[RP TownTalk] Fwd: School Board Controversy: My View

[Dwight Holmes]

Given the interest on this list in County Exec Baker's proposal to
radically change the governance and administration of our schools, I
thought this letter from our State Senator Paul Pinsky would also be of
interest (for those who are not also subscribers).

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Senator Paul Pinsky <ppinsky at senatorpinsky.org>
Date: Fri, Mar 29, 2013 at 8:50 PM
Subject: School Board Controversy: My View
To: Update <update at list.senatorpinsky.org>


 If you can't read this HTML email, please use this link to view in a web
browser http://www.senatorpinsky.org/emailTemplate/board_reform.html   [image:
Senator Paul G. Pinsky ... your Annapolis Advocate]



  [image: ...Your Annapolis Advocate]

Dear Friends,
 Many issues are being addressed in the waning days of the legislative
session but one has been dominating the news and conversations in our
county: the school board and efforts to change it. This edition is
dedicated to that controversy.

 If you are interested and would like to attend, there will be a public
hearing in Annapolis this Monday evening at 5:00 p.m. in the Joint Hearing
Room in the Legislative Services Building. Both the House and Senate
delegations will be in attendance.

 Also, if you have not returned your scholarship application, they are due
Thursday, April 4th. The application is available at senatorpinsky.org.
 Yours,

 *Paul*
  *Why Changes in our School System Are Needed*
*Given the debate around efforts to improve our schools, I wanted to let
some of the rhetoric settle before sharing my thoughts with you.  I welcome
your response and, hopefully, this will stimulate further dialogue on
improving our schools.*

 *Besides serving in my seventh term in the Maryland General Assembly, I
have now spent over 37 years in the field of education. During that time, I
have taught high school social studies, led teachers and been included in
superintendent interview teams for the Board of Education. Additionally, I
have worked with many state and local superintendents as well as school
policy-makers, nationally. *

 *Our* school system is very uneven: some schools work well and some,
sadly, struggle with school leadership, student achievement and parental
engagement and are dismal. We have many strong educators who work hard but
face difficult circumstances including adequate resources, management
obstacles, new and multiple instructional reforms, etc. Some of these
problems are national in scope and some are purely local. We also have a
high number of students coming from poverty; we have ground to make up and
challenges to meet.

 The shortage of people entering the education profession in our country
has been well documented. The U.S. is not Finland, Singapore or South
Korea, countries frequently lauded for their success and where the
profession is respected and teacher salaries are much greater. The shortage
issue is even greater in our *county*, given many contributing factors,
including superintendent instability. When your applicant pool for school
system jobs is small, you, out of necessity, become less selective; this is
felt throughout the system, from principals to teachers to upper-level
management.

 We have seen our last two superintendents leave our schools, to a
significant degree, because of their relationship with the Board of
Education.

 When the County Executive brought together a group of experts in education
to provide advice to him, over a year and a half ago, some members of the
Board of Education (BoE) expressed the view that he was 'undercutting --
and actually attacking -- the board.' The county executive's effort to be
more informed was seen as threatening and, sadly, not embraced.

 What followed seemed to be a 'circle the wagons' mentality with anyone who
even offered advice, including the county executive, seen as attacking the
board's domain.

 Our elected Board of Education is made up of dedicated civic activists.
They are not, and will generally acknowledge, experts in education policy;
that is not a requirement. They work to represent the public in setting
school policy. That being said, one assumes they would seek input from
people with expertise. Unfortunately, that hasn't seemed to be the case.
Assistance that has been offered has frequently been received reluctantly.
It appears that when input is offered from someone outside the board, the
board perceives it as simply another 'pushy outsider,' rather than an
invested stakeholder; this includes the county executive, who actually
funds the school board budget.

 Hiring a leader to run a $1.5 billion organization, in this case, the
school system, is an overwhelming responsibility and no easy task. Only two
of the current board members have hired a superintendent and that was when
they simply elevated the deputy superintendent, the 'number two,' into the
top spot. Seven other school board members have never been through this
process. The dearth of management experience in making this type of
decision is indeed a concern.

 As the search to find a new superintendent proceeded, it seemed this
'circle the wagons' mentality grew stronger. It was at this point, my
personal frustration grew. The superintendent position is critically
important to the organization and to our county at large.

 One thing that most drives teachers crazy -- and frequently, to leave our
schools -- is ineffective school principals. Principals set the schools'
tone. They decide whether to set high expectations -- for students and
staff. They are the ones who must have a courageous conversation with staff
members who do not meet those expectations. They are the ones who are
accountable to students, staff and parents. Being a principal is not an
easy job. Additionally, and sadly, poor principals generally make poor
staff hires; they also document underperformance poorly. All of this hurts
children and impacts student achievement. *That's why the hiring of a
strong superintendent is so important.* This leader is the one who sets
expectations for principals -- and enforces those expectations. The wrong
choice destines our schools to mediocrity, or worse.

 At this point, I have more confidence in the county executive's
willingness to gather input and make a selection than I do of the board's
ability. Is there any one structure that has proven to be more effective
when it comes to running a school system? An elected BoE vs. an appointed
BoE? A superintendent who reports to the county executive or mayor rather
than the school board? To my knowledge, no one governance approach has
proven to make the difference.

 Is there ever a 'right time' to take action? Of course not. Events
frequently dictate that time. Would an extended conversation have been
better? Of course. But we are faced with a situation where choices were
limited. The county executive chose to step in. While I didn't agree with
his original proposal, I believe he is listening to feedback and working to
better shape his proposal, as I am.  For example,  I believe employee
relations, including collective bargaining should be retained by the Board
of Education and am optimistic that will prove to be the case.

 For these reasons, I support the county executive's intervention and his
response to the drop in confidence of our current Board of Education.

   Click on my facebook <https://www.facebook.com/senatorpinsky> page for
more frequent updates.

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Authorized by Citizens for Pinsky, Anna Frankle, Treasurer
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