Columbus Board of Education meetings aren’t exactly Must-See-TV, but Monday night’s meeting is shaping up to be a doozie.
On the table are budget cuts, a parting gift from outgoing Superintendent Gene Harris. The cuts call for the loss of 103 teaching positions and another 95 teaching assistants… plus a shortened school day and reductions in busing service. It all adds up to a critical mass of very angry parents and teachers.
Given that four of the school board members consistently approve Harris’s recommendations, things look bleak for teachers and parents.
But things look even bleaker for the Board of Education itself. Permitting the superintendent to make these particular cuts will destroy any public confidence in the competence of board governance.
Back in 2012, the Board of Education could make these sorts of destructive decisions, without experiencing backlash. It’s a new year: the mayor’s Education Commission has been formed and the new group has announced that the next topic for consideration is whether elected school-board-governance is a good idea for Columbus.
The commission has already looked at the board’s choices regarding school funding, and it’s not pretty. Consider this table from the Columbus Education Commission. It shows a long, condemning record of disproportionate cuts to teaching staff.
In the last eight years, teaching staff has been cut by 26%, while administrative staff has been cut by only 15%. If the board permits the superintendent to make the next cuts as she has suggested, it affirms this destructive path.
Of course, if the board ignores the teachers and the parents again, it will be the best gift anyone could ever give the Education Commission. The decision will convince teachers, parents and voters that the Board of Education is incapable of making good decisions for students… and the Education Commission stands ready to take control of the schools and rescue the voters from the disappointment of elected leadership.
The public can observe the meeting live on Monday, March 11 at the Columbus Education Center, 270 East State Street, in the Assembly Room, at 6 p.m.
*Also worth watching this week is the Educate Columbus website (www.educatecolumbus.org). The author, Stephanie Groce (former Board of Education member), is working on an in-depth analysis of the budget process at Columbus City Schools.
CLICK HERE for more ongoing information and discussion on the Columbus Education Commission.