Metro school board member David Fox is apparently trying to sell the idea of appointing school board members rather than electing them.
At a time when Metro schools face grave problems, the last thing the district needs is less accountability. This is a bad idea of epic proportions.
One of the problems Nashville schools faced under Dr. Pedro Garcia's tenure was that the director wanted the board to simply say yes or no to policy decisions and stay out of all other matters. For many years, he largely got his way and that resulted in the state takeover of many schools because they failed to perform.
Garcia's recent departure only came when the public reacted to an ill-conceived plan to rezone the school district and a school board that began to get actively involved decisions that affect school operations. Under a system of appointments, the public's ability to push for change would be greatly reduced.
The Nashville school system is in serious trouble, made worst by those who want to reduce accountability and isolate neighborhoods where the greatest challenges exist. It was demonstrated today in the Chamber of Commerce Annual Education Report Card where Co-Chair Bob McNeilly said the district was missing the standard of a 10 percent non-graduation rate.
McNeilly is correct on missing the target. What's wrong is the target. None of us would accept that failure rate any product we buy. Would anyone really want to have a food system where 10 percent of what we eat is unedible? Food is vital to our lives, and so is a quality education system.
If we're going to have a better school system, we need more accountability. Fox's proposal would further isolate parents from the people responsible for the quality of our schools and that should never be an acceptable situation.
- Jim Grinstead
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