May 10 Closed DMPS Board Meeting May Have Violated Law

Last Wednesday I wrote about the need for the Des Moines Public School Board to conduct the search for a new superintendent in the open saying “the seven elected members of the School Board will do the community a disservice if they lock the doors and hash things out alone.” As I was tapping away at my keyboard, the Board was planning a noon meeting for the next day. They locked the public out of that meeting.

Allow me to use this meeting as example why the school board’s willingness to close the meeting room door is dangerous and why all public bodies across Iowa should do better.

Iowa Code Section 21.5(i) allows a public body to go into a closed session “to evaluate the professional competency of an individual whose appointment, hiring, performance, or discharge is being considered when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to that individual’s reputation and that individual requests a closed session.”

Fair enough, but let’s look at what we know about this particular meeting.

Nancy Sebring and Thomas Ahart, associate superintendent, signed requests to close the meeting on May 10, the day after the Board posted the meeting notice announcing a closed meeting.

Let me say that again.

The School Board planned a closed meeting and then got signed requests to close the meeting. That is backwards.

Only after a public meeting is planned can an individual request it be closed. The Des Moines School Board never intended this meeting to be open and that is a significant problem.

Next, Dr. Sebring resigned her position via an email at 11:30 p.m. the evening before the meeting, well after it had been scheduled. Therefore, the appointment, hiring, or discharge of Sebring was not being considered. Following the meeting Board President Teree Caldwell-Johnson confirmed Sebring’s ineligibility to request a closed meeting saying the board had not discussed the only remaining topic eligible for discussion in private, Sebring’s performance. Caldwell-Johnson went on to say the discussion during the meeting was about Sebring’s decision to speed her departure to give herself more time to make personal arrangements for the move.

Nancy Sebring was not legally permitted to request a closed session. The School Board violated the Open Meeting Law by discussing Sebring’s resignation in private. Any and all discussions the Board had about Dr. Sebring should have been held in open session.

Des Moines Public Schools (DMPS) anticipated how it would handle a superintendent’s resignation or incapacitation when the Board approved Des Moines Public School Board Policy ML 2.6. It states “the superintendent shall not fail to ensure that at least two other members of the staff are sufficiently familiar with Board and Superintendent issues and processes to take over with reasonable proficiency as an interim successor.”

On July 11, 2011 the Board, on a vote of 7 to 0, approved the Superintendent’s recommendation: “the district’s associate superintendents to act on behalf of the superintendent in the event the superintendent is incapacitated and unable to execute the responsibilities of the position. Both incumbent associates will be licensed as superintendents in the state of Iowa.”

The School Board approved a succession plan ten months ago. The Board had no need to discuss Thomas Ahart’s appointment.

The only reason left allowing the May 10 meeting to be legally closed was because Mr. Ahart felt the Board discussion of his performance would be damaging.

Perhaps the Board did want to make sure Mr. Ahart was up to the job and they used the May 10 meeting to evaluate his performance. If Ahart felt his reputation might suffer needless and irreparable injury during this discussion, he had the right to request the meeting be closed. Ahart shouldn’t have worried. Caldwell-Johnson’s public comments assure us Ahart’s reputation would not have been harmed.

Board President Caldwell-Johnson said the meeting was closed because Sebring and Ahart requested a private session, which is common procedure despite the law’s wording.

Wait. What?

Closed meetings of public bodies are supposed to be uncommon and if a law’s wording is allowed to be discounted all that is left is a blank page. Coincidentally, a blank page is all the public has to review when it comes to the School Board’s meeting last week.

Since Dr. Sebring’s request for a closed meeting is invalid, I have asked Mr. Ahart to rescind his request so the audio recording of the May 10 meeting can be made available to the public. A release of this recording would send a significant signal about the new acting superintendent’s commitment to openness.

Even if Mr. Ahart should choose to not rescind his request keeping the discussion of his performance sealed, the rest of the eighty (80) minutes of audio from the meeting should be released immediately. Caldwell-Johnson has admitted the Board discussed Sebring’s resignation and that conversation should never have been held in private.

A public body should go into private session only for an extremely limited number of reasons. The Des Moines School Board needs to set an example by voluntarily releasing the audio recordings of its May 10 meeting as they may have violated the law.

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Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com 
This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register online essay.

We’re Mad as Hell, but We Don’t Have Time to Vote?

Voters in the Des Moines Public School District are trickling into the polls today to vote on the renewal of the Physical Plant and Equipment Levy (PPEL).  I understand a tax levy isn’t exactly the sexiest topic, but amidst all the “Take Our Country Back” talk, one might think turnout would be heavier.  The fact only about 1,700 people had voted as of 1:00 p.m. is troubling on many fronts.  This is, after all, a property tax issue and one that significantly affects our public schools.

Turnout is so low for a couple of reasons; 1) this is the first year a school board election is not being held on the second Tuesday of September and 2) PPEL is one of a handful of obscure and confusing funding tools few voters understand.

The General Assembly recently changed terms of school board members from three to four years.  This was supposed to save the cost of holding elections every year by making the elections biennial.  Des Moines Schools, in its wisdom, has made sure those savings are not realized in year one by holding this vote.  More important, by keeping school board elections as a standalone election the second Tuesday after Labor Day, the General Assembly assured turnout will always be low making it easy for special interest groups to manipulate the results.  Yes, some will say vaguely that election officers prefer to keep school board elections separate from other votes because school board boundaries do not line up with city, congressional or other ballot items.  This is bunk.  Ballots can be prepared for elections with multiple questions and boundaries.

Second, school funding is a complex mix of revenue sources and a mind-numbing array of spending restrictions.  PPEL is just one example.  Voters might be better able to get their arms around this messy brew, if the school district did a better job of presenting its budget.  I won’t bore you in this blog with my full prescription, but let me give you a synopsis.  The district budget needs to be presented each year in a simpler layout.  Each funding source should be listed with its effective and renewal dates, amount of money raised, the exact amounts spent and the items purchased or salaries paid with these funds, etc.  Each funding source’s revenue and expense totals would correspond with the larger budget document the district already produces.  The result would be a budget we could all understand.

OK, go ahead and discount my ideas above, but we should all agree today’s turnout is abhorrent.  Next time you find yourself in an angry mob yelling about government tyranny, you should ask how many of those in that mob voted today.  It is hard to take somebody too seriously about what he is going to do to change things, if he could not get to the polls to decide this important issue on such a fine, sunny day.  And, there is still time to get to the polls, if you have not voted yet.

(GRAHAM GILLETTE CAN BE REACHED BY EMAIL AT GRAHAMGILLETTE@GMAIL.COM)

Added 9/15/2010 – The PPEL was renewed for another ten years by 65% of the 5,077 voters who voted in this election.  Des Moines has 119,139 voters.  This means 4% of voters turned out yesterday.  The special election will cost Des Moines Schools $85,000.  Here is the link to Des Moines Register story about the vote

Middle School is like a Chris Rock Joke

I decided to write this morning’s post at Gateway Market in Des Moines. I wanted to escape the office and pound out something insightful about last night’s primaries in Colorado and Connecticut. I thought Gateway would be a quiet place to write. I was wrong. The place was packed with people and it was hard to concentrate on other states with so much of Iowa and Des Moines talking around and to me. (The blueberry muffin was mighty tasty though.)

Max Knauer was chatting to some folks about his campaign for the Broadlawns Medical Center Board of Trustees, there were Democrat campaign staffers at one table, business folks at a few others, and Des Moines School officials were meeting with a representative of the United Way over coffee in a far corner. A few people stopped at my table to talk about politics and the world. Next to the rain, the main topic was the state of our schools. The approaching start of the school year and yesterday’s rushed vote by Congress to send money for education to the states had many asking, “are we getting our money’s worth from education spending?”

Iowans take pride in our reputation as an educational leader. Much of this reputation is justified, but the high standing is partly due to the fact schools in other parts of this country are failing miserably. Comedian Chris Rock has a classic bit he performs about low expectations; calling yourself a good dad because you take care of your kids, or a good person because you never went to jail is ridiculous. You are SUPPOSED to do the former and NEVER do the latter. Those are minimum standards. The fact most Iowa kids graduate high school, or that most do pretty well in the long run are shockingly low standards when one deconstructs Iowans’ school pride.

In the coming days, students all over Iowa will return to the classroom and teachers will renew the battle to inspire and educate. More than one politician will make strong statements on the campaign trail about his commitment to education and, with teary eyes, try to demonstrate his unwavering commitment to public schools. I won’t paraphrase Chris Rock’s expletive laced comment, but a public servant is supposed to support education. The question to be asked is, “what exactly will you do to support education?”

Yesterday’s passage of the $26 billion aid package for schools will pay for many things. Some teacher jobs will be saved and a whole lot of money will change hands, but will our schools be any better? No, but they won’t be any worse. That, my friends, is not good enough. The middle school curriculum in Des Moines and across the country has not changed much over the years. Every year countless kids walk out of junior high school for good as we collectively look the other way. Most students stay – most of them survive middle school. As Rock would say, “they are supposed to!”

Middle school teacher Andrew Rasmussen will soon be standing in a classroom trying to get through to a bunch of hormone pumping eighth grade social studies students. Last spring, he and his fellow educators were unable to think about much beyond the minimum. They held their breath hoping they wouldn’t lose their jobs in the next round of budget cuts. Finances are a bit better today, but it won’t last. The future still looks grim, but it could be worse, right?

I focus on middle school because we pay the least amount of attention to the middle years and, most important, this is when the most kids are lost to the system. Mr. Rasmussen wants the District to reinstitute a Middle School Study Committee to look into ways to improve junior high. Des Moines has done this before. A lot of noise was made about the committee and recommendations were made with a great flourish. In the end, not much changed in Mr. Rasmussen’s classroom or ones like it all across the city. This time, let’s form the committee and follow through with what comes out of it.

To be successful, the proposed middle school committee must be formed with a clear mandate and have the support of the school district administration, school board, parents and the community. Here’s hoping we can do something more than shake our heads over coffee, or pat ourselves on the back for being better than Alabama or Mississippi. Let’s urge our school leaders to listen to Mr. Rasmussen and create a plan to do more than create a committee to make ourselves feel better. Perhaps we can move beyond a Chris Rock punch line and doing the minimum when it comes to public education.

(Another blueberry muffin would be wrong, wouldn’t it?)

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.

Senator Gronstal Starts Schoolyard Fight with Des Moines School Board

An interesting letter to the editor appeared in the Saturday Des Moines Register. The Iowa Senate Majority Leader, State Senator Mike Gronstal, offered a scathing rebuke of Superintendent Nancy Sebring and the Des Moines School Board. Gronstal was troubled by their actions during this year’s budget process. His tone was strong and stinging. Almost as surprising as a person in Gronstal’s position making such an accusation is the Register’s relegation of Gronstal’s comments to a mere letter to the editor. The relationship between Des Moines School officials and State leaders has deteriorated to such a point they are calling each other names. This situation demands further investigation by the media.

In his letter Senator Gronstal said Des Moines school officials “deliberately set out to scare parents, teachers and students with doomsday scenarios that were irresponsible, inflammatory and, well, pure fiction.” He said Superintendent Sebring and the School Board “conspired to unnecessarily scare families, teachers, parents and residents of Des Moines with irresponsible budget scenarios.” He used phrases like “flights of fancy” and suggested that the officials in Des Moines were less than honest. Even in today’s caustic political climate, such chilling words are unusual. There is trouble right here, right now in Iowa’s capital city. If the parties do not come together and patch up their differences before the next budget season, our school district might suffer.

Much of what Senator Gronstal says make sense to me this time. I could never get the Des Moines School District’s numbers to add up before the State allocated money and the revised numbers discussed at last week’s School Board meeting still appear suspect. In the numbers the District bandied about in what Gronstal calls the “doomsday scenario” was an overall potential $30 million shortfall. The District told us this meant approximately 346 teaching positions would be eliminated. Now the shortfall appears to be $11 million, yet the District predicts 173 teaching positions will be lost. So, the cuts in dollars are 73% less than expected, but the cut to teaching positions is only 50% compared to the doomsday number. Either there is something odd about the District’s math, or the District feels there are things more important to use these additional tax dollars on than teaching positions.

I cannot say if Senator Gronstal is being fair or honest in his remarks and I do not know what motivated him to get out his acerbic pen. I certainly am not writing this to defend him. But, something is terribly wrong when people in power do not trust each other. The Des Moines School Board, the Administration and Senator Gronstal all have some explaining to do. Since they are all adults and cannot be sent to the principal’s office, the public needs to hold them accountable. The place to start might be taking this feud off the letters to the editor page and making it a front page investigative piece.

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.

IASB Walks Like a CIETC Duck

The Iowa Association of School Boards (IASB) placed its executive director, Maxine Kilcrease, on paid administrative leave Thursday after it was revealed she had convinced the former board chair and staffers to increase her pay without board approval. Evidently, she did not like the fact her $212,000 salary included deductions for the taxes for which she (and every other worker in America) is responsible. What?

This scandal looks, smells, quacks and walks like the stinky duck that was the Central Iowa Employment and Training Consortium (CIETC) scandal a few years back. A few people lost their jobs at CIETC and a few others went to jail. The same should happen at IASB. In the wake of CIETC, elected officials were falling all over themselves to express outrage. Grand promises were made that steps would be taken to protect taxpayer dollars in the future. IASB proves these steps were not taken. This time, elected officials need to save the platitudes and actually enact measures to ensure we won’t suffer a third outrageous theft of our money.

Step 1 – any entity that accepts dues, grants or other monies from government bodies must operate under strict open government rules. An exception should be made for independent businesses that provide products or services. But, organizations resembling IASB and CIETC that are established as collaborations even partly administered by, invested in or affiliated with government should be treated like government. The books of these entities should be open for public review and all activities should be conducted in the open air and sunshine for public scrutiny.

Step 2 – end the incestuous hiring and administrative practices in quasi-government entities like CIETC and IASB. CIETC exposed a shocking and shameful practice of relatives hiring relatives and financial back scratching between government (often elected officials) board members and CIETC employees. It appears the same was going on at IASB.

None of us have the IASB facts yet and I do not want to jump to conclusions. However, since this story broke in the Des Moines Register, I have been reminded that a former Des Moines School Board member currently serves as IASB’s legal counsel, one served as IASB chairman when IASB bought their sprawling building on Grand Avenue, another went to work for IASB when she left the school board, and a current school board member worked at IASB when she was running for office. These four are all fine people. I am not and would not suggest they did anything wrong. However, the fact so many Des Moines School Board members had and have relationships with IASB should make us all a little uncomfortable, especially now we know how much money was running through the sticky fingers of IASB staff.

Let me be perfectly clear, I have every reason to believe the Des Moines School Board members past and present involved with IASB had nothing but the best interests of the taxpayers in mind at all times. The same was probably true with many involved with CIETC. What both of these instances show is that without laws to protect taxpayers by mandating open disclosure of the finances and activities of these quasi-government entities, the taxpayers get burned. Let’s call a duck a duck and let’s put an end to the ability of organizations like CIETC and IASB to treat taxpayer resources as their own private slush funds.

Added to original blog post: I was alerted by a reader to further evidence of the IASB revolving door of Des Moines School staff and other board members. Former Des Moines Schools facilities director Duane Van Hemert and Jefferson Scranton School Board member Sam Harding were hired in 2009 by IASB to run the Iowa Construction Advocate Team (ICAT). ICAT was formed after the sales tax was extended statewide to pay for school construction projects. Ca ching!

The reader who brought this to my attention happens to be an architect. He says ICAT may be “walking the thin line of providing architectural design/planning services without a license.” He goes on to say ICAT makes “initial planning recommendations to school boards, and assists in the selection of architects and other construction professionals. This is a slippery way around fair bidding laws and directing work towards a chosen few.“ Did I hear a quack?

(It should be noted the Keystone Area Education Agency newsletter linked above also announced another IASB staffer, Larry Siegel, was heading off to be an “entrepreneur” with the help of IASB. Quack. Quack!)

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.

IB Linked to Budget Hysteria

Budget hysteria is a seasonal illness. It strikes in Iowa annually, but it is much more severe this year due to a perfect storm of economic pressure and, in some cases, years of poor planning.

The Iowa General Assembly is racked with it. The disease has swept through both chambers infecting legislators on either side of the aisle. Leadership agreed to stem the spread of budget hysteria by shortening the Session from 120 to 80 days. So far, it looks much like every other session. There are bills to regulate amateur fighting, to ban texting in cars, to change the state seal and many others. It remains to be seen if they will make the adjournment deadline and the budget still languishes as these more important matters are wrestled to the floor.

In the meantime, Des Moines school officials are dispersing doom and gloom. More than 300 teachers have been put on notice their positions will be eliminated next year. The superintendent has said this is the “worst case scenario” – they had to put people on notice in case the worst came to be. I understand that, but I am baffled by how the District and School Board chose to go about the process. They may be infected with budget hysteria.

The District and School Board held a series of listening sessions earlier in the year. This looked like a good effort to prepare people for the coming budget season, but few came. School Board members lamented the lack of participation with a cry of “we tried.” They fail to see that had the Superintendent released her “worst case” budget numbers before the meetings, turnout might have been closer to the 300 or so who attended a community meeting about the school budget organized by a not-for-profit this week. Note to the School Board: you need to share information about what you and the administration are thinking BEFORE you ask people to respond.

The organizing meeting held by A Mid-Iowa Organizing Strategy (AMOS) had a couple of legislators, members of the teachers union, people representing other groups, loads of parents, an energetic group of middle school students and a single school board member. No school administrator was identified or spoke.

There were a few good ideas floated and a fairly healthy discussion ensued about what should and should not be cut from schools during these tough times. State Senator Matt McCoy had the courage to suggest a solution may lie in the duplication of services found in the 17 area school districts (think bus garages, administrators, purchasing departments, etc.). He dared the group to imagine what consolidating services among some of the 300+ school districts statewide could mean. Can school budget hysteria be cured in our lifetime?

People talked about saving music, art and PE. These areas are especially hard hit in the worst case budget. They made the case that these subjects impact every other and that a district cutting here will be unable to effectively educate the next generation. If they would have come, the School Board and administrators would have gotten a pretty good feel for a real discussion. But, then again…the lone school board member who came decided to use his three minutes at the microphone to admonish the audience for not attending school music and drama performances. He said if we were serious about saving music and art, he would have seen more of us at these shows. Awkward.

I support the Des Moines School District. I have said it 10,000 times, remarkable things happen in these classrooms. However, budget hysteria could have been contained had the School District engaged in a community discussion many weeks ago – a real one where all the facts and budget recommendations by the District were placed on the table, in full view.

I watched much of the School Board budget presentation last night as I have many over the years, a few from behind the board table. They rarely change. There are dozens of slides, confusing percentages and they share a common theme, “our hands are tied, don’t blame us, go beat up the state for more money, and we are doing our very best.” Some of that is true, but not all.

There is one area “held scared from the budget ax,” the newly implemented International Baccalaureate program. The handpicked IB schools will retain fulltime librarians, music programs and Spanish. They will have fewer teachers next year, but the losses are less than the non-IB schools. From what I heard at the AMOS meeting and in other discussions, IB is a program to be examined. The IB program can be put on hold until the economy improves. Implementing IB now, at the cost of downgrading education at every other school, seems silly.

Interestingly, the superintendent said IB was not her pet project and danced around the fact the cuts were less at IB schools during her presentation. This is one thing the School Board cannot dodge by saying their hands are tied. They can postpone IB. Doing so will save teachers at other schools. The School Board’s choice to not put IB on the table is budget hysteria. That, and they do not want to have to defend their vote to not cut IB when other schools and programs are suffering. It’s easier to say nothing can be done.

The cure for budget hysteria lies in sharing information earlier and often. None of our hands are tied, unless we want them to be.

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.

Stand Up for Education, Stand Up for Teachers

Last night I went to the Callanan Middle School band concert. It, like all of the others I have attended over the last few years, made me marvel about the difference a good teacher can make. While I know better, it would be easy to believe Dana Andrews employs magical powers to transform these gangly, disorganized and often unfocused adolescents into musicians. I know many of the kids who were up on that stage and like them very much – one in particular. In fact, it is my familiarity with these kids that makes me appreciate Mr. Andrews all the more. In the hours and days he spends with his students, he teaches more than music. He weaves respect and discipline into the lessons, and leads theses hormone raging beings down a path of discovery that ends in a belief in themselves.

Mr. Andrews and his colleagues in classrooms across our District do something remarkable. They teach and, in doing so, they mold the future for thousands of students. Due to budget cuts, it is likely there will be 300 less teachers in Des Moines next year. This will mean fewer band performances and math competitions. More important, there will be fewer individual interactions between teacher and student. Many of the teachers will find other jobs, but how many magical, life transforming connections will be lost for the students they leave behind? Over-crowded classrooms and pared back curriculums will have a monetary and social impact that we cannot calculate.

During a Facebook discussion on Monday about the likely loss of teachers in Des Moines Public Schools next year, one of those commenting said something fuzzy about it being time we stop “throwing” money at schools until parents get more involved in raising their children. She said personal responsibility starts at home and went on about turning off the TV, silencing cell phones and reading books to kids. OK, American kids do watch too much TV and wonderful things happen when adults read to children, but could she really think this alone would balance the probable loss of more than 300 teachers in our schools next Fall? I hope she wasn’t serious.

My Facebook friend is a good person who volunteers her time and does good work for the community. And, adults need to play a role in helping children reach their potential. However, the funding crisis faced in Iowa schools will not be solved by a lecture on the importance of personal responsibility. Class size will go up, some subjects will be reduced or eliminated, and learning will suffer next year unless something is done.

After the concert, many of the parents gathered in the Callanan lunchroom to discuss what could be done to protect music, art and classroom teachers in these tough economic times. I heard frustration and anxiety in their voices. If you share this concern, I ask that you join us in doing something about it. Des Moines Schools Superintendent Nancy Sebring and the School Board face some terrible decisions. They should not make these without hearing from you. It is equally important for you to contact Governor Culver and members of the General Assembly. The most likely place to find dollars to fill the budget shortfall is at the state level. Without new money, the District has to decide where and, ultimately, which teachers to cut.

Please join us in letting school and state officials know how important teachers are to the education equation. The next School Board meeting is Tuesday, March 9 at 6:00 p.m. Attend, if you can. Watch the meeting on cable channel 12, if you cannot. Contact the officials below to tell them how you feel.

Contact Information
For a list school board members and their contact information click here.
To contact Des Moines School officials click here.
For a list of Iowa House members and Iowa Senators click here.
To contact Governor Chet Culver click here.

More Information
For a link to Des Moines Public Schools Board agenda that includes the proposed budget cuts click here.
Here is a list of the positions being cut at each Des Moines school

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.

School Board Huffing about Culver is Ironic

Last week I took the opportunity to bash the Des Moines School Board in this space for voting to dismiss school 90 minutes early every Wednesday next year. I believe this decision is bad for education. I also railed about the board making little effort to involve parents, students and the community in the decision. Now it appears the School Board got a taste of an ironically similar acrid brew and they are feeling left out.

Des Moines joined the other six large Iowa school districts and refused to sign on to Governor Chet Culver’s entry application for the federal government’s Race to the Top funds. Des Moines School Board president Connie Boesen said, “We’ve had no input, and we’re the ones that have to be accountable and implement it.”

Wow, I bet those words tasted nasty coming out of a school board member’s mouth after spending more than a week telling parents and community members that the opportunity for discussion about early dismissals had past. Hopefully, she and her colleagues will learn how it feels to be excluded from the conversation and revisit their recent actions.

Regardless, Ms. Boesen did the right thing. In truth, she had little choice. The board and the community need to be a part of the process. The Governor and the Legislature were told by the feds months ago that the application for the Race funds would be due January 19. Waiting until this week to push legislation through at record speed and ask for school board presidents to sign on to the application with scant to no public discussion is flat out wrong.

Often, those who pay the price for well intended, yet hastily concocted government programs are the very people the government is supposedly out to help. The Race to the Top looks like a contender for such a program. It is fraught with numerous potentially harmful consequences for our nation’s schools. Let alone the fact the program description and the application itself sound like NBC’s latest reality show. Building better schools will not be done with gimmicky competitions. It is going to take a real commitment to fund schools and empower teachers, parents and communities to reinvent the way we run our schools.

A handful of school boards and states are letting the first of two application deadlines pass without being bullied by the federal government to play a bobbing for dollars contest. If most of them were to do so, perhaps Washington would figure out it is time to stop waving tax dollars in our faces and expect we are going to ask how high when they say jump. Good policy isn’t a race to be won. Good government comes through setting standards and cooperating with each other to get results.


Note: The following was added Saturday, January 16, the day after the original post.
Today, the school board president made statements to the Des Moines Register even more thick with irony than yesterday. “We need to be more centered on students than adults.” Really? Siding with the union to dismiss school early once a week was more about adults than students? Maybe the president will ask the board to reconsider their own actions next week now that they understand that education is more about students than employees.

From the Saturday edition of the Des Moines Register: “Des Moines school board chairwoman Connie Boesen said state leaders made serious missteps in drafting the legislation because they didn’t allow districts ample time to weigh in.

‘We have shown success and we need more flexibility to get schools turned around, not more constraints,” Boesen said. “It was all so hastily done, and I don’t understand that. We want to be able to have the latitude to handle educational programming in ways that make differences for students. We need to be more centered on students than adults.”


This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register blog entry.