Kitsap Education

The Bremerton School Board has scheduled a special meeting on Monday beginning at 5:30 p.m. to discuss problems with the high school track.

The agenda sent to me Thursday indicates the board will meet in closed session with legal counsel to discuss potential litigation in regards to the resurfacing of the track. The track was resurfaced earlier this year, but the project has a lot of problems. Learn more from this story posted on Kitsapsun.com Thursday.

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Superintendent for Public Instruction Randy Dorn is proposing more changes in the math and science requirements for public school students. A two-tier system for proficiency seems to be an interesting proposal – it will definitely stir some discussions.

Read the proposal here.

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I’ve been looking into how local school districts are using money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Basically, ARRA has become a filler for state-level funding cuts. In Bremerton, for example, schools received $2.3 million in ARRA funding. And, you guessed it, cuts in education funding (called apportionment because it’s based on student head count) and I-728 money totaled $2.3 million.

Bremerton School Board member Louis Mitchell labeled the situation “a net wash.”

To learn more about how ARRA funding is being used in other states, check out this Education Week story.

I think it’s safe to say schools can expect more cuts in the spring. Sherry Appleton and Christine Rolfes, state representatives from the 23rd District, told community members at forum on Nov. 9 that more cuts are coming.

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Dave Boynton remains 100 votes ahead of Bremerton School Board member Cynthia Galloway in the race for position #4. The Kitsap County Auditor’s Office released yet another count of the ballots on Thursday.

Galloway indicated Thursday that she would make a statement on the election on Nov. 24, when the count is certified.

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The White House announced today that the competition for a portion of nearly $4 billion in its “Race to the Top” money is now underway. States will apply for the money. Those that are doing innovative things in education will be ranked higher than those who aren’t. The Obama administration wants to reward and feed programs and plans that will make a difference in public education.

Read more about Race to the Top in this very informative story from Education Week.

So is Washington a contender? By joining the group of states working on common core educational standards, we’ve added to our ranking. But we don’t have a law that allows charter schools. For that, we lose points. Also, I recently heard about (read? – I forget) about how the Gates Foundation has rewarded a whole big bunch of money to the state of Minnesota to help the state write and submit its Race to the Top application and plan. I did not hear a similar story about Washington.

I did find a memo on OSPI’s website laying some groundwork for Washington’s application. I have an email into OSPI asking for some more details. I’ll let you know when I hear back.

Update at 3 p.m.: Washington state’s Race to the Top application will be a legislative package originating from the governor’s office. The application will focus on how the state has addressed low-perfomring schools, teacher pay and evaluations and standards and assessments. Nathan Olson, of OSPI’s communications office, said that while Washington does not have charter schools, it does have innovative schools that work “outside the public school philosophy.” The Tacoma School for the Arts is a good example. “We think places like that will help us,” he said. The application is due Jan. 19, 2010. 

More later, I’m sure, on this …

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The Washington Supreme Court announced today that it had reversed a decision from a lower court finding the state was not properly funding education. The case was brought by the Federal Way School District, teacher, parents and students.

Read the decision here.

This is not to be confused with the NEWS education-funding lawsuit currently in the hands of a King County Superior Court judge. We’re still awaiting a decision in that case, which wrapped up in October. The Chimacum School District is a plaintiff in that case.

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The Bremerton School Board will host a reception on Thursday at 7 p.m. to say goodbye to outgoing school board member DeWayne Boyd. Boyd has served on the school board since 2001. He was previously the district’s superintendent for many years.

The reception will be held in the district’s board room, 134 Marion Ave.

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It’s a busy time in Kitsap education. Here’s a rundown:

Tonight legislators from the 23rd District (Sen. Phil Rockefeller, Rep. Sherry Appleton and Rep. Christine Rolfes) will be at North Kitsap High School for a roundtable discussion of education issues with members of the NK and Bainbridge school boards. They will start at 7 p.m. The public is invited.

Tuesday night, the Facilities Naming Committee for the Bremerton School District will meet from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the board room, 134 Marion Ave., to talk about naming facilities after people. The board changed the policy, which had previously prohibited peoples’ names on buildings, back in August. Bremerton resident Lane Dowell, who along with a group of former athletes has been advocating for two athletic areas at Bremerton High School be named to honor former coaches Les Eathorne and Ken Wills, will be making a formal request at this meeting.

Then at 6 p.m. BSD Superintendent Flip Herndon will be convening his second parent/community forum, this time at Mountain View Middle School on Perry Avenue. Herndon is inviting parents and community members to come and ask questions and give opinions about Bremerton schools. Rep. Christine Rolfes is expected to join him at the forum.

Moving northward, the North Kitsap School Board will convene in closed session at 6 p.m. to review applicants for the District 2 position on the board. Then at 7 p.m. public interviews of the four candidates will begin.

And then there’s a couple board meetings this week. Let me review the agendas and if there’s anything good I’ll post it here.

P.S. Another ballot count comes out at 5 p.m. I’ll update the numbers here too.

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When Dan Delaney resigned his seat on the North Kitsap School Board a few weeks ago, the rest of the board members were anxious to fill the seat before December, when Melanie Mohler’s replacement will be seated too. That way, the board will begin the new year complete.
A call for applications went out and now four people have applied. The board will vet the applications on Monday night for about an hour and then again on Tuesday – both in closed session. Public interviews of the candidates will be held Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the board room at 18360 Caldart.  The new District 2 director will be chosen via a roll call vote at the school board meeting on Thursday. The newly chosen director will be sworn in at a December board meeting. The new director will serve through December 2011.

The applicants are:
Renee Arcement, a longtime school and community volunteer. In her application letter, Arcement wrote: “my ability to listen, ask hard questions and persevere would be a benefit to the NKSD Board of Directors.” She also wrote: “The opportunities for the community, staff and students to communicate with the Board members should happen more often and in less formal settings.”

Howard Mount, who has extensive experience in education, primarily at the college level. In his application, Mount wrote: “The challenges for education are significant and won’t be easily solved. Working together, I believe the Board and Administration can bring about those changes which will make North Kitsap an outstanding educational system. I would like to be part of that process.”

Mark Warns, a s strong believer in educational volunteering who originated a program designed to improve the academic, career and future focus of middle and high school students and their parents. Warns wrote that he is “in favor of the embedded honors and embedded enhancement programs, Learning Communities and Tutorials at North Kitsap High and Poulsbo Middle School .”

Dan Weedin is an active community volunteer, a risk management expert and communications trainer. Weedin also coached NKHS Girls Basketball from 2000 to2006 and is currently the “Voice of the Vikings” at football and girls basketball games. “I would like to give back to the district and the community,” he wrote,” to help ensure that we continue to grow, develop, and nurture all children in North Kitsap.”

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In the Bremerton School District Board race for Position #4, David Boynton has now pulled out ahead of incumbent Cynthia Galloway by 110 votes. Boynton has 50.32 percent of the vote to Galloway’s 49.07.  On Bainbridge, the school district bond gained more votes. It’s approval rate is now at 61.36 percent.

Yet another count is set for Monday at 5 p.m. There are 900 ballots left to count in the county, according to the Kitsap County Auditor’s Office.

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