A Tough Problem

Here is what is going on in the federal government’s attempt to influence how New York State educators educate.

As part of the stimulus package Arne Duncan, the head of the U. S. Department of Education, was given $4.35 billion in grant money to distribute to the states. The cash strapped states can surely use it. Never mind that the cash strapped nation doesn’t have it lying around to give.

This is how it works. Instead of distributing education money directly according to population, each state is required to submit a proposal on how they plan to spend the money on education. If Arne Duncan approves, they get the money.

He wants four things from the states: more charter schools, school systems must take student achievement into account when evaluating teachers for tenure, improved training for teachers and principals, and improved science instruction for the students.

Mr. Richard Iannuzzi, President of the 600,000 member New York State United Teachers union (NYSUT) and MR. Michael Mulgrew, the new President of the 55,000 member United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in New York City oppose this. Both unions have the support of the New York State legislature.

Governor David Paterson needs to find $9 billion dollars soon to balance his $133 billion 2010 – 2011 budget. Many other governors have similar problems. Governor Paterson proposes to cut $1.7 billion from education statewide if he doesn’t find some extra money fast. The $700 million the feds offered to New York State could have helped, but the legislature didn’t go along, so the feds didn’t help. There will be an additional opportunity to make the necessary changes to qualify for further grant money in June. Time will tell how this works out.

I personally oppose the federal government medaling in the affairs of local schools, but there is a national interest here. We are being creamed when it comes to educating young people. Asian and Indian students in this country and in their own countries work much harder and are much smarter than the average American student. Further, the level of education in the Black and Hispanic communities is very low, with no improvement in sight. The federal government is trying to raise standards for all to a point where we as a nation can continue to compete economically with other nations.

In New York, there are many obstacles that local school boards must overcome to properly meet their responsibilities. A major obstacle is the powerful influence that teacher unions have on how schools are run. They are able, with their political donations and their ability to “get out the vote”, to influence the legislature to tilt education legislation in their favor. The Triborough Amendment to the Taylor Law voted into law in 1982 by the legislature is an example. While the Taylor Law prohibits teachers from striking, the amendment prohibits school boards from changing the existing teacher contracts when they expire. Under the law there is nothing local school boards can do to change policy while negotiating for a new contract, which could go on forever. Everything, including regular step-ups in pay, must remain as is until a new agreement is reached. The federal government, with its promise of grant money, is trying to pressure legislatures to dilute the influence of unions in school board negotiations. Time will tell if that works also.

Some educators are to blame also. For example, the New York State Education Department included in their proposal for grant money $200,000 for very expensive office furniture for their executives. That item was sited as one reason New York State lost out. The Schenectady, NY school board is now busy trying to protect itself from a possible criminal investigation and sure voter disapproval next November. Student achievement is not their number one priority right now.

Most of all, school boards and educators are fighting an up hill battle to educate when the State’s family structure is in such bad shape. Family structure has a predominant influence on learning preparedness*. The single earner family, where one partner works and the other stays at home to care for the kids, is a dying institution today. Further, families headed by single mothers and families fractured by divorce do not have the structure to properly prepare children for learning. The feds have very little influence here.

This is a tough problem.

*FAMILY ENVIRONMENT has a substantial influence on children's scholastic achievement. Home experiences can significantly affect the development of literacy and language skills among young children (Roskos & Neuman, 1993; Snow, 1995) in families who promote linguistic skill development, parents and other adults encourage reading, make books available to children, read to the children, and limit television viewing (Sulzby & Teale, 1991). Among Indochinese refugee families in the United States, children with high levels of scholastic achievement were likely to have parents who encouraged hard work and excellence (Caplan, Choy, & Whitmore, 1992).