Rushern Baker's Proposal to take over PGCPS

[Anonymous]

Can anyone explain to me exactly why this proposal is being made and what he intends to accomplish?

[Anonymous]

It's an empty threat. It won't go anywhere, though. He needs a change in state law and just introduced a bill this week, with only two weeks left in the legislative session. Late Bills like this go nowhere unless sponsored by the Senate president or Speaker of the House. Baker knows that.

[Anonymous]

PP are you sure about that? People seem to be taking it seriously.

[Anonymous]

I don't know for sure, of course. But I did work down there for over a decade (not anymore). Mike Busch is on record saying it won't face an easy time in the House. I think it will go through formal motions, because it's been introduced at the request of the PG County delegation, and warrants professional courtesy. I can't see how something like this could pass before Sine Die, which is April 8. Allowing one jurisdiction to make a hostile takeover of the school system opens the door for others to pursue it later. They have to be very careful on how they craft the bill (SB 1071). It requires much more time, analysis, and discussion. The Senate EHEA committee meeting is scheduled for 3/29. It could die in Committee then. But even it's reported favorably, the Senate has to pass it. Then the House has to assign it to committee all over again. Then pass it. But if it passes with amendments, different from the Senate version, it gets assigned to conference committee for them to hash out and agree on one version. That can take forever, and the clock is ticking fast.

This could be setting the stage for a real fight next session.

[Anonymous]

Interesting comments here from Senator Pinsky, who supports Baker's attempted takeover:


http://www.senatorpinsky.org/emailTemplate/board_reform.html

Our school system is very uneven: some schools work well and some, sadly, struggle with school leadership, student achievement and parental engagement and are dismal. We have many strong educators who work hard but face difficult circumstances including adequate resources, management obstacles, new and multiple instructional reforms, etc. Some of these problems are national in scope and some are purely local. We also have a high number of students coming from poverty; we have ground to make up and challenges to meet.

The shortage of people entering the education profession in our country has been well documented. The U.S. is not Finland, Singapore or South Korea, countries frequently lauded for their success and where the profession is respected and teacher salaries are much greater. The shortage issue is even greater in our county, given many contributing factors, including superintendent instability. When your applicant pool for school system jobs is small, you, out of necessity, become less selective; this is felt throughout the system, from principals to teachers to upper-level management.

We have seen our last two superintendents leave our schools, to a significant degree, because of their relationship with the Board of Education.

When the County Executive brought together a group of experts in education to provide advice to him, over a year and a half ago, some members of the Board of Education (BoE) expressed the view that he was 'undercutting -- and actually attacking -- the board.' The county executive's effort to be more informed was seen as threatening and, sadly, not embraced.

What followed seemed to be a 'circle the wagons' mentality with anyone who even offered advice, including the county executive, seen as attacking the board's domain.

Our elected Board of Education is made up of dedicated civic activists. They are not, and will generally acknowledge, experts in education policy; that is not a requirement. They work to represent the public in setting school policy. That being said, one assumes they would seek input from people with expertise. Unfortunately, that hasn't seemed to be the case. Assistance that has been offered has frequently been received reluctantly. It appears that when input is offered from someone outside the board, the board perceives it as simply another 'pushy outsider,' rather than an invested stakeholder; this includes the county executive, who actually funds the school board budget.

Hiring a leader to run a $1.5 billion organization, in this case, the school system, is an overwhelming responsibility and no easy task. Only two of the current board members have hired a superintendent and that was when they simply elevated the deputy superintendent, the 'number two,' into the top spot. Seven other school board members have never been through this process. The dearth of management experience in making this type of decision is indeed a concern.

As the search to find a new superintendent proceeded, it seemed this 'circle the wagons' mentality grew stronger. It was at this point, my personal frustration grew. The superintendent position is critically important to the organization and to our county at large.

One thing that most drives teachers crazy -- and frequently, to leave our schools -- is ineffective school principals. Principals set the schools' tone. They decide whether to set high expectations -- for students and staff. They are the ones who must have a courageous conversation with staff members who do not meet those expectations. They are the ones who are accountable to students, staff and parents. Being a principal is not an easy job. Additionally, and sadly, poor principals generally make poor staff hires; they also document underperformance poorly. All of this hurts children and impacts student achievement. That's why the hiring of a strong superintendent is so important. This leader is the one who sets expectations for principals -- and enforces those expectations. The wrong choice destines our schools to mediocrity, or worse.

At this point, I have more confidence in the county executive's willingness to gather input and make a selection than I do of the board's ability. Is there any one structure that has proven to be more effective when it comes to running a school system? An elected BoE vs. an appointed BoE? A superintendent who reports to the county executive or mayor rather than the school board? To my knowledge, no one governance approach has proven to make the difference.

Is there ever a 'right time' to take action? Of course not. Events frequently dictate that time. Would an extended conversation have been better? Of course. But we are faced with a situation where choices were limited. The county executive chose to step in. While I didn't agree with his original proposal, I believe he is listening to feedback and working to better shape his proposal, as I am. For example, I believe employee relations, including collective bargaining should be retained by the Board of Education and am optimistic that will prove to be the case.

For these reasons, I support the county executive's intervention and his response to the drop in confidence of our current Board of Education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's an empty threat. It won't go anywhere, though. He needs a change in state law and just introduced a bill this week, with only two weeks left in the legislative session. Late Bills like this go nowhere unless sponsored by the Senate president or Speaker of the House. Baker knows that.

Apparently it passed... in a modified version.

http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/04/rushern-baker-says-school-takeover-bill-is-a-good-compromise--87226.html

[Anonymous]

PG county resident here. I sincerely hope that this measure will help the school system.

I bought my house in my twenties. After being in the house for 12 years, I feel trapped in a crappy school district and with a house that I cannot sell. I have done major improvements with quality work but the uptick in market values, after the houseing bubble, have not reached my neighborhood yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PG county resident here. I sincerely hope that this measure will help the school system.

I bought my house in my twenties. After being in the house for 12 years, I feel trapped in a crappy school district and with a house that I cannot sell. I have done major improvements with quality work but the uptick in market values, after the houseing bubble, have not reached my neighborhood yet.

I think it will be a long time before the county recovers from the burst of the housing bubble, especially since it looks like they are starting to build again which will only keep down prices of existing homes. I feel trapped as well but trying to navigate as best as I can.

Generally I would not be in favor of such a measure, but after seeing the horrible options for superintendent, I am more than happy that they are holding the school board to the fire. Hopefully we can now get a decent option.

[Anonymous]

PP, I want to throw a box of rotten tomatoes at the PG County School board.

I have even contemplated walking away from my house. I feel like such a fool now because I was always the neighborhood welcome wagon and concerned citizen.

[Anonymous]

Same here but I need my credit score. There are some decent schools here but change county-wide is moving way too slow. After 7 supers in 14 years, I thought it was ridiculous to have 2 of the top three contenders be people who had not even been in their current jobs for more than a couple of years. I don't know what the school board was thinking. At least now we can start over with the search and hopefully get someone committed to staying with the county to make some much needed changes.

[Anonymous]

I agree that change needs to happen, and I'm not thrilled with the school board. But I really don't have much confidence that Baker will do any good. And in fact, I fear that he will do even more damage, making changes that will hurt the handful of schools that are actually doing well.

A big part of the problem with the county school system is cultural. Until those issues are addressed, I wouldn't hold my breath for dramatic change.

[Anonymous]

Spoke with a real estate agent today and I am slightly under water in my house (10k). It is so discouraging that there are no options in this county for a decent education. My local school is Chavez and catholic school is out for religious reasons. Ugh, I hate the county.

[Anonymous]

My community has banded together in an effort to make our public school better. While our neighborhood's children range from toddlers to early school age, we have decided we will all be involved- as involved as it takes- to make our school better. This is an investment not only in our children's future but also our community.

Maybe talking to some of your neighbors and getting involved would be the difference?

[Anonymous]

PP zoned to Chavez, if you are just needing something for kinder to buy a year so you can figure out your options, I think St. Matthew's Episcopal in Hyattsville offers kindergarten. I'm assuming you're wanting secular or more liberal than the Catholic school options. I have no idea about the quality of the program, but it would be an alternative to the Catholic parish schools. Friends Community School would be the other nearby(ish) option. There are also some Montessori programs out in Bowie, but that may be completely the wrong direction from wherever you work. There's also Fairhaven, which is a trek, but it is secular. It's a Sudbury school which is pretty extreme on the educational philosophy spectrum.

I agree with the last poster though. Talk to your neighbors. If you have a good core group of parents coming in together committed to making an impact I think that can make a huge difference.

[Anonymous]

Chavez poster here. Thanks for all the helpful suggestions. I did connect with a few families in the neighborhood this weekend. Our numbers are really low.

I took a few minutes to walk around the school grounds and there is a lot of work that needs to be done. The school really needs a corporate partner. Realistically, this project will take years before it is attractive to the new families moving to the neighborhood. Chavez needs tons of love.