By Elliott Brack, editor and publisher
FEB. 17, 2015 — Two items concerning Georgia’s schools were floated last week. One we oppose, while the other intrigues us.
The proposition that we oppose, proposed by Republican Sen. John Wilkinson of Toccoa, would allow Georgia school districts to elect school superintendents, and have local school board members appointed by a grand jury.
Basically, that’s a bad bill. We know. We’ve seen systems where superintendents were elected. It does nothing less than politicize schools, makes them less effective and does not improve education. It would take Georgia a step back, not forward, in educating the youth of our state.
In Georgia school districts, all superintendents are presently picked by the elected or appointed school board. Senator Wilkinson says: “There’s lots of diversity of our counties in Georgia. This is just giving another way to let the people decide how they want their schools governed.” Diversity: yes; improving education: no.
Whether the school system would improve by selecting board members by the Grand Jury is another question. That may be. But electing a school superintendent is bad news, no matter how you look at it. We hope the Legislature turns thumbs down on this proposition.
The other trial balloon brings more discussion. It comes from Governor Nathan Deal, who wants to have the State of Georgia take over “failing schools.” He includes a list of 140 failing schools in Georgia, out of 2,289 schools, as of 2011-12. (In addition, there are 212 charter schools.)
A “failing” school is one that has spent at least three years at the bottom of the Georgia Department of Education’s College and Career Ready Performance Index. Serious steps need to be taken to improve these systems.
While on the face of it such a move will raise howls from local school boards about usurping local control of schools, we find one aspect refreshing about the governor’s suggestion. It is this: while first one governor after another in our lifetime have said that the schools of Georgia need major improvement, no matter what is proposed, year in and year out, little real improvement has come out of the many governors’ ideas. Georgia still ranks mighty low in national educational attainment.
The reason most of the proposals fail is that local school board members see their election as a mandate to hold down taxes, reward friends with jobs within the district, and essentially care little about really improving education for the students. These school board members, particularly in rural areas of the state, seem to be in office mostly to look out for themselves and their friends, not the students.
Yet, what “local control” really means is that politicians have their own agenda, and it’s not necessarily good for the school system or the students. Therefore, Governor Deal’s position in moving to give control of failing local schools to others, should at least draw considerable debate, and is at least a different approach.
The proposed bill to take over failing schools suggests that the state take over only 20 failing systems at a time. That makes sense, as this at least “tests” such an idea. But it would make slow progress if a total of 140 schools are failing. Better to try such an innovation, however, than do nothing, as has been the practice in previous years.
Two ideas about schools. It’s good to see innovative suggestions. Yet every idea isn’t worthwhile. Let’s pray the Legislature makes the right choice, dumps electing superintendents, and give consideration to Governor Deal’s idea about failing schools.
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