Photo by Grundlepuck from the Seattlest Flickr pool

Worried about rising material costs, the Seattle school district has sped ahead with construction of new schools without waiting to get input from parents.

"I mean, you could drag these things out for another two years...We have to say 'Did we do enough to move forward with the project?' That's what I'm really looking into," School Board member Harium Martin-Morris told the Times' Emily Heffter.

Who are you and what have you done with our school board?

It wasn't long ago that our city's school board was, to put it simply, stuck. Positive feedback from "stakeholders" was the only thing that kept the engine running. Negative feedback was like sand in the gas tank, shutting everything down.

But a sweep of incumbents in the 2007 election brought new blood: Martin-Morris, Peter Maier, Steve Sundquist and Sherry Carr all joined the board.

Now the school board is Getting Things Done. With construction costs rising, they approve school designs over parent objections. The District is finally closing dysfunctional John Marshall High.

Are the new board members behind this sudden spurt of effectiveness? Is it new superintendent Maria Goodloe-Johnson? Whatever it is, we couldn't be happier--even if a few parents get their feelings stepped on.