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Seattle Public Schools Superintendent Raj Manhas’s Final Recommendation on School Consolidation and Closure has been released, and amongst other changes, my daughter’s school, Graham Hill Elementary, has been removed from the list.

Graham Hill was removed from the preliminary recommendation due to the dispersal of students violating the School Board’s principles of equity and minimizing disruption. While the Southeast quadrant does have enough excess capacity to close an additional school, the majority of that excess capacity is at African American Academy (an alternative school).

I am of course more than pleased that Graham Hill will not be closed, and that my daughter will be able to finish out her final two years. It is a fantastic school and an incredible community; properly funded it could be as good as any school in any of the best public school districts.

But while I thank both the Superintendent and the School Board for listening to our arguments and carefully reexamining both the data and the circumstances, I still come away from this process somewhat disappointed and disillusioned. I cannot help but believe that politics is what got Graham Hill onto the list in the first place, and to some extent it was politics that got our school off the list. We were very fortunate, not only to have the facts on our side, but to have a community of parents and teachers with the time, energy and ability to effectively present them.

There may be other schools still on this list just as worthy of being saved, but without such a loud and convincing voice.

I also believe that the imperative to close a large number of schools now, and all at once, was overstated from the start. In fact, there will be very few if any cost savings from these closings, while many children will have their education disrupted. I still believe that the driving force behind this round of school closures was a demand for political cover from legislators who otherwise lack the balls to fight for the kind of funding increases all our state’s schools desperately need.

And that’s where the fight goes next: to the Legislature.

I come away from this battle with an even greater respect for my daughter’s school, but with a profound sense of cynicism as to the district administration’s ability to effectively serve all our children. Gross inequities between North End and South End schools that I previously had only intuited, have now been laid out before me in neat, irrefutable spreadsheets, and I am immensely disappointed at the lack of creativity and forthrightness with which the district is addressing this problem. I’m not sure what the solution is, but I intend to exert time and energy exploring possible structural reforms.

But… the immediate fight is with the Legislature. No doubt there are inefficiencies in the Seattle Public Schools as there are in all bureaucracies (both public and private sector) but the real crisis facing K-12 education in this state is not inefficient spending, but inadequate funding. One of the major differences between a top-notch public school like the Bellevue district’s Medina Elementary, and my daughter’s Graham Hill, is the $500,000 a year the families of the Medina PTSA put into their school versus the $30,000 our largely low- and middle-income families struggle to raise.

This is money that not only buys books and computers and basic supplies, but which is used to buy down class size and give their children music, art, phys-ed and all the other elements of a well-rounded curriculum our state used to give all its children. Washington state has by law one of the most equitable school financing systems in the country, but by dramatically underfunding it and leaving it to families to make up the difference, we are gradually creating the type gross disparity — both within and between districts — that has become commonplace throughout much of the rest of the nation.

Children don’t choose to live in poverty, so why should we base the quality of their education on their parent’s income?

Whether that means raising revenues or shifting spending or some combination of the two, we need to spend more money on our schools. It is time once again to remind the Legislature and the Governor that public education is the state’s primary obligation… an obligation they are failing to meet.

Enron founder Ken Lay, facing a life term for fraud and conspiracy in one of the largest corporate scams in history, died last night of an “apparent heart attack.”

Condolences to his family, but… I’d just like to point out that had this happened during the Clinton administration, and had Lay been Clinton’s primary financial backer, the right-wingers would be all abuzz today with conspiracy theories about how Clinton had Lay killed so as to keep him from talking. You know they would.

I’m just saying….

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

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According to the Seattle Times’ David Postman, Rep. Jay Inslee has drawn a challenger.

Issaquah School Board member Larry Ishmael, a Dino Rossi pal, is now also a congressional candidate, running against incumbent Democrat Jay Inslee in the First District.

Ishmael was welcomed to the race by state Republican Party Chairwoman Diane Tebelius.

Um… gee… but last time I checked, wasn’t Issaquah still in the Eighth Congressional District?

According to our good friend Stefan’s online voter database (you know, the one with online ads that violate the prohibition on using such databases for commercial purposes,) Ishmael has indeed been registered to vote in Issaquah since 1987. Which kinda makes sense considering living within the boundaries of a school district is a sort of a prerequisite for being eligible to serve on its board.

So if Ishmael is indeed running against Rep. Inslee in the First District, one can only assume that either….

A) Ishamel has actually moved into the First District, changed his registration, and formally resigned from the Issaquah School Board, or

B) Is so unengaged politically that he doesn’t even know who the fuck his own congressman is.

Only an idiot would pick up and move districts just to make a futile, last minute run against a popular Democratic incumbent in an election year when Republicans are proving about as welcome as ringworm; but it would be amusing if it was the latter. And awfully embarrassing, not just for Ishmael, but for Tebelius, who probably should have learned something from the whole Will Baker debacle about the importance of vetting candidates — even joke candidates — before publicly announcing the party’s endorsement.

In any case, Ishmael’s lament that “the First District needs better leadership” falls a bit flat considering he doesn’t live there. Perhaps he was thinking of the Eighth District?

Sure, I’ve got some pretty vile, hateful people in my comment threads, but I respect all my readers, and so as a service to some of my far-right critics I thought I’d just pass along this invitation to join your brethren in a rally today at the state Capitol:

The neo-Nazi rally is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. on the steps of the Capitol Building. Members from all over the West Coast are expected to attend, said National Socialist Movement director Jeff Schoep.

“We want our message to be heard,” Schoep said. “We’re there for the white community.

“As with our other rallies, we are standing against immigration. These people are pouring over from Mexico and they’re not assimilating like our forefathers did. They’re coming here to exploit our country, and we don’t want them here.”

Hmm. At least the Nazis are upfront about what the whole immigration debate is really about.

UPDATE:
I’m listening to KUOW discuss the Nazi rally, and how we should respond, and I can’t help but think that the opponents are coming off as just too touchy-feely.

So I’m wondering if perhaps the correct response would be to confront the Nazis with actual physical violence? I mean, if they have their way, it will eventually come to that anyway, so why not just kick their asses now before they grow any stronger?

BREAKING: “Crack Is Found in Shuttle’s Foam Insulation”

Yet more evidence of our nation’s failed War on Drugs.

I’m gonna wing it a bit tonight on the “The David Goldstein Show”– Newsradio 710-KIRO, from 7PM to 10PM — fewer guests, more time for callers. So, um… please call in.

7PM: Civility in politics? Is that a good thing? Is it even possible? We’re going to talk about Councilman Reagan Dunn’s latest partisan attacks on King County Records and Elections, and GOP Senate hopeful Mike McGavick’s call for a new civility in the other Washington. I’ll try to be civil about it… but I doubt I’ll succeed.

8PM: Is the New York Times guilty of treason, or is the Bush administration just looking for an excuse to crack down on the press?

9PM: Seattle Developer Martin Selig just spent $630,000 to lie an estate tax repeal initiative onto the ballot. But believe it or not, when it comes to misleading, destructive, special-interest-funded initiatives, things may actually be worse in Oregon. Carla and Torrid from Loaded Orygun join me on The Blogger Hour to discuss what’s gone wrong with the initiative process south of our border, and what that portends for Washington state.

Tune in tonight and give me a call: 1-877-710-KIRO (5476).

Seattle Developer Martin Selig is a selfish pig, and I wouldn’t rent or buy property from him if my life depended on it. I hope other progressive minded individuals, corporations and organizations have a similar attitude, and take their business to people who aren’t as intent on undermining the ability of our state to educate our children. Selig has just spent $630,000 to hire people to lie to voters, and he should be ashamed of himself.

Oh… and a brief question for Seattle Times publisher Frank Blethen: why is that in all of your paper’s coverage of the estate tax and the initiative to repeal it, you never once bothered to report that the signature gatherers were selling it with out and out lies? That is the role of the media in our democracy, isn’t it? To refute lies?

Or, like Selig, does it not bother you that the public believes these lies if it suits your agenda?

Just curious.

So what happens to Washington state’s farmland if I-933 (the developer’s initiative) passes? The same thing that’s happening in Oregon since Measure 37 passed there. From the classified ads of the Capital Press, which bills itself as “The West’s Agriculture Website”:

Business Opportunities
DEVELOPERS! Private corporation for sale which owns 50.8 acres of farmland, eligible for rezoning under measure 37. Near Arrowhead Golf Course, Clackamas County, OR. Fax 503-295-4023.

That’s what I-933 is about. That’s what it has always been about. Unregulated, out of control development.

It can be awfully difficult figuring out where your congressman stands on the issues, especially if your congressman is Rep. Dave Reichert. Partially it’s the rambling inarticulations he passes off as oratory, and partially it’s because he tends to avoid any forum where he may be forced to address complex issues unscripted.

So it comes as no surprise that Reichert’s campaign has just announced that he will be a no-show at next week’s “A Conversation With Your Congressman” (singular) hosted by the Washington State Alliance for Retired Americans. Both Reichert and Rep. Jay Inslee were invited to take questions on four issues: the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, offshore outsourcing of American jobs, the Employee Free Choice Act labor law reform, and the estate tax. Only Inslee will be there to provide answers.

It’s a shame really, because this sounds like it would have been a wonderful opportunity for constituents to engage their representatives on these important issues, in a relatively nonpartisan setting.

This is not intended to be a political debate. In fact, this forum very deliberately seeks to avoid that, which is why election opponents were not invited. Each issue will be briefly summarized by experts on that topic, audience members will describe their personal experiences on the issue, and the congressmen will explain their positions and answer audience questions.

The format is intended to create an opportunity for our elected U.S. Representatives to listen to their constituents’ concerns, describe where they stand on important issues in a clear and substantive way, and respond directly to citizens’ questions — all outside the politically charged environment of an election debate.

Ah well. But then, we all know that Reichert is a coward. Either he’s afraid that he won’t be able to answer the questions, or he’s afraid that voters won’t like what they hear if he somehow manages to articulate his positions without resorting to a meandering anecdote about the Green River Killer.

If those of you in the 8th District are curious as to what it’s like to be represented by a congressman who’s not afraid to be confronted by his own constituents, go watch Rep. Inslee in action next Thursday, July 6, 6:30 pm at the North Bellevue Community Center, 4063 148th AVE. NE. Or elect Darcy Burner and find out what it’s like to have a smart, articulate, courageous representative, every day of the week.

The second quarter fundraising period ends tonight at midnight, and Darcy Burner is still $7,000 short of her goal. The further we put her over the top, the easier it will be for Burner to raise money in the third quarter, and money has become more important to this race than ever now that Dave Reichert has Karl Rove and President Bush pulling out all the stops on his behalf.

So please give now, directly via Burner’s website, or through my Act Blue page. And while you’re at it, be sure to drop a few bucks into the campaign of 5th Congressional District Democratic challenger Peter Goldmark.

Goldmark is the real deal. Let’s help give him a real chance at winning in November.

Initiative profiteer and cabaret performer Tim Eyman took his one-man-show back to Olympia yesterday, dressing up for the TV cameras as a very butch Buzz Lightyear. (I’m told Tim also does a dead-on Liz Minelli impersonation, but he’s saving that costume for the July 7th deadline.)

Eyman supposedly turned in 252,000 signatures on his anti-transit Initiative 917, and promised another 40,000 or so by the end of next week. Not at all surprising really, considering his prior statements, because I never trust a single thing he ever says.

Back on June 5, Eyman told reporters that he had collected only 142,000 signatures on I-917, a shockingly small number considering his army of paid signature gatherers had been on the streets since early February, and for much of that time, unopposed. This early season strategy permitted Eyman to pay some of the lowest street rates in the state — between $0.75 and $0.90 per signature — and yet through the end of May he’d already spent $324,800 on signature gathering efforts.

To spend that much money on so few signatures just doesn’t make sense. That’s about $2.30 per signature, a bizarre 200 percent markup for canvassing firm Citizens Solutions, Inc.

To further cast doubt on Eyman’s June 5th claim of only 142,000 signatures is the fact that reported sitings of I-917 had already trickled to virtually nil by that date. Indeed for much of June, while signature gatherers were out in full force pushing I-920, I-933 and other petitions, virtually none were carrying I-917. And yet now Eyman claims he’ll turn in 300,000 signatures by the deadline.

How could that possibly be? Well here’s a novel theory: Tim Eyman lied.

Of course, that begs the question “why?” What could Eyman possibly have to gain by deflating his June 5th numbers? He relies mostly on paid signature gatherers, so it couldn’t be some lame attempt at motivation.

Well, I have another theory which, lacking the subpoena power to open up the private books of Eyman and Citizens Solutions I cannot possibly prove, but… I think Tim’s ripping off his patron, Woodenville investment banker Michael Dunmire, who’d already contributed $307,700 to I-917 through the end of May.

See, here’s what I suspect is really going on. Eyman is paying his pal Roy Ruffino at Citizens Solutions a typical 100 percent markup per signature, so it’s probably costing the campaign about $1.50 each. Thus the $324,800 in signature gathering expenditures through May probably accounted for about 216,000 signatures.

Tim doesn’t have a volunteer organization to speak of, but he does mail out thousands of petitions, and surely, some of those do come back. So lets be generous and say he’s collected about 40,000 signatures from volunteers. That means that by June 5, Tim was likely comfortably past the 224,880 signature threshold and well on his way to hitting the 20 percent cushion everybody shoots for. But if he comes right out and says it, he can’t very well go back to Dunmire and ask for more money, can he?

So let me go out on a limb here and make a prediction: come the July 10th PDC filing we’re going to see another $100,000 or so contribution from Dunmire, and another $100,000 or so in expenditures to Citizens Solutions. But I think that these expenditures will mostly be for signatures that had already been gathered and paid for.

Again, I can’t prove it, but I’ve always suspected that Eyman has a financial stake in Citizens Solutions, or receives some kind of monetary “consideration”, and while none of this may be illegal it is certainly dishonest. Something is just not right here, and knowing Timmy, I can’t help but suspect that he’s cooking the books for personal gain. Again.

Think about it. What would it really cost to gather 150,000 signatures during the final three weeks of June, the busiest and most expensive time of the season? $300,000 bare minimum. So considering what Eyman had spent through May, and what he now says he’ll turn in next week, his June 7th claim was obviously total bullshit.

Now perhaps Dunmire doesn’t care. Perhaps Eyman told him from the start it would cost him about $400,000 to guarantee I-917 a spot on the ballot, and Dunmire doesn’t really care how it gets there or how much Eyman personally profits off the venture. But if this isn’t an attempt to deceive Dunmire I’m at a loss to explain Tim’s June 5th deception.

Perhaps Tim just plain enjoys lying?

I’m not calling them “Daily” open threads anymore because I don’t always manage to get one online everyday, and who knows, maybe some days I might want to run more than one open thread… so there.

Tomorrow is the end of the fundraising quarter and Darcy Burner is still $30,000 short of her goal. What with the huge amounts of cash President Bush has already pumped into Dave Reichert’s campaign, Burner’s ability to raise money becomes more important than ever, and big donors will be watching closely to see if she continues to build momentum.

No longer able to promote himself by abusing his congressional franking privileges, Reichert is no doubt preparing to hit the airwaves with his first round of advertising. How well Burner will be able to weather the inevitable attacks partially depends on how much she can spend in response.

So if you haven’t already given to Burner, or you plan to give more, now would be a great time to open your wallet. Please contribute directly via Burner’s website, or through my Act Blue page.

And if you do go to my Act Blue page you will notice that I have added a second candidate, 5th Congressional District Democratic challenger Peter Goldmark. I’m pretty damn stingy with my call to actions, but Goldmark is the real deal, and with a big enough Democratic wave he really does stand a chance of winning if he can afford to get his name, face and message out in front of voters.

So please give generously to Burner and Goldmark. And give now.

The Stranger’s Josh Feit has been sticking it to GOP senate hopeful Mike McGavick… that is, if you consider the definition of “sticking it” to be insisting that McGavick give a straight answer to a straight question.

It took four tries, but Josh finally got the McGavick camp to say that no, he “would not support” the Snow-Dorgan Net Neutrality amendment. (Sen. Maria Cantwell was a co-sponsor.)

Curiously, back when Josh first posed the question, the campaign claimed Net Neutrality wasn’t an issue they’d even bothered to consider, saying it “isn’t something we’ve been asked about yet” — a surprising statement considering McGavick seeks to represent two of the amendment’s most adamant corporate supporters, Microsoft and Amazon. Yet by his third shot at giving a coherent answer, McGavick seemed to have developed a nuanced rhetorical approach to the issue, saying…

We ought not to restrain innovation through heavy handed regulation…

Hmm. Where have I heard that line before?

Alaska’s Ted Stevens, the committee chairman, accused his colleagues of “imposing a heavy-handed regulation before there’s a demonstrated need.”

So I guess when the McGavick camp told Josh that they had to think about the issue and get back to him, what they really meant was that they had to ask Sen. Stevens what he thought about the issue.

Alaska doesn’t have all that many people. Does it really need a third U.S. Senator?

AK Sen. Ted Stevens introduces Mike McGavick to oil industry fatcat.