- Posted by David on January 20, 2012
Well, duh, what do you think I, as a 3-term member of the Worthington Ohio Board of Education would say? Further, duh, how do you think the National School Board Association [NSBA] would answer that question? However, the NSBA poses the question and then answers it. Food for thought or, as one of my esteemed colleagues on the Board might term it: a philosophical question. Would school districts be better run by another source? The Mayor? City Counsel? The Superintendent [sans a Board]? Someone else [every district is full of closet Superintendents who just KNOW that if they were in charge the Angels would sing, budgets would balance, teachers would be happy, children would learn unencumbered by political agendas…if only they were in charge] Anyway, here is what the NSBA has to say on this topic:
Why School Boards?
Five Reasons for Local Control of Public Education
Are school boards necessary?
Should the present governance structure of our nation’s public schools remain in place?
The answer to both questions is, unequivocally, yes.
No one questions why planning boards, municipal governments, and state legislatures exist. And yet, some people advocate turning over control of school governance to those same bodies, saying we should let someone else take charge of the future of our children’s future.
School boards, elected or appointed by their communities, represent the community’s beliefs and values. Who better than these community representatives to shoulder the responsibility for preparing children to live productive and satisfying lives?
Consider these five reasons that the school board, which represents your community’s beliefs and values, should be the decision maker in today’s schools:
- Your school board looks out for children – first and foremost. Education is not a line item in your school board’s budget – it is the only item.
- Your school board is the advocate for your community when decisions are made about your children’s education. The school board represents the public’s voice in public education, providing citizen governance for what the public schools need and what the community wants.
- Your school board sets the standard for achievement in your district, incorporating the community’s view of what students should know and be able to do at each grade level. Your school board also is responsible for working with the superintendent to establish a valid process for measuring student success and, when necessary, shifting resources to ensure that the district’s goals are achieved.
- Your school board is accessible to you and accountable for the performance of the schools in your district. If the schools are not producing, it is your right as a voter to select new board members who will see to it that your students and your schools succeed.
- Your school board is your community’s education watchdog, ensuring that taxpayers get the most for their tax dollars. Public education is a $423 billion business. In the majority of districts, school boards have taxing authority. That direct oversight – and responsibility – should not be given to politicians whose first priority is something other than education.
- Posted by David on January 9, 2012
Should school board members be held to the same standards as other members of the community who have access to the school buildings. Heck yes! Now, about that speeding ticket. I have long contended that if we want to model behavior for the kids, we should model it fully and not half a loaf. Just like drug testing, if we want to drug test our kids the adults should lead! Bet that won’t happen. Do as I say, not as I do. Anyway, interesting read below. David A. Bressman
According to a New Jersey Department of Education (NJDE) official, approximately 350 local school board members across the state must resign their positions immediately after failing to complete a criminal background check now mandated by state law, says The Star Ledger. The mandate, which is unique to New Jersey, was imposed by legislation enacted in 2011. It is designed to hold school board members to the same standards that prevent criminals from becoming public school teachers, including drug possession or criminal mischief offenses. Failure to comply with the law also carries criminal penalties, if the board members refuse to step down from office.
Board members in good standing are expected to police their colleagues, said NJDE spokesman Richard Vespucci, though it’s unclear how they or the state will handle disgruntled, ineligible officials who refuse to walk away or how the process will play out. “You can’t sit on your school board if you didn’t submit the background check,” Vespucci said. “It’s the local board members’ responsibility to ensure that doesn’t happen.” Ineligible officials who appear at school board meetings and attempt to vote could be arrested, Green said. There is no process to appeal ineligibility or disqualification under the law, which earned unanimous support from the state Legislature before Gov. Chris Christie signed it in May.
The state expects to notify all ineligible board members of their status in writing by week’s end and will release the names of those individuals and the districts they serve at that time, Vespucci said. The state sent letters to board members over the summer and again in early December notifying them of the requirement.
Of the state’s 4,702 non-charter school board members, 189 failed to submit their background checks by the end-of-year deadline. In addition, nine members from districts including Plainfield and Long Hill who did submit the check have been disqualified for past crimes. Noncompliance among board of trustee members at charter schools is much higher. One quarter of all charter school board officials, or 165 of 597 trustees, did not submit their criminal history reviews and are ineligible to continue serving their school communities. In addition, three trustees have been disqualified for past crimes.
Confusion among school officials about when to submit the criminal history review may have lowered the rate of compliance, said Frank Belluscio, spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association. “There was a serious communications gap earlier this year,” Belluscio said. “Along the way, the urgency of the matter was lost.”
Kathy Christie, vice president of the nonprofit Education Commission of the States, said it is fairly common for states to have ethics and nepotism provisions, but “background checks appear to be rare.” The commission analyses similarities among state education laws and policies. Elsewhere in the nation, an Illinois law requires employees of Chicago’s school board to submit a criminal background check. A Minnesota law prevents sex offenders from being school board candidates. And a Georgia law bars school board members from working in the bail bond business.
Source: The Star-Ledger, 1/5/12, By Jessica Calefati
- Posted by David on December 30, 2011
Stays For A's Package
The Ohio State Park Lodges & Conference Centers congratulate students and families for all their hard work during the school year. For every "A" that a student receives on his or her report card, the Ohio State Park Lodges and Conference Centers will discount $10 off our published room rate up to a $50.00 per night discount.
Please visit the property Websites to learn more.
Reservations are accepted up to one year in advance. Rate is only available on select rooms. Reservation restrictions and blackout dates may apply. Offer is subject to availability and only one report card per room may be applied for discount. Please present a current valid, original report card upon check-in. A maximum of $50 discount per night will be applied. Consideration will be given for report cards not using letter grades.
http://www.ohiostateparklodges.com/stay-s-for-a-s-7947.html
- Posted by David on December 28, 2011
The family of Phoebe Prince, the South Hadley teenager who took her own life after being relentlessly bullied, received $225,000 from the girl’s school district, according to a copy of the settlement.
The settlement was made public today, four days after a Hampshire Superior Court judge ruled in favor of a Slate reporter who filed a lawsuit to force the town to release the records.
Prince, a 15-year-old transfer student from Ireland, hanged herself in her family home in January 2010, and her death fueled a national call to stop bullying in schools.
In July 2010, Prince’s parents, Jeremy Prince and Anne O’Brien, filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination that alleged the South Hadley Public Schools failed to protect Prince from discrimination.
They withdrew the complaint in November 2010, after they reached an agreement with the town. The amount of the settlement was never revealed.
Backed by the American Civil Liberties Union, Emily Bazelon, a reporter and editor for Slate, an online magazine, filed a lawsuit in Superior Court on Dec. 2, after she had made numerous requests for details of the settlement.
“This is a victory for the public’s right to know and for transparency in government,” said Bill Newman, Bazelon’s lawyer and director of the ACLU’s Western Massachusetts Legal Office in Northampton. “The Court’s decision highlights the importance of transparency in government at all levels.”
Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com.
- Posted by David on December 22, 2011
The Council of Chief State School Officers released the following statement: International benchmarking is crucial for the U.S. to remain
competitive on a global scale. U.S. eighth graders were significantly outscored by peers in five nations in mathematics and nine nations in science. In response,
the Ohio Department of Education is currently conducting research utilizing TIMMS, PIRLS, and PISA data as well as other primary documents to further inform policy and practice. Parents and educators may go to the Ohio Department of Education website and type the words international benchmarking into the search box to view this international benchmarking research.