The passage, with 70 percent approval, of two Seattle school district levies provided yet another opening for our local dailies (especially the Times) to beat up on the current school board and district leadership. Their sin this time? Turnout for this special election with no other ballot items was relatively low, so voters (70 percent approval notwithstanding) must be disenchanted.

Seattle's political and media establishment would like nothing better (save perhaps a waterfront tunnel) than to oust the four reform members of the School Board elected in 2003, all of whom are up for re-election this year, and replace them with Old Boy/Gal Network types. Same rationale behind the (unsuccessful) attempt a couple months ago to strong-arm the board into unilaterally hiring Norm Rice as the new superintendent. A solid 5-2 majority of the board--the class of 2003 plus the indomitable Mary Bass--aren't for sale to downtown interests. And with a City Hall owned lock and stock by developers, and a district whose declining enrollment makes closing schools (and maybe selling those lucrative properties) inevitable, well, you care about education, you do the math. It's not just kids' learning that the politicians care about.

Thing is, despite all the "school district in crisis" headlines, the current leadership has done good things. The district has gone from a $30 million budget deficit to $20 million in reserves; aging high schools (currently Garfield) are being rebuilt; test scores are going up. The recall petitions launched against five board members last month for voting for school closures were thrown out by a judge for "insufficient evidence of wrongdoing." Don't believe the hype.

Of the four board members up for re-election this year, only one (Sally Soriano) has said she's definitely running for a second term. The pressure will be strong on the others not to run, and there will be a lot of money--and alarmism--behind some of the challenging candidates. But if the city poohbahs succeed in running off the current board or putting a non-educator crony like Rice in charge, it will be the city's--and our children's--loss. --Geov Parrish

Chance encounter with a Horse's Ass: I went up to Everett last week to see a show by the Blue Man Group. Good show. As an interesting sideshow, it turned out I was seated directly behind the man a statewide initiative campaign once tried to have officially declared a "Horse's Ass," Tim Fucking Eyman. The anti-tax, anti-transit crusader was at the show with some other adults and a few kids. Actually, because I was seated directly behind and couldn't see his full face, I wasn't sure it was him at first. But midway through the show there was a bit about the importance of taking drastic action to counter global warming, which prompted the little girl in front of me to turn to him and say, "What does that mean, Tim?" He confirmed his identity with his reply: "I don't know." (Of course, probably he did know, but really meant, "Just a bunch of liberal nonsense I don't want to worry your pretty little head with." Either way, it sounds like the Tim Eyman I know.) --Lansing Scott