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Opening Arguments

Let the mayor do it?

Dropout Nation is a blog covering the public education reform movement, edited by RiShawn Biddle, formerly an editorial writer for the Indianapolis Star. A recent post -- written by Biddle -- takes off on the Indianapolis school system ("The worst school district in the Midwest outside of Detroit" -- ouch) as a way to promote the importance of mayoral control of school systems as a reform strategy:

Why? Start with the fact that, unlike the traditional (and mostly unaccountable) board structure, there is one elected official who is in charge of schools, who is accountable for its success and failure of schools in providing high-quality instruction and curricula to children whose taxpayers are also voters. Given a mayor's chief role of improving the city's quality of life, the critical role of schools in economic and social development, and the bully pulpit that comes with the job, a mayor can be the standard-bearer for systemically reforming schools.

This is an issue I haven't thought about much, so I'd really like to hear it debated by advocates and opponents. I can see a lot of value in mayoral control, chief among them that the success of public education is critical to the success of a community, so having the fortunes of each intertwined makes sense. But I can see problems, too, chief among them that it places too much emphasis on who is in charge rather than on how the schools are structured and what they do.

Interesting article that touts the success of mayoral control but doesn't overlook the failures. It's largely about the issue of accountability, and whether mayoral control would enhance or retard that important quality. Recommended reading for those who care about the subject.

Comments

Doug
Tue, 11/29/2011 - 12:34pm

To me, it sounds like a species of "man on horseback" syndrome. Democracies are messy and inefficient; losing patience with such things, citizens are often willing to abdicate responsibility to a strong leader. That's what this school-by-mayor suggestion looks like to me.

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