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March 21, 2007

A different kind of schoolyard bully

Jumping into the growing debate over mayoral takeovers, USA Today ran this article on its front page about the push. BoardBuzz has covered the story in the past in Los Angeles, here, here, and here, as well as in Washington, D.C. here and here, and Hartford here.

We're starting to think that these mayors are more interested in seeking the limelight, looking to further their political careers, and maybe, just maybe getting their hands on the very large budgets that school boards control, than actually working together with school boards to improve the situation. It's tantamount to saying, "If you can't play my way, I'm taking my toys and going home!" Jumping on the mayoral takeover bandwagon is Albuquerque's Mayor Martin Chavez, who is pushing the New Mexico legislature to approve his plan.

USA Today points out, "The push for mayoral control reflects rising frustration and desperation over poor student achievement, crumbling buildings, bureaucratic wrangling among school officials and revolving-door superintendents." Ah, but in the case of Washington, D.C., a newly elected, forward thinking school board led by Robert Bobb hasn't even been given a chance at reform. The article goes on to note,

But education specialists continue to debate whether kids really get a better education under such arrangements, whether any academic gains will be permanent, and how much credit mayors should get for the successes.

Kenneth Wong, a Brown University education professor, examined test scores of the 100 largest school districts from 1999 to 2003. He found that students in mayor-controlled school systems often perform better than those in other urban systems. Test scores in mayor-run districts are rising "significantly," he says.

However, Wong says in his study that "there is still a long way to go before (mayor-controlled) districts achieve acceptable levels of achievement."

On the other hand, Frederick Hess of the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington think tank, says his review of previous studies finds that it's "inconclusive" whether mayors can raise test scores more than elected school boards.

And the beat goes on. Tell us what you think.

Posted March 21, 2007 5:32 PM | School Boards

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