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By Emily Heffter Seattle Times education reporter Over the past decade, the Alliance for Education funneled nearly $100 million into Seattle Public Schools and gathered a board of more than 50 local leaders. For years, its tight bond with the district gave it a key role in major reading and arts programs, teacher and principal training, changes in school structure and more. But as it grew, the organization ended up in a lukewarm relationship with the current School Board, with little control over where most of its money goes and a nagging perception that it's ineffective. So, with a new director this year and a new district superintendent starting work today, the alliance's board is formally reconsidering its role for the first time in 12 years. It's not yet clear what the redesigned alliance will look like, but if the start is any indication, it could be significant: The new director, Patrick D'Amelio, laid off a third of the staff — five people — this spring. "I think it's really fair to say that everything is on the table," he said. The Alliance for Education's formation in 1995 coincided with the late Superintendent John Stanford's tenure. His charismatic leadership kick-started the alliance and put it at the forefront of the district's priorities for the past decade: helping close the academic achievement gap between kids of different races, paying for a committee of community leaders to recommend major improvements to the district, and connecting classrooms and schools to the Internet, to name a few. For all the talk among donors and district boosters about a fundraising decline, not much has changed. In 1998, the alliance brought in about $7.4 million in revenue; in 1999, almost $8 million. Then its income spiked when it got a $25 million Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant. Since then, it has received between $7 million and $8 million every year. But as time has gone by, more donors have wanted to target their money at specific programs or schools — sometimes even specific purchases — rather than let the alliance choose how to spend it. Board Chairman Jon Bridge, co-CEO and general counsel for Ben Bridge Jeweler, said the alliance should be more focused. Small donations for equipment and field trips should fall to other nonprofits, he said. The alliance should give money only to programs with specific goals. "Let people trust us in earmarking those funds in a direction instead of telling us that we're going to have to spend it on athletic gear or ... on the PTA social that's down the block or something else," he said. "We can't be everything to everybody." Leadership question But School Board Vice President Darlene Flynn said that for too long, the alliance had too much influence over district programs. The district, not the alliance, should have shown more leadership on which academic initiatives to take on. I think that the problem that I saw with it was that the tail was wagging the dog," she said. In 2004, Flynn and the new School Board majority questioned the alliance's control. As fundraising plateaued, the alliance had an internal scramble to cover ongoing programs. A year ago, longtime Executive Director Robin Pasquarella announced her resignation. Patricia Wasley, the dean of the University of Washington's College of Education, left the alliance board out of frustration several months ago. She didn't feel the alliance was holding the district accountable for all of the programs it funded. "I felt like the alliance, during my tenure there — which wasn't very long — was really focused on raising resources but didn't have the shared policy mission of holding their feet to the fire," she said. Turmoil hasn't helped The district's turmoil in the past few years hasn't helped the organization. While the alliance was trying to woo donors at its fancy annual auctions, the district was grappling with a $35 million budget shortfall and a failed superintendent search in 2003, and more recently, political upheaval on its School Board and protests at School Board meetings. That made it harder for the alliance to raise money. And when it did, it found donors were less willing to give with no strings attached. They wanted to know how their money would be spent. "It can be a self-fulfilling prophecy that, 'Oh yeah, this system is failing,' " said outgoing Superintendent Raj Manhas. Manhas said alliance board members should have been more visible cheerleaders during the district's public struggles. Sometimes that's appropriate, said Amanda Broun, senior vice president of PEN, a network of nonprofit fundraisers, which includes the alliance. But outside fundraising organizations aren't designed to be cheerleaders all the time. "Our voice was heard to the extent that people wanted to hear what we were saying," said Pasquarella. "I think that the alliance is poised now to hopefully play a stronger advocacy role than we did in the past." Emily Heffter: 206-464-8246 or eheffter@seattletimes.com |
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