Sensible fiscal advice for Seattle schools

Seattle Public Schools desperately needs the academic and operational restructuring outlined by a citizens advisory panel.

The district's dire financial condition of a few years ago has abated. Under Superintendent Raj Manhas' direction, old bills have been paid and there is even a small but growing reserve account. Still, the district faces a projected deficit of $15 million that will compound without substantial cost-cutting measures.

The 14-member Community Advisory Committee for Investing in Educational Excellence, convened by Manhas last year, has acquitted itself well. The voluminous report recommends trimming spending on things such as transportation, utilities and school buildings. School closures are bluntly acknowledged as the primary way to achieve significant cost-savings.

In return for shuttering beloved buildings, the committee recommends the bulk of the savings be plowed into the remaining schools to improve quality districtwide. Full-day kindergarten and six periods in high schools would be among the new improvements.

Adoption of most of the committee's recommendations would provide a common-sense approach in place of the district's slapdash way of funding programs. A hawk eye would be cast on large expenditures, such as special education and bilingual programs, in an effort to retain quality services but find more-efficient ways of delivery.

Efficiency and quality in city schools are two things this page is happy to support. Adding to our sense of optimism is the early embrace of the advice by the School Board and the teachers' union.

Much here relies on an increase in state funding. Seattle would need at least $22.5 million in additional state funding by 2007-08, and a guarantee of $25 million annually by 2010-11.

The committee, which has lent some gravitas to the district's financial talk, began its work at a time when many in the city were distrustful of the School Board and unsure if Manhas would remain in charge. Enter the committee and its co-chairs, John Warner, a former Boeing executive, and Trish Dziko, formerly of Microsoft and now owner of a nonprofit designed to widen access to technology. The two chairs approached their task with a mixture of parental concern and business savvy. They commanded and received respect.

This, coupled with a more-mature School Board, makes the strong medicine of restructuring easier to swallow.