Friday, March 24, 2006
School Board Tantrum
The Pittsburgh City School Board voted to revoke charter of the Northside Urban Pathways Charter School by a 6-2 margin. This despite the advice of their solicitor who said they had no reason under the charter law to do so. Board members claimed they were sending a message to the state citing frustration with the charter school law.
Their frustration has more to do with losing control of their dictatorship of the education system than with the performance of Northside. The Board cited the poor performance of this Charter school and noted “they were tired of spending taxpayer money on schools that haven’t lived up to promises of educational excellence and operate, as they see it, without adequate government control.” If they were to start closing schools that haven’t lived up to “promises of educational excellence”, the entire Pittsburgh Public School system—which continues to lag the state and county averages on reading and math proficiencies—might be closed.
It is also interesting to note that the Board cited two schools as underperforming: Northside and the Urban League of Pittsburgh Charter School—yet only voted to revoke one charter. Is Northside that much worse than others? Northside, with grades 6 through 12, is comprised entirely of minority students of which 93 percent are black. Northside’s eighth and eleventh graders’ proficiencies in math and reading are comparable to like students in the Pittsburgh Public School District. Charter schools are still in their infancy—what excuse does the District have?
Again, this is more about losing control than being concerned for the students. Pittsburgh Public Schools have seen their enrollments decline over the past few years—reduced by 10 percent from 2001-2004. Meanwhile the Northside Charter School has seen enrollment increase by 71 percent over the same time period. It’s obvious that parents in the Pittsburgh Public School system want a better system and are choosing Charter schools.
This trend not only irks the School Board, but also rankles the teachers’ union. The Board complained that charter schools can hire teachers that aren’t certified and “have lower per-pupil costs because their employees often aren’t unionized”. This is a statement straight from the union’s playbook. However, more than 84 percent of Northside’s teachers are rated as “highly qualified”. While Pittsburgh’s rating may be higher (98 percent) the results are not demonstrably different.
The Board has not shown much concern over high per-pupil costs before. This was evident as they fought the new superintendent’s cost cutting plan to close schools. Will it be worried when its own unions start to renegotiate? Will it bring forward any privatizing initiatives for transportation, maintenance, or food service? Highly unlikely.
What concerns the Board is the loss of control. They are concerned that parents are choosing alternatives to public education like charter schools. Instead of improving their product in the face of competition, they throw a tantrum and revoke a charter. What a sad moment for the Board.
Their frustration has more to do with losing control of their dictatorship of the education system than with the performance of Northside. The Board cited the poor performance of this Charter school and noted “they were tired of spending taxpayer money on schools that haven’t lived up to promises of educational excellence and operate, as they see it, without adequate government control.” If they were to start closing schools that haven’t lived up to “promises of educational excellence”, the entire Pittsburgh Public School system—which continues to lag the state and county averages on reading and math proficiencies—might be closed.
It is also interesting to note that the Board cited two schools as underperforming: Northside and the Urban League of Pittsburgh Charter School—yet only voted to revoke one charter. Is Northside that much worse than others? Northside, with grades 6 through 12, is comprised entirely of minority students of which 93 percent are black. Northside’s eighth and eleventh graders’ proficiencies in math and reading are comparable to like students in the Pittsburgh Public School District. Charter schools are still in their infancy—what excuse does the District have?
Again, this is more about losing control than being concerned for the students. Pittsburgh Public Schools have seen their enrollments decline over the past few years—reduced by 10 percent from 2001-2004. Meanwhile the Northside Charter School has seen enrollment increase by 71 percent over the same time period. It’s obvious that parents in the Pittsburgh Public School system want a better system and are choosing Charter schools.
This trend not only irks the School Board, but also rankles the teachers’ union. The Board complained that charter schools can hire teachers that aren’t certified and “have lower per-pupil costs because their employees often aren’t unionized”. This is a statement straight from the union’s playbook. However, more than 84 percent of Northside’s teachers are rated as “highly qualified”. While Pittsburgh’s rating may be higher (98 percent) the results are not demonstrably different.
The Board has not shown much concern over high per-pupil costs before. This was evident as they fought the new superintendent’s cost cutting plan to close schools. Will it be worried when its own unions start to renegotiate? Will it bring forward any privatizing initiatives for transportation, maintenance, or food service? Highly unlikely.
What concerns the Board is the loss of control. They are concerned that parents are choosing alternatives to public education like charter schools. Instead of improving their product in the face of competition, they throw a tantrum and revoke a charter. What a sad moment for the Board.
