School Board Candidates Forum

Last night the Decatur Township Civic Council held its School Board Candidates Night. To my knowledge, this is the only forum on School Board issues before the election in one week. Here is my take on the main points that were discussed.

All five candidates were in attendance, but Cathy Wiseman, running unopposed in District 1, declined to participate in the forum and answer the voters' questions - although she did kibitz from time to time from the audience. All four District 3 candidates participated for a full hour of questions; incumbents Dale Henson and Judy Collins and challengers Natalie Coffey and Bobby Hire.

It was clear that all four are sincere people - but with very different takes on how the School District is doing.

Communication - The challengers felt that the School Board meetings needed to be changed. Coffey noted that the public cannot tell what is being discussed, have no detailed information on what items are even on the agenda, and that the public is "afraid to speak". Hire mentioned that the Board should do a better job of presenting what issues are being discussed, echoing Coffey's point that the public in attendance at the meeting cannot tell what is being discussed because of the way the Board is conducting its business. He suggested that comments could be taken during the course of the meeting, perhaps giving time limits to those who wished to comment.

The incumbents saw little problem with keeping the School board meetings as they are now. Collins expressed surprise that the public is afraid to speak up at these meetings. While both Coffey and Hire voiced interest in giving the public more opportunity to know what was being discussed at the meeting and a better format for the agenda to accommodate the public comments, the incumbents felt the meeting was 'their' meeting and 'it has always been done this way'. Collins suggested that perhaps they needed more public question meetings like those held recently, but noted that she would not change the regular meeting format, otherwise they'd "be there all night". Henson noted that they "seem to work alright".

I would say that the School Board meeting hasn't always been conducted this way. The public use to got responses from the Board members. And, I would add also, that if the current format of the Board meeting does not serve the public interest, then it needs to be changed. The public is speaking loud and clear that communication is not what it needs to be both between the Board and the public and the District and the public. I was not convinced last night that the incumbents yet get that point.

Graduation Rate -- The graduation rate and how to improve it came up several times during the evening. For those who do not know, the graduation rate since 2006 to 2009 has steadily been declining - from 81% to 73%. Meanwhile, the State average has been increasing steadily - from 78% to 82%. The incumbents blamed the formula for calculating graduation rates as it does not allow for inclusion of students who graduate after 5 years of high school. Henson wants the public to wait another 3 to 4 years to see an improvement in graduation rates because of changes the Board is implementing now. Collins mentioned that full day Kindergarten has caused the curriculum in first grade to be beefed up and that in turn has led to the curriculum in second grade to be beefed up and that eventually that will improve graduation rates.

The incumbents put a premium on improving graduation rates. Coffey noted that attendance rates decrease with increasing grade level and that we are not matching state standards or state averages on that score, either. She said that kids are being left behind, that we must get the teachers rehired and drop the class sizes. Hire echoed that the teachers need to get rehired because increasing class size makes it more difficult on the students and on the teachers delivering a quality education.

I would chime in that the other schools in this state have found a way to improve graduation rates NOW and maybe we need to ask what they are doing, rather than waiting 3-4 more years or, heaven forbid, waiting 10 more years for what we are doing to pay off in improved graduation rates. As for the formula for calculating the rate, all school districts are using the same formula so it does not put Decatur at a disadvantage at all. Its just another excuse.

Selling Property -- The topic of selling excess property brought a range of opinions from the candidates. Coffey thought that the Board should take a serious look at selling the property and how much of a loss would be taken on a sale. Collins doesn't want to sell any property, saying it is a one shot infusion of money and "what if you need to build an elementary down the road". Hire thought the property should definitely be sold so that the District can get the teachers back to work and that "you've got to sell the property to take care of the problem". Henson said no to selling the land, but was interested in selling the former Concentra Building - indicating that the District is actively looking for a buyer.

You all know I think we should sell the excess property, even if we lose money on the deal. This is a tough financial time for the district and this money will help get us through the worst of it. Its all about priorities. The Board didn't care that they were overpaying for the properties when they bought them. Now they are pretending to be prudent by not selling them for a loss. As for a one shot infusion of funds - true. And now is exactly when we need that infusion. We have been told that $3 m of the cuts are a one time deal - so there is some parity with a one time sale to fix a one time cut.

Class Size -- All candidates expressed a desire to get all of the RIFed teachers back on the job as soon as possible. The incumbents both mentioned that the Board had "charged" the Administration with not laying off any teachers. No mention was made as to how they evaluate his performance on this point. Collins that we just need to cut funds, that there are only so many dollars, and that we should "run the course" and "we'll get through this". Henson said he didn't want to see class size get any larger than it is today. He said they have already recalled 13 of the 61 RIFed teachers and will be bringing back even more. Even so, he said his calculations show that, in the worst case, class size would rise by only about 5 students and he doesn't agree with the figure of 49 students per class that has been mentioned by others.

Coffey said that smaller class sizes work for educating the kids and that all available funds need to be applied to rehiring the teachers. Hire noted that any time you have smaller class sizes, the kids will learn better and that we need to get the teachers back to work as soon as possible.

My two cents is that class size will rise if only because Lynwood is closing as an elementary school and there is no extra classrooms for the two dozen teachers there. Add to that the 23 retirement and the 61 RIFs and you will have a calamity - no matter what calculations you do. It is good that 13 teachers have been recalled, but we must not close Lynwood as an elementary and we must recall the remaining RIFed teachers. Again, $3 m was the savings goal the Board gave to Stinson - the Concentra building alone could bring that amount in and we will have bought at least one year of saving our class sizes with that one step.

There were other questions asked and answered. Overall I would repeat that all candidates were sincere. But, it is obvious that the incumbents still don't get the anger and frustration of the public, are not engaged in independent review of the Administration's job performance, not responsive to the public, and therefore are not looking to make the improvements that are so very much needed in this District.

The election is in one week. Talk with your neighbors and friends, make time to get to the polls or vote early, and lets wake up May 5 with a new Board of Education in Decatur Township.