You don’t want to know!
Yeah, O.K., spending one hundred grand to pay for out-of-town head hunters only to wind up with the obvious choice for Madison schools superintendent, a local boy with a national reputation who wants to return home to Madison, is taxpayer money down the drain. But it’s small change compared to its Big Ask on November 5.
“These firms are pretty much a scam,” writes one local blogger who says, as mayor, he never resorted to executive search companies.
Another reasonable scribbler sees the $100,000 job search as yet another sign of profligacy in a district asking taxpayers to support $607 million worth of spending in two referenda.
Blaska actually participated in one of the head hunters’ round table discussions. (We recount that saga here.) We always get the sense that these exercises are more for show. The idea is to pretend that someone is listening, even if they’re from out of town and well paid to do so. No one should be surprised. Progressives are always liberal with other people’s money.
Borrowing to placate the union
Down in Chicago, all seven members of its school board have quit rather than buckle under to the teachers union and its hired man, Brandon Johnson. Mayor Johnson wants to take out a $300 million short-term, high-interest loan in order to give union members 9% annual raises, 45 days off each school year and a list of other benefits. The Chicago school district already has a junk bond rating. Three-quarters of its students are functionally illiterate. The mayor and teachers union president send their kids to private schools.
Yet the teachers union has killed school choice in Illinois and taken to attack public charter schools and magnet schools, which do a far better job educating black children. They eliminated the private school escape hatch and are determined to eliminate public school competition that is embarrassing the teachers union-preferred “sustainable community schools” model. That model is failing students in the 20 schools where it currently exists.
The author of that slap of Mennen skin bracer is one Paul Vallas, who is associated with the McKenzies’ bid for a Madison charter school that would emphasize the construction trades. Which is why school board member Maia Pearson looks askance at the application.
We’ve been imploring former mayor Dave Cieslewicz to run for school board. Madison needs someone high profile with Democrat party bona fides to break through the incestuous crust. But Mayor Dave tells us “If nominated I will not run. If elected I will not serve. If impeached I’ll plead no contest.”
The city’s lone daily newspaper is willing to allow the teachers union and Freedom Inc. to run our schools. The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce should be on Red Alert — but they are MIA. Realtors, Downtown Madison Inc., civic groups, and the churches ought to make K-12 education their priority.
Blaska’s Bottom Line: The canary in the coal mine has already died when a city’s schools are in decay. So we must double down on school choice, aided by vouchers that allow the state’s school district contribution to follow the student to the school of his/her family’s choice.
6 responses to “Who’s running this show?”
“Is there a better reason to vote Republican?”
But, but, but, but, but, but, but doesn’t despicable Lefty slobber endlessly that Righty’s the one who’s anti-education…
The Gotch
Then give us a “reason to vote republican” and stop “slobbering endlessly about the left.
Another waste of money by MMSD.
On a side note. I read an article on maciverinstitute.com about how local school boards (Monona Grove) don’t have a budget as most people would think. When I go to MMSD’s web site and try and look up the budget and get lost. If I go to City of Madison web site and look up budget I can find it in general and broke down by departments and can look up what a street ssm1(street operator 1)makes in average, how many are employed and even how much the Street Department pays for utilities. Maybe MMSD could be more open about their budget before just wanting more money.
It’s time to deploy Constanza Opposite Theory (COT).
We don’t need a better school board, we just need one less likely to do anything. If they took some cues from the civilian police oversight board and simply collected paychecks and nothing more we’d see some wonderful improvements in the schools.
For the next Superintendent search (3 years tops as Gothard is probably already looking for greener pastures), institute the following rules:
– Candidates must be local
– Candidates must not have a PhD
COT is the obvious solution.
It maybe sooner than 3 years if the referendums fail.
To put a common sense Democrat or Republican or non-partisan on the School board is impossible because they will not run or serve because they know that is like putting a mouse in the cat cage. They would be shamed off of the board by the current members. We need to have all board seats challenged by competent challengers so that perhaps half of them get electyed and then we might make some progress on saving our schools.