May 13, 3:44 PM 3
Champagne and Pink Slips
While our “leaders” were drinking champagne yesterday to celebrate the tunnel boondoggle, Seattle Public Schools announced that it will lay off 170 teachers in the coming school year. Class sizes will rise, harming the quality of our children’s education. Our priorities are badly misplaced.
Particularly frustrating, the legislature adjourned without taking the simple step that would have made a huge difference for our kids in the coming year–permitting Seattle to collect the full amount of voter-approved school levies. A provision of state law limits the amount that Seattle can use to support its schools, even when the Seattle voters have approved that spending. For Seattle schools, that would mean $13 million a year. Contrast that with the $930 million of Seattle taxpayer money that Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels has committed to the Viaduct Tunnel.
In yesterday’s news report, Governor Gregoire lamented that the legislature did not address her proposal to allow Seattle and other cities to collect voter-approved levies. Where was Greg Nickels during the legislative session? He tirelessly lobbied the legislature, but only for his priorities. Ignoring the fate of our schools, he took the press on walking tours South Lake Union to drum up support for state funding for Mercer Street. And of course he never stopped urging legislators to pay for part of the tunnel.
I get it — a city has a lot of priorities in the state legislature. But when our kids’ future is at stake, it’s time to put down the champagne glasses and start working on what matters most.
Pouring champagne down a tunnel hole — a nice symbol for how present leadership is responding our global economic crisis.
…to our global economic crisis.
Request for clarification of stance on Nickel’s Mercer Street Plan
Today on Crosscut, Ted Van Dyk states:
“Last week Seattle Transportation Director Grace Crunican presented a new budget for Mayor Greg Nickels’ Mercer Corridor Plan, with a price tag, as opponents decipher the numbers, now exceeding $290 million — $100 million more than estimated six months ago. What happened? Facing a financing shortfall of $60 million when the project was estimated at $190 million, Nickels/Crunican apparently decided to double down. They added to the original plan a second phase, bringing increased costs, and a proposal to raid Bridging the Gap funds voters had been told would go for neighborhood street, bridge, biking, and sidewalk improvements. Note that it was unveiled after the primary election, since earlier release would not have helped Nickels’ campaign.
What will the City Council do about this proposal? Right now it has apparent support from mayoral candidate Mike McGinn and City Council candidates Sally Bagshaw and Jessie Israel, opposition from mayoral candidate Joe Mallahan and City Council candidates Nick Licata and David Bloom.”