By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

More than 20 people filled the meeting room at High Point Library on Sunday afternoon as West Seattle’s new Seattle Public Schools Board director, Gina Topp, held her first community-conversation meeting.

These meetings are casual “what’s on your mind?” events rather than meetings with a speaker, an audience, and a preset agenda. Topp opened by acknowledging it had been her most “difficult” week since taking office two months ago because of the shooting death of Chief Sealth International High School student Mobarak Adam. Elaborating later, she lamented, “There’s nothing I can say to make the situation better .. as a community, we have to look at how did we get here, as policy makers, how do we make sure this never ever happens again.”

An attendee added that Mobarak Adam was remembered at a swim meet a few days earlier with a moment of silence, as well as an acknowledgment of the first responders. Topp said that safety and mental health are two issues of great concern to her; on the latter, the city has allotted millions to help youth, but the district has to figure out how to tap into it. (Chief Sealth IHS and Denny IMS are part of a pilot program.)

Everyone in attendance was invited to introduce themselves and explain why they came.

More than half said they were SPS parents; one was a grandparent. Others were SPS employees past and present. Most were from West Seattle, but a few said they had come from other parts of the city just for the chance to get a school-board member’s attention. One, in fact, expressed concern that community members aren’t really being heard when they comment at board meetings. It’s difficult to sign up for a spot, agreed another attendee.

School funding was a common concern voiced by several people, including the equity issues that accompany the practice of PTAs fundraising for staff members their schools otherwise wouldn’t have.

Schools without PTAs, or with small organizations, are left out in the cold, unable to afford positions that are “so needed.” The funding issue is the subject of a special event in West Seattle next week, one parent and PTA advocate told everyone: Public School Funding 101 (already in the WSB West Seattle Event Calendar), 6 pm next Monday (February 5) at Genesee Hill Elementary. A parent concerned about school funding said ruefully that her “new hobby is reading House bills.” And another urged “more transparency” from the board as it deals with its looming budget crisis. Yet another spoke of how difficult it seemed to get clear answers from district officials on money matters and “why decisions were made.” There also was a concern that district officials talk to parents and educators as if they are adversaries rather than collaborators.

Some were there on behalf of community organizations/groups. Chelsea Gabzdyl, a former SPS educator, talked briefly about her nonprofit Maslow’s Closet, helping support kids in need. Jordan Crawley, a new member of the West Seattle Chamber of Commerce board, said his organization wants to learn more about community issues so it can help. Advocate, parent, and educator Manuela Slye said she could serve as a liaison to the Spanish-speaking community.

Special-education advocates talked about the difficulty of effecting change while trying to advocate for their own child(ren)’s needs. “I care deeply about all the students in SPS,” but it takes so much energy to fight for her kids, “I have nothing left. ,,,, We’re all in this fatigued battle state all the time … It’s always a battle and it’s hard to work together.” And one longtime advocate observed, “I see families going through the same issues my children went through 10+ years ago.” Regarding a specific special-education concern, (corrected) an advocate read a letter on behalf of a parent who couldn’t be at the meeting who had had an IEP (individualized education plan) meeting that went horribly wrong, devolving into anger and shouting within minutes – adding that it involved “one of the schools where everyone says ‘they have a great team’.”

Communications challenges were a common concern. “The district does not do an effective job of telling positive stories.” Or, when appropriate, “admitting fault … it feels like there’s a lack of accountability.” A previous speaker said they had worked in other districts and that SPS could learn from elsewhere.

Another parent wondered about the division of responsibilities between the board and the superintendent. “The school board is in charge of the vision and the superintendent is charged with making that happen” – and some “guardrails” are set. And, Topp said, in the year ahead, “where are we going as a district?” is also up for discussion in the year ahead. Right now there are three goals they’re tracking, and they have to decide, if those aren’t being met, “what does it mean?”

Then an attendee wondered if the district still does “climate surveys” about individual schools – if they do, find one that scores high and try to learn from what it’s doing, to share with other schools. There was some discussion about how to find results of those surveys.

An attendee brought up the “well-resourced schools” meeting last August (WSB coverage here), which she found “patronizing” with the pre-set questions, and she’s hoping that the next round of discussion will be different. “What do you like about your school?” was a useless question, she felt, and another person said it should have been “what’s missing at your school?” instead, Yet another said the analysis of results felt like the district was seeking to find certain reesults. And another said “the results were absolutely not authentic … it was a huge missed opportunity .. would like to provide some authentic feedback.” A white parent from a school with a mostly-BIPOC student population said she was concerned about outreach, because she was the only parent from her school at the meeting. Topp said a second round of community meetings is planned and said she personally would like to see some conversations around the budget: “I’m pushing for that.”

Meantime, before the hour (making way for another room booking) was over, Topp said she hoped to hold her own community meetings like this one each month – next date/time/place to be determined. She also encouraged people to contact her with feedback – here’s how.