Full time well paid D150 board members? Today's JS article by Dave Haney, "Board Member Questions Edison Contract", is another selling point for 3 full time, well paid elected board members, replacing the 7 un-paid, mostly well-meaning but unqualified citizens. Each full-time board member would be appointed to a 3 year term with one member replaced each year starting, of course, after serving three years and then stepping down; by lottery, etc., and not eligible to be re-appointed until the other 2 members have completed 6 and 9 year terms. Replacing one member a year with a new member would keep "program continuity" plus not allowing one member to dominate.
Any appointed board member could be replaced at any time time depending on contract performance.
Who would do the appointing? A separate board of say five elected non-paid members. Divide D150 into 5 districts by equal population count per member. Term limit 3-4 years.
OK, you don't think this would work. Well, it's a beginning and the "best and the brightest" can go forward. To date, they haven't. Why not? A public charter school accepting 225 5th through 7th grade, leaves 13,000+ kid going back to where they were for 2010-11 academic year. And still no vocational school for half the kids who will drop out between year one and year 12. What part of Vo/Tech doesn't this community, board and administration, not understand?? The union at least appears to understand that part of the D150's failure.
It has been obvious for a long time that the School Board system being used in D150 is obsolete. 7 board members, some with little knowledge in running any kind of a business, yes D150 is an $150,000,000 business, have been the major reason for the failure of many of the schools in the district. Of course, a lot of the problem is the family, but the school should control the culture and the atmosphere while the kids are in their care. Failure to attract, appoint and hold good principals (and good teachers)has been a major part of the problem.
Why is the statement by D150 Board Member Jim Stowell so disconcerting? The failure of Louck's Edison School was caused by a "politically correct" decision by the administration to replace over-qualified Tom Welsh as principal with an unqualified male and later on with an unqualified female. After Mr. Welsh, now principal at Dunlap High School left in 2004, I personally observed the system slide downhill. Eventually it was closed as a "cost savings move" yet re-occupied by students from the burned out Jefferson School. Possibly to become a partially?? tax supported public Charter School.
Stock broker Stowell's statement "I don't want to remove the Edison-like model, but I believe we need to own it, not buy it. We have outstanding staff and teachers who I think can do the job without the cost to? (should be cost) OF Edison.
Stowell is buying in to the union mindset, a union who opposed Edison from the beginning 10 years ago. A union who opposes opposition not just in Peoria, but nationwide. The same 15 year old story; why can't D150 run all schools in their jurisdiction as schools should be run? The answer is, they can't, and never will, for many of the reasons cited.
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