New Ideas for Education

According to 2009-2010 RCSD budget, it now costs $20,000 per year to educate a student in Rochester.  Rochester’s per-student spending is among the highest in the nation.  New York City spends only $15,000 per student per year, and faces the same, if not greater, urban problems that Rochester does.  We pay more money per student every year and performance remains the same.

The clear implication is that our money is being wasted.  Either it’s being spent on programs that don’t serve our children’s needs, or diverted to repay political favors from individuals and corporate interests.

Whatever the truth may be, what we’re doing now simply isn’t working.  We pay more every year and nothing gets better.  So while I agree that some of my proposals have potential downsides, at least we’d be doing something different — something that might actually improve things.

First, I will tie school administrator pay to student performance.  Right now we have administrators taking home six-figure incomes while their students graduate to minimum wage jobs — or no job at all.  I’ve heard it said that we need to have high salaries to attract the best and the brightest.  But, we’ve been doing that for decades now and it hasn’t produced any substantial improvements.  Let’s try something else.  We will give newly hired administrators a one year grace period so that struggling schools will still attract talented people.

Secondly, I would like to explore alternative methods of education.  While the school district has given small amounts of money and lip service to alternative educational methods, the commitment has been insincere.  There are too many entrenched interests, exacerbated by our City’s one party rule, for real alternatives to be available for all those who could benefit from them.

I would allow teachers the freedom to experiment, to use their experiences and talents to find solutions to our educational problems.  The lessons learned from this process should be shared freely, so that we can reward success and move forward in new directions.

Bureaucracy discourages innovation, because it makes those in charge look unimaginative.  We need a strong voice on our school board to cut through the red tape, to allow creativity to flourish so that our children can succeed.

Thirdly, I will introduce what I call the everybody wins plan. You could buy at least two high-quality private school educations for what it costs to educate a student in Rochester public schools. So, if a parent wishes their student to attend a private school, they will get half of the per-pupil allotment to use for tuition. The school district keeps the other half, even though they don’t have a student to pay for. The school district also gets to keep the difference if a private school tuition costs less than $10,000, which it almost certainly will. I am proposing 50% as an upper limit only. The school district will almost certainly get thousands more to keep.

Under this plan, the Rochester City School District would get $10,000 for a student they don’t have to pay to educate, and parents would get $10,000 for tuition. At any private school in the Rochester area (except the Harley School), that would completely cover the cost of tuition. Everybody wins!

This reduces class sizes, generates a financial surplus for public school districts, gives parents more choices, and allows poor children to attend a private school that would otherwise be out of reach.

Finally, many teachers are frustrated with the school district’s policies.  A number of teachers have approached me on their own initiative, and said that they are afraid to speak out because they fear reprisal.  This is unacceptable.  We must put in place protections for those who are only trying to provide input and help the school district to be the best environment for education that it can be.

I think it’s time to try something other than the unsatisfactory strategies of the present.  Please join me in bringing new hope to our schools and a better tomorrow for our children.