Serious remedies for Seattle schools

As the proposals from Seattle Schools Superintendent Raj Manhas' advisory committee are considered, everyone ought to remember: Nothing is truly free, not even public schools.

That is the theme running through the interim report put forth by the 14-member advisory committee. We ought to take this document seriously and not relegate it to the mountainous pile of reports from previous blue-ribbon panels and advisory groups. The committee has done its homework. It has its fingers on the pulse of the city as it relates to public education. The committee's co-chairs, John Warner and Trish Dziko, are former business executives with broad experience and close ties to business and minority communities.

This is a group we can trust. Ditto its findings.

Four steps are outlined by the committee to bring fiscal stability to the district. They are smart, focused ideas general enough to allow the School Board to shape them into policy.

• The first proposal is no surprise. This district, which once had 100,000 students and currently has fewer than half that, must close some schools. Fiscal common sense dictates the district move its real-estate holdings from excess capacity to economy and efficiency.

• The same rule applies to the transportation budget. Seattle spends more local levy dollars on transportation than neighboring districts. This is because the district operates a popular, citywide, school-choice system. The advisory committee leaves choice intact but suggests parents begin to pay for the luxury of school choice.

• The other cost-cutting idea — move high-school students from yellow buses to Metro buses — was raised months ago by King County Executive Ron Sims. Make the phone calls and make this work.

• To address the district's expensive penchant for creating programs as fast as parents demand them, the committee proposed a strict academic realignment. Anything not directly connected to learning would be jettisoned. In better financial times, the district could test the latest pedagogical trend, but for now it should focus on helping students meet higher academic standards. Mayor Greg Nickels has insisted that this be done with funds from the Families and Education Levy.

Quality schools in every neighborhood are touted as the No. 1 priority of city residents. We have to be willing to give up something to get the bigger things that we need.