Local News
Schools
Juneteenth
continued from page 1
The audit dings state school
officials for overstating how
much money is spent on class-
room instruction by adding in a
second number called teaching
support.
The approach implies Washing-
ton spends 70 percent of school
dollars in the classroom, which
would be more than any other
state in the nation. The federal
government paints a different pic-
ture.
Washington and 11 other states
spent about 60 percent of school
dollars in classrooms, according
to a 2009 comparison by the
National Center for Education
Statistics. Another 18 states spent
more and 20 spent less. Washing-
ton’s numbers have improved
slightly since then, but no more
recent national comparisons are
available.
The rest of the money goes to
transportation, food, nursing,
counseling, outside help for spe-
cial education students, adminis-
tration and a variety of central
district office functions.
The audit recommends the
Office of the Superintendent of
Public Instruction improve its
transparency by taking the federal
approach and use just the dollars
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doing this on some reports and
would look into the possibility of
changing others.
The audit also urged the office
to maintain the database the audi-
tor’s office created for the pur-
pose of the study, saying it would
help districts save more money if
they could continue to see their
operations compared to their
peers.
Dorn said he would discuss the
He noted that for every teacher laid
off since 2008, 12 other school
workers have lost their jobs as
custodians, or secretaries or cafeteria
workers, etc
that pay for teaching when it
reports expenditures for class-
room instruction.
Superintendent
of
Public
Instruction Randy Dorn respond-
ed to that section of the audit by
saying the office was already
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REPRODUCTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART
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C
John Oliver III, a
drummer for
Doc Maynard
and Company
performed
Saturday, June
9, at the 29th
Annual
Juneteenth
Celebration at
Pratt Park. The
3-day event
included music,
food and
“Church in the
Park” on
Sunday.
SUSAN FRIED PHOTO
“Challenging People to Shape
a Better Future Now”
O
M
M
U
N
idea with his department’s data
management committee and see if
they think it would be worthwhile
to find the money to keep track of
this information in the future.
School reform advocate Liv
Finne commended the auditor’s
I
T
Y
C
report for its wealth of informa-
tion and practical advice for
school districts.
Digging a little deeper and read-
ing between the pages can reveal
a lot about the choices individual
school districts are making, said
Finne, director of the Center for
Education at the Washington Pol-
icy Center.
For example, she found it par-
ticularly interesting that Seattle
Public Schools spends 59.7 per-
cent on teaching, while many
neighboring districts push a lot
higher percentage of their money
toward the classroom.
The Bellevue School District,
for example, puts 65.6 percent of
its dollars into teaching and Lake
Washington directs 65.5 percent
toward learning.
``That instruction number is
very important,’’ Finne said. ``It
reflects who is influencing alloca-
tion decisions in the district and
what the priorities are in the dis-
trict. Clearly they’re not making
instruction the priority.’’
She notes that most private
schools and public charter schools
A
L
E
N
D
do an even better job at this,
because they do not have much of
a central office staff to support
and private schools do not have to
pay for transportation.
The union that represents most
of the school workers outside of
the classroom, plus teacher’s
aides, found the auditor’s report
troubling.
``The auditor’s report goes in a
completely opposite direction
than what the courts and the Leg-
islature have all been saying over
the past few months, that we need
more investment in education
rather than less,’’ said Rick Chisa,
spokesman for Public School
Employees of Washington.
He noted that for every teacher
laid off since 2008, 12 other
school workers have lost their
jobs as custodians, or secretaries
or cafeteria workers, etc.
Instead of finding 1 percent
more money for teachers, Chisa
would spend those dollars on
teacher’s aides and add 3,000
more adults helping kids in the
classroom.
A
R
S EATTLE 2012
If you have an event you want to share
with the community, email it two weeks
in advance to The Skanner at
info@theskanner.com
Saturday June 16
Thursday – Friday June 21 – 22
IRANIAN CULTURAL ROOTS AND CONTEMPORARY
INFLUENCES AT THE IRANIAN FESTIVAL. Influences of
Persian cultures, live entertainment, Rumi poetry,
and much more. 11 a.m. – 7 p.m. Seattle Center
Armory Center House.
ROCK-N-ROLL MARATHON HEALTH & FITNESS EXPO.
60 exhibitors will offer free samples, showcase the
latest in running gear, sports apparel and much
more. Free admission and open to the public.
Thursday 11 a.m. – 7 p.m., Friday 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Century Link Field Event Center.
Friday June 15
Saturday &
Sunday June 16 &17
YESLER COMMUNITY CENTER HOSTS JUNETEENTH
CELEBRATION. Yesler Community Center invites the
community to celebrate Juneteenth from 5 – 8
p.m. The evening will be filled with entertainment,
arts, crafts, food from various cultures and more.
917 Yesler Way.
FREMONT FAIR. The 41st annual Fremont Fair is a
community celebration. Fair includes local bands,
arts & Crafts, shopping, food and drinks and
much more. 10 a.m. – 8 p.m. Phinney
Neighborhood Center Gallery, 6535 Phinney Ave.
N.
Page 2 The Seattle Skanner
June 13, 2012
Friday – Sunday June 22-24
BOOK ON OVER TO WARREN G. MAGNUSON PARK:
FRIENDS OF THE SEATTLE PUBLIC MINI BOOK SALE.
The book sale is open to the public from 9 a.m. –
4 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Saturday and
9 a.m. – 2 p.m. Sunday. 7400 Sand Point Way NE,
Building 30 Workshop.