Time to Start Over on Schools

There’s now little question that when it comes to our school systems, we need to push the restart button and start over.

Now, we can only hope that U.S. District Judge Hardy Mays makes it happen.  It may seem like the nuclear option, but at this point, it’s the option with the most potential for getting education right for more than 150,000 students in our community.

The intransigence of Shelby County Schools to act in a reasonable way – preferring instead to routinely favor its narrow political ideology ahead of sound educational policies – had made it impossible to expect that the grown-ups would act like grown-ups when it comes to the future of our children.  Then again, Memphis City Schools raised questions itself when it wildly over-reached with its recent vote to delay the opening of its schools.

Right now, it’s pretty hard to point to either district as sound decision-makers for public education.   Both districts seem to now be on a level playing field, but unfortunately, it’s because Memphis City Schools surrendered the higher ground.  Both have now shown that they are willing to use children for their own purposes and that they are not bashful about making their own community a laughing stock in the process.

Under Siege

It’s hard to conceive of the logic used by Memphis City Schools officials, but its decision to delay school opening feels like the kind of decision that results from a siege mentality.  Sometimes, in pressure cooker environments, people make decisions that in any other situation they would have discarded as unwise.

The fact that board members didn’t recognize the dangers of this brand of brinksmanship and that their decision would result in negative national news media attention – at a time when Memphis was finally shedding its ungovernable image – undoubtedly pushed up the negative public opinions of Memphis City Schools leadership.  There were some, such as former Memphis Mayor Willie W. Herenton, who lauded the school board’s decision, but by and large, even some key supporters of Memphis City Schools’ were left shaking their head in dismay.

The crisis was averted when a deal was struck between Memphis Mayor A C Wharton and School Commissioner Martavius Jones, but lingering questions remained about the ability of the elected board to make the kinds of policy decisions that are crucial during these volatile months of transition to whatever lies ahead.  It fuels concerns about the erratic enrollment numbers issued by Memphis City Schools over the years and calls for an explanation for falling enrollment and rising budgets.  For several years, this blog and Flyer reporter John Branston have raised this as an issue, and last week, Mr. Branston produced some fascinating enrollment numbers for comparison.

Although Shelby County Schools officials were pointing to the city debacle over school funding as the kind of confusion and conflict that they are trying to protect county schools from, they showed their extremist views yet again in the recent approval of a Bartlett charter school.

Bad Manners

It’s not like the county board members had any choice.  After its rejection of the charter school application (in keeping with its disdain for any idea that doesn’t originate with them), the Tennessee Board of Education heard the appeal of the charter school founders – led by the formidable Tommie Henderson – and referred it back to Shelby County Schools with a directive to approve it.

The board voted unanimously in favor of the charter school last week but not before it demonstrated once again why our community is in need of a true countywide school district with new members who can do more than proselytize their narrow political and religious views on a student body characterized more and more by its diversity of race, religion, and opinion.

Shelby County Board member David Reaves summed up the tone of the meeting about the charter school.  “You guys went over our heads, and we now are having it shoved down our throats,” he said, apparently laboring under the belief that he and his colleagues are omnipotent and that the charter school organizers had no right to follow Tennessee law and appeal the erroneous decision by the local board.

Not to be outdone, county schools board chairman David Pickler said that charters are an unproven model because only 17% of charter school nationwide that are outperforming public schools.  There is research to support almost any position on charters so it’s no surprise that Mr. Pickler customarily cherry picked his data; however, this isn’t about national statistics.  It’s about local students and the need to test new ideas for learning and new innovations in management to ensure that parents have options and choices.

They’re Right, Far Right

The county board often forgets that it exists to serve the interests of parents, and instead, pursues its own reactionary articles of faith.  To punctuate the discussion with the charter school organizers, county board member Joe Clayton – who never seems to understand that he’s not still the head of a Christian school  – asked if the school would have a moment of silence and if charter school would have “Christmas break” rather than a “winter break.”

During his time on the school board, he’s championed the injection of Christian principles and values – of course as he defines them – into public classrooms, so it’s not surprising – it’s just exhausting – that he’s unable to leave religion to parents rather than teachers.  Curiously, much less time was spent discussing actual educational policies to be tried by the charter school that could be adopted by the larger district.

To his credit, Mr. Henderson handled the inquisition with aplomb, and that he could keep from bursting out in laughter says volumes about his self-control.  We’re predicting that there will parents who are attracted to his philosophy and approach to public education.

Despite Mr. Henderon’s credentials and parental interest in the charter school, it will likely be confronted with all kinds of barriers erected by Shelby County Schools to prevent its effectiveness.  In this regard, Shelby County Schools does finally find common ground with Memphis City Schools.

Hoping for Justice

Everyone in city and county governments and schools are anxious for the ruling by Judge Mays about the merger of our two school districts into a single district with a single purpose and a single vision for every student in our community.

We can only hope that the judge rejects the political meddling choreographed by Tennessee Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris into what is clearly a local decision and that the court presses the reset button for school districts that demand an overhaul.