[Mpls] Another Option for School Board Voters

[Socialist2001 at cs.com]

[A 500 word commentary, professionally edited and submitted to the Star 
Tribune for Publication on 28 October 2004. The Strib will not publish it. Please 
circulate widely. ]

Another Option for Minneapolis School Board Voters

This coming election day, Minneapolis voters actually have more choices for 
the Minneapolis Public Schools Board of Directors than just the six candidates 
on the ballot.   

If you are having trouble finding a third candidate to round out your ballot, 
consider writing in Doug Mann for Minneapolis School Board.  My platform is 
as follows:

By now, everyone knows about the Minneapolis Public Schools' education access 
gap, reflected by differences in test score averages between white and 
minority students.  The current board has, to its credit, expressed concern about 
the fact that on average, schools with high proportions of students of color and 
low-income students have both a high rate of teacher turnover and a high 
proportion of the district's least experienced teachers.

I maintain that these high teacher turnover rates are largely due to the 
district's yearly practice of laying off teachers that it (in actuality) plans to 
later rehire or replace. 

Last spring, the district laid off 608 teachers even though it projected a 
reduction of fewer than 200 full-time teacher positions.  The district 
essentially uses annual layoffs to hold down payroll costs, knowing that many laid-off 
teachers will seek jobs elsewhere or be discouraged from returning to 
teaching.  This strategy may save money in the short-run, but its long-term costs are 
devastating: Programs that depend on stability of staff are undermined and the 
resultant price paid by the schools, teachers, students and families is 
ultimately too high.  I disagree with the current board that the realignment mess 
was unavoidable and am opposed to the unnecessary layoff of so many teachers. I 
also believe it is necessary to equally distribute probationary teacher 
positions throughout the district. This and other major changes in school programs 
should be phased-in to avoid the kind of disruption to school staffs and 
families wrought by last summer's realignment (which I vigorously opposed).

Unbeknownst to many people, the district also has a tracking system. As early 
as kindergarten, students are assigned to separate classrooms on at least a 
part-time basis for reading instruction, according to whether they are 
considered slow, medium or fast learners. Students of color and low-income whites are 
over-represented in the 
low-performer classes. Most students on a college-bound track in this 
district do very well academically. A huge majority of the other students fail to 
thrive. In my opinion, the district could phase out the low-performance 
curriculum tracks and put everyone on a college-bound track without watering down the 
curriculum if it also stabilizes the teaching staff.  Without tracking, small 
schools can be made more cost-effective. Eliminate tracking, not small schools! 
 You can read more about these and other insights on Minneapolis Public 
Schools at www.educationright.com.  On November 2, let's increase expectations of 
our students and of our school board.

Doug Mann, write in candidate for the Minneapolis School Board

-Doug Mann, King Field