It was so big, they had to change rooms
to accommodate all the people. Some said the mayor had the right idea. Some said
it circumvented the principals of elected representation. But the anger manifested
most when it was suggested that Mayor Robert Duffy assuming control of the Rochester
City School District was a process already inexorably in motion.Sponsored
by AARM (Activists Against Racism Movement) and hosted at the Rochester Museum
and Science Center, a town hall-style meeting was held Saturday to give citizens
the opportunity to voice their opinions about the mayor's proposal to transfer
control of RCSD from the Board of Commissioners to the city's executive branch.
Most of the audience was comprised of parents, but there were also teachers, principals,
and several members of Rochester City council, as well as the school board; though
the elected officials said little, mostly listening to the concerns of others.
While
some of the people in attendance spoke in favor of the proposed move, the vast
majority were against it and seemed to committed to taking any action that would
thwart Duffy's effort.
"When
I got the information that the mayor is seeking control of the school system a
light bulb went off," said Dr. Andrew Ray, former principal in the district.
"Why does the mayor want control of the schools? I say to you, follow the
money. "
Ray was
not alone in expressing reservations about Duffy's motives, but other remarks
were downright scathing, as some of the attendees candidly questioned his qualifications
to oversee the city educational system. The official statement released by AARM
last week to explain the organization's opposition to mayoral control was a five-part
missive, in which the second item was quite specific on that point.
"The
current Mayor of Rochester has no educational expertise, and no personal stake
in the welfare or best interests of the students and families of the RCSD. He
doesn't even believe that Rochester's public schools are good enough to send his
own children to. His daughters attend or attended private school," reads
the statement. Hearty agreement was voiced by several attendees who spoke at last
weekend's gathering.
"The
mayor isn't doing his 'mayorship' all that well," quipped Debbie Jones. She
suggested that Duffy was at least partly responsible for the shrinking quantity
and quality of youth programs and other services that might keep young people
engaged in positive activities and off the streets. "How can we expect him
(Duffy) to do any better by our children?"
The
common perception is that Rochester's mayor is looking at the New York City school
system as a model for the transition, but there are conflicting opinions about
how effective NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Chancellor Joel Klein are administering
that system.
"There's
been actually no improvement in the school system in New York City," declared
Jon Greenbaum, a member of AARM. "The achievement gap got worse under mayoral
control. Graduation rates have been overstated."
"This
is an unbelievably bad idea," said Tom Mott. "There is not a city in
America where mayoral control has improved student performance. They need to hear
from us that there will be consequences if they snuff out the democratic process
in this city."
Initially
scheduled for two hours, the discussion ran a bit past the allotted time slot
because so many people wanted a chance to be heard and not all comments were brief.
Sentiment ran heavy in favor of the Board of Commissioners retainang control,
but Duffy was not totally lacking support.
"The
city school district failed me horribly." said one woman, who identified
herself as a grad student at the University of Rochester. "I didn't get any
real education until I got to college."
"I
don't think an elected board is anyway to run a high profile organization at all,"
said businessman Joe Klein (no relation to the NYC school chancellor). "I've
been reading everything I can on mayoral control. going all the way back to Mark
Twain - this is been around for a long time."
Klein
went on to say "I do believe all the members of the school board are hard
working, but any organization that micromanages like this school board does is
going to destroy the organization." Klein's view didn't appear to reflect
majority opinion, but those who sided with him also charged the current system
with being intolerably ineffective, especially as relates to finances. However,
Dr. Ray - for one - was unconvinced that City Hall would do any better.
"At
present the school budget is 670 million dollars," said Ray. "Whoever
is in control will have control over one billion dollars. How do you transfer
a billion dollars in resources to one person when you haven't had any discussion
with the community? Who transfers a billion dollars to one person and you don't
know what's gonna happen?"
Yet
the issue that seemed to draw the most ire from the majority of attendees was
prevalent perception that the transition is on a fast track for approval from
Albany and that grass roots efforts to forestall the process are doomed to fail.
"For
Albany to say we're going to do this by February - you gotta put the brakes on
this," said Ray. "Find out what's going on. Once you relinquish control
of the resources, you don't get it back. We have to wake up to that. You can't
just ignore the voters' will. The voters voted for the school board."
Tom
Mott was in full agreement. "The customer - the people - needs to be able
to weigh in. No one has shown me a plan with a benchmark for long-term or short-term
out comes. Give us information, in a way that we can understand, so that we can
make an informed decision one way or the other."
"The
idea that this is a 'done deal' is totally unacceptable to me," said another
parent, who claimed to have campaigned for several school board members. "I
wish somebody had told me this back in November, before the elections."
The
idea that the issue is already settled rattled many, but one principal member
of AARM was eager to refute that notion.
"Is
it a done deal?" asked former school board candidate and retired teacher
Howard Eagle. "It's NEVER a done deal until we say it's a done deal."
Tentative plans were
made to have at least three more community roundtable discussions before the issue
is put in Albany's hands for deliberation, with promises by many that the time
they spent last Saturday would not be spent in vain, and exhortations from others
to keep those promises to stay on the situation.
"To
everyone here, I hope we have an action plan for the next meeting," said
John Rouse, another member of AARM. "If not, maybe we just shouldn't come
back."
(In
addition to comments made at last weekend's gathering, passionate dialogue has
been almost constant on the Minority Reporter's Facebook discussion page. To visit
our page, go to www.facebook.com and type "minority reporter" in the
search field.)
