An elected school board brings transparency. A mayorally appointed school board brings “neutral experts.” So why not compromise — and do both?
East Rock Alderman Justin Elicker, an “exploratory” candidate for mayor, floats that concept in a new video.
The video has two goals: To explain how charter revision, which New Haven has started exploring, works. And to delve into the debate over one charter-revision proposal that may end up on the ballot this fall: Whether to convert New Haven’s mayorally appointed Board of Education, the only one of its kind in the state, to either an elected school board or a “hybrid” of both models. (The mayor currently serves on the school board and appoints the other seven members.)
Click on the play arrow to watch the video.
At a minimum, Elicker’s video is part civics lesson, part political argument sprinkled with graphic punchlines.
Like when he flashes the photo of North Korean strongman Kim Il-Jung.
He does that illustrate one of the arguments advanced by people who want to preserve the current system of having the mayor appoint all school board members. The argument: That giving an elected mayor control over the board allows him or her to produce “faster reform.” Elicker calls that the “benevolent dictator” argument. He questions whether that idea works when the “dictator” isn’t so benevolent. (He’s speaking in general terms here, not about anyone in particular, at least as far as the video presents the argument.)
“Sure if we have a great king, we’ll get a great Board of Education,” Elicker argues. “But on the off chance that we don’t have a great king, what kind of Board of Education are we going to get?”
Elicker cites a second pro-status quo argument, one that incumbent Mayor John DeStefano has made: That elections will “politicize” the school board. Elicker argues that the schools are already politicized.
He does give credence to a third argument advanced by status quo supporters: that “neutral experts” who can contribute a lot to policy might not bother with running for office, but they’d serve if appointed. He argues that the current board does benefit from having some such appointees. (He doesn’t specify; diplomatically, he posts all board members’ pictures.)
Ultimately, he argues, “if our schools were fantastic, that may make the case” for having New Haven remain the only Connecticut municipality with a mayorally appointed school board. New Haven’s schools aren’t quite there “yet,” Elicker concludes.
In response Wednesday, DeStefano argued that the current system has produced lowered drop-out rates, rising test scores, “Promise” college scholarships, rebuilt schools, a groundbreaking teachers contract, and a $50 million new federal grant to promote teacher innovation.
“Let’s look at where we are. Forget the politics,” he argued; changing the school board selection process is “just a bad idea by a politician. There’s work to be done for sure, but it isn’t because of structure.”
Elections would “harm the direction” of school reform, he argued. “This is someone political creating an issue.”
In the video, Elicker proceeds to list the advantages of an elected school board: more public involvement, which parents have been demanding; more “transparency”; and more “accountability.” He complains that it took too long for the school board to heed parents’ demands for a better policy on admitting siblings to magnet and neighborhood schools. He speaks of how, even though he’s an elected official, he had to file a Freedom of Information Act request eventually to obtain enrollment data. That could change with elections, he argues; board members who don’t deliver can get voted out.
Given that both models have strengths, Elicker concludes, why not combine them with a partially appointed, partially elected board?
Click here for a previous story in which citizens interested in charter reform argued the Board of Ed question in detail.
Also on the charter-revision menu: whether to shrink the size of the 30-menber Board of Aldermen and whether to impose term limits on elected officials.
Asked about the hybrid school board idea at a campaign event this past Saturday, another “exploratory” mayoral candidate, state Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield, replied, “A hybrid board would not be terrible.”
And of course, now that he has discovered that ther are other people in town than in East Rock, he figures it is time to pretend to care about them and their schools. (note his reversal on Bowen field). We know better.