Home prices up overall, down a bit in the CD

Closing schools in a neighborhood is not only psychologically depressing but has been shown to lower real estate values. Typically the home values are depressed in the areas where schools are closed compared to other areas of the same city.

Demographics did not justify the closures and now the District is using strictly demographics information of some areas to reopen schools that were recently closed. The closing of a school is expensive physically. Add the cost of disruption to communities and students rushing these decisions is poor practice.

I hate to be a Grinch and have always worked to support levies in the past.
I notice the the campaign for School Levies has purchased advertising on CD News. The voters here should really give some thought to if they should support it, especially the capital levy, given that our property taxes will indeed increase to reopen 4 schools in the north end. Demographics demonstrate the need for a couple of them, but others are questionable. The District did not publish maps showing specifically how the numbers and areas line up. This more than a renewal, it is a substantial increase of at least 30% to 50% and a since the last BTA (capital levy portion)and also an increase in the Operation portion. I tend to be more favorably disposed toward the Operations portion, but there are others who justifiably question the types of use of some those funds for the questionable development the STEM program at Cleveland and high stakes testing. How are they spending our money? How careful are they being about even curriculum choices?

I have been... read more thering the information and hope to publish a few more facts in a story. But , please think carefully before voting, "yes." Consider a "no" vote. How often do we as voters have an opportunity to send strong message to the School District?

The pro-levy group has an organization and a good budget. Therefore, defeating the Levy/Levies may prove difficult. Remember the increases in our property taxes have less to do with the increase in the values of our homes than it does with the taxes that we all vote to increase each year.

For the first time in my voting history, I too, am contemplating a "No" vote for similar reasons along with the "private school education" given to the APP students...sick of it all!

I live in a small, 3 bedroom house in the CD, with a rotting deck and fence, a decades outdated kitchen, 22 year old appliances, an ancient furnace that's original to the house and I'm badly in need of a replacement to my 25 year old roof. Yet, my property taxes are more than $400 per month! Enough!!!!!! Many people don't realize how high their property taxes are because they're often rolled in to the mortgage payment. CD property taxes, especially as you near or cross Madison, are INSANE! I've had two kids first in private, then public schools in Seattle. In both I've had to pay through the nose for more than a decade for outside tutoring so that my kids could get decent math instruction, despite their attending the top of the choice list public schools. I speak as the wife of a teacher, and the daughter of a teacher when I say that throwing more money at schools is NOT always the answer. And, the taxes make me wish I'd sold during the boom and moved to what I thought when I was younger was hell: Issaquah. At least my kids wouldn't have gunshot classmates and my property taxes, and schools, would be better.

Hi Scott,

Check out our Central District page for more stats on your 'hood: http://www.redfin.com/neighborhood/8322/WA/Seattle/Central-D

If there's ever any stats you need feel free to email me!

While I can understand the frustration of not having money go completely to our neighborhood, please do NOT consider a no vote. Seattle Public Schools are in crisis and south end schools in particular. There are other ways to make your frustrations known. Contact the school board and Maria Goodloe-Johnson. Please don't take it out on our kids.

I agree there is a lot not perfect with SPS, but voting no punishes the kids. Yes it would be easy to move to Issaquah (thought about it myself) but there is a hidden cost to that as well. I grew up on the eastside and it wasn't all peaches and cream there either. The only time anyone ever pointed a gun to my head was in Redmond, not Seattle. The bigger difference is they have less poverty. Their kids aren't better, smarter, or have less problems. Sheesh highest drug use/depression rate is at Mercer Island high school, what does that tell you?

I agree that taxes annoy, but then in the same breath people complain we don't have enough services, or don't have enough parks, or enough cops, etc. You can't have it both ways. Please vote YES on the levy. If you don't like Maria Goodloe-Johnson, and nobody does, then do something about HER. Those levy dollars are being used to shore up Meany for the VERY deserving NOVA/SBOC high school.

BTW I think SPS has every intention of reopening at the very least TT Minor. New name, new paint. You'll see. They're killing off the old brand.

Finding for the plaintiffs, a coalition of school districts (including SPS), King County judge John Erlick ruled that Washington state is not "providing ample funding for public schools." No big surprise here- schools are chronically underfunded. Localities rely on levies and bonds in attempts to bridge the gap.

In another case decided this week, King County Superior Court judge Julie Spector ruled that the Seattle School District was arbitrary and capricious in their adoption of the Discovery Math texts for high school. There was extensive public concern over adoption of these texts, tied to concerns re: elem and mid school math, lack of follow through on teacher and student support, missing supplemental materials... Still, SPS moved ahead.

This second case relates to the frequent mismanagement of precious resources. Closing buildings only to reopen them at great expense. Installing athletic fields only to have them torn out a few years later. Allowing cost overruns of 100%+ on construction projects, unilaterally amending teacher contracts in violation of legal procedure, cutting student support services while adding central admin...

To say that opposing the levies hurts children plays on emotions and deflects very real concerns about the ongoing lack of leadership at the district level.
Reversing this trend will require sustained oversight of the superintendent and school board, as well as citizen participation on district committees in all areas. A failure of the capitol levy (NOT operations levy) with the follow up direction to address the 500 million dollar maintenance... read more cklog AND dedicate a set % of funds to property care could go a long way to ensuring safe/secure buildings for students and improved fiscal management of all SPS departments.

Sorry you voted against both Jen B, but as an SPS parent who watches the district burn money, I totally understand. The community needs to stand firm and demand that resources go to those who need them most. Until the district does that, all the talk about "equity" rings hollow. They'll continue to throw money at struggling kids and schools from afar, but they won't get close enough to embrace and meaningfully support the communities that need the help.

It always stings to see people throwing rocks at individual programs too, like "APP's private school" myth. What's next, IB? Spectrum? AP? Montessori? ELL? NOVA? SBOC? Do we condemn Garfield and Franklin for having almost "college level" basketball programs? Those divisions and pseudo class warfare games play right into the district's hands. They are pros at playing groups and programs against another. Don't feed that monster. Defy the critics, support each other and stand together united as one community.