A Fairy Tale – by Ken Hoover
Once upon a time, in the Kingdomof Shelby, there were two large school districts. The biggest district had the lowest test scores in the land. There were many tales of wasted money and management problems. The smaller (but still very large) school district was doing okay, ranked 23rd out of 135 districts. Almost all of the very large school districts in all of the nearby kingdoms struggled as well. The wise men said “Their very large size is a disadvantage.”
A great wizard suggested that we improve the large school district by consolidating it with the smaller district. The wise men asked, “How will this help?” They wondered how getting even larger would help the district get better. “It’s magic” replied the wizard.
And so, the two school districts were combined. None of the children learned more; some of the children learned less. The consolidated district used more of the kingdom’s treasure. Many of the subjects moved to other kingdoms. However, the subjects who remained had unity and they lived happily ever after.
The Debate
The debate about municipal schools is jelling into two central positions. The municipal movement rests upon the idea that a 150,000 student school district is too large to manage. Four decades of research shows that smaller districts serve students better. The cost effectiveness of smaller districts is an added bonus.
“Sheer size is one problem. Central office staffs are large, highly specialized, and remote from the schools, so that superintendents and board members deal with education only indirectly and through policy rather than through direct contact.” Educational Progress by RAND Corporation – 1990
Most residents ofGermantownare convinced that the absolute best structure for their school children is a municipal school district. The same is true for the other suburban municipalities. The size of these majorities will be measured in the referendums each city will hold.
The argument against municipal schools boils down to unity. A recent Commercial Appeal article gives a glimpse of the unity argument presented by several members of the Transition Planning Commission. (http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2011/oct/28/schools-transition-commission-shares-hopes-fears-a/)
“And the county wins really big if our city school kids are educated better because we all are in one pot.” – Staley Cates
”If we don’t worry about the entire area, this community … will die slowly, but it will die.” – John Smarrelli
The central theme of the unity argument is noble – we must all work together for the greater good. Nonetheless, the unity philosophy has serious gaps in its logic.
Pull Together
A supporting argument for the unity position is “If we all pull together, we can make things better.” Proponents of municipal schools are viewed as separatists who are abandoning the most vulnerable students. What is never explained is exactly how suburban residents can contribute to improving city schools. Parental involvement is overwhelmingly at the school level. Do we expect Collierville parents to attend Ridgeway High PTA meetings? Are we askingBartlettparents to volunteer at Airways Middle? Will city students be more diligent in their homework if the name of their district changes? The answer to all of these is clearly “No”.
Still, there is a belief that forming a municipal school district shows a lack of concern for other areas. A deep concern for my neighborhood school does not indicate indifference about other schools. It does indicate a realism regarding how far my influence extends.
Parent and community engagement at the district level is limited in the best of circumstances. There are very few opportunities to volunteer at the central office. Only occasionally does a school board issue generate significant public comment. The influence of parents and stakeholders on board activities declines sharply as school district size increases. A mega district will strongly discourage parental engagement at the district level.
Schools thrive when parents and communities are engaged and ‘own’ their schools. That sense of ownership cannot be delegated to a distant neighborhood.
Greater Good
Suburban residents are asked to “look beyond your selfish interests to the greater good.” A significant percentage ofGermantownresidents would be willing to make some sacrifices in order to benefit other areas of the county. That is not the proposition on the table.
Germantownparents are being asked to join a mega district structure that has a long history of underperforming. There is no promise or even expectation that this sacrifice will be rewarded with improved student performance anywhere in the county. There is a very reasonable expectation that this structure will lower student achievement and increase costs. These have been the results in other areas; areas where the districts being consolidated were much smaller than we have here. At 150,000 students, the penalties of scale will be much more severe for us.
Who can support sacrifice for the greater bad?
Unity
In the consolidation discussion, unity of purpose is being redefined as unity of organization. Every school district inTennesseeshares the same goal of excellence in education. They succeed in varying degrees based on a wide range of factors. We don’t need a mega district in order to understand what educational failures inMemphismean to the entire region. Clearly, we MUST find ways to improve outcomes forMemphisstudents. Researchers and the top two educators inShelbyCountyagree, a mega district will make it harder to improve outcomes, not easier.
True unity cannot be imposed. Unity is recognition of shared interests. Improvement in our schools IS a shared interest. A mega district works against our shared interests.
Puzzles
It is not surprising thatArlington,Bartlett, Collierville, andGermantownare seeking to take ownership of public education. The question is, why aren’t Whitehaven, Frayser, Cordova, andEast Memphismoving to take ownership of their neighborhood schools? THAT is the path to radically improved education inShelbyCounty.
It is also surprising that small school districts are opposed by much ofMemphiswhile charter schools are well accepted. A charter school is a school district consisting of one school. The principal benefits of a charter school (and small school districts) are programs tailored to the population served and freedom from the bureaucracy that goes with large school districts. Memphistoday has 26 school districts; one traditional district and 25 charter schools. For some reason, charter schools are welcome but a second, third, or fourth traditional district is highly undesirable.
