Superintendent's Live Blog - February 23, 2009
| A Conversation with Superintendent Murphy | (02/23/2009) |
6:03 | [Comment From Brian] What is your opinion on HB 1410/SB 5444 |
6:05 | Tom Murphy: I think that HB1410 and SB5444 are a good place to start although they have a number of areas that need a lot of work. |
6:07 | Tom Murphy: There may not be a "best" solution. However, these bills are the first attempt in 31 years to redefine Basic Education, place that new definition into law, and have the Legislature constitutionally required to fund the definition. |
6:11 | Interested Parent: Will the portion of the simulus package identified for school districts eliminate our budget problems? |
6:14 | Tom Murphy: As of this time we do not know the amount of money coming our way or the strings that will be attached to the money. We are anticipating that whatever it is will help. |
6:16 | [Comment From Silver Fox] I understand that the district is thinking about a dual language program -- why and which schools? |
6:19 | Tom Murphy: We have looked at a number of ways to increase the opportunities for our students to engage in bi-lingual learning in order to help our students keep pace with students around the world. A dual language program could be one of these ways. It is currently under study and at this time no school or schools have been identified. |
6:20 | [Comment From Stephen Jones] My kids are young and I am nervous more bus routes will be elminated. Is there any way to maintain at least the current routs? Can I do something as a concerned citizen? |
6:22 | Tom Murphy: We have added bus routes in recent years, not eliminated them. However, since the State does not fully fund transportation - a $100 Million shortfall by the State's own study - we will need to seriously consider to what extent we can continue the current level of service. |
6:23 | Tom Murphy: As a concerned citizen you are always free to contact your legislators and let them know your opinions. |
6:27 | [Comment From Concerned Teacher] I see that many minority and ELL students are struggling to see the value of education and attendance issues are becoming a major barrier to teaching. What do you see as a good way to address the newly emerging diversity of our schools? |
6:34 | Tom Murphy: When I came to Federal Way 21 years ago our caucasian students comprised 75% of our population. Today they comprise 44% of our population. The progression of our increasing diversity is not new. Students of all ethnicities and cultures and backgrounds struggle from time to time understanding and appreciating the value of education and the importance of consistent attendance. The work we have tried to do with staff over the years with Ruby Payne's work, "Understanding the Culture of Poverty," and the more recent work on Cultural Competence has been designed to assist us in creating an atmosphere where all students recognize they are welcome, respected, understood, challenged, and held to high standards. |
6:36 | [Comment From Sheila] Is there anthing new to report on the Fair Funding Lawsuit? |
6:37 | Tom Murphy: We have been contacted by the Supreme Court and given a number of dates to respond as to our availability for appearance. These dates span May and June of 2009. The League of Education Voters is writing an Amicus Brief in support of our victory at the Superior Court level. |
6:43 | [Comment From Eric H.] What programs (if any) at the high school level might be impacted most by proposed state budget cuts? |
6:49 | Tom Murphy: I don't know yet what programs at any level may be impacted. This is a very unusual year in that we have no history to help us understand what to expect from the magnitude of the budget problems facing our State. |
6:49 | [Comment From Ivy] I wanted to say how much I appreciated the 8th grade planning night we had at our local high school. I was able to talk with a number different people and programs. I appreciate the work of my students 8th grade teacher, she kept us well informed and ready for that night. I hope this continues again next year. |
6:51 | Tom Murphy: Thank you and I will pass along your comments to our Principals and coordinators of these nights. We are proud of the number of parents and students taking advantage of these nights and we have plans to continue them in the future. |
6:54 | [Comment From concerned teacher] Puyallup recently announce that they were canceling their All Day Kindergarten Program due to budget cuts. Is Federal Way considering this???? |
6:56 | Tom Murphy: No. |
6:57 | [Comment From resident of Federal Way] Is the district taking a look at how many retire/rehire teachers we have in our district? If were to choose not to rehire these folks, would we save any money? |
7:02 | Tom Murphy: All retire/rehire teachers will lose their jobs at the end of the school year, just like they do every year. I expect that we will need to continue to use retire/rehire teachers for "hard-to-fill" positions, rather than not offer programs to students. However, if we had no retire/rehire teachers we would save a small amount of money in required contributions to Department of Retirement Systems. |
7:10 | [Comment From Former Student] How will administrative support departments such as Information Technology Services and Business Services be impacted by the state budget cut? |
7:12 | Tom Murphy: There is no way to forecast the extent of cuts until we know the depth of the problem given us by the State. |
7:12 | [Comment From parent] What can we do as parents to support the school district at the legislative level? What do you think of the new "WASL" that Mr. Dorn has proposed? |
7:15 | Tom Murphy: Our local legislators all appreciate hearing personally from people in our district. I believe they listen to what our community has to say. One way you might consider is to stay connected to the PTSA and their efforts to communicate with the legislators. I really don't know enough about the specifics of Mr. Dorn's proposed changes to comment. |
7:15 | [Comment From parent] In this time of disarray, it's easy to focus on the negative aspects of our world - economy, etc. Can you highlight some of the great things that are happening in FWPS right now to give us some hope? |
7:28 | Tom Murphy: Totem Middle School and Federal Way High School have been determined to be "National Demonstration Sites" for the AVID program; The Cambridge Program at Federal Way High School is the only one is existence west of the Mississippi; Of the eleven programs mentioned, State-wide, as "Exemplary" programs by the HB 2722 Advisory Committee, five of them exist in Federal Way; Federal Way received an "Honorable Mention" (second only to Bellevue) in Business Week magazine's round-up of Best Places to raise your kids. One of the predominant factors in this ranking is school performance; Our students continue to outperform many students across the State in WASL assessments, defying the national trends associated with performance and poverty; We have 70 teachers in process this year in attempts to earn their National Board Certifications; Our community continues to support all of our children through the passage of levies and bonds...there are many more examples that are often listed in our Communicator. If you would like to be added to the list of recipients please contact Deb Stenberg at dstenber@fwps.org. |
7:31 | [Comment From resident of Federal Way] I understand that they lose their jobs each year and that the law states that we only use retire/rehire teachers and administrators for hard to fill positions, however, we currently have these teachers/ administrators in positions such as P.E. teachers, assistant prinicpals, atheletic directors etc. I hope that this will be carefully looked at as most of these employees are at the top of the pay scale and we could hire younger teachers for less money and perhaps more excitement for the job |
7:35 | Tom Murphy: We look at the entire approach to retire/rehire every year, and this next year will be no different. However, we do not save any money by hiring younger teachers as the State provides funding for teachers based upon experience and education. I would hope that every employee in FWPS is excited about providing quality education for every student, every day. |
7:42 | [Comment From FW teacher] What will professional development look like in the coming years in FW? What is/are the focus/focuses? |
7:48 | Tom Murphy: The specifics of each year's professional development program are developed through a diagnosis of student learning needs and how well those needs match the expertise of our staff. I intend that the future program is focused on the individual needs of each teacher as those needs translate to increased student achievement, and provided through individual attention at the classroom level. This is my intent and focus. |
7:48 | [Comment From Student] Based on the proposed state budget (minimum of $5million less than what is needed), what will be your approach to mollify the circumstances? How will you carry it out? May you give us a basic outline of your plan? |
7:54 | Tom Murphy: Unfortunately, there is no way to mollify a $5 Million budget deficit. We will need to reduce our spending by the amount we are cut by the State. We have been collecting thoughts and comments about the budget through the 40+ budget presentations we have made as well as through our website. I will be meeting with my management team to discuss our budget approach and priorities. I will be convening a group of local citizens and staff to help me think through a budget philosophy, the use of which will guide the development of my recommendation for the next budget to the School Board. I will make that recommendation to the Board on April 28 and the public will have the opportunity to speak to the Board about the budget recommendation at their meetings in May and June, and adopt the budget at the June 23 meeting. |
8:01 | Tom Murphy: Thank you all very much for your questions and comments. Good evening. |