[Mpls] Brandt wrong about 824 empty classrooms

[Socialist2001 at cs.com]

I plan to attend the school board meeting next Tuesday. I have a 5 point plan 
to present as an alternative to closing schools.

1) Desegregate inexperienced teachers. Assign probationary teachers more or 
less evenly to all schools, with added weight given to schools where the 
average level of teacher expertise is high and turnover low.

2) Stop excessive layoffs. The district should definitely stop laying off 
teachers it plans to rehire or replace before the start of school. There were 
fewer than 1,700 full-time teacher positions in regular Ed and Special Ed 
programs budgeted for 2003-2004. Some of those positions were never filled, and there 
were some layoffs, resignations and notices of intent to resign submitted to 
the district before April 1. The district administration certainly planned to 
rehire or replace a majority of the 608 teachers who were laid off 
(technically, put on unrequested leave of absence)

3) eliminate tracking. Phase out low-ability groupings. Since 1997 students 
have been tracked on a part-time basis for reading instruction, i.e., assigned 
to classrooms for slow, medium and fast learners as early as Kindergarten. 

4) Repeal the current attendance policy, which initially increased attendance 
without producing significantly improved student outcomes. The school board 
expected the new policy to drive students out of the district

5. Restore bus service to pre-2002 levels. I strongly suspect that cuts in 
bus service in the fall of 2002 not only account for much of the bigger than 
expected enrollment decline between 2002 and 2003. I also suspect that the cuts 
in bus service produced minimal savings and a huge revenue loss because the 
district ended up picking up the tab for bussing students to charter and private 
schools within the district who might have otherwise attended a district run 
school.

-Doug Mann, King Field
write in "Doug Mann" for school board
www.educationright.com