Sammamish Forum March 3
March 2, 2010
By Administrator
Reject Issaquah math curriculum
According to Memorandum No. 028-09M K-12 Education (for information purposes) sent to state math leaders, school principals and school district superintendents on May 4, 2009 from Randy Dorn, state Superintendent of Public Instruction, regarding high school mathematics core/comprehensive instruction materials final recommendations: “Superintendent Dorn’s final high school recommendations are based on both the work of the OSPI and the SBE as directed by statute. The final recommendation for high school is: Holt Mathematics.”
With this in mind, unfortunately for Issaquah School District high school students, the district’s Board of Education is strongly considering adopting the controversial Discovering Math series of textbooks for high school algebra, algebra 2, and geometry.
Discovering math takes an “investigative approach.” The Seattle School District was successfully sued in King County Superior Court on Feb. 4 for adoption of the Discovering curriculum.
The materials are currently displayed at the Issaquah School District administration offices. I understand there is a meeting on Saturday March 6 at the Issaquah library for concerned students, parents, and citizens from 3:15-4:45pm to organize and fight against the pending adoption of said textbooks.
Act quickly and with tact so our students have a fighting chance for a successful future within the ISD’s high school math curriculum.
Travis Thompson
Sammamish
Religion should not be in the pledge
Isn’t it ironic a recent letter writer assumes that Michael Barr is an atheist, simply because he believes in the separation of church and state?
As someone that has known him for more than 20 years, I can assure you he is not an atheist. He simply doesn’t feel it necessary for anyone to force their religious beliefs on others.
Lynn Stuter completely misses the point of Barr’s letter – that we all have a right to exercise our beliefs as we choose, so long as we don’t impact others who may have different views.
The Pledge of Allegiance, with its reference to “under God,” does not show tolerance for the views of all Americans, and when recited at government and school functions, contradicts the notion of separation of church and state.
Like it or not, our country is a collection of many different cultures and religions.
If we are truly going to be tolerant and accepting, let’s be tolerant and accepting of all, not just those we understand or agree with.
Darryl S. Hamilton
Sammamish
Retreats are problematic
A “benign compromise” is not what I would call these remote retreats. My concern is that the meetings are intentionally held so far outside of the city’s boundary that they are meant to exclude the public. It is approximately 75 miles from Sammamish to Cle Elum.
Meetings in remote locations are essentially secret meetings. Yes, the Open Public Meetings Act authorizes the City Council to hold its meetings outside the boundaries of the city.
While this technically complies with the letter of the law, it serves to defeat the spirit of the law where no member of the public can afford to attend.
The purpose of the Open Public Meetings Act is clear. “The people of this state do not yield their sovereignty to the agencies which serve them. The people, in delegating authority, do not give their public servants the right to decide what is good for the people to know and what is not good for them to know. The people insist on remaining informed so that they may retain control over the instruments they have created.”
The law requires that “All meetings of the governing body of a public agency shall be open and public and all persons shall be permitted to attend any meeting of the governing body of a public agency, except as otherwise provided in this chapter.”
Meetings held in remote locations impose an economic burden on working families who want to attend but can’t afford to miss work for a few days.
It becomes a financial condition upon attendance, and the law prohibits any condition upon attendance.
In order to comply with the spirit of the law, the City Council should adopt a rule prohibiting meetings in remote locations.
It should require that all meetings outside of city limits be videotaped so that members of the public may view the deliberations of the council.
It should not take any votes on those deliberations until its next regular meeting within the city limits and the public has had the opportunity to review the videotape of the meeting.
Tim Ford
Open Government Ombudsman
Washington Assistant Attorney General for Government Accountability
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