Governor Signs School Board Bill

It's official. We here at TAA did not believe that the current school board would let this happen, but Gov. O'Malley signed this into law this a.m.:

HB0639
Harford County Delegation
HARFORD COUNTY – BOARD OF EDUCATION – SELECTION OF
MEMBERS
Requiring that specified members of the Harford County Board of
Education be elected; requiring that specified members of the county board
be appointed within a specified period of time; establishing the composition
of the county board; providing for the qualifications, terms of office, and
the filling of a vacancy of members of the county board; establishing a
procedure for the election and appointment of members of the county
board; etc.
EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2009

What's the Agenda?

We are proud supporters of Abingdon Elementary PTA here at TAA. The PTA sponsors lots of activities for students and supports teachers and classes throughout the year. Fundraising is more difficult than it has been in previous years because of the struggling economy. But the PTA has our full support because it all goes back to our children's school.
Imagine our surprise yesterday when we received a fundraising packet for a Laps for Learning program from the Greater Edgewood Education Foundation. This had my student's name on it, grade, and looked "official." In fact, it caused quite a bit of confusion from parents who thought it was a PTA fundraiser, as the PTA is going to have its own Laps for Learning in the fall.
There are two problems with this in our opinion. One is that this rather vague organization is asking for money through the school, even though it is not directly affiliated through the school but rather "Edgewood feeder schools."
The bigger issue is that the president of the organization is an on-the-record opponent of the elected school board. Everyone is allowed to have political views, obviously. The problem that we have is that she spoke against this issue identifying herself as the president of the GEEF, not as a mother of an HCPS student, concerned citizen, etc. She used her title in the organization, which, follow us, makes it a lobbying organization. Not to mention that the chairman of the group is Mark Wolkow, who has been working overtime against an elected school board.
So why are our children asked to raise money for a lobbying organization?
I know at some schools PTAs are lobbying organizations, and that the PTA on a national level definitely is. But Abingdon's PTA focuses on the needs of the children/teachers, not a political agenda. Which is why it irks us here at TAA that some of the tight fundraising dollars will be siphoned to this organization.

The Aegis Nails It

We don't always agree with The Aegis editorial page (see below), but the paper got it totally right in Wednesday's edition with the editorial "The James Gang." The paper not only takes the delegate to task for being responsible for killing the elected school board issue last legislative session, but also recognizes the effects of the current governing system.

From the editorial:
"The continued opposition of one solitary county legislator, Del. Mary Dulany James, to having an elected school board is ludicrous. James has torpedoed every recent attempt to bring Harford County into modern times. Her arguments that an appointed board keeps politics out of school decisions and guarantees minority representation on the school board are disingenuous. Those who subscribe to the James view might want to take note that, nearly five and a half decades after Brown vs. Board of Education, Harford County continues to have one of the most racially segregated systems in the state, but that's a topic for another day."

We especially agree with that last sentence.

School Board Must Read

Over at The Dagger they've reprinted a very interesting letter from a school board member about how without an appointed board there would be no minority members on the school board. To read the political ploy to keep up the charade of the permanent nominating committee click here.

School Board Shake-up Part 2

Gov. O'Malley named the new Harford County school board members this afternoon -- and ignored the recommendations from the "nominating" committee created by the Harford County Council.
The Sun has this quote from Richard Slutzky, who created the temporary committee.
"In the end, this validates the concerns of Harford County citizens that we have no process and that we have a need for an elected board of education," he said. "The reality is that in three administrations, three different governors, whatever the procedure was in Harford County, there are occasions when the recommendations are overruled, ignored and denied. People need to elect their Board of Education. This validates the whole issue."
To read The Sun article click here.
Also note that one of the new school board members was endorsed by a special interest group that was the only group to lobby against the elected school board bill last session, joining board member Mark Wolkow in saying an elected school board would be "too political."

School Board Shake-up

Harford County School Board Vice President Salina Williams resigned last night, effective immediately. It seems she was not going to be reappointed, so decided to quit right away. The Examiner hints it was all political. Gee, we thought the current system was not political at all. That's what we keep hearing from the current school board.
You can read The Examiner's article here.

Disenfranchisement: American Idol Edition

All day I've been wondering why here at TAA we've been so upset about last night's surprise ouster of our favorite American Idol contestant, Michael Johns. Sure, we'd downloaded all his music and enjoyed his performances, but why were we so upset and shocked that the voters (or possibly producers, if you're a conspiracy theorist) kicked him to the curb?
Then it occurred to us that it wasn't just the fact that we called an embarrassing number of times to keep him on the show. It was just the culmination of a week (really more) of supporting lost causes.
It started with the cold realization that the elected school board bill was going to be left to wither in committee, without the respect of local courtesy from the legislature. My calls didn't matter. Mary Dulaney-James (who sends her children to private school) and Chairwoman Hixson (who by the way can vote for her school board in Montgomery County) decided that we in Harford County don't get to vote for our school board. End of story.
Shortly after that realization, I received the e-mail that a concerned citizen and friend had received an answer to her query about the zoning/traffic problems in Constant Friendship. My excitement was quickly squelched when I read that all the decisions had been made for the business park in 1987 -- 21 years ago. Here at TAA we're giving away our age, but 21 years ago we were 21. We shudder to think if we had to follow any plans we'd made at 21. Case closed. Our e-mail was not answered, but we were still shot down. We were officially 0-2.
Which leads me to last night, when Ryan Seacrest turned to the camera after announcing the bottom three finalists and said, "Last year for Idol Gives Back, we decided not to send anyone home....(long long pause, Michael looked hopeful) but tonight, it's the end of the road for Michael Johns."
I know it's not the same. It's just a TV show. But Ryan Seacrest doing the bait and switch reminded me of being hopeful (elected school board passes, yes!) to angry (school board bill being held hostage in committee, what? why?) It shows a similar lack of courtesy.
Ryan Seacrest was a jerk to Michael Johns and the viewers (who booed loudly and have been flaming Seacrest on the Internet all day), but we'll be all right. The state showed discourtesy to Harford County and now Harford County has to choose not the next American Idol, but a new board president, and guess what, you don't get to vote on who it's going to be. Oh, and the committee to pick him/her has been disbanded. So they're not voting either.
There was only one real winner this week, those special interests that the school board was so "afraid" of. Call us cynical -- we'll probably be more hopeful next week. But right now we're feeling that theirs is really the only vote that matters.

More on the School Board

Glad we’ve got some lively debate about the school board happening. Readers can probably tell from my postings how I feel about this issue.
I’ve lived in Philly, Kansas City and all over West Virginia, and in my time as a reporter covered many school boards. One of my first assignments as an intern was sitting in on a work session for the Washington County, Maryland, school board (Hagerstown area) where, surprise! they discovered they were millions of dollars short at the end of their fiscal year. I watched as they went line by line hacking expenditures. Just them, no one else was there. This was a long time ago (I’m not giving up how long!) but that was my first brush with Maryland public schools.
While I was a reporter in Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital, I covered the school board for several years. The elected school board was a diverse group. There was a teacher, a lawyer, a homemaker, a doctor – a good representation of who lived in the area. One of my favorites was a military man, (I believe a Marine), who was frustrated by the glut of administrators and one day decided to run for the school board – even though he didn’t have any children in school. He was just concerned about how the schools were being run. This is something that could never happen with an appointed board. He brought a wealth of knowledge and experience to the job that was invaluable at that time. He didn’t know any one on the school board, or county commission. In fact, he was rather new to the area at that time. But he went in with fresh eyes, questioned everything and made everyone look at how things were being run in a new way.
In the time I covered the school board, the board trimmed unnecessary administrators, fired a rather ineffective school board superintendent and replaced her with an excellent one, and built two new high schools.
During the process for the new schools, people packed school auditoriums to address the school board. And surprisingly, the school board listened to their concerns. They didn’t just say they were listening, they actually decided on a different site for one of the high schools than originally planned because of parental concern.
When I e-mailed the school system a few months ago about what changes they were making to improve the Edgewood schools, where my children are slated to attend once they leave Abingdon Elementary, I was told “they were working on it.” Oh, and then I was invited to a pep rally to rah rah the Edgewood feeder schools and celebrate them. Are you kidding me? They wasted money on that? I’m just looking for a comprehensive plan that will fix these schools. I’m still waiting to hear back from someone who was supposed to contact me in October. Still waiting.
I think accountability is really the issue. There is no oversight – the committee no longer exists. There is no accountability for anything the school board does. So even if the current school board’s intentions are good, absolute power corrupts absolutely.
And the school board is already politicized. They are plainly stating why they should keep their jobs in the legislative platform. If they weren’t political, why wouldn’t they say an elected school board is something that shoulld carefully be considered, looking at all points of view? No. They say the oppose it.
I was thinking of another example of the school board’s accountability problem when I thought of an incident that happened last year. I’m snagging this from the Baltimore Sun, it’s from an article about a hearing for the former C. Milton Wright assistant principal Chris Battaglia. You know, he’s the guy who complained about the block scheduling and was then demoted and forced to teach while carrying his books around in a cart because they didn’t even give him a room. This is a great example of how they discipline those who don't fall in line, and try to intimidate those who disagree with them.
“Battaglia's hearing was closed to the public, although he had requested an open one. The school administration pointed to a school policy that prohibited the public from attending.
When Wright students and parents gathered outside the building in the morning, school officials told them that they could not stand on the sidewalk directly in front of the building and that they would have to go across the street.
But after students and parents consulted with the Harford County Sheriff's Office, they stayed in front of the building, chanting 'B-tag, B-tag,' a nickname for Battaglia.
'They're just trying to intimidate us,' said Kathy King, a Wright parent.
In May, Battaglia, who was then the acting principal at Wright, was to be transferred to Edgewood High School for the 2007-2008 school year. Nearly 100 Wright students and parents crammed into a Board of Education meeting asking that Battaglia remain at their school.
After listening to them, Haas finalized the transfer and told The Sun in May that, 'Their voices were heard, and in some cases, you can't honor their request.'
I think that sums up her and the entire school board’s feelings about anything that parents or educators are concerned with. We heard people talking, but really, we don’t have to do anything about it.

Harford County School Board Doesn't Want an Elected School Board

It's right there on page 19 of the school board's Legislative Platform for 2008. If you want to read it in its entirety click here HCPS Legislative Platform

If you don't feel like clicking, here is the part on "Board of Education Governance."

"Each year the question surfaces about improving the effectiveness of school boards. With school districts expected to implement expansive state and federal education policies, the job of school boards grows more complex. The greatest challenge confronting school boards is to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn. School boards must provide that opportunity while meeting the needs of the community and taking care not to micromanage or to invade the appropriate realm of professional educators. Part of the balancing act is the implicit desire that school boards be representative and democratic without being overtly political. The Harford County Board of Education strives to improve its knowledge and practice of good governance. Knowing the roles, responsibilities, relationships and the process of effective governance are critical.
Appointed Boards of Education in Harford County have been highly successful, by almost any measure, at producing positive results for the students of Harford County…despite being funded at levels at, or near, the lowest per student in the State. Typically, candidates for appointment have demonstrated an interest in, and are well informed, about education issues.
They most frequently seek the position to make a difference in education, rather than to advance to higher office, and are typically not “single issue” candidates. This process has also produced a great diversity of individuals and perspectives on the Board, which has led to effective decision-making. Board Members over the past 40years have largely been recommended by a consensus of community-based organizations with an interest in education. This method has produced a high caliber of individuals to serve on the Board, with very successful results, including appointments that crossed partisan party lines.
THE HARFORD COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION SUPPORTS:
Continued broad-based community input in developing Board nominees for appointment -whether by Caucus or Commission."

I find this very disheartening, but not surprising. The condescension is palpable, as if parents and other community members don't have enough sense to vote. The school board instead should be recommended by a "consensus of community-based organizations with an interest in education." You know, like realtors, developers, etc. etc.

Jacqueline Haas: Immortal

"Are you kidding me?" This is what I kept asking myself while paging through The Aegis special section in today's paper: Harford County Public Schools Annual Report "Building on Success." Please pick it up if you'd like to enter what appears to be the rapturous dream world of our school superintendent.
In her opening column, the Maryland Superintendent of the Year (among other things that are lovingly detailed later in the tab) Haas discusses how helping a child is the closest any of us get to being immortal. She says that educating not only is a chance to strive for greatness, but for immortality.
She also calls on "stakeholders" to join her in her journey through the future.
Among the pages and pages of glowing achievements racked up by the appointed, accountable to stakeholders, school system was one downer. A brief mention of the NCLB test scores, which if you didn't know how dismally some schools performed, you still wouldn't. Here's the lone paragraph:
"Noting that NCLB requires every student to be scoring at least at the proficient level by the 2013-14 school year, Dr. Haas said the school system has its work cut out for it in ensuring that all students have the opportunity to meet standards. She pointed to the vast improvement made during the fours year of MSA testing as an indication the school system is on the right track."
Yes, kudos to everyone! Schools facing their third year of failing. Awesome!
Don't get me wrong. I support the teachers and know what a tough job they have. They do extra work without much support. But like an alcoholic, until the school board admits it has a problem, nothing will change. And they won't, because while the teachers are in the trenches trying to do something, they're fancying themselves immortal. And without elections or any consequence for anything they do (block scheduling anyone?), it looks like we stakeholders will have an eternity to deal with their ongoing successes.

Cable Access & the School Board

Some tidbits from watching the school board meeting last night on HCN:
The county has a 90.7% teacher retention rate, one of the highest in the state.
However, they're not as highly ranked for "highly qualified teachers." They've been recruiting in NJ to find teachers, with a focus on finding more minority teachers and male teachers.
Higher ed qualifications for teachers break down like this:
68.7% with bachelor's degree
31.7% masters
.3% doctorates.
One of the board members asked the administrators presenting the data if highly qualified teachers were placed in schools that needed help.
No.
Of course, the long answer was that highly qualified teachers are sought after by more than one principal and then the teacher gets to choose his/her placement.
Which might explain why 50 teachers, 17.8% left Edgewood High School last year, which was only a few percentage points behind Aberdeen in departing teachers.
The caveat with the highly qualified teachers discussion centered on long-term subs, and how these replacements might not be as highly qualified as their permanent counterparts. It made me think of how Edgewood High spent the first few months of the school year without a band director because theirs left for Patterson Mill.
The other interesting reason for lack of highly qualified teachers was that some teachers were actually certified, but their paperwork wasn't completed by the main office to reflect that.

No Vote, No Voice

Maybe someone can explain this to me: why don't we elect the school board? I've heard some locals say that ordinary voters can't be trusted with such an important task.
That's silly. With that rationale, no one could vote for anything.
When I was a reporter, I covered a school board for many years. The superintendent went through an arduous process -- her salary was publicized before it was ever voted on. She went through a yearly review. School board members, who were voted in by their neighborhoods, with 2 at-large members, were accountable for their votes.
Recently I've heard some argue that an elected school board gives the "squeaky wheels" too much say in how schools are run or where they're located. It's usually these citizens who are speaking on behalf of their neighbors, who should, indeed, have a say about something as important as new county schools.
I'm not talking about dictating specific curriculuum. But here's an example of something that wouldn't have happened if the public had a voice: the block schedule. This was implemented with no data and no way to collect data to rate its effectiveness. And whether it's true or not, the community perception is that the school board demoted one of the few who was keeping track of the effect the block schedule had on test scores and student progress.
I contacted the school board during the last redistricting process and received the equivalent of a pat on the head and "don't worry. It's not really all that bad." What incentive did this member have to offer me any more? I'm not saying that all school board members are self-serving, I'm just saying, shouldn't we be the ones telling them just how long they're going to serve?