Danaher M. Dempsey Jr.

Danaher M. Dempsey Jr.
Seattle School District

Director District 6

2007 SEATTLE SCHOOL DISTRICT CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE

1.  Building public awareness:  What priority do you assign to the Seattle School District's efforts to educate community residents about the importance of historic preservation?

 

□ High Priority             

Statement: There was a time when neighborhood schools were a priority. We do not need to close more schools. Smaller schools provided a better education. School buildings that are too large for the current enrollment can be restructured; producing available space can be rented to agencies, services, or businesses that serve the school and families in the neighborhood.

  

2.  Preserving designated City landmarks:  What priority do you give to sustaining the Seattle School District 's designated landmarks and saving other landmark-eligible historic places as properties that enable residents to see history and learn from it?

 

□ High Priority             

 

Statement:  See comments in #1 and #3 for why I believe this is a very high priority.

History can show us a better ways to live, the past needs to be blended with the present not discarded.

 

3.  Influencing public policy:  What priority do you place on the Seattle School District's work to foster preservation-friendly policies and funding?

 

□ High Priority             

 

Statement:  Should Thomas Ahearne be successful in the NEWS lawsuit adequate funding will be available to the schools. This lawsuit is modeled along the lines of very successful lawsuits in New York and Wyoming, in which the state was forced to determine an actual dollar amount to adequately fund public education to the degree required by the state constitution. A judge ruled on the precise amount required to provide the necessary level of mandated service.

With NEWS success, the process of building substantially more social capital in our city by reorganizing our thought processes around small community schools, for such schools along with families are the bedrock of our democracy and society. Education which was once a service to children, families, and the community has turned into the education industry. This industry appears to benefit certain adult groups but under serve our children.

History can show us a better ways to live than by following the pseudo-leadership provided by the education industry.