Seattle Public Schools, Washington

Seattle Public Schools
Seattle, Washington
District details
Superintendent: Jose Banda
# of school board members: 7
Website: Link

Seattle Public Schools is a school district in Washington that served 49,660 students during the 2012-2013 school year. This district is the largest by enrollment in the state of Washington. Seattle Public Schools was created in March 1867 and the first school opened in 1870.

About the district

Seattle Public Schools is located in King County, Wash.

Seattle Public Schools is based in Seattle, the seat of King County, in northwestern Washington. The district was home to 625,570 residents, according to the United States Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) 2009-2013 profile; 98,470 of those residents were children. The county was home to 1,974,567 residents in 2013, according to census estimates; 419,892 of those residents were under the age of 18.

Demographics

In 2013, King County outperformed the state of Washington as a whole in terms of higher education achievement, median household income and poverty rate. The United States Census Bureau found that 46.6 percent of county residents aged 25 and older had earned a bachelor's degree or higher while the rate was 32.1 percent for Washington as a whole.

The county's median household income was $70,998 in comparison to $58,592 statewide. The rate of persons living below the poverty line in King County was 12.1 percent compared to 13.9 percent for the entire state; 15.4 percent of children in the county and 18.5 percent of children statewide lived below the poverty line.

Presidential Voting Pattern, King County
Year	Democratic Vote (%)	Republican Vote (%)
2012	68.7	28.3
2008	70.0	28.0
2004	65.0	33.7
2000	60.0	34.4

Racial demographics, 2013
The graph above displays the racial demographics of the Seattle Public Schools' population of children and total residents to the residents of King County and the state of Washington. As the percentage of the population identifying as non-Hispanic or Latino white is greater than 50 percent in all of these geographic boundaries, the graph above has been adjusted to display only the percentage of people identifying as such above 50 percent. The full statistics for this graph can be found in the table beneath it. Click [show] on the right to expand the table. *"SPS children" refers to all persons under the age of 18 living in the district's geographic boundaries. It is not the enrolled student body of the district. "SPS total" refers to all persons living in the district's geographic boundaries.
Full racial demographic statistics Race School district child population (%) Total school district population (%) King County (%) Washington (%) American Indian and Alaska Native 0.82 0.72 0.79 1.38 Asian 11.95 14.09 14.81 7.32 Black or African American 12.05 7.43 6.19 3.59 Hispanic or Latino 10.08 6.44 9.04 11.49 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.59 0.41 0.74 0.60 White 61.09 70.54 69.52 78.46 Some Other Race 1.90 1.59 2.63 3.89 Two or More Races 11.60 5.23 5.32 4.76 Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Superintendent

The current Superintendent of Seattle Public Schools is Jose Banda who has served in the position since July 2012. Banda previously served as Superintendent of Anaheim City School District for four years.

School board

The Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors consists of seven members elected in geographic districts to four-year terms. Members run within their districts during primaries and citywide during general elections. Each member can be compensated $50 per day for district matters with maximum compensation of $4,800 per year.

Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors
Member	District	Assumed Office	Term Ends
Sharon Peaslee	1	2011	2015
Sherry Carr	2	2007	2015
Harium Martin-Morris	3	2007	2015
Sue Peters	4	2013	2017
Stephan Blanford	5	2013	2017
Marty McLaren	6	2011	2015
Betty Patu	7	2009	2017

School board elections

See also: Seattle Public Schools elections (2015)

Members of the Board of Directors are elected to four-year terms on a staggered basis. Three seats on the board were up for election on November 5, 2013, and four seats were up for election on November 3, 2015.

Public participation in board meetings

The Seattle Public Schools Board of Directors maintains the following policy on public testimony during board meetings:

“

The Board of Directors of Seattle Public Schools welcomes the public to the business meetings of the Board and dedicates time at these meetings to hear from the public on agenda items and other issues of concern. It is important for all community members to feel welcome and safe in the Board’s business meetings. Audience members will be expected to treat all attendees with respect and civility, just as Seattle Public Schools expects of students in our schools. General Rules Each speaker will have up to two minutes to speak at a regular Board meeting. Speakers addressing agenda items will have preference if the list is full. For special Board meetings, public testimony will only be taken on the scheduled agenda item(s). The time limits must be observed so that 20 people will be able to speak during the time allotted for public testimony. In order to provide opportunities to address the Board, speakers are allowed only one 2-minute time per meeting. If you are not one of the first 20, you can ask to be added to the wait list. If you want to give your time to someone else, you must attend the Board meeting and announce this to the Board when it is your turn to speak. The person to whom you cede your time will receive the remainder of your 2 minutes and should speak to the same topic. If you have handouts to give to the Board, please bring 10 copies and give them to Board staff ahead of the meeting. No one should approach the dais with handouts. The Board does not take public comments on issues related to personnel or individually named staff at Board meetings; speakers will be ruled out of order by the president. The president will also rule a speaker out of order for the use of name-calling, profanity, racial slurs or threats. Persons who attempt to disrupt the meeting will be asked to leave. Ground Rules One person is to speak at a time. Comments should be addressed to the Board. Please adhere to the time limit on testimony. The focus of comments should be on issues and solutions. No racial slurs, personal insults, ridicule, or threats will be allowed. All signs brought to meetings are subject to these ground rules. How to Sign Up for Public Testimony The order of public testimony will be determined as follows: agenda action items, agenda introduction items, and then items of general interest. The order of agenda items will be alternated between those speaking in favor of a topic and those against the same topic, if possible. The Board agenda is posted by close of business the Friday before Board meetings. The School Board Office will take sign-ups for the public testimony list starting at 8:00am on the Monday before regular Board meetings and continue until 12:00 noon Tuesday before the meeting. The final list of public testimony will be posted on the Board agenda web site by close of business the day before the regular Board meeting. To sign up for public testimony, members of the public should e-mail boardagenda@seattleschools.org or call (206) 252-0040 and give their legal name, telephone number, e-mail address, and the topic they would like to address. (Since Seattle Public Schools is a public agency, this information will fall into the public domain.) If complete information is not provided, you will not be included on the list. Please note, only the person who will be providing testimony may request the spot. The School Board Office is not able to contact every person who requests to speak at the meeting. Each person should check the website on Tuesday after 5:00pm to see where they are on the testimony list or whether they are on the waitlist.

”

Budget

From 1993 to 2013, the Seattle school district had an average of $506,864,762 in revenue and $509,368,000 in expenditures, according to the United States Census Bureau's survey of school system finances. The district had a yearly average of $118,729,905 in outstanding debt. The district retired $21,171,857 of its debt and issued $25,718,238 in new debt each year on average.

Revenue

The table below separates the district's revenue into the three sources identified by the agency: local, state, and federal.

Revenue by Source
Fiscal Year	Local		State		Federal		Revenue Total
	Total	% of Revenue	Total	% of Revenue	Total	% of Revenue

Click [show] on the right to display the revenue data for prior years.
1993	$100,197,000	32.88%	$180,016,000	59.08%	$24,479,000	8.03%	$304,692,000
1994	$81,127,000	27.19%	$193,124,000	64.73%	$24,124,000	8.09%	$298,375,000
1995	$87,606,000	28.05%	$198,562,000	63.58%	$26,125,000	8.37%	$312,293,000
1996	$119,052,000	34.40%	$203,225,000	58.72%	$23,823,000	6.88%	$346,100,000
1997	$151,391,000	39.30%	$208,109,000	54.02%	$25,757,000	6.69%	$385,257,000
1998	$157,305,000	39.01%	$215,008,000	53.32%	$30,939,000	7.67%	$403,252,000
1999	$181,239,000	41.21%	$224,576,000	51.06%	$33,993,000	7.73%	$439,808,000
2000	$194,867,000	42.27%	$229,645,000	49.81%	$36,503,000	7.92%	$461,015,000
2001	$209,774,000	43.63%	$231,805,000	48.21%	$39,196,000	8.15%	$480,775,000
2002	$215,485,000	43.13%	$240,434,000	48.13%	$43,671,000	8.74%	$499,590,000
2003	$222,953,000	43.43%	$241,802,000	47.10%	$48,581,000	9.46%	$513,336,000
2004	$225,780,000	42.89%	$250,003,000	47.50%	$50,583,000	9.61%	$526,366,000
2005	$236,064,000	44.27%	$246,896,000	46.30%	$50,332,000	9.44%	$533,292,000
2006	$246,541,000	44.22%	$260,714,000	46.76%	$50,277,000	9.02%	$557,532,000
2007	$255,815,000	43.76%	$281,530,000	48.16%	$47,188,000	8.07%	$584,533,000
2008	$259,745,000	42.78%	$300,501,000	49.49%	$46,909,000	7.73%	$607,155,000
2009	$295,898,000	44.39%	$302,756,000	45.42%	$67,989,000	10.20%	$666,643,000

2010	$287,545,000	43.75%	$299,678,000	45.59%	$70,060,000	10.66%	$657,283,000
2011	$302,645,000	44.56%	$307,730,000	45.31%	$68,850,000	10.14%	$679,225,000
2012	$320,912,000	46.88%	$307,249,000	44.89%	$56,340,000	8.23%	$684,501,000
2013	$332,915,000	47.35%	$317,728,000	45.19%	$52,494,000	7.47%	$703,137,000
Avg.	$213,564,571	40.92%	$249,575,762	50.59%	$43,724,429	8.49%	$506,864,762

Expenditures

The table below separates the district's expenditures into five categories identified by the agency:

• Instruction: operation expenditures, state payments on behalf of the district for instruction and benefits, and retirement system transfers
• Support Services: support services, food services, and retirement system transfers for support service staff
• Capital Spending: capital outlay expenditures (i.e., construction, land or facilities purchases, and equipment purchases)
• Debt & Gov. Payments: payments to state and local governments and interest on school system debt
• Other: all other non-K-12 programs, except food services

Expenditures by Category
Fiscal Year	Instruction		Support Services		Capital Spending		Debt & Gov. Payments		Other		Budget Total
	Total	% of Budget	Total	% of Budget	Total	% of Budget	Total	% of Budget	Total	% of Budget

Click [show] on the right to display the expenditure data for prior years.
1993	$156,684,000	49.02%	$124,834,000	39.06%	$34,213,000	10.70%	$65,000	0.02%	$3,824,000	1.20%	$319,620,000
1994	$157,323,000	49.87%	$131,072,000	41.55%	$22,340,000	7.08%	$49,000	0.02%	$4,678,000	1.48%	$315,462,000
1995	$172,534,000	52.89%	$133,820,000	41.02%	$14,973,000	4.59%	$140,000	0.04%	$4,770,000	1.46%	$326,237,000
1996	$175,086,000	53.47%	$136,212,000	41.60%	$10,216,000	3.12%	$119,000	0.04%	$5,818,000	1.78%	$327,451,000
1997	$175,377,000	51.77%	$139,403,000	41.15%	$18,174,000	5.36%	$50,000	0.01%	$5,783,000	1.71%	$338,787,000
1998	$183,566,000	44.65%	$142,043,000	34.55%	$79,944,000	19.44%	$57,000	0.01%	$5,545,000	1.35%	$411,155,000
1999	$190,951,000	43.35%	$146,220,000	33.19%	$97,611,000	22.16%	$432,000	0.10%	$5,317,000	1.21%	$440,531,000
2000	$204,060,000	41.67%	$153,696,000	31.38%	$126,174,000	25.76%	$383,000	0.08%	$5,430,000	1.11%	$489,743,000
2001	$210,741,000	41.74%	$169,855,000	33.64%	$118,194,000	23.41%	$470,000	0.09%	$5,598,000	1.11%	$504,858,000
2002	$243,137,000	42.99%	$176,139,000	31.14%	$137,383,000	24.29%	$3,281,000	0.58%	$5,628,000	1.00%	$565,568,000
2003	$240,605,000	50.11%	$169,176,000	35.23%	$61,921,000	12.89%	$2,963,000	0.62%	$5,533,000	1.15%	$480,198,000
2004	$240,486,000	49.67%	$167,227,000	34.54%	$68,239,000	14.09%	$2,899,000	0.60%	$5,316,000	1.10%	$484,167,000
2005	$244,553,000	45.71%	$172,276,000	32.20%	$111,105,000	20.77%	$2,339,000	0.44%	$4,732,000	0.88%	$535,005,000
2006	$241,388,000	43.68%	$175,992,000	31.85%	$128,210,000	23.20%	$1,900,000	0.34%	$5,127,000	0.93%	$552,617,000
2007	$261,902,000	43.86%	$198,096,000	33.18%	$128,640,000	21.54%	$3,347,000	0.56%	$5,109,000	0.86%	$597,094,000
2008	$275,237,000	42.47%	$203,774,000	31.44%	$144,338,000	22.27%	$19,091,000	2.95%	$5,682,000	0.88%	$648,122,000
2009	$303,591,000	43.55%	$222,726,000	31.95%	$146,915,000	21.07%	$18,438,000	2.64%	$5,472,000	0.78%	$697,142,000

2010	$310,050,000	42.54%	$220,243,000	30.22%	$177,849,000	24.40%	$15,294,000	2.10%	$5,337,000	0.73%	$728,773,000
2011	$315,395,000	46.38%	$212,740,000	31.28%	$133,743,000	19.67%	$12,735,000	1.87%	$5,418,000	0.80%	$680,031,000
2012	$325,689,000	52.17%	$217,823,000	34.89%	$65,040,000	10.42%	$9,956,000	1.59%	$5,733,000	0.92%	$624,241,000
2013	$340,037,000	53.98%	$227,043,000	36.04%	$49,139,000	7.80%	$6,353,000	1.01%	$7,354,000	1.17%	$629,926,000
Avg.	$236,590,095	46.93%	$173,352,857	34.81%	$89,255,286	16.38%	$4,779,095	0.75%	$5,390,667	1.12%	$509,368,000

Debt

The table below shows the amount of debt retired, issued, and outstanding in the district for each year.

Debt
Fiscal Year	Retired	Issued	Outstanding

Click [show] on the right to display the debt data for prior years.
1993	$343,000	$651,000	$1,211,000
1994	$291,000	$275,000	$2,838,000
1995	$249,000	$142,000	$2,731,000
1996	$248,000	$81,000	$2,207,000
1997	$1,539,000	$23,000	$750,000
1998	$0	$10,000,000	$10,750,000
1999	$0	$0	$11,292,000
2000	$0	$5,120,000	$16,412,000
2001	$378,000	$55,886,000	$70,631,000
2002	$451,000	$15,459,000	$85,639,000
2003	$730,000	$1,647,000	$93,743,000
2004	$3,216,000	$4,721,000	$95,247,000
2005	$20,714,000	$0	$42,636,000
2006	$500,000	$0	$40,885,000
2007	$585,000	$412,415,000	$452,715,000
2008	$30,985,000	$0	$421,730,000
2009	$63,275,000	$0	$358,455,000

2010	$97,555,000	$33,080,000	$293,980,000
2011	$71,470,000	$0	$222,510,000
2012	$74,250,000	$0	$148,260,000
2013	$77,830,000	$583,000	$118,706,000
Avg.	$21,171,857	$25,718,238	$118,729,905

Teacher salaries

Seattle Public Schools employed 2,738 K-12 teachers during the 2012-2013 school year. Teacher salaries are categorized based on higher education achievement, professional development and years of service. A teacher with a Bachelor's degree can earn higher salaries by pursuing graduate courses with raises at 22.5, 45, 90, 135 and 155 quarter credits. The salary schedule also accounts for graduate degrees by providing higher starting salaries and greater potential salaries. The following table details the salary schedule negotiated between the district and the Seattle Education Association for 2012-2013:

Salary structure
Degree level	Minimum salary ($)	Maximum salary ($)
B.A.	33,401	33,469
B.A. 22.5	33,538	34,767
B.A. 45 + MA	33,538	46,054
B.A. 90	33,538	55,506
B.A. 90 + MA	40,208	57,245
B.A. 135	33,538	57,770
B.A. 135 + MA	40,208	59,508
B.A. 155 + MA	40,208	62,984
Ph.D./Dr.	40,257	64,510

Unions

Teachers in Seattle Public Schools are represented by the Seattle Education Association (SEA). The SEA is currently led by Jonathan Knapp. The SEA website has salary schedules and collective bargaining agreements posted along with action and priorities on education issues including: advanced learning, closing the achievement gap, commercialism in schools and No Child Left Behind.

Schools in Seattle Public Schools

Enrollment

The district served 49,660 K-12 students during the 2012-2013 school year. The district experienced a 9.5% increase in enrollment between 2008 and 2012. The following chart details enrollment in the district between 2008 and 2012:

Total enrollment
Year	Enrollment	Year-to-year change (%)
2008	45,338	-
2009	45,740	0.9
2010	46,810	2.3
2011	48,199	3.0
2012	49,660	3.0

District schools

Seattle Public Schools operates 95 schools listed below in alphabetical order:

Seattle Public Schools
Adams
Aki Kurose
Alki
APP at Lincoln
Arbor Heights
Bailey Gatzert
Ballard
Beacon Hill
B.F. Day
Broadview-Thomson
Bryant
Cascade Parent Partnership Program
Catharine Blaine
Center School
Chief Sealth International
Cleveland STEM
Concord International School
Daniel Bagley
Dearborn Park
Denny International
Dunlap
Eckstein
Emerson
Franklin
Frantz Coe
Garfield
Gatewood
Graham Hill
Green Lake
Greenwood
Hamilton International School
Hawthorne
Highland Park
Jane Addams
Ingraham
Interagency Academy
John Hay
John Muir
John Rogers
John Stanford International School
K-5 Stem at Boren
Kimball
Lafayette
Laurelhurst
Lawton
Leschi
Lowell
Loyal Heights
Madison
Madrona
Maple
Martin Luther King Jr.
McClure
McDonald International School
McGilvra
Mercer
Middle College
Montlake
Nathan Hale
North Beach
Northgate
Nova
Olympic Hills
Olympic View
Orca
Pathfinder
Pinehurst K-8
Queen Anne
Rainier Beach
Rainier View
Roosevelt
Roxhill
Sacajawea
Salmon Bay
Sand Point
Sanislo
Schmitz Park
Seattle World School
Skills Center
South Shore
Southlake
Stevens
Thornton Creek
Thurgood Marshall
TOPS
Van Asselt
Viewlands
View Ridge
Washington
Wedgwood
West Seattle
West Seattle
West Woodland
Whitman
Whittier
Wing Luke

Academic performance

The Washington Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction published a state report card for 2011-2012 assessing subject proficiency levels and year-to-year progress for each district. This report card relies on data from the Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) and High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) to determine if each district meets Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) goals in reading and math. The goal for each district is to meet proficiency goals at all grade levels and student demographics by the 2013-2014 school year.

Seattle Public Schools met the state goal of 95% participation across all grade levels. The district did not meet AYP goals for reading at the elementary or middle school levels.

MSP/HSPE Proficiency

Student Proficiency Levels, 2011-2012
Grade	Reading (%)	Math (%)
3	78.6	67.1
4	72.0	64.6
5	70.9	65.2
6	76.6	65.8
7	62.6	65.6
8	72.8	61.6
10	80.3	-

Adequate Yearly Progress

AYP Achievement, 2011-2012
Grade	Meet Reading AYP?	Meet Math AYP?
Elementary School	No	Yes
Middle School	No	Yes
High School	Yes	Yes

Issues

Contract negotiations

Members of the Seattle Education Association (SEA) rejected a contract offer from the district during an August 26, 2013 meeting. Teachers were concerned about limited salary growth, crowded classrooms and new evaluation methods in the new contract. District officials and the SEA avoided a potential strike on September 3 as teachers voted to approve a new two-year contract that increased pay by 2% and included test scores in teacher evaluations.

Growing classroom sizes

In August 2013, district officials and the Board of Directors proposed increasing the maximum number of students per classroom to anticipate continued growth in enrollment. The proposal would have increased enrollment limits by two students per middle school teacher and ten students per high school teacher. The SEA criticized the proposal as problematic for the student experience, which could complicate ongoing contract negotiations with the district. On August 22, the Board of Directors voted to remove this proposal from negotiations with the SEA.

Sexual abuse claims

Six current and former students at Seattle Public Schools are seeking damages totaling $29 million due to instances of sexual abuse in the district. Five students are pursuing $25 million to settle abuse claims against former teacher Phil McGee. McGee was convicted in 2008 of abusing four children and claimants argue that the district did not react quickly enough to stop these instances. A sixth student is seeking $4 million from the district after sexual abuse claims against a fellow student.

School shutdown

In response to the cuts to education in the FY2012 state budget, the district planned a one-day shut down on Aug. 31, 2011, prior to the start of the school year, and closed early on another day when school was in session. Employees took the time as furlough days.

Superintendent firing

Former Superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson was fired without cause in March of 2011 after nearly four years as superintendent after a state audit found that the district spent $1.5 million on services with questionable purpose and $280,000 on services it never received and gave benefit to a private company.

Contact information

Seattle School District
Attention: Board of Directors
MS 11-010
PO Box 34165
Seattle, WA 98124-1165
Phone: (206) 252-0040
Email: schoolboard@seattleschools.org

Website evaluation

A+
Taxes
Budget
Meetings
Elected Officials
Administrative Officials
Contracts
Audits
Public Records
Academics
Background Checks
Transparency grading process

Main article: Evaluation of Washington school district websites

Last rated on Jan. 2, 2013.

The good

• Budget
  • The most current budget is listed.
  • Budgets are archived back to 2007-2008.
• Administrative Officials
  • Department heads are listed for each department.
  • Contact information for administrative officials is provided including a mailing address, phone number, and personalized email.
• Elected Officials
  • Elected officials are listed with a mailing address, phone number and personalized email.
• Meetings
  • Meeting minutes are archived for 8 years.
  • Meeting agendas are archived for 8 years.
  • A meeting calendar is available and names the times and locations of public meetings.
  • Meeting videos are available.
• Audits
  • The most recent audit is posted.
  • Audits dating back to 2005 are available.
• Contracts
  • Collective bargaining agreements are posted.
  • Bids and RFPs are posted online.
  • Approved contract statements are provided for vendors.
• Public Records
  • The public information officer is identified and maintained by the public records officer. This person provides a mailing address, phone number and personalized email.
  • A public records form is provided.
  • A fee schedule for documents is provided.
• Taxes
  • Tax revenues are broken down by federal, state, and local funding in the budget.
  • Local taxes, like property taxes, are available online.
• Academics
  • Academic performance reports for the school are posted online.
• Background Checks
  • The criminal background check policy and teacher certification requirements are posted online.

The bad

• Budget
  • Budgets are not archived for the past three years.

See also

• Washington
• Washington school districts
• List of school districts in Washington
• Seattle Public Schools elections (2015)
• Seattle Public Schools elections (2013)
• Public education in Washington
• School board elections portal

External links

Suggest a link

• District page
• Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction

References