So many people hold city government responsible for the condition of the Chester Upland School District. But you never hear CUSD officials reaching out for city help.
Why not?
Because they are highly paid and highly educated professionals who handle their own business their way.
I’m sure the school district loves Mayor Butler because he takes so much of the blame for the troubles with the schools which should be directed toward the highly paid and highly educated professionals in the school district.
Remember when the mayor and city council agree to a pay cut for budget reasons? The school district increased pay of some of their staff despite budget cuts.
When the city renegotiates old loans at better rates to save a half million dollars, the school district’s highly paid and highly educated professionals left a million dollars on the table because they didn’t know that they needed to find a new superintendent.
When the city had money problems and agreed to accept state assistance, they have thrived financially and will soon be back on their own. When the school district was forced to accept state control, they have not improved student performance and the financial situation is worse.
Obviously, the state isn’t making the day to day decisions on curriculum and other important matters that occur in the classroom. That’s left to the highly paid and highly educated professional that run the school district.
Yet, so many people expect that city government should come to the school district’s rescue and step between the highly paid and highly educated educators, and the state government.
Neither of them report to city government. So, what’s the point? The city doesn’t have highly paid and highly educated educators.
But if the city did decide to step in, would you accept less cops on the street so the city can hire some education experts to deal with the education experts on Madison?
Sorry, but City Hall ain’t the place for education reform in Chester. I know you want it to be their job, but sending the mayor or police chief to the school superintendent’s office won’t change a thing.
Instead of beating up city government for what’s going wrong in the school district, y’all need to confront the school district’s highly paid and highly educated leaders, confront your State Rep, confront your State Senator, and take a trip to your State Capitol building.
Good point! The mayor does a good job of taking the heat for the school district's "heads" instead of holding them accountable so that they are forced to make better decisions. If I remember didn't the mayor have a hand in getting the school district $10 back in school funding (his words), so he takes the blame for the wrong of the district and gets back $10 for funding. Man, you are preaching to the wrong choir. You should be talking to the mayor for sending mixed signals. Because if he takes the blame all he is doing is helping to maintain the same ol' destructive revolving door that the board "heads" have created. How does the district get better if he takes the blame and the right people aren't held accountable. Now, if our mayor had a direct relationship with our local state senator (like we know he does), who by the was is the senate majority leader why wouldn't we want him to use his relationships to make the school district better. With the state of our city we needs our elected officials to go above and beyond. So, you made a good point with this article albeit, it was counterproductive to the point that you were trying to make. Remember, "All politics is local"!
ReplyDeleteYou are a very good journalist/blogger, Stefan, I really like and appreciate your work. But, with you be of so few if not the only blogger who speaks on the issues of the city; you are holding your readers back by endorsing Mayor Butler so vehemently. We need the whole story, not the half that makes Butler look appealing. Integrity will matter for you more down the line than your endorsement for any candidate. Like you said they didn't even ask for any endorsement. We support you not The Butler Team or Linder & Company! You should help us to make an informed decision, not a bias decision.
ReplyDeleteHow do you hold someone accountable if you have no jurisdiction over them?
ReplyDeleteThat's like saying that i hold my neighbor responsible for cutting his grass becuase I want my block to look good even though I have no juristriction on when he starts his mower.
It sounds like everyone wants the mayor to make it look like he's doing something about the schools...put on a show for people...get publicly angry at what's going on over there...wave a finger in their face.
Maybe that will make people think he's doing something about the schools despite the fact that he can't do nothing about the schools.
He's not a guy who puts on a good show. He picks his battles. The school district is not one he can win.
But if the mayor could do something about the schools, what do you suggest he do?
To anonymous Oct 22 11:39am.
ReplyDeleteI can't speak for everybody. But I can post everybody's submissions, comments, complaints, and concerns.
Where are the Linder supporters? If they are reading this blog, they are certainly silent in their comments and rebuttals.
I'll post anything anyone sends me.
This is not the Stefan Roots blog. This is the Chester City Blog. If Chester City chooses not to participate, what's a guy to do?
Come on LInder supporters. You don't need your own blog. Bring it here.
STEP UP! BE HEARD!
Ok, but are you saying that the mayor is helping by taking the blame that should be place on the leaders of the school district. By him not taking the blame and directing residents who to take their complaints and issues to; that act alone is holding someone accountable. And that's not much to do, but when you take the blame and the person who is wrong doesn't, how will they get better and how will the system ever get better. Like someone said at the school board meeting, The Gov. is to blame for the school funding getting cut, but this last incident with $1 being held b/c they didn't appoint another superintendent is their fault directly. Now, let me ask you this, if Mayor Butler took blame for that would it help or hurt our students? Let me answer, it would hurt. So, by him not taking blame and helping the residents direct it to the correct party is him holding the district accountable. Since they are separate entities there would be no conflict and he would also be serving his people who put him in office. Whether it be Butler or Linder, this question should be raised.
ReplyDeleteIt’s not a matter of him taking blame. It’s the fact that people are blaming him. There is a big difference between the two.
ReplyDeletePeople blame the mayor for the problems with the schools. People expect the mayor to provide solutions to solve the school’s problems. I think we both understand that he can suggest whatever he likes but the decisions are made by the CUSD, not city government.
Are you saying that since people don’t understand that point, it’s the mayor’s responsibility to educated them? That’s an interesting concept.
After all this time, you’d think most people would know better already.
But everyday, people say that they don’t like the mayor because the schools are so bad. Either they don’t understand who runs the schools, or they just want to make him the bad guy.
Either way, the school district folks have a lot of the community's anger deflected through City Hall.
Don't we all wish there was someone else that people could get mad at when we make mistakes or do a bad job instead of having to confront us? That would be cool.
Before I moved back to the city of Chester in 2009, I wrote to the superintendent of schools because I was concerned about the level of education. When I lived in Chester, I took my kids out of the schools and homeschooled them (when it wasn't popular) because I was very unsatisfied with the education CUSD offered (or lack thereof). Now that I'm back, my children are in cyber school.
ReplyDeleteIt is not city government who has a responsibility for CUSD. It is the school board and the parents. CUSD has been operating like this for a long time. This isn't new. My children were in pre-k, kidnegarten, third, 6th, and 7th grade when I began homeschooling them in Chester. Three of them are now grown, one graduates this year and the other in 2014. The system hasn't changed since I left years ago. The superintendent never answered my emails but when I showed up at a school board meeting and voiced my concerns about guidance counselors who neither guided nor counseled, he claimed to have spoken with him. He was quite embarressed when I blatantly exposed the fact that he had not. Why was CUSD paying this man a large six figure income when the children didn't have books? This nonsense has been going on for years. This isn't the first time school closings were threatened. The school district is out of money because the money has been mismanaged for years. No one wants to come help because students aren't graduating and many of them that do are coming out of school functionally illiterate. CUSD has not proven itself academically so why pour more money into a system that's not working. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Parents are tired of the run-around and red-tape they get when they try to address issues with the school system. My children were enrolled in Chester High and Columbus for six months and it was hell. I was at both schools two and sometimes three times a week!!! My daughters were told by teachers that they could bring their ipods and cell phones to class. Some teachers were not teaching but they were getting paid to babysit students. My daughters said, on their first day of school, "Mom, if we keep going to this school we're going to be dumb."
Parents are interested in their children's education thus the huge migration to charter and cyber schools. Why would you insist on reviving something that isn't working? Why not opt for something that does? Shutting down CUSD is not the end of the world. It is, quite possibly, a new opportunity for Chester students to get a quality education by some other means.
P.S. - I am a Mayor Linder supporter. LOL.