District Administration - August 2009 - (Page 26)

Tell It to the Mayor had a $12.2 million annual deficit, he lobbied his U.S. senators. The district received substantial federal grants, including one for $9 million over three years, and he lobbied the state legislature for millions more. “I’ve been a superintendent for 25 years, and you don’t have access to these seats of power like a mayor does,” Kohn says. Reed told Kohn to hire the staff that he wanted. Only two of 16 principals remain from before the mayoral takeover, Kohn says. “And we’ve really sunk resources into teaching and administrative staff,” he adds. The city also opened a college prep high school six years ago, and Kohn says all of this year’s graduates are headed to college on scholarship. The overall graduation rate has increased by 141 percent to 428 students this year from an original class of 750 ninth-graders, and the number accepted to two- or four-year colleges has climbed to 280, an almost 400 percent increase. Kohn, who still meets up to three hours, three times weekly with the mayor, functions as a liaison between the school district and the city. “It works because I have one person to work with and convince—and in private—rather than seven or nine people with different agendas,” Kohn says. Hybrid Mayors Mayor David N. Cicillline also controls Providence (R.I.) Public School District. Other districts, such as those in Hartford, Conn., New Haven, Conn., Nashville, Tenn., and Trenton, N.J., are not under observes Kenneth Wong, who directs Brown University’s Urban Education Policy Program. “Schools can be very controversial, and there are a lot of well-established interests in school districts, from parents to community groups.” “i’ve been a superintendent for 25 years, and you don’t have access to these seats of power like a mayor does.” —Gerald Kohn, superintendent of schools, harrisburg (pa.) school District mayor control per se, but the mayor is involved in either appointing school board members or school reform commissions that then set policy; he may even be a school board member himself. The School District of Philadelphia is under state control, with five members of the School Reform Commission appointed by the governor and mayor, who make decisions with the superintendent on school operations. Detroit, which had mayoral control of schools from 1999 to 2005, is considering it again at Secretary Duncan’s urging. But a growing number of cities nationwide have considered mayoral control and have backed off, including Los Angeles, Albuquerque, and Rockford, Ill. “Many mayors see more risk than opportunity,” Milwaukee’s Great Debate Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett admits that he’s even had to avoid the term “mayoral control” when pushing school reform in his city. “I think it’s safe to say that the mayor has gotten more involved in the educational debate,” he offers. That debate heated up when the city’s business community commissioned a study of other school districts operating under mayoral control and when Barrett himself hired the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. to audit the finances of the Milwaukee Public Schools. The McKinsey report, released early this year, found that the district could save more than $100 million annually by implementing better management practices in areas such as employee benefits, busing, Parental DisaPProval The Commission on sChool GovernAnCe, CreATeD by The inDepenDenT new york City public advocate’s office, was critical in its report last year of the limited opportunity for parental participation in the mayorally controlled school system. “parents and communities are frustrated with the lack of effective channels for expressing policy preferences, registering concerns, and acquiring information,” the report proclaimed. Chancellor Joel Klein, who remains head of the school system following a vote by the reconstituted board of education, says he plans to make some adjustments. “There’s an ongoing discussion about getting parents involved,” he says, “and making sure their needs are addressed, making sure that there are systems where parents can go to get problems resolved if they haven’t been able to resolve them at their children’s schools.” The public advocate’s report was more specific in what would make the most difference, including “well-publicized” monthly public meetings by nyC’s panel on educational policy (the city’s equivalent of a school board). To connect better with parents and pTAs, the commission also recommended reinstating the system of more local community superintendents and strengthening Community District education Councils. 26 August 2009 District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - August 2009

District Administration - August 2009
Contents
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Standards & Assessment
Stimulus Monitor
Admin Profile
District Profile
Tell It to the Mayor
Fighting Fraud in Schools
Recovery High Schools
Keeping the Community in the Know
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
Problem Solution
Tech Disruptions
New Products
Product Focus
Professional Opinion

District Administration - August 2009