State Budget

The state budget is in a mess, http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2008451090_budgetcuts30m.html.  

What amazes me is that the voters in the state are surprised.  Where was the Seattle Times during the election, when Rossi was bringing up this subject?  They were arguing about whether Rossi was fudging by saying there was a deficit, when the state isn't allowed to have a deficit.  They willfully misconstrued his statement, wanting it to look at the current budget, when it was obvious that he was looking at the future.  

This should have all been discussed during the election, not the week after.  

Gregoire has no real ideas.  She never did.  She just had invective.  Now we all have to live with her pathetic leadership abilities, and her payoffs to the unions and tribes.  They got everything they wanted - $8 million in the last four years.  

But the voters sit around wondering how it all happened.  

Must be George Bush's fault.

Christmas season

It is now the season that will make or break many businesses.  Everyone expected an awful Friday after Thanksgiving, but it turned out okay.  Unemployment will probably be bad, but for now it is not a problem.  People are making what they made last year.  So has Obama saved the world?

I am doubtful.

The Democrats want so badly to solve the world's problems through government edict and state ownership that they will probably take steps that will have the same results that FDR had.  They will continue to dole out the cash to the auto makers, who will be forced to produce cars that make no sense with $2 gas, and will require huge amounts of subsidies.  People won't want them, but will have no choices.

So glad we voted for change.

Obama will probably move forward with his plan for civil service and universal health care.  Both are threats to our freedom.  But never mind, they are for the greater good.  We can all be comrades, waiting in line for our doctor visit, and working for free to provide services that were once paid for by free people.

But never mind, spend like crazy - it is Christmas!

GO HUSKIES!

Finally saw a winning Husky game!  Too bad it wasn't football.  But the basketball game against U of  Pacific was great fun.  And I really don't get basketball!  www. gohuskies.cstv.co/sports/mbaskbl/wash-m-baskbl-body.html

Newport HS Ski Swap

Thanks to all who came to our little ski swap! You not only got a great deal, but you are helping us support a fabulous education for our students!  www.skiswap.info

Search for the new Bellevue Superintendent

I attended the recent presentation by the search consultants to the Bellevue School Board, summarizing the results of their study so far. They interviewed all stakeholders, and came up with a set of criteria needed for a new superintendent.  www.bsd405.org

It was a search for a leader by brainstorming.

That isn't a compliment.

Leaders are supposed to have a vision of what they want. They don't need to hire someone to tell them what they want. They should be tuned in enough to their stakeholders to know what they want. They shouldn't have to pay consultants to tell them the answer.

But they did. And what they want is what Mike Riley was slightly short on - a grand collaborator.

The Board concedes that they want all the other good things that Mike was - a visionary, a tireless worker, a crusader for excellence, a believer that all students could succeed. But that's not what everyone asked for. They wanted someone who would listen to them.

Because Mike didn't always listen to everyone. Well, he listened, he just didn't agree, and so he disregarded.

So now the board wants a visionary, but they don't say what that vision is. They want someone to will lead, but don't say exactly what direction they want to be led. This is a group that lucked out HUGELY with Mike Riley. In him they stumbled on the one person who would reformulate the elitist liberal no-decision school district with no real direction into one of the strongest academic models in the nation. Students feel pressure from all sides to exceed, to take the challenging classes, to go beyond the comfortable. Teachers are challenged to teach a common curriculum, but bring their personal touch to it to make it relevant. Administrators compete for the best school, with the highest test scores and the most signed up for AP tests.

As a parent, I agree with the World According to Mike Riley. It is very unfortunate that he has passed, and that vision will no longer be out there to lead other districts.

But what the school board wants now is someone who will listen to all those teachers who whine about having to teach to the plan, to stick with the curriculum, and cover the whole of what is supposed to be taught in a year. The board wants to have someone who will accommodate parents who want their non-English speaking child to be exempt from such rigor, or don't want the district to demand that their little darling actually show up for class, and be ready to learn. In short, they want someone who will be sensitive and listen.

Sorry, what we need is someone who wants to teach Math, and teach object Science. And demand a coherent essay. And maybe require that someone know who Abraham Lincoln is, and why the Boston Tea Party was meaningful.

Visions are great, unless you haven't quite figured out where you want to go. Then any vision will get you there, to coin a phrase.