When there’s a change in power on a school board, the hope of the electorate is that they have chosen serious people who will focus on issues of importance, the ones on which they based their vote.
Sometimes, it doesn’t work out that way.
In December, the Board approved the travel of five members to the School Boards for Academic Excellence conference. Much has been written about the SBAE and there’s no need to rehash it. Suffice it to say they are another start-up group with right-wing views and cultural grievances. To read a little about what the conference was like, check out Accountabaloney’s report on her attendance.
It was a controversial decision. Here’s the screenshot from the Board minutes:
At the latest meeting, Member Willie asked for approval for travel to attend the Council of Great City Schools, an organization with which the school board has a long-standing relationship and has recently appointed Mr. Willie to its executive committee.
While most boards would celebrate the recognition of one of its members as worthy of a leadership post, Chairperson Joyce disagreed. She announced she would vote against all travel for Mr. Willie to attend meetings.
We call this tit-for-tat. While this petty behavior is disappointing for the top leader of the school system to indulge in, it is not surprising. Ms. Joyce ran her first campaign as the friend of public education in the race stressing her employment in a local middle school versus her opponent who was an outspoken supporter of charter schools.
However, when Ms. Joyce was elected, one of her first votes was to authorize a new charter school that was woefully unprepared to operate a school. Her explanation? Her husband told her to vote yes on the application.
As she continued down the path of public bad, private good, she explained it’s what her voters wanted. (Gotta call BS on that. It’s not what THIS voter wants; I live in her district.)
Now, not satisfied with denying Mr. Willie’s travel, she plans to end the district’s participation in the Council of Great City Schools altogether. She will vote no in the coming months against renewing the membership.
This is Level 4 conflict, a concept that needs a full post of its own. Suffice it to say, she won’t be satisfied with winning on the issue leaving Mr. Willie the loser, she wants to pull the district out of the Council altogether.
With a $100,000,000 budget shortfall, building closures and resetting neighborhood boundaries, crowded schools and schools under 50% capacity, schedule changes, class size issues, and more, it is strange for the board to get caught up in ‘spat about travel.’ (I put the words in quotes because it is the headline for the article that prompted this post.)
Parents, students, and community members deserve better.
Grumpy Old Teacher 