Wednesday, March 01, 2006
‘Right Size’ Done Deal
One Half Cheer for The Pittsburgh School Board
Pardon us if we do not get all gushy about the school-closing plan approved by the Pittsburgh School Board. Purportedly, it will save $10 million a year to shut down 10,000 unused seats. A good start, but still a mere drop in the bucket of the savings needed in the district’s bloated $550 million operating budget.
But more importantly, closing of schools is far from the kind of reforms needed to address the poor achievement levels of far too many Pittsburgh students. There is no talk of vouchers, “no-excuses” schools, or independent charter schools that could actually make a difference in student achievement. And, little wonder. The education cartel will simply outlast the attempts of the latest reform minded superintendent.
This cartel as described by Joe Williams in “Wisconsin Interest”, Winter 2006 edition, is a coalition of school administrators, school activists, and union leaders who maintain effective control of policies to promote their own interests. Many are the examples across the nation of the supposedly great, nontraditional, non-educator superintendents who were brought into effect major changes only to discover that the internal power system will use every means possible to insure that their cozy little mutual protection and aggrandizement arrangements are not disturbed. Improving educational achievement is never going to be a priority with cartel members. Self-interest backed by the power of state- sanctioned and even mandated union controls is an insurmountable obstacle.
While we wish Mr. Roosevelt well, he must understand that union leaders with their Byzantine contracts and educrats who view the public schools as their experimental playgrounds will fight him at every turn if he proposes reforms that threaten their power. Unless or until there is real parental choice about schools and the system moves to a point where administrators and teachers can actually be dismissed for poor performance, don’t expect any significant improvement in student achievement. Indeed, it will probably get worse before it ever gets better.
Pardon us if we do not get all gushy about the school-closing plan approved by the Pittsburgh School Board. Purportedly, it will save $10 million a year to shut down 10,000 unused seats. A good start, but still a mere drop in the bucket of the savings needed in the district’s bloated $550 million operating budget.
But more importantly, closing of schools is far from the kind of reforms needed to address the poor achievement levels of far too many Pittsburgh students. There is no talk of vouchers, “no-excuses” schools, or independent charter schools that could actually make a difference in student achievement. And, little wonder. The education cartel will simply outlast the attempts of the latest reform minded superintendent.
This cartel as described by Joe Williams in “Wisconsin Interest”, Winter 2006 edition, is a coalition of school administrators, school activists, and union leaders who maintain effective control of policies to promote their own interests. Many are the examples across the nation of the supposedly great, nontraditional, non-educator superintendents who were brought into effect major changes only to discover that the internal power system will use every means possible to insure that their cozy little mutual protection and aggrandizement arrangements are not disturbed. Improving educational achievement is never going to be a priority with cartel members. Self-interest backed by the power of state- sanctioned and even mandated union controls is an insurmountable obstacle.
While we wish Mr. Roosevelt well, he must understand that union leaders with their Byzantine contracts and educrats who view the public schools as their experimental playgrounds will fight him at every turn if he proposes reforms that threaten their power. Unless or until there is real parental choice about schools and the system moves to a point where administrators and teachers can actually be dismissed for poor performance, don’t expect any significant improvement in student achievement. Indeed, it will probably get worse before it ever gets better.
