It's Friday morning September 22, 2023. We just got off the phone with the Evergreen School District HR; Evergreen Teachers Association Union office; Camas School District HR and Battle Ground HR. We contacted Evergreen and Camas to get copies of the newly approved teachers contracts. Neither contract is published and there is no target date for publication. Both districts said that once the teachers have approved the contract the district must then go through a review process to correct any wording and formatting. The proposed final document then goes back to the Union with any revisions and then back to the district, rinse and repeat until it's approved by both parties. In the case of … [Read more...]
School Administrators ‘Worm Around’ Laws Banning Critical Race Theory, Undercover Videos Reveal
So some school districts say they don't teach Critical Race Theory (CRT) when they really do. They may call it something else but the essence is there. In Washington State teachers are required by law to go through CRT training. Today we share a story that ran in The National Review. Take a few minutes to read the article and then go ask your local school district what they are doing and then file a public record request to get the details. Lastly, share those with us so we can share with our readers. As the intra-right debate over anti–critical race theory laws continues, new evidence has emerged to support the notion that the laws are toothless because ultimately teachers in the … [Read more...]
Hockinson Levy – Part Deux Updated Feb 1st
Here is a copy of the OSPI Enrichment Pre-Levy for the Hockinson SD: OSPI Enrichment Levy PreBallot Approval Jan 2022 Added Feb 1st on request. Our article about the Hockinson levy appears to have hit some nerves. We've been contact by multiple people sharing their thoughts as well as asking questions. The following letter (from a Hockinson district resident) seems to spell out the issues and concerns from parents and taxpayers viewpoints. Give it a read and consider the authors input: Though I share the sentiment that Hockinson is a great community and that a small local school district is a fine thing, after 30 years of voting in favor of school levies I cannot vote in … [Read more...]
Hockinson School District Levy – February 2022
Today we bring you the information from the voters pamphlet on the Hockinson School District Levy. Lets begin with the information from your voters pamphlet: Measure Text School Programs and Operations Replacement Levy The Board of Directors of Hockinson School District No. 98 adopted Resolution No. 21-22-02, concerning a proposition to continue funding current school programs and operations. This proposition would authorize the District to levy the following excess taxes, replacing an expiring levy, on all taxable property within the District, for school programs and operations expenses not funded by the State (including extracurricular activities, athletics, technology, advanced … [Read more...]
Blue State Blues: Record Number of Students Flee Nation’s Largest Public School Districts
Are parents really taking their children out of public schools or is it a myth or only temporary? Are parents really concerned about Critical Race Theory (CRT); Comprehensive Sex Ed (CSE); Social Emotional Learning (S.E.L.); Common Core (CC) and other topics? Here's an article from PJ Media and Gwendolyn Sims that you may find interesting. Give it a read and share if you think it's important to others. This week the three largest public school districts in the U.S. announced that they are in the middle of a massive and continuing problem: record low enrollment numbers. The New York Times reported that since the fall of 2019 enrollment in New York City’s (NYC) public school … [Read more...]
K-12 Education Washington State: Does more $$$ = higher test scores?
This article is going to be one of those that is complicated and full of data. There's simply no way around it. However, we'll summarize the data AND provide the spreadsheets and links so you can go look for yourself. The graphic chart to the left comes from an article from the Seattle Times titled "Washington’s 2018 state test scores still show large gaps between student groups". The title of the article is a hot link incase you want to read it. Please note that the Times makes it clear that Washington States "passing" score levels are lower than other areas of the United States...which means that the "passing" scores are even worse when compared to other states. What is the … [Read more...]
Battle Ground School Levy increase $1/$1000 – and no public notice and hidden vote by school board
On Monday August 12, 2019 the Battle Ground School Board held a regularly scheduled meeting. As part of that meeting they reviewed the proposed 2019/20 budget. They allowed public questions. The Board of Directors adopted the budget as presented. What they didn't tell people is that the approval of the budget included an increase in the Levy from $1.50/$1000 of assessed value to $2.50/$1000 effective January 1, 2020. There was no notice of intent to increase the levy. There was no vote to approve the increase. It was all part of the budget approval. This was the only budget meeting. In past years they held 2 public sessions. Normally at Laurin and Yacolt or Amboy to take questions and hear … [Read more...]
Evergreen /School District – Superintendent Steach’s Departure
Why did John Steach, Superintendent of the Evergreen School District depart? Did he resign or was he asked to leave? Did he go voluntarily or was there pressure and if so where from? Was it a joint judgment by Mr. Steach and the Board of Directors? How was his performance? What did is employment contract look like? What was his severance package? There was a press release that said nothing. The school board agreed to a severance package of just over $300,000. No one is talking. All records are sealed. So what (if anything) can we glean? We filed some Public Record Requests to see what the district would release. This blog article shares everything we could find and our speculation … [Read more...]
Legislature looking for ways to fix the ‘McCleary fix’
Just came across this article by the Spokane Spokesman. Looks like a good snapshot of what's happening in the Legislature regarding more changes to the McCleary funding "fix". Please take the time to read it. About 2/3rds the way down they discuss potential new taxes. OLYMPIA – After struggling most of this decade to meet the Supreme Court’s demand to provide a better public school system, the Legislature congratulated itself on a much-debated compromise dubbed “the McCleary fix.” Approved in 2017 with bipartisan majorities in both houses – and adjusted in 2018 because of a problem with property taxes – lawmakers and Gov. Jay Inslee hailed it as landmark legislation that assured … [Read more...]
What If Grocery Stores Worked Like Public Schools? (Satire)
Is it reasonable (fair seems to be such a nebulous term) to ask public schools to be like a business...say a grocery store? We came across this article at Fee.org (an economics site) and found it both interesting and disturbing. Is the authors (Eric Schuler) position reasonable? You judge and share your thoughts. "Education is important. It might be too important to leave to the government." One of the most important things to consider when buying a house is the quality of the grocery district. As the name implies, the grocery district determines which public grocery store you and your family get to use. District maps are drawn by the government to ensure each grocery store … [Read more...]