|
Vote in Detroit
News poll - Should the State Board of Education and the State
Superintendent be appointed by the Governor?
School Board Reform
Should Become Priority; State panel
mismanages education leadership
from the
Detroit News, December 1, 2002
For more articles visit
www.bridges4kids.org.
State board lacks record of leadership -
State Supt. Tom Watkins urges consolidating more
education-related programs in the Department of Education and
under the leadership of the State Board of Education. But the
board has: Dragged its feet on setting state accreditation
standards for schools, Not provided
districts with ideas for cutting costs, and
Allowed grade inflation to increase.
Gov.-elect Jennifer Granholm ranks education as her No. 1
priority -- including expansive calls for new schools, higher
expectations and specific classroom programs.
But for any reform to work well, it must be preceded by needed
structural changes in government. And atop the list should be
abolishing the elected state board of education.
Such a change will take time and a constitutional amendment.
But without it, any reforms are destined for rough seas, if
history of Michigan's education board is any indication.
The current state school board was set up in Michigan's 1963
constitutional revisions, and it has a sorry record of
leadership:
During the past few years, the board was slow to set rules to
accredit public schools. And when it did, hundreds of schools
expected to get an "F," indicating longstanding inattention to
problems.
About a fifth of adults in Michigan are illiterate. Grade
inflation has climbed, sending many students to college
unprepared. In Detroit, public education failed several
generations of students, a plummet that prompted a state
takeover.
On a practical front, especially in these tough budget times,
the state board has done little to advise local schools and
the Legislature on controlling labor, maintenance and
transportation costs -- all of which are needed to ensure that
tax dollars buy the most education possible.
The state board appoints the state school superintendent, who
heads the Department of Education. The board, of course,
doesn't deserve all the blame for what ails schools, which
have local officials, too. But the Constitution requires
leadership from the state panel that isn't delivered.
The eight board members are elected to staggered eight-year
terms. That allows the panel to glide with little urgency.
Even if voters grow irate, they can replace only two board
members at a time in statewide elections.
Michigan is among only 10 states that have an elected
education board. In 30 states, the governor is directly
involved in appointments, helping assure accountability.
In the short term, Granholm must decide whether to give more
work to the state board and the department of education. In
running for governor, she urged moving a merit scholarship
program from the Treasury Department to the Education
Department. And others call for gathering other state
functions under Education.
But it seems risky to transfer more responsibility to a poorly
performing board. In the last 40 years, getting things done
has not been the State Board of Education's strong suit.
There could be advantages to consolidating education functions
if the board and the superintendent are directly accountable
to the governor, as are most other state department heads.
Granholm can invest in the long term by spending political
capital to get the changes underway now.
Granholm's education plan is ambitious. She favors reaching
out to students before they are even born -- approaching
mothers at the "onset of pregnancy" to help them plan head.
She proposes expanding programs to help parents select "care
providers" for their toddlers. Whether that kind of government
reach is desirable or affordable is yet to be determined,
pending details.
But whatever the education course for the next few years, it
will need effective oversight. The fact that Granholm proposes
many education reforms says the current structure has not
worked well and needs changing.
| 