy to come on these blogs and give the easy solutions. There are no easy solutions. Some people advocate for home schooling. Just be sure if you choose to do so, you get "The Social Skills Packet." Many of us suffer the consequences of a mother that didn't get that packet for a certain individual on these blogs. He is rather insecure and likes to argue. He also likes to make himself feel superior by attacking people that have opinions that differ from his. Again, those of you considering home schooling, be sure to get "The Social Skills Packet" so you don't have a child that ends up like him when they become an adult.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Zagnut wrote...
    WSU, teachers like your wife should be rewarded.
    February 4, 2013 6:17 am
    One of the many problems with the schools being run by the government is that teachers are not properly rewarded for excellent work. Lousy teachers and fantastic teachers are paid the same and have equal job security.

    There is no doubt that success is relative to the school where one teaches. That is why it is impossible to have a "one size fits all" way of assessing results. But that is the only way the government can do it. The government is stiff and inflexible.

    If our schools were funded as generously as they are today, but run by entrepreneurs, they would reap far better results.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sportsguru wrote...
    they can go kick rocks
    February 4, 2013 7:03 am

    While I won't get on the bandwagon and say let privatize the school system, I do think that our administrators have no clue how to operate with a budget.

    The public school system is a FAILURE and I am a product of the public school system. Throwing more money at a failing system is not a recipe for success, you have to determine why the public sector is loosing ground to other develop nations first, what teachers are winning in the classroom and which teachers are loosing in the classroom and who is in the middle. Get rid of the failing teachers just like any BUSINESS and our public school system should be looked at as a BUSINESS and mentor the teachers that are in the middle and put them on action plans.

    I have been hearing the same excuses for decades, MONEY,MONEY,MONEY,MONEY. That battle cry is getting old and the Teachers Union is basically just like the Police Guild union, they have no interest in taking responsibility for the subpar product that they have been producing for the last 30 something years and have no plans on taking responsibility.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • shark75 wrote...
    Chalk boards that dont hold chalk?
    February 4, 2013 7:17 am
    That's funny, I drive by Seattle schools all every day and many have had facelifts and have lots of cool stuff like electronic readerboards, solar panels, etc. You mean housed within those buildings are chalkboards that dont hold chalk and kids that dont know math and science? You don't say...
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • anotherfencewalker wrote...
    Can we agree on one line item..?
    February 4, 2013 9:09 am
    That the public school system is a systemic trainwreck and has been since the late 70's and that being hooked to the hip of the state government the answer is not system overhaul, it's throw yet more money at the problem. Lots of money. Neither red or blue government can or will fix it in whole or in part. So forget that argument. It's all ef'd up and ef'd up good.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Politics aside, here are some inconvenient truths about private vs. public education...
    February 4, 2013 8:16 am
    Cite: http://www.ncspe.org/publications_files/OP111.pdf

    "New results from a study of a large, comprehensive dataset on US student achievement seriously challenge assumptions of private school superiority overall, and find substantial differences between different types of private schools"

    One of the graphs in the study cited above shows 4th grade scores in public schools, vs. a variety of private schools. After controlling for demographics (primarily family income) and location the results were:

    Catholic schools underperformed public schools by 7.2%. Lutheran schools underperformed public schools by 4.2%. "Conservative Christian" schools underperformed public schools by 11.9%, "Other private" schools underperformed public schools by 5.6%.

    Significantly, "charter schools" underperformed public schools both before and after demographic controls . Prior to demographic control, charter schools underperformed public schools by 6.1%, and actually did a little better than that in the final analysis, underperforming public schools by only 4.4%.

    The private and charter school deficiency is somewhat reduced, for all categories of schools by the 8th grade. Analysis of 8th grade scores show Catholic schools underperforming public schools by only 3.8% in the 8th grade. Lutheran schools actually outperform public schools by 1% in the 8th grade. "Conservative Christian" schools underperform private schools by 10.8% in the 8th grade. "Other private" schools underperform public schools by 2.3% in grade 8, while charter schools outperform public schools by 2.4% in the 8th grade.

    Clearly, if one separates the elite academic institutions, where tuition rates ensure that only the most privileged students from the wealthiest families will be admitted, there is no significant academic advantage for private or charter schools when educating the same students typically enrolled in public school. In cases where there are other agendas in play along with basic education (Conservative Christian, for one clear example)the education the students receive is statistically much worse than they would have garnered at a public school.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Zagnut wrote...
    A couple eggheads from a public university put together a report that you hold as gospel.
    February 4, 2013 8:26 am
    Gee, I wonder if they could skew the results to fit their cause?

    Also, a cost analysis would be interesting. I'm pretty confident the private schools manage with a small fraction of the funding our public school system receives.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Zagnut, you really ought to compare notes with AJ before you blast the study...
    February 4, 2013 9:16 am
    According to him, if you can't recognize that the study was performed by a "private foundation" you lack reading comprehension skills are and probably senile.

    Claiming that the study was performed at a public university, rather than a "private foundation" will earn you the wrath of our resident Freud. :-)

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • SeattleNative wrote...
    I happen to know that...
    February 4, 2013 9:21 am
    ...the Catholic school in my neighborhood is a center for teaching dyslexic children for the region.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Chuck Gould wrote...
    Native, good for them.
    February 4, 2013 9:45 am
    Do you often hear any parents of kids at that school complain that their kids are being "held back" by the dyslexic students? That sort of complaint is pretty common among people who don't like public education systems.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fartforce1 wrote...
    Problem with Christian schools..is that its brainwashing.
    February 4, 2013 5:27 pm
    the only thing that separates christian schools and Jewish or Muslim schools is the brand of brainwashing you receive.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Annie (1) wrote...
    No More Money!
    February 4, 2013 8:26 am
    Sorry-but until SPS proves they can manage the money we've already given them I am voting no. Arbor Heigts School has been in deplorable condition for a long time-why hasn't something been done sooner?? I think that SPS feels public sentiment isn't really on their side-so it serves their purpose to showcase just how bad AH is-but my question remains-why/how did it get to the point that this school is called "a jail? It's beyond me that we continue to give money every time it's asked for. We need transparency & accountability-which is always promised,but never delivered.Still we continue to tolerate mismangement & worse.What is the incentive for them to really change--obviously-a good education for our kids- in an environment conducive to learning isn't one.Like good little energizer bunnies-(more like lemmings in my view)we just keep giving & giving & giving ........
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
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