Hey JailBush, I have a question

[La_Serpiente]

Wasn't there a military official that took over the Seattle School System a few years ago? How was he?

[kvnf]

1. Not so hot...

I'm not JailBush, but I'll give you my answer, as I was a student in the Seattle Public School systems under the man you're refering too.

Yes, about 6 or 7 years ago John Stanford became our superintendant.
I think he was a general or colonel in the US Army.

At the time, I was in 7th grade, at a place called Meany Middle School (great name) here in Seattle. It had (might still have) the reputation as being the worst middle school in the state based on discipline records and test scores. (it was also about 60% black, 20% asian, 20% white...i fall into the latter catagory) My 8th grade year, most of our teachers were substitutes because no one wanted to work at that school permanently.

John Stanford's solution was to force everyone at this school (not at the others) to wear uniforms, which we had to buy ouselves, and to require all students to carry laptop computers.

The uniform thing went through, the laptop thing failed.
Stanford seemed like a very decent guy but didn't strike me as a good superintendant. He unfortunetly died a couple years ago of cancer.
Since his death, Seattle Public Schools has had major financial troubles, resulting in the entire school board getting voted out of office last month...

-Kevin

[La_Serpiente]

2. Wholly $h!t

that is some story. Lots of things sure have happened since I read about him of years ago in Time.

[JailBush]

4. About the Seattle School Board...

Don't fall for the line about the Seattle School Board being reformed. Every single candidate who got elected is just as corrupt as the bums they replaced.

Nancy Waldman and all those other pigs did their dirty work, then bowed out to collect their thirty pieces of silver. We have a school levy coming up in a few months, and the Seattle Chamber of Commerce wants the public to think the board has been reformed. But ask yourself a couple questions:

1. If the candidates who got elected are really reformers, why didn't the status quo fight them? When I ran for public office, the bastards did everything they could to either ignore or insult me.

2. When will the Seattle School District be audited? Sure, the Seattle Times - the rag that endorsed George Bush - tells us they were audited. But the Seattle School Board chose the auditors! That's like asking Laura Bush to investigate George Bush.

Also, the head of the auditing company they hired has a really distinctive last name. I can't even remember how to spell it, but it's the same name as the guy who owns Fisher Broacasting, which owns both KVI Radio (right-wing talk shows) and KOMO TV, the "John Stanford Channel."

In fact, I think Campaign 2003 may have been the most frightening election in Seattle history. Virtually no good candidates have been elected in Seattle for the last several years (decades?), but this election broke all the records for manipulation. It was one big conspiracy - right down to "Strippergate" and the forum with the stripper at University of Washington.

I think you can guess what THAT was all about.

[kvnf]

6. interesting

I'm a UW senior now...somehow made it out alive.

Hadn't heard that take on the school board. Well at least there's a precedent now for kicking out people that fail...

-Kevin

[JailBush]

3. My God!

You should NEVER ask me about John Stanford...I'll talk your ear off!

Seriously, his story is almost unbelievable - and very relevant. My website is in transition and disarray, but I THINK you can still access my Stanford pages. Just type "John Stanford" into Google; or try "John Stanford" + Seattle or education.

Very briefly, Stanford was a retired general who worked as Fulton County Manager (county seat Atlanta) before he was recruited to serve as Superintendent of Seattle Schools. He was actually recruited by the business community to help privatize our schools. I believe Stanford was our first supe who had no education background. He brought along another retired general, who he designated his "Chief of Staff."

One of the most amazing things about Stanford was the media lovefest that promoted him almost as if he was some of cartoon figure. His freakish charisma and world-class arrogance were a perfect fit. He claimed he worked 16-18 hours a day, six or seven days a week, had never failed at anything, had never missed a day's work due to illness in his life...blah, blah, blah.

In fact, Stanford was the George Bush of education. His biggest experiments blew up in his face, and there were protests at many schools.

I supported a teacher who filed a lawsuit against the Seattle School District; it was probably the most sensational lawsuit involving Seattle Schools since the fabled Sally Pangborn affair of 1970. We got Stanford on the witness stand, and it was an amazing experience. It was a kangaroo court, and the jury narrowly decided in the school district's favor. Only later did I discover that Stanford was fighting another lawsuit at the same time - an Atlanta discrimination lawsuit that Stanford lost. My friend was suing for discrimination, too! The settlement was so big, it was mentioned by Paul Harvey.

My friend was Asian American, while Stanford was African American. His lawsuit revealed some astonishing things about racism in Seattle. The city's effectively run bythe mostly white Seattle Chamber of Commerce, which gives the "Black Mafia" free reign to beat up on teachers and parents, especially Asian Americans.

Shortly after surviving TWO major lawsuits, Stanford blew me away by hawking real estate on TV! It was the last straw for many people, but the worst was yet to come.

During a school levy campaign, Stanford tried to blackmail the business community by claiming he had received an anonymous job offer that he couldn't refuse. It was SO weird; he claimed he didn't care about money, yet he couldn't turn this job down because it paid so much more; I guess it was some sort of military principle.

The sh*t really hit the fan, and one Seattle Times columnist who criticized Stanford ("Buddy, can you spare a dime?") lost his job. I thought that was the end of the line for Stanford, but just as his popularity was at an all-time low, the bastard was diagnosed with leukemia, and the media begin milking him for the sympathy vote.

There are so many stories to tell about Stanford - like the time he walked through Seattle in the middle of the night naked, or his alleged involvement with yet another scandal while he was still in the Army. (He was accused of helping Federal Express bilk the Army out of millions of dollars.)

But here's the most intriguing thing of all: Stanford was wined and dined by Democrats, but if he was still alive, George Bush would have appointed him U.S. Secretary of Education. How do I know?

Stanford was being groomed for that position. Billionaire Craig McCaw suggested Stanford ought to fill the position. That's the jackass who hosted Bush when he visited Seattle recently. Stanford spoke at the Democratic National Convention (just before or after Christopher Reeve), but he claimed to be apolitical.

I could write a book about Stanford's BIZARRE book deal, but it came to a wacko conclusion when it was published a year after he died, at the very time Al Gore was climbing Mt. Rainier. If it sounds like I'm suggesting PUBLICTY STUNT, you got it.

What really pissed me off was the way Colin Powell supported Stanford even while he was exploiting Seattle's students. When he was dying, he was publicly supported by the Clintons, Al Gore and Colin Powell.

I could write still more about the whirlwind media frenzy that followed Stanford's death. Suffice it to say that I crossed Niteline and Oprah Winfrey off my list of reputable media.

Stanford was probably the most publicized school district superintendent in the United States, and I'm positive he would be a member of Bush's cabinet. But he died, and Bush appointed another derelict token black. (I don't mean to sound racist, but let's face - every member of Bush's administration is a derelict, and all the minorities he chose are Uncle Toms. Why are there no Asian American superstars in public education? Ask Washington State Governor Gary Locke, prominent member of the Asian American Mafia.)

[La_Serpiente]

5. WOW

thanks for the emphasis on detail :-)