Monday, February 11, 2008

The accomplice to corruption is our own indifference.

Capital Facilities Plan was adopted but wholly ignored by the Board and district management in planning for student enrollment. Student numbers dropped significantly, as predicted by the CFP, but no adjustments were made to prepare for this drop and the District was left with a very large budget deficit.

● During the resulting “budget crisis” of more than $5,000,000.00 the District approved large raises for all district administrators with a net increase to payroll in excess of $550,000.00 every year. At the same time, departments within the District were tasked with making substantial cuts to their operating budgets.

● The Edmonds School District spent $5,600,000.00 for a property that their own consultants reported as contaminated and their own appraiser placed a value of just $3,300,000.00. The final purchase price was every penny of the appraisal supplied and paid for by the seller. No review appraisal occurred and no negotiations were conducted in an effort to reduce the total of $5,600,000.00.

● In violation of Board Policies 1260, 6810 and 9200, Gary Noble serves as a member of the board while his wife teaches at the current Lynnwood High School. Gary Noble was an outspoken proponent of building a new Lynnwood High School in what is currently known as Bothell or unincorporated Snohomish County. This new construction is taking place without regard for long-term planning which suggests that enrollment is trending downward.

● In violation of Board Policies 1260, 1270 and 9200, Pat Shields started a pet project called Powerful Partners and agreed by way of a lease to pay rent for prime office space in the District’s administration building. Not only has rent never been paid, their tax records show that the value of the space was described as a donation. Public assets cannot be donated.

● In violation of Board Policy 1245 and 9200, Bruce Williams was allowed to seek re-election for a seat on the Board despite having moved from his director district long before the filing date to become a candidate. The Superintendent lied numerous times in claiming that Bruce was just “modernizing” this second residence while maintaining a presence in his primary address that was used for filing purposes. However, Bruce had a restraining order filed against him by his wife, making it impossible to live at the address where he was claiming residency. Bruce Williams resigned on September 11, 2007.

● The current Warehouse Manager, also the husband of an employee in Human Resources, was found to have downloaded a huge amount of pornography on a District computer during working hours. The District's version of an investigation was conducted and despite irrefutable evidence, the District did nothing to address this misconduct. This manager has since created a hostile environment for staff assigned to his location.

● The current Payroll Manager recently hired her sister from the clerical sub list and then processed a salary modification moving her from the standard rate of $10.50 an hour to $18.50 an hour. No justification for this action has been provided. Investigation in progress.

● The District entered into numerous interlocal agreements (ILAs) with local city governments and then refuses to collect payment. Over the last several years, invoices have been sent to the City of Lynnwood and the City of Mountlake Terrace only to have their obligations waived by the Assistant Superintendent.

Marla Miller also struck a deal with Seattle Piano Gallery that has been characterized as a “scheme” by legal counsel. Marla agreed to lease 14 pianos to avoid procurement processes. She did not competitively bid the acquisition of these pianos but just handed more than $76,000 to her friend and owner of Seattle Piano Gallery, Arnie Tucker. At the end of the one year “lease”, Mr. Tucker was to sell the 14 pianos and refund a portion to the District to defray their initial investment. However, before the end of the lease arrived, Marla provided a check to Mr. Tucker for just under $40,000.00, the threshold for bidding. This check was retained by Mr. Tucker and the District asked for it back. To date, those funds have never been collected.

● The District has also allowed staff to take vacations during contractual work periods while paying their salary and a stipend and not deducting the days away from work. Investigation in progress.

The District sold property to Snohomish County and City of Lynnwood for no less than 90% of the appraised value, as required by state law. However, when the initial appraisal was offered to the City, they complained because the City was receiving the property from the County, but only up to a certain dollar figure, anything more than that figure would have to be covered by the City. Staff was directed to redefine the manner in which the appraisal was performed. Essentially, the appraiser was instructed to view the wetland buffer in the most conservative manner allowed and then add additional buffers. This reduced the overall acreage available and reduced the value of the site. Approximate loss totals more than $50,000.00.

● The District has reported, through their legal counsel, that they do not retain copies of checks, despite evidence to the contrary from current and former staff. The District has used this response to mislead residents in the District into believing that rent is being paid by municipal partners and other non-rent paying occupants in the administration building.

● The Edmonds School District routinely hires managers without applications or interviews. One business manager was “gifted” his current position. One Assistant Superintendent was “gifted” her current position, though the title has been slightly upgraded.

● In response to an increase in public records requests, district management has actively destroyed documents rather than provide them to the public. Several eye witnesses have reported seeing documents in specific locations and then the District hired a clerical substitute without training or expertise in the retention of critical documents to dispose of a large volume of materials prior to filling requests for them.

● The District is also aggressively hiring totally unqualified people to fill key roles that may otherwise have objected to mismanagement. One recent hire earns $58,000.00 with minimal knowledge of Word, Excel, or basic email applications and will certainly never detect poor choices in property sales or acquisitions.

● The District has also allowed an atmosphere of professional bullying to take root and flourish, resulting in an exodus of highly-qualified teachers and staff. When Nick Brossoit said he was going to change the Edmonds School District, we thought he meant in a positive way.

For more information regarding these issues and many more, please use the navigational labels in the column to the right.

48 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good job.

Anonymous said...

I hope there is a public records request for the total cost of legal fees the school district has incurred in the last few years.

Anonymous said...

I discovered your blog site when it was mentioned at our PTA meeting. I got home and read for more than an hour before the crying prevented me from continuing. These people are weakening our children and spending the funds needed to support their educational needs.

Anonymous said...

Dear Esd15,
What about the Porn at the Edmonds school district warehouse? What about the retaliation in the work place for standing up for yourself? What about serving expired food? Yes, your kids are eating expired food! I have the pictures to prove it. If you have any questions call the food service Dept.

Anonymous said...

Dear taxpayers,
If there was a time to stand up. I think the time is now!
This is like someone coming to your home & taking your car, for a joy ride & selling your car back to you for 5 million dollars & then kicking you in the "Balls" & then taking your home.
Vote of no confidence needs to be done on this leaders.

ESD15.org said...

If you wish to provide information to the blog about the consumption of expired food, by all means, you can email images or documents, mail them to my home address or call the tip line and I will pick them up.

Anonymous said...

And I thought we had it bad in Shoreline.

Anonymous said...

Wake up Edmonds School District. Can you see what is happening here? Marla is a cancer, and that cancer has many feeders that go out and attach themselves to parts of the body. The district has many body parts as does the human body. Human Resource is a major part of the body. Humman Resource affects the entire district, like the heart affects the function of the human body. So imagine this cancer spreading and the smell of death that follows. You talk about the Payroll manager hiring her sister at the rate of $18.50 an hour, when subs normally come in at $10.50 an hour. Laura Barney's thinking is, I am a manager. I can do whatever, because I carry this title. She is a Marla Miller plant (monkey see, monkey do). Laura was promised this job, not having any experience. She has admitted that Marla has always taken care of her and so, she does not have to worry. Manny Juzon is another plant. He has no experience, but can sure, with a proven track record screw up a department. His thoughts are, who is going to touch me? I am protected by Marla Miller. There are other plants of Marla's, like Cynthia Nelson (Cynthia got her husband a job in the district). Has anyone checked to see how many of your tax dollars support computers , printers, cameras and many other devices in the homes of technology folks? Are they paying taxes on these items for having them in their homes at the district expense? They will all say, they are working from home and need these items, but I know as many others in the district that their families are using these devices and you have paid for them. Corruption breeds corruption.

The pronography that we keep hearing about, I have to wonder why (and may I say I am tried of hearing about. Let's put this thing to rest)? This should have been a no brainer (the folks in HR have no brains). Everyone involved with that situation should have been FIRED. The problem would be over and things would be back to normal. When you have your HR folks involved in partying, and as it was described to some of us, as their weekend DRUNKEN bashes, bunko parties and being able to discuss situations about people in the district (confidential information), it is hard for the HR dept. to do their jobs, when they have put themselves in compromising situations. It becomes a thing of, if you touch me, I will tell on you. Porn is wrong, and it should not matter who you are. There are others in the district who have been involved in porn and fired immediately. They were not allowed to hang around and keep working. Edmonds School District #15, can you see why the folks in the warehouse are so upset? They have every reason to be mad, as you would be if falsely accused. Just because they work in the warehouse, does not mean they have no morale values. It speaks loudly that they have very high values and resent the district sending a message otherwise. This would not have taken place if you had qualified folks running the Human Resource Department.

We can fix some of these things by voting NO, in the next school election. Send a message loud and clear we want a change, and until that happens there will be no more money coming. Do not let them tell you, your children will suffer. Washington State will not allow that to happen. The Edmonds School District will try to scare you into thinking your children will suffer. Remember, Marla Miller loves to bully people. This is how she operates. Her life is built on being able to intimate. I say it is time to call her bluff. Get out into your communities and tell your neighbors and friends to VOTE NO in the next school election. It is time for the wind of change to blow.

We can make a diffrence. We can save our School District.

Anonymous said...

To Demoralized:
Consider that those of us in the system who have first-hand knowledge of what is and has happened are constrained from talking about it. Our jobs are on the line; we have to survive working in close quarters with some of these people. It's a very hard choice to move on when you and your family depend on this job. It is even harder to try to speak out while trying to keep the job.

Many of the teachers are "professionally" bound to keep quiet. Teachers are not supposed to complain or try to explain to parents what is going on. If a teacher stands up and gets their head chopped off, a note goes home to parents that the teacher left for personal reasons or health reasons or anything else that doesn't really tell you what went on. The theory there is that if a teacher stands up in one district, if they hope to get a job anywhere else, they have to hide what the "problem" was in the previous district. Otherwise they will be "blackballed" in the profession.

So you won't hear much from the teachers; it wouldn't be "professional" for them to pick up the phone and fill you in on what's going on. You have to do the digging yourself.

If you are a parent or taxpayer, you need to have a discussion with other parent/taxpayers about the issues raised in this blog. YOU are going to have to demand accountability or at least some semblance of an explaination (but be skeptical) from the board and administration.

Anonymous said...

And keep in mind the district can shut the mouths of other employees with the help of legal. Many of us have been touching on this for months now. The district is void of morals. This is why my personal life is void of these people. I have a zero tolerance policy for this crap. Keep drinking and partying together, all you leaders in the Inhuman Recessive Department. Sorry to the good people in HR. You know who you are. I know who you are. Chances are I am targeting your boss.

Anonymous said...

I heard the new Seattle super being interviewed on KUOW earlier this fall. She was asked about teacher turn-over, why teachers leave. She responded glibly that teachers leave for a variety of reasons: moving to a school nearer to home, starting a family, taking up a private sector job, etc. What she didn't say is that there is really no way to know why a particular teacher leaves a particular school or district; no one ever asks. There are no "exit interviews" done when a teacher leaves a district. There is no honest accounting of the movement.

True, the teacher might leave for one of the previously stated reasons, but there are many other reasons to leave that are hidden: leaving because you have been targeted by administration and have given up, because you see what is happening to others and you don't want to be the next victim, because you can no longer stand the poisonous atmosphere of a disfunctional school, because someone is sexually harassing you but you have nowhere safe to turn and report, because pregnancy is a good cover for moving on, or you are retiring early because of the above reasons (well, except maybe the pregnancy thing).

I would like to see the state take the lead on this; why DO teachers leave? What would exit interviews reveal? Or perhaps, what would they reveal that someone doesn't want revealed?

We keep hearing the statistic that 50% of new teachers will leave the profession within five years. Why IS that? Is the training inadaquate to the actual job? Is it too hard to deal with 150 students when you are trying to hone your teaching skills at the same time? Is there no effective mentoring program available? Is the new teacher overburdened by new professional competency portfolios that must be finished while they are trying to put into practice what they know about teaching? Do new teachers tend to get the crappy assignments and burn out before they can get into the swing of teaching? Or is it a combination of the above?

What drives a veteran teacher to move to a new district or retire before they had planned?

What would happen if 50% of doctors quit in the first five years? Or 50% of dentists? Or 50% of attorneys?

The skill to work with and meet the educational, social, and emotional needs of 25 elementary or 150 secondary kids each day is as fine a skill as listening to a patient's symptoms and coming up with the right diagnosis. Or working in a very small space to drill and fill a cavity, relieving pain in the process. Or research and argue a point of law. Yet when 50% of teachers leave, no one seems to care.

How did that doctor, dentist or lawyer get to be one? They had teachers.

What would you find out if you asked all teachers who have left the Edmonds School District in the last five years or ten years why they left? Would there be a pattern?

Can you handle the truth?

Anonymous said...

In addition to this the District has an ongoing bullying & harassment policy - which means upper management can treat people with contempt & disrespect as much as they want to without any repercussions (other than the loss to the District of many good people).

Pat Shields' operation is acknowledged in the District directory as a recognized department but is now being called Tutor Partners. Different name, same advantage.

Recently Marla held a meeting to recipients of a letter she sent out on public disclosure. A request had been made by someone who should really have had the right to remain anonymous but had his name & address attached to every letter. She then fed a paranoia that this "disgruntled" employee could be dangerous. Many of us present who know the requester genuinely hope that Marla is made aware that many of us cannot wait to see that her bubble is burst.

Anonymous said...

The District has an ongoing bullying & harassment policy - which means upper management can treat people with contempt & disrespect as much as they want to without any repercussions (other than the loss to the District of many good people).

Pat Shields' operation is acknowledged in the District directory as a recognized department but is now being called Tutor Partners. Different name, same advantage.

Recently Marla held a meeting to recipients of a letter she sent out on public disclosure. A request had been made by someone who should really have had the right to remain anonymous but had their name & address attached to every letter. She then fed into a paranoia that this "disgruntled" employee could be dangerous. Many of us present who know the requester genuinely hope that Marla is made aware that many of us cannot wait to see that her bubble gets burst.

Anonymous said...

Just keep spending Taxpayers money foolishly. I hear the board can't even stamp effectively anymore. There will be an entry soon about that too. At this point they might all consider doing a few things by the book, because I'm in the mood to some whistle blowing.

Anonymous said...

exit interviews do nothing. They are completed filed and never heard of again. I know at one point exit interviews were completed for employees that left the BS Dept. they even called them at home to do the interview. Did we hear or see any changes NO! I know for a fact that several were very outspoken about what was going on in the BS Dept.

Anonymous said...

We were also part of the class notified of the public disclosure regarding leave days in excess of 13 per year (editorially, one day before it occured). Since we live on the other side of the State now and are under a no trespass order that doesn't allow us onto ANY District property, we were very curious about that meeting. Can anyone provide details?

Anonymous said...

Here is the real deal. Literally hundreds of employees are aware that the warehouse supervisor who was so bold as to download pornography on his district computer, to the tune of hundreds of images, had other issues as well. For one and half years he did not submit ANY of his leaves of absence. Then there was this miraculous recovery of his 40 or so lost days. You will have to check with the 6 to eight employees that kept calendars for those years. Sorry the number varies, as some employees tend to bail when the gloves are dropped. Shame on you, your bigger than that, literally. I'm just waiting for the puck to drop so I don't get an automatic suspension. Buck up big boys, the sin bin is empty. Now the person to address for this particular coverup has changed her last name to match that of the boyfriend in her department. So don't let them mislead you. BARNEY would be the official name on the docket. If there appears to be an anger issue here, my therapist says that anger is an acceptable emotion. I should also be looking for the origin of that emotion. Did I mention the name BARNEY by any chance? So please submit your public diclosers, keeping in mind to ask for all docs, voicemails, Emails, notes, and correspondence between the warehouse supervisor and ANYONE in Human Resources, BECAUSE HIS WIFE WORKS IN THAT DEPARTMENT AS WELL. are we clear on that? THANX

Anonymous said...

So funny that this post appears. Wait not so funny!
I was told by two employees today to be careful, and that a certain supervisor might "go postal". Can't share anymore. I can say that those two employees acted completely independently of eachother. "I'm Bartles" and " I'm James", "Thank You for your support".

Anonymous said...

Safety concerns at the Edmonds school district. Employee/manager might be losing it! Porn King

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the summary; easy to read and clearly points out some of the issues at ESD #15. Why not send this to the media?

Anonymous said...

This district has scamed, the people of this state, employees,taxpayers.
The land deal about the new ESC was leaked out from the one we love so well. THAT IS A CRIME. So that person should do prison time! Nick & Marla should be taken out in hand cuffs soon.
This is how big people become little people. The ship is sinking,Now watch all the rats jump! My bet is on Nick to jump first, he looks like that type of guy.
The feds are coming!
So the state won't have to deal with this problem.
All you people with dirty hands on these land deals, will go down!
I promise that.

ESD15.org said...

The local media (if you can call the Enterprise and Beacon "media") are strident supporters of schools, regardless of management. They goose-step to the Marla's drum, right behind Lynn Thompson of the Seattle Times.

As anyone who has spent a lot of time in Africa can tell you, corrupt officials must control the media or the general population might catch a whiff that something is rotten.

Anonymous said...

I am a new visitor to this site, but will definitely be tuning in. Until today, I accepted Nick's stories hook, line and sinker. I also used to think Marla had the District's best interests in mind.

Boy, was I mistaken.

Anonymous said...

Folks,

There is another forum which is read by thousands of Snohomish County residents - Cragslist "Rant & Raves." If you have any question as to the numbers it reaches, simply select a for sale catagory and click on the Snohomish tab.

The address to post on Craigslist "Rants & Raves" is http://seattle.craigslist.org/rnr/

I am certain that many of our voters and community members would love to see the information that we are individually posting on this blog. Mind that this is not a bid to devaluate Zandberg's website but rather an opportunity to expand the dialogue and scope of understanding of the community.

Happy Postings!

Anonymous said...

Dear New Visitor: Keep reading this web-site, share the web address with friends, relatives. Marla can be so persausive (sp), and so can the Newsletter the District provides to residents; they make it look like "all is well". KEEP READING!! A CONCERNED READER.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that was very interesting. There has to be some type of watch dog agency that can objectively review what is going on there. Also, there must be a whistle blower statute which would encourage those in the know to come forward.

That piano deal is especially disturbing. There has to be a relationship there that we don't know about. No one gives someone $120,000 plus they get to sell the pianos too?

The real estate deals are just par for the course, we call an MAI appraiser as a Made As Instructed appraiser. It certainly applies here.

Anonymous said...

what about the PORN?

Anonymous said...

good job esd15! thank you for showing us the truth!bye bye to the people that lie! let the truth be told! How about the porn at the WAREHOUSE & THE TIME HE DIDN'T WRITE DOWN HR 100's ! SHOW US HOW THEY COVERED IT UP! I HAVE DATES & TIMES!

Anonymous said...

I just watched the King 5 news story about this land purchase deal. All I can say is shame on you Edmonds School District. What about the playgrounds that need to be updated???? Safety issues, and the list goes on. Shame on you!

Anonymous said...

Hey Mr. Mouthpiece, "David the king5 blogger". Maybe you should choose different company than those who like to steal, cheat and lie. Just a thought. You might not be so defensive. Were your kids impacted? How about your job? How about your lifestyle? I don't have disposable income. Glad you and many others do. Just don't expect me to bye into that crappy mentality.

Anonymous said...

What I noticed was an early reluctance to look into the camera. Like every other district issue, administration violates state law, and can't quite seem to follow their own board policies. YOU PEOPLE NEED TO STEP DOWN NOW. STOP LYING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Did anyone catch the channel 5 news at 5:30 tonight. Marla looked a little pekid. Has she gained weight?? Also it appears the District is definitely on the defensive on the property deal for the new ESC location. It was pointed out by King 5 that the District paid 70% more than the property was appraised for. Marla sure looked like a fool stating that was a good deal on the TV. Ouch! More to come I hear, tune next Bat time, next Bat channel.

Anonymous said...

Concerning the expired food we are feeding the school children. Are they getting a discount? I heard that the food is still okay, just some of the nutrients are missing. That's the food service department story anyway. After all they are A #1.

Anonymous said...

Why does this district have so many policies that they can't follow. I could give many examples, but would no longer appear anonymous, and therefore fear retaliation. If you bring any issues up to management, watch out! They will make you the problem. If you stay under the radar and keep your mouth shut, then you are free as a butterfly. If you speak up,you are stung by the bee!

Anonymous said...

This Blog is great. Thanks Mark! I, we are able to bring up our thoughts, and issues we could only dream about discussing with our closed-minded superiors.

Anonymous said...

I missed the "spot" on KING TV; can somone please fill me in? I am so glad the concerns mentioned in this BLog are reaching the media; this is a start. Thank you, A Devoted Reader.

Anonymous said...

Here is the complete King 5 report.

http://tinyurl.com/2lawag

It is already a classic in the history of the Edmonds School District.

Anonymous said...

50,000 plus hits on this blog. And it seems that the last 3,000 came in pretty quickly, propelled, I'm sure, by the KING 5 news piece.

There can be no "they're just whiners" explanation of all of the crap going on in the district. No, there is documentation. I can see two 2" thick binders of it from where I sit.

I've seen office workers banished to small out-of-the-way offices rather than confront the bully they were being "saved" from. Don't discipline the bully, move the employee; which management handbook does that come out of? I've seen a principal serially bully, one by one, older teachers, which he and his cabal had labeled "deadwood," in order to get them to retire or leave. I've heard "If you don't like it here, go someplace else" over and over from principals and their henchmen. When confronted with their misdeeds and absent management, I've heard from union and upper management "We'll make everything right for everyone," an extremely pateralistic attitude, which really means, "We're going to pull up the drawbridge and cover our ass until things blow over." I've heard the principal threaten teachers' professional evaluations for no good reason and threaten students' rights.

From what I read in the blog, this was not an isolated "bad apple." The succeeding principal continued the work begun by the ex-principal and added new, younger targets. There are reports of bullying and harassment from other buildings and departments as well.

Your tax money is being used to denegrate and bully the employees of this district and to cover-up for poor management which refuses to address the situation. There is strong evidence that your money is lining the pockets of friends of the administration for pianos and land.

The French stormed the Bastille; will the ESC be next?

Anonymous said...

There was quite a good discussion going on the king 5 blog but apparently someone broke the rules and they shut it down. Did anybody save a copy?

Anonymous said...

Hey Derek Huff, I'm fully aware that basketball dominates the landscape back there, but JHC on a popcicle stick, is it so much that your math skills take a permanent smoke break? Get off the court, hit the pavement and don't follow the detour to the "High Road". Sorry your role model didn't pan out.

Anonymous said...

Mark oh Mark - where are you?

I expected your reaction to KING 5 & Susannah Frame's excellent and damning report on the property purchase (thanks to you). She did her homework & presented a convincing conclusion. This purchase was a part of a very poor decision on the part of those involved who are entrusted to protect the District's funds. Marla was nervous, evasive & unconvincing in the extreme. The editing & juxtaposition of her answers to Susannah's questions against the collection of evidence was very well done and certainly not flattering. Witnessing someone squirming under the pressure of this should not be entertaining but those of us that have suffered years of her abuse must confess to experiencing some satisfaction in this. Ms Frame presented the facts and used impartial experts to offer their opinions. It was effective journalism, more so than much we are fed by the news services. I hope this is only the door opening.

Congratulations on your great work! You have many supporters so carry on and do not let the exchanges today on the KING 5 blog get under your skin. I do not know why it is no longer available for us to read but Marla's son's comments degenerated into name calling and Stephanie Hall's husband was outrageous in his comparisons and attempts at intimidation through distraction & ignorance. You have won the day - now there must be anticipation toward discovering what the next move might be.

Anonymous said...

Oh my God!!!! Watching the website video of the King 5 Investigation has tickled me in a way I never thought possible. We absolutely have to accomplish more of this.

Let us gather out stories together, pre-ivestigation coffee group anyone?

Anonymous said...

Unholy Cow! I didn't think that she could be seen on film or tape (maybe it's only her reflection that is invisible).

Fortunately she didn't look directly into the camera or we would all have been turned to stone!

Hubble Bubble, Toil and Trouble.

Anonymous said...

Marla Miller stands for abuse of power. This is her legacy.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone given Marla's resume to KING TV? I know I saw it once on the blog. If she's in charge of creating deals to purchase property--where in her resume does it show the credentials to do that?

Anonymous said...

Here are the comments from the King 5 blog before it was shut down;

Any appraiser will tell you finding the true market value of a piece of property is part art, part science. Human beings do the work. They have to inject their personal opinions and analysis into the ultimate finding. But when we came upon a transaction where the Edmonds School District paid $2,300,000--70% more-- for a piece of land than their own appraiser said it was worth in the market place, it seemed as though more science and less art needed to come into play.
We found that when 2 appraisals are that far off, a government body entrusted with public funds will typically hire an appraisal review, or insist on a 3rd independent appraisal. What was the property worth, exactly?
Back to the art and science of it all. What is clear is the stewards of taxpayer dollars in this case did not follow standard practice to make sure they were getting it right.

12 Comments
Mark Zandberg said:

An incredibly alarming story. Thank you for your effort in bringing it to our attention.
February 11, 2008 5:50 PM
David said:

The story portrays the Edmonds School District as ignorant of property appraisals and land value. The viewer is left with the impression that district officials were careless about the expenditure of taxpayer funds. Nothing could be further from the truth. The core real estate transaction was the negotiation for the purchase of a piece of property well publicized as desired by the school district. Public/government entities must reveal the plans they have for projects creating a challenging marketplace negotiating land purchases. The story fails to reveal the core issue of this transaction. The district wanted to centralize maintenance, transportation and administration in one location. The seller knew that, and kept pressure on the district to pay a higher price. Simple exploration of surrounding area (core downtown Lynnwood) would have revealed shocking prices for the sale of property that connects to the redevelopment of Lynnwood. So let me get this straight, KING TV says the district paid too much. So, would KING TV beat on the school district if the district had used emminent domain to force the sale of the property at a lesser value? I think KING TV is simply trying to make a story where there is no story. Reality in real estate is if you want something, you pay!
February 11, 2008 5:56 PM
David said:

How fitting that Mr. Zandberg would be first to comment on the story. His reputation in this subject area is WELL KNOWN! Now it makes sense how KING TV got duped into running the story. You would think a major local new station would have the saavy to check out the source of idiotic observations!
February 11, 2008 5:59 PM
Charles Henry said:

Why in the world would the largest school district in Snohomish County let an unqualified and inexperienced person like Marla Miller negotiate a land deal?

She has wasted millions of dollars that could have been used to benefit students. What else is going on at Edmonds School District?

see esd15.org for highlights.
February 11, 2008 6:00 PM
gary noble said:

Well, David, at least he published his full name. What have you got to hide? Where do your loyalties lie?
February 11, 2008 6:04 PM
mark zandberg said:

Sounded to me like King 5 did their homework. David's arguments make no sense. It is probably less than two miles from the current adminstration site to transportation and maintenance. Is a $2.8 million overpayment justified for "centralization"?

The real story is where are Raskin's (the seller's) ethics? He took advantage of a poor, old, school district with administrators who should have hired experts. But wait, they did, and ignored their experts, because Raskin wouldn't lead them astray! Shame on him and the school board. I'm voting no in the election.
February 11, 2008 6:13 PM
David Hill said:

Amazing - simply amazing. And people do not believe in conspiracy theories. Look at all the wonderful support for this story. Centralization is bad because it only eliminates two miles? Gary Noble is asking for my last name? I happened to KNOW Gary Noble, and posting in his name making comments he would not make, are clear evidence of the malformed minds that are involved here. Gary Noble has been one of the targets of these idiots. This whole thing is a contrived game of malcontents who have contributed NOTHING of value to the Students in the Edmonds School District!
February 11, 2008 6:41 PM
James said:

Has anyone noticed how small the property space is?
February 11, 2008 7:03 PM
charlas said:

What about the people that lost there jobs over this mess? Nick & Marla should loose their jobs over this! How can we trust anyone in the district or board members! What about the cover up at the warehouse, porn & leave reports. Mr penney should loose his job to!
February 11, 2008 7:04 PM
ledog3 said:

Now, THIS is the kind of investigative journalism that KING should spend money on. Not stupid idiotic stuff about cars running red lights. I know that news media is traditionally scared of looking too deep into state, local governments and related administrative "irregularities" because they don't want the door slammed shut on them when its interview time about some mundane topic like a pothole not getting fixed on I-5. They want their calls returned. SHow some guts you guys . Believe me, advertisers might like the idea of local media bravado with intelligence instead of Greg Forman standing in front of a wind storm at Ocean Shores.
February 11, 2008 7:33 PM
lars lindgren said:

Thank You Marla Miller for making children the lowest priority. Make sure the winery in Woodinville gets all the bells and whistles. You directly and negatively impacted my family. Please resign effective yesterday. We need a new beginning.
February 11, 2008 7:50 PM
david hill said:

Sorry David, Gary Noble is not your friend. Are you the aromatherapy guy?
February 11, 2008 8:16 PM

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Anonymous said...

Don't forget to add that during the budget crisis the district not only increased the salaries of administrators, but also added ANOTHER Assistant Sup of Teaching and Learning to the payroll....how many Assistant Sups does that make now? 8 or 9? Seems fiscally irresponsible when enrollment is declining.

Anonymous said...

Marla Miller would sell her own mother to get ahead. She is self serving and a control freak.
Marla Miller takes the credit of the work of other capable employees and then shuts them out.
Bill Mckeighen is a poor excuse for a Finance Manger, its' surprising that the Edmonds School District has remained in the black this long.
The HR department use to say: "If you don't like it here, then move on." So most of the great decicated employees have moved on to better places to work where their expertise is much appreciated.