Icy outside... and inside the board room
As ice pelted and coated our cars in the North Avenue parking lot last night, things got pretty chilly inside the city school board meeting, too. And I'm not talking about the physical temperature (though, this being Baltimore City, that wouldn't be surprising; seven schools closed Monday due to either lack of heat or water).
Highlights of the chilly confrontations:
1) The Rev. Dr. Cecil Gray takes on Brian Morris et. al.
Board members frequently voice their annoyance when one group takes us all or most of the 10 slots allotted for public comment, preventing others from being able to speak. Last night, the folks at Northwood-Appold Community Academy (NACA) signed up for seven of the 10 slots, protesting -- ultimately successfully -- Dr. Alonso's recommendation that the board extend the charter school's contract for two years. They wanted, and got by a 5-4 vote, a five-year contract renewal.
The meeting had started, by board chair Morris's watch, 23 minutes late (the closed session preceding the open meeting ran late, presumably because the board members were debating the charter issue). Morris wanted to speed things along and tried to persuade the NACA group to speak all together in one five-minute slot, rather than individually in seven three-minute slots. Gray, NACA's founder and president of its governing board, wasn't having it. "Our theme at NACA is freedom and democracy," he told Morris. Alrighty then....
Gray was the last of the seven speakers, and he paid no attention to the time limit. He vented about the nonsensical process for evaluating charters. He claimed that NACA's test scores last year were the highest in the history of Baltimore for a school taking the MSA for the first time. He gave a laundry list of prominent names supporting the school, from City State's Attorney Patricia Jessamy to former U.S. Surgeon General Jocelyn Elders to former city schools CEO Walter Amprey. When he started comparing NACA's low suspension rate with that of other charters, it was enough for board member Neil Duke, who said it was "time to move on" and Gray had gone "too far astray."
2) Buzzy Hettleman takes on policy process, and Andres Alonso takes on Hettleman
Hettleman wanted to table the policy to give city students preference in admission to city schools because of some last-minute wording changes that he said neither the board nor the public had a chance to review. His motion to table lost by one vote, but he kept at it. "We're voting on a document that's not public," he said. He was upset that the Legal Aid Bureau, which submitted suggestions on the policy a few weeks ago to make sure that it didn't involuntarily discriminate against vulnerable students in transitionary housing situations, hadn't had a chance to review the final language. "The policy is fine but we set a terrible precedent in the future in terms of the integrity of the policy development," he said.
Alonso, coming to the rescue of a staff member being grilled by Hettleman, said that the wording changes were minor and could be adjusted in the future if necessary. In the meantime, current eighth-graders are waiting to hear what high schools they've been accepted to, and it's the gist of the policy that ultimately matters. "I believe it's been an injustice that ... hasn't been remedied in the past," Alonso said. When Hettleman started interrupting him, the CEO interrupted right back: "Can I finish, Mr Hettleman?" And if you saw my story today, you already got the most memorable quote of the evening, when Alonso told Hettleman he was wasting their time.
3) Administrators play the title name game
The board approved Alonso's first Harvard hire last night: Jonathan Brice, who is a doctoral candidate at Harvard's Urban Superintendents Program (where the CEO got his doctorate), was named executive director for student services and school intervention. His new position sounds an awful lot like the job called student support services officer, currently occupied by Everene Johnson-Turner. But Johnson-Turner hasn't been to work in a few weeks, and several sources have told me she's out on medical leave. The system isn't confirming anything, only saying that the two titles are different.
Brice, a Mervo grad who did his Harvard internship under former Anne Arundel Superintendent Eric Smith, is currently an administrator for the schools in Duval County, Fla.
If that's not enough school board news for you, keep reading to get the names of the new Parent and Community Advisory Board (PCAB) members who were appointed or announced last night. Michael Carter, the chair who's been saying goodbye for months now, can finally retire.
PCAB members representing parent and community groups:
Dennis Moulden, a parent at Roland Park Elementary/Middle and Western High, reappointed to a second term
Tammatha Woodhouse, a parent at Thomas Jefferson Elementary/Middle and a BCPSS employee
Representing students and families in Title 1 schools:
Theresa Bailey-Gwynn, a grandparent and BCPSS employee
Tony S. Jones, a parent at Harford Heights Elementary and William C. March Middle, also a BCPSS employee
Representing the Baltimore Council of PTAs:
Chequita Lanier, reappointed to a second term, a parent at Baltimore City College and the Claremont School, a BCPSS employee
Pat Muhamed, reappointed to a second term, a parent at Northeast Middle
Leslie Parker Blyther, a former PCAB member and a parent at Baltimore City College
Community representatives:
Susana Barrios, a parent at Patterson Park Public Charter School
Ori Shabazz, an employee of Baltimore City Community College
Alternate community representative:
Reba Hawkins, a parent at Digital Harbor High and Govans Elementary
Representing the plaintiffs in the Bradford school funding lawsuit:
Helena Napper and Michelle Green (named by the ACLU)
Shirley Mills-Dower, Susan Takemoto and Genevieve Cooper (named by the Maryland Disability Law Center)
PCAB appointments are good for two years, and members can serve up to two consecutive terms. All candidates were interviewed by Alonso and went through a background check.
Comments
This is GREAT reading - the BCPSS board meetings provide for great drama and suspense!
Posted by: Artie | February 13, 2008 4:37 PM
They have to find a better way for the public comment. Maybe a big gong (kidding). I know it would rankle some to truly start enforcing the time limit, but I think people would eventually get used to it, actually script out what they wanted to say to fit in 3 minutes (instead of just rambling), and this portion of the meeting would be much closer to being on time?
Morris would also have to get better about not responding to comments - in some of the meetings I've seen this adds a lot of time. I know it is not easy, but he should say something simple, like "Thank you for your comments." and move on.
Posted by: Michelle | February 13, 2008 4:47 PM
Hettleman is a crank and it's time for him to go. I am glad that Alonso has finally taken him to task for the way he treats people. It's not that I think everyone who presents to the board is doing a good job, but he has really gone round the bend. I would be interested in hearing from Sara some of the other things that were said in this exchange (including comments he made to the staff member). Sara? I believe you were taping the "show":-)
As for the NACCA issue, while I am excited to see a school where people are passionate about what goes on, and willing to show up, this is another case of the school board bowing down and changing their minds in the face of pressure. A 2 year renewal would have allowed Dr. Gray and company to continue the good work they do and prove they have what it takes to be more than just another mediocre city school (which I firmly believe they could prove). This bending to pressure sends the clear message that even with Dr. Alonso running the day to day, the board and by default the system, lacks a backbone to make a decision and stand by it. As a vet of the system I wish that a decision was actually a decision and not a temporary statement subject to change in the face of a little pressure. To Brian Morris and company I say grow a set, allow people to pressure you but stand by decisions. The world won't end if people are mad. And what about those Charters who didn't rally the troops and got a 2 year extension? What message is being sent to them? Shame on the board.
Posted by: Teacher643 | February 14, 2008 7:28 AM
In the past the Board would have sat there stone faced and not given responses or feedback to public comment. While I applaud the current Board for "talking back " this also shows that danger of making major policy changes or decisions under the context of a normal board meeting. The Charter school approvals should have been discussed in a standalone meeting prior to the vote, giving concerned parties a chance to voice their opinions.
Posted by: OverTheTop | February 14, 2008 10:02 AM
Thanks, everyone, for the comments.
OverTheTop: The board did do all of its discussion on the charters in executive session (which presumably is why the meeting started more than 20 minutes late). In general, though, as Michelle said, these board members do respond to public comments at the meeting. If there's an individual parent with a problem, Brian Morris will try to address it on the spot. I was surprised when I started covering Baltimore City schools in 2005 at how much give and take the public has with the board. I'd covered schools elsewhere for five years prior and had never seen that kind of interaction before. In Baltimore County, where I covered the schools from 2003 to 2005, the public comment came at the end of the meeting, and there was never any board response. There were complaints in that case that the public was discouraged from commenting, since doing so required sitting through hours of other board business.
Teacher643: Yes, I do have a tape of the meeting. I'm trying to see if I can post an audio file on the blog. (I know, I'm still kind of living in the dark ages.) If not, I'll type up and post a transcript of the exchange between Hettleman and Alonso.
Posted by: Sara Neufeld | February 14, 2008 11:18 AM