School Board Meeting Erupts

10/19/2006

The Seattle School Board last night (Wednesday) decided to shelve the latest plan to close three additional schools next year. The move came on the heels of an especially contentious school board meeting. KUOW's Derek Wang reports.

THE GENTEEL SEATTLE PROCESS BROKE DOWN AT LAST NIGHT'S SCHOOL BOARD MEETING. ONE WOMAN YELLED SO LOUD AT SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT RAJ MANHAS THAT HER FACE TURNED RED.

Unidentified woman: "You don't even have a kid in the school district!"

AND AFTER ANOTHER HEATED EXCHANGE, A FIST FIGHT BROKE OUT BETWEEN PEOPLE IN THE AUDIENCE.

Sound: Yelling

FOR MORE THAN TWO AND HALF HOURS, SPEAKER AFTER SPEAKER, CRITISIZED THE SUPERINTENDENT AND THE CLOSURE PLAN. SOME CALLED FOR HIS RESIGNATION, OTHERS CALLED FOR ENTIRE SCHOOL BOARD TO RESIGN. MANHAS TOOK THE HIGH ROAD, SAYING HE UNDERSTOOD PEOPLE'S STRONG EMOTIONS.

Manhas: "This is our community. These are the people who come here, with their passions and whatever is on their minds."

BY THE END OF THE EVENING, IN A FIVE-TO-TWO VOTE, THE SCHOOL BOARD VOTED TO INDEFINITELY POSTPONE THE LATEST ROUND OF CLOSURES. BOARD MEMBERS CHERYL CHOW AND MICHAEL DEBELL WERE THE DISSENTERS.

EARLIER YESTERDAY, IN A WRITTEN PLAN, THE SUPERINTENDANT UNVEILED HIS FINAL PLAN FOR THE NEXT ROUND OF CLOSURES. IT CALLED FOR MOVING ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL #1 INTO THE SUMMIT K-12 BUILDING, WHILE KEEPING THE SCHOOL PROGRAMS SEPARATE. MANHAS ALSO PROPOSED CLOSING WEST SEATTLE'S PATHFINDER SCHOOL BUILDING, AND MOVING THOSE STUDENTS INTO COOPER ELEMENTARY. THAT SCHOOL, MANHAS PROPOSED, WOULD TURN INTO A YET-TO-BE DECIDED ALTERNATIVE SCHOOL.

THE SCHOOL BOARD WAS ORIGINALLY SCHEDULED TO HAVE AN UP-OR-DOWN VOTE ON THE PLAN NEXT MONTH. BUT AFTER THE HEATED DEBATE LAST NIGHT, A MAJORITY OF THE BOARD MEMBERS SAID THE PLAN WAS TOO ILL-CONCEIVED TO MOVE FORWARD.

EARLIER THIS SUMMER, THE BOARD APPROVED A PLAN TO CLOSE SEVEN SCHOOL BUILDINGS. THAT PLAN REMAINS UNCHANGED.

THE CLOSURES WERE PARTLY PROMPTED OUT OF A NEED TO SAVE MONEY. NEXT YEAR, THE DISTRICT FACES A PROJECTED BUDGET SHORTFALL NEXT YEAR OF 21 MILLION DOLLARS. I'M DEREK WANG KUOW NEWS.

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