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I have a confession — I’m scared to death.
If you’re reading this space and care more about kids’ education than money, I imagine you’re concerned, too.
I know at least one other person out there isn’t afraid to admit he’s scared. Bluffton High School principal Steve Baker is “very concerned” about what is happening now in Indianapolis and the impact it is going to have on Indiana public education in the years to come.
Legislators are expected to go back to the Statehouse next month to pass a budget since they failed to do so by the end of April. Gov. Mitch Daniels is expected to suggest a budget that is more angular that the one drafted during the regular session — which some House Democrats fear means cuts in education and job creation.
It’s hard to say how public schools will fare once lawmakers pass a budget, but there is much to be concerned about these days because of what’s coming out of Indianapolis from the governor’s office and the new superintendent of public instruction’s lips.
We have editorialized before, for example, that we have no qualms with the new mandate to make sure students are in the classroom for 180 days. That’s a good idea and one we support. But there is more to consider.
For some school districts, that mandate essentially means they will have to get rid of parent-teacher conferences and professional development for staff members. The state has dealt a crippling blow to public education by essentially doing away with these opportunities.
And then last week Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett announced the creation of a Graduation Rate Performance Program. Indiana high schools who achieve the biggest graduation rate increases by next spring might receive up to $20,000. The money would be divided among the school’s principal and select staff members. The new program will award 10 high schools that have 300 students or more with $20,000 each, and $10,000 a piece to two high schools with enrollments under 300. The principal can get up to $5,000 for his personal use and the rest will be split among the school’s staff. Bennett told the Associated Press schools shouldn’t divide the money equally but instead the cash should go to staff members who get the best results.
“This is whoever the principal and the district superintendent believe are the key contributors to improving graduation rates. We want to award performance. We want to pay for results,” Bennett was quoted as saying in an AP article.
Wells County schools will likely never see a dime of this money. Our graduation rates for 2008 at all three public schools were between 86 percent and 93 percent — above Indiana’s five-year rate of 77 percent.
Indiana’s public schools who are doing a good job such as those right here in Wells County are again being ostracized for getting the job done.
The new graduation program, however, has some serious flaws and we fear it will divide teachers because when it comes right down to it, this program is merit pay. What about those teachers at elementary and middle schools who play a key role in preparing students for high school?
We need to encourage schools who have 40 percent graduation rates and help them, but is merit pay the way?
For quite some time, the three R’s of education were reading, writing and arithmetic. But those have changed to rigor, relevance and relationships with the latter being the key to achieving the other two. Creating small classrooms in which teachers and administrators can build and enhance relationships with their students is the key to rigor, relevance, success and higher graduation rates. There’s no need for merit pay, just common sense.
But in many districts across the state, including those here in Wells County, the state is making this much more difficult to achieve. Teachers are being cut from our schools, programs are disappearing and class sizes are increasing. We are doing just the opposite of what we should be doing because of what’s coming out of Indianapolis. Yes, we love lower property taxes, but that money is coming off the backs of schools and kids.
We also have a flawed state funding formula used to determine how much money each school receives per child. While the average is around $5,712, there are some schools who receive more or less than that amount. The current funding formula disregards accountability and in essence denies equal access to all children.
If an apology is necessary, here it is. I’m sorry that it takes money to educate our children, but it does and that is what money is for: to help people, especially kids.
Principal Baker said it best over the weekend:
“It’s (money) not to sit in a surplus; it’s not to use for political gain; it’s not so we can become more wealthy. It’s to help raise the next generation. They are taking money away from (schools and students) and they don’t have a clue what they are doing when they do that. They don’t know how much they are hurting the people that need it the most.”
As a state, we have lost touch with the crux of education — making a difference in students’ lives. We have focused too much on negative statistics and money. If we continue to make decisions based on what is best financially and not best for students, public education is doomed. Maybe that is the goal of some folks in Indianapolis, but it’s not the will of most Hoosiers. There is more good than bad in public schools, and shame on those who can’t see this fact or choose to conceal it.
Schools such as those in Wells County will continue to get the job done in spite of Indianapolis, but at some point in the near future, we are going to find ourselves in a dire predicament unless we demand change.
Wells County, it’s time for an uproar. It’s time to say enough is enough. We’ve felt the impact of program cuts and our kids will suffer next year. Don’t sit idly by and don’t swallow these cuts hook, line and sinker.
Contact your representatives, the governor’s office and the state superintendent of public instruction’s office. Let’s bring back some pride in what we do in schools.
The future of education will be whatever we make it.
--JUSTIN PEEPER
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