Julie Underwood, dean of the school of education at the University of Wisconsin, has been watching ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, and warns that their agenda includes the elimination of local school boards.
School boards are a basic democratic institution. Some 95% are elected. They hire and fire superintendents and set each district’s policy goals. Most people would see them as an expression of local control, a place where citizens may voice their views.
But ALEC has a radical agenda of privatization, and the school boards get in the way. ALEC would like to see more vouchers and charters, and the creation of unelected state boards that can override local decision-making.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Link doesn’t work for me, Diane.
School Boards have been under attack for a long time. In this case it is probably costing those that would be king or queen too much and they are not wanting to have to go to every state and manipulate and influence folks. School Boards are just another nusiance factor to get out of the way when you want absolute control. Remember, respect of the other guys opinion does not seem to mean much these days. The more layers (no matter how good you may think they are) taken from the American checks and balance options, you stand to lose your ideal of what American life is or should be. Stripping the layers of citizen voices out of each of our systems of governance and having a small group of very self important overseers watching over and governing every decision for us is fool hearty and dangerous. You may not like school boards but they are important to our process for many reasons. Stand behind and with them. Go to your school board meetings and make yourself known and give your input. They and you are important to who we are as a nation.
I’ve been sounding this alarm for a long time now; it’s good to see other, more expert, commentators reaching the same conclusion.
Still, as a school board member I also fear there are many ways boards will disappear ALEC or no. Too many boards are under siege trying to balance state and federal budget cuts, increasing child and family poverty, parents and unions with unrealistic expectations, and a “school-industrial complex” that has become the province of administrators and consultants who dominate discussions with technical gobbledegook. Boards are thus left with fighting nasty, frustrating battles and having little to no direct impact on setting educational policy.
This year, my board is losing two members who have lost patience with the process. Another member who was just re-elected has openly expressed regret for returning, and I doubt I’ll run for re-election. The trend over the decades to treat education as a science (which is false), the increasing centralization at the state and federal level created by more and more funded and un-funded mandates, and the inability of the public to really confuse education with jobs-training, will, I fear, kill local control sooner than later.
To keep our local boards, we then have to acknowledge that local control has a real function in defining education that must be respected. We need to remove the noise of the politicians and “experts” who hawk faddish policies, ideas, and technologies as educational silver bullets. Most of all, we need to return to an understanding of the function education that is broader than just “getting a good job”.
Education is about creating and maintaining a culture; that’s why local control is so important. Only local boards can identify and define the issues of their communities and define educational policies to meet those issues. The question is do we want to hold on to this vision?
You have stated the problems — and the key question — so well. There are a couple of boards in our area that are fortunate to have a majority of members who define education broadly, and who manage to shut out at least some of the noise of “experts”. The students in those districts benefit markedly. I don’t know how long it will last, because those districts too are facing increasing poverty, decreasing funding, and way too many state and federal mandates.
I am trying to figure out what makes these boards successful, because the board in my district is struggling. How can communities help our local boards fend off the “school-industrial complex”? Our board votes to hire administrator after administrator and consultant after consultant (and their products) — for lots of money that could go to the classrooms. Individually, the board members express skepticism about silver bullets, but collectively they go for the “expert” advice every time. The board candidates sound so reasonable when they run, but when they get on the board they seem overwhelmed by the establishment.
I think (hope) that we still have the vision of education that you expressed so well. So how can communities recruit and retain board members who will shut out the noise while this fight for sane educational policies at the state and federal levels goes on? What kind of citizen awareness and participation are most needed? Would you mind if your last two paragraphs are quoted (with attribution) to raise awareness?
What would convince you to run for re-election?
I went off my board in Maine last year after being on 14 of the previous 18 years. Want to add one comment.
In Maine, at least, it is very clear in the law that the supt. works for the board. Our supt., with the help of the MSBA and MSMA, turned that on its ear and let us know he was in charge of the board, even to the point of illegally running his own “evaluation” executive sessions with a distributed agenda which was collected to be shredded before the doors were reopened.
I blew the whistle loudly and broadly and was labeled by the supt. as a “rogue director.” He called in the district’s lawyers to read me the riot act (in executive session, of course) about “board responsibilities,” threatening me with unspecified legal action if I would not fall into line. I invited him to do just that and threw the doors open, involving the press, my selectmen, and broadcasting loudly to all that I was being threatened to not do my job.
The supt backed down, but then made it his focus to get me off the board. I was elected board chair soon after, but the supt. twisted arms, held an illegal repeat election the next month (with the blessing of his lawyers), and had someone he could control elected instead. This was extreme, but the spirit of what our supt. did has been repeated all across the state, and most boards roll over and play dead.
Watch out! Maine is one of the states targeted by the Jebster’s FEE and their privatization agenda. (If only the Bushes would just keep to themselves on their property in Kennebunkport…)
tick, tick, tick….
Wargames fans – remember the WOPR?
Take the personnel out of the silos – let the computer make the decisions based on wargame scenarios. Efficient, cost-effective, privatized, and profitable. So why not take the superintendents out of the central offices (or consolidate them into one state or million student county district) and take the elected trustees out of the Board rooms.
I can hear the pitch to Gates et al now:
Hire short term teachers whose career path fits the low-cost business model
Design an E.D. Hirsch curriculum and deliver scripts to the teachers
Deliver the lessons with the 360 ___ rubric-based Eyeball videoing the room
Stream the video (somewhere) to be scored instantly.
Test the kids (online) based on the scripted curriculum of the low cognitive facts with instant results.
Run infinite scenarios based on annual test scores.
Link the scores to teachers and link the teachers to the colleges they attended.
Identify the teachers with the high scores and send them more scripts
Identify the teachers with the low scores and send their names to the corporate HR office to be terminated
Identify the colleges with the low composite teacher scores and send their names to the legislature to be unaccredited.
The principal weeds out the kids whose profile would be an anomaly to the business model and/or scores, retains some high-cost students as a loss-leader; spruces up the bait-and-switch school brochure; strolls through the neighborhood recruiting parents who will be involved; and keeps the lights on for another day and maybe a merit bonus.
Superintendents? School Boards? Democratic principles and principles of Democracy? Obsolete. Who needs them?
Efficiency prevails. Corporate profits go through the roof.
Maybe we could still have morning announcements just for nostalgia that begin with…
“Good morning Dave.” (sorry to mix metaphors and movies but I couldn’t resist)
Great comment, Jere. I couldn’t agree more.
Link didn’t work for me either.
Sandy, I replaced the link. Try it again. The article originally was a PDF file.
Yes, this was talked about all year in Indiana while the legislature was in session. We expect it will come up next session.
ALEC • Your Corporate-Owned Shadow Government At Work
Elimination of democratic governance – to be replaced by self-interested policies promulgated by billionaires – and the neighborhood public school are two of the holy grails of so-called education reform.
In Pa , Gov. Corbett has been pushing the ALEC agenda to privatize urban public schools and increase vouchers throughout the state. He has cut funding to public schools far below levels needed for children. ( But he has funding for building 2 new private prisons.)
For more info on ALEC
Google: ALEC Exposed- Privatizing Public Education, Higher Ed Policy and Teachers.
Throughout the US, The Eli Broad Superintendents Academy has been recruiting, preparing, and placing graduates in leadership positions at the highest management level in our nations urban school districts on order to play out the Broad Foundations agenda to take over public schools and have them run like profit making corporations.
The begin the ” destructive force” method to take over the public schools and closing public schools is part of their plan. ( Chicago, NJ, LAUSD, Philadelphia, DC, New Orleans, and on and on)
In Philadelphia PA, Superintendent William R. Hite is a Broad Superintendent
(He worked at the KIng George’s County Public Schools prior to coming to Philadelphia in October 2012.)They keep shuffling the same group of grads from one jurisdiction to another to continue their corporate Ed reform.
see:The Broad Report/ Broad Superintendents Academy)
For more info about Mr. Hite:
http://www.substancenews.net/articles.php?page=3854§ion=Article
( William Hite- Byrd Bennett/ same script to close schools)
Also google: Broad exposed/ Eli Broad/ Byrd Bennett
Back to PA-
Governor Corbett has nominated William E. Harner as the
NEW PA SECRETARY OF EDUCATION and… He is a graduate of the Broad Superintendents Academy- class of 2005- the same class as Hite.
Mr. Harner needs confirmation by the PA senate.
This would give Gov. Corbett all the POWER he needs to quickly implement his plan to privatize urban public schools and increase vouches in the state.
The School districts need to be aware of Mr. Harner’s true intentions.
He received praise from his former employee – the Cumberland Valley SD. (However, when he worked for the Greenville SD in South Carolina , the school board asked him to leave over a year before the end of his contract.- They didn’t want the kind of changes he wanted to have)
Without the oversight of an elected school board, the Broad superintendents academy graduates will come in to privatize the schools and destroy public education.
Thankfully many citizens of PA and quite a few Pa legislative members are against the privatization of public schools. I will writing to some members of education committee and express my concerns about this nomination.
I am grateful to all the writers on this blog who share their knowledge and experiences about the public education of children.
Since the media has almost been silent about the protests against the corporate takeover of urban public schools, this blog is so important for its honesty and in keeping us updated about what is happening in our country.
This is nothing but a naked war on democracy itself.
Both political parties are at fault, and they are the enemies of the American people because they are bought off by the same interests.
I always thought TFA was good. I don’t anymore.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/08/1089724/-The-ALEC-Teach-for-America-Connection
This is all about total control of society world wide for their personal use and profit. If they can do it and we allow it they will obtain it. Just that simple. Until educators realize this is warfare and they continue to operate with tiddly winks rules against those playing by the rules of thermonuclear warfare what do you think the outcome will be. CTU is the only organization which realizes what is happening and using the proper rules of combat as that is what it is. Politics, and that is what schools are, is warfare without guns. Read the “Art of War” and use those rules as that is what the other side is doing. I know you do not like it but if you do not adapt to reality you will be wiped out. They are counting on you freeze framing while they operate over your head and without any ethical rules. Deal with what is on the ground. All of you must know someone who has been in real combat In Vietnam, Korea or WWII not this joke now as 1.5 servicemen deaths/day is not to be considered a war when up to 80,000+ a day have died before. They will tell you how it really is. It is the same with the wins we have had here in L.A. against the big power in the last 6 months. First with less than three weeks and under $25,000 we stopped $90 billion. Second, with the help of the Diane Ravich blog followers and their friends Monica Ratliff was elected with $40,000 against maybe $2 million and the billionaires and their supporters behind them. Last, we just got the station stop in Leimert Park after two years of battle. You should hear the politicians brag about how they helped when it was warfare. In those situations you are happy you won and let them say what they want. Now we need to win the completion of the last 11 blocks for the subway underground not above ground which will totally devastate the last African-American business and cultural center on the West Coast. We are fighting with the proper rules and they are not tiddly wink they are “Art of War.” The stakes are too high and they do not want to be reasonable or fair as their are environmental justice issues in which MTA is ready to have a $10 billion overun on the “Subway to the Sea” for the wealthy but nothing for the African-American Community. What is the difference between this and education, absolutely nothing as the game is the same. I am just explaining how you win against great odds. Look at how Alexander the Great won against great odds. Read your military history through time and you will understand how to fight them.
In the spring of 1989, Mark Tucker. President,of the National Center for Education and the Economy (NCEE) gave a workshop at Plymouth College, Plymouth, N.H. During the presentation it was stated that local school boards, (LEA’s) representing legally elected community members, had become obsolete.,Members were basically uninformed andt meant well., but spent time in hassles etc.The nation needed to take hold before educational quality further declined and it was needed now. Do you remember ( “A Nation At Risk”, W. Bennett) sounding sounding the alarm!? That was a purposeful Stage 1.
Fast forward, in past years of declining “local control” as federal legislation took hold in states in the 1990’s to the most recent,”Race to the Top”.Common Core etc.Three years ago I secured a copy of Arizona’s RttT contract with the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) I circulated warnings to others…Few in the public recognized the Trojan Horse being wheeled in..The RttT contract spelled out in detail its requirements as designed and controlled by the NCEE, reffective of its contractual arrangements with the U.S. DOE and as accepted by AZ legislature. Requirements spelled out in detail :the , curriculum (vetted) publishers), their assessments, (computer driven), retraining of teachers, sample costs, requirements for school closures, encouragement of private-public charter schools (for profit schools) ) and so much more, the entire Plan.
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LEA”s are currently left to decide school buss transportation issues, responding to school closure requirements, and their shrinking school budgets as enrollments decline in favor of enticing charter schools.
……
LEA;s with their “”die diligence” and former controls were rendered ineffective and dismantled in the 1990’s…
In North Carolina – the first steps are being taken now. Removing Charter Schools from the State Board of Education purview and trying to redistrict Wake County School Board Districts – Largest in the state – to make it more GOP friendly.
‘Wonder if ALEC is behind the Prince Georges County Executive’s take over of schools in Maryland?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/baker-addresses-community-about-prince-georges-schools-plan/2013/05/29/3a6769de-c873-11e2-9f1a-1a7cdee20287_story.html
We are moving in this direction wherever we look! There’s an agreement that a majority vote can’t be enough in win in the Senate! That school boards can be appointed. That people who have been jailed don’t deserve a vote. That we can impose more and more roadblocks to being allowed to vote. That we can do the craziest forms of gerrymandering if we happen to be in office at the moment rezoning it takes place. And that there’s no limit to wh0o can spend how much money–you and I can give our favorites a million dollars too–so why are we complaining. But above all–the market lace, competition and profit are the highest forms of democracy. You are indefatigable, Diane–thanks again.
I live in Jefferson County, Colorado. We have a 5 member school board, 2 members are independent and have a positive history with the community, teachers, and promoting positive change. The other 3, elected last November were strongly supported by ALEC and other factions of the Tea Party. They are breaking the Board’s own bylaws, misrepresenting the community, and silencing the voices of their electorate. This is an example of how ALEC is coming through the back door to eliminate our school board’s effectiveness.