This page will update frequently. Please check back often.
Children BEFORE Bureaucracy
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines "FIRST" as:
preceding all others in time, order, or importance
For too many years, Teachers, Administrators and the School Board have let our children down. Ill-equipped children have been pushed along year after year creating frustrated and demoralized adults who drop out of school.
Common senses tells us that when children can't read in elementary school - they are set up for failure in high school. As evidenced by the latest NC rescaled reading test scores, CMS has passed along thousands of students into our community who read below acceptable standards. This happened because test standards were manipulated to make administrators look proficient. The Proof : In 2008 when the reading test was rescaled to reflect reality, 45% of students in grades 3 - 8 who took the exam FAILED.
Our teachers and administrators deserve our respect but, like all professionals, they should be held accountable for their successes and their failures. We are all thankful to the good teachers in our lives for their dedication and commitment. I want to reward good teachers and dismiss poor teachers.
Few people in our community dispute that we have overcrowded classrooms, dismal test scores and a general defeatist attitude toward our public schools. We can fix the problems but it starts with taking away the layers of government between the school and the students. It means making the teachers and administrators who run the schools on a daily basis accountable for their decisions. It means making the school board accountable with your vote.
We need to get serious about reducing the dropout rate and financing our schools. How many more years are we going to argue about the same system problems?
How many more generations of students will be lost because of dysfunctional politics?
Hopefully -- Now is the time for change.
A Dysfunctional Family
According to CMS
33% of students in grades 3 - 8 were below grade level in math. More than 50% of high school students who took AP exams scored 2 (out of 5) or below. When the NC Department of Public Instruction rescaled the reading scores, 45% of the students fell below grade level.
How can teachers divorce themselves from these shocking statistics?
Where in business can a manager have a 45%-50% failure rate and keep his/her job?
According to the Charlotte Observer:
Of the CMS cuts: 57% were teachers and no one who made $90,000 or more was laid off during budget moves. More than 80 percent of the employees on the list made less than $50,000 a year.
Was this simply administrators looking after themselves at the expense of those who serve in the classroom?
Only about 1 in 4 teachers who lost jobs was targeted because of poor evaluations. Almost 200 of the laid-off teachers taught math, science, special education, health occupations or English as a second language - fields that CMS defines as essential and/or hard to fill.
Is this really a "Students First" mentality?
As a homeowner, I want to avoid the crushing property tax burden that plagues many communities. Throwing money at a problem seldom fixes the underlying issue.
Money matters: It matters in our personal budgets, it matters in our business budgets, surely it matters in our educational budgets.
According to a 2008 US Census Report, NC ranked 44 in the nation in education spending per student.
Can our students remain globally competitive with such a substantial funding gap?
Are we efficiently allocating our resources?
Many in our community talk about applying business principles to the public sector. I agree and ask you:
Would a business truly remain competitive long-term annually funding at 80% of the AVERAGE competition?
To be clear, I don't want to throw money at the problem - I want to create a system that rewards excellence.
I promise to do the following:
Have no tolerance for failure
Get our children ready for college
Provide a safe environment for learning
Enhance vocational training / options
Reduce the dropout rate
Be your fiscal watchdog - Wring out inefficiencies and get value for your tax dollars
My experience in business has taught me that if you don't grow intellectually, you don't succeed. Too often teachers graduate from college and stop their growth.
Recent attempts to address this problem include requirements for continuing education classes; I think we should demand more. College professors at major universities are required to complete research as part of their position. I believe we can ask our teachers and administrators to do the same.
We need to ensure that our professionals are learning from their mistakes and developing our children with modern techniques.
I know many teachers will hate this idea, That's ok -- STUDENT'S FIRST
Solution:
Require teachers and administrators to publish research at least once every 5 years.
Give annual prizes for the best research - Seek community endowments to fund prizes.
Terminate teachers and administrators who fail to meet the publication goal.
Waive requirement for educators while enrolled in Ph.D programs.
ISSUE - Classroom Accountability
A classroom is place for learning. When we allow students to cause disruptions in class, we are stopping the learning process. Accountability comes in many forms and is not limited to one group or class of people. Teachers need to be held accountable for the level of competency in their students. In every other profession, the manager is held accountable for their team. The teacher is the manager of the classroom.
We must also make the classroom conducive to learning. A classroom conducive to learning is one which does not tolerate disruptive students. Student's must be held accountable for their actions.
Too often blame is put only on one party; we must do a better job integrating teachers, students and parents early in the educational lifecycle. We can't afford to give up on our children.
Solution:
Develop metrics which fairly analyze the teacher / student relationship for academic performance.
Target disruptive students early - remediate, don't give up on their future.
Integrate more parents in the learning process.
Don't tolerate excuses for failure.
ISSUE - School Funding
Schools are funded by the County, State and Federal authorities. The County recieves the majority of the revenue to fund schools through the property and sales taxes. Schools have limited authority in budgetary matters because all money is requested from the County and not appropriated as part of their own revenue source. During good times, the County has money to meet the school's needs, during the bad times, the County has to reallocate resources away from the school system in order to meet the non-educational needs of the community. For the sake of our children, schools need to be separated from the County's Authority, giving autonomy to the voters and school board. We only have one chance to educate our children.
I know many bureaucrats will hate this idea, That's ok -- STUDENT'S FIRST
Solution:
Seek legislative approval to create a separate School Authority to transfer the revenue currently being collected by the County on behalf of the schools to the newly created Authority.
This would not raise current property taxes.
This would not increase the size of government - the infrastucture is already in place.
Any Property Tax increase requested by the Authority would need approval by the voters.
