Although the promise of higher office has lured Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy
to the campaign trail, his proposal to put the city's public schools under municipal
administration continues to move forward. The Rochester Kids First Coalition now
has stepped up to bat with some of the biggest hitters in local business and politics.
City
Council President Lovely Warren, Rochester Business Alliance President Sandy Parker,
Monroe County Legislator Calvin Lee and school board Commissioner Cynthia Elliott
are just a few of the local players who have weighed in to support Duffy's plan.
"For
over a generation the Rochester City School District has floundered and our children
have suffered the consequences," reads the opening statement on the Coalition's
new web site, rochesterkidsfirst.com. In addition to the web site, a series of
advertisements have begun to manifest on radio, TV and in print media.
"We
cannot continue the way we've been going - It has not been about the children,"
said Cynthia Elliott, whose presence on the Kids First team speaks volumes regarding
divisions on the school board. One of the main issues in the proposal to move
RCSD operations under city supervision has been the disposition of the school
board. Opponents to city governance of schools - "mayoral control" in
popular local lexicon - is that school board members will be appointed under the
new system, instead of attaining their seats in general elections.
"We
have been so dysfunctional on that board, we have to be eliminated," said
Elliott, with candor that has characterized her presence on the board since her
first term. "We don't hold the district accountable the way we should, so
we have to get rid of us. I know what we're doing now is not working, so it has
to be changed."
Since the mayor unveiled his plan to change how the
school district is administered, many in the community have opined the move is
more about controlling a district budget that is gradually creeping toward a billion
dollars a year than improving the woeful graduation rates of the students attending
Rochester's public schools. While those graduations rates fluctuate significantly,
they are consistently below 50 percent - often well below that mark.
"This
is about making sure the children are succeeding academically," said Elliott,
who believes RCSD is too autonomous and not held to a responsible level of accountability
with district expenditures.
Felix Jacobs, an exceptionally active parent
in the district who serves on the school board Intergovernmental Committee and
several parent advisory councils, agrees with Elliott about the inefficiency of
the district both academically and financially.
"This district is going
into year eight of a district needing improvement," said Jacobs. "Our
kids can't read. And they can't comprehend what they read. That's the biggest
problem. And we're in year eight."
Jacobs said he joined the Kids First
Coalition partly for concern regarding his own child's education, partly because
(as a career accountant) he could sense mis-use and abuse of RCSD budgets, and
partly because he believes he is uniquely qualified to comprehend and address
issues that other parents may not have time to study.
"They (RCSD administrators)
make it so complex down there, in terms of parents understanding their rights
and what they have available to them," said Jacobs. "The current administration
talks down to them. I'll give you an example:
"When you to talk about
a child's low scores, they'll tell you 'Well, under ELA his DRA came in came in
very low… so we are going to recommend an AIS program to try to address this.'
Now what did I just say?" When I admitted I was totally lost by the acronyms,
Jacobs chuckled and said: "Exactly. Now an ELA is 'English Language Arts,'
a DRA is a 'Diagnostic Reading Assessment' and AIS is an Academic Intervention
Service. But this is the way they talk to people."
Critics of the municipal
governance proposal often point to the high poverty rate in the city as a critical
problem that remains unaddressed by the proponents of mayoral control over the
school system. Statistically, 80% of the students attend RCSD schools are at or
below the poverty level and the city was recently listed as having the 11th highest
poverty rate in the nation.
Nevertheless, Mayor Duffy said in an earlier
interview with the Minority Reporter: "Poverty is a terrible circumstance
for anyone to be in, but poverty is a fence that can be climbed." Both Elliott
and Jacobs appear to agree.
"As African Americans, we've always had
economic issues in our community," said Elliot. "But poverty was not
an excuse. People who don't understand our community are using that as an excuse;
that's why we have to have the right people - who understand the urban condition
and who are able to teach from that perspective."
In the opinion of
accountant Jacobs, some of the reported economic hardship is real, and some of
it is not.
"Being a Rochester native, every time I read these numbers
I am astounded because the underground economy in Rochester is very strong,"
Jacobs said. "So when they give their reports for disposable income in Rochester,
they're missing a very big piece there."
Addressing the issues of suffrage
and the rights of parents to participate in the election process for school board
members, both Elliot and Jacobs point out that the mayor's school governance proposal
outlines a five-year period and that it would be a simple matter to revert back
to an elected board after that time.
Ultimately, whether or not "mayoral
control" is implemented (for whomever may be heading City Hall) and whether
or not the system would last for five years or beyond, one thing is very clear:
More than a few political careers, both locally and at the state level,
will rise or fall according to how this issue plays out.
