Who's in charge?

So the SSA saga continues. This morning's City Paper contains only two items of note.

One of them regards the use of a tactic that is routinely used when the standard representative option is perceived to have failed one side and they are not satisfied with losing. That tactic being to take their case to the courts. Inconviently:

Rich Haglund, general counsel for the state Board of Education, said it is unlikely that MPASS could pursue legal action based on the state Board of Education’s guidelines [to include parental input] because it is not considered a mandate.

I'd be surprised if that actually stops them though (see update below). I am concerned about the extortion factor and how sturdy the BOE backbone is. We shall see Tuesday who is actually running this school system.

The other item is this quote from PAC President Julie Lamb:

“... I felt like the committee is definitely for standard school attire,” Lamb said, “They’re principals and they know what they want in their buildings.

Let's go over that line again with the assumption that Ms. Lamb's assessment is true. These are principals charged with the safety and education of MNPS children. If they want SSA because in their best judgment after a year of study and discussion it will enhance their mission of keeping children safe and educating them well--what are the compelling reasons for vetoing their best judgment? There are none.

It has become clear though that some parents and their children value self-expression more than the experienced judgment of the principals on this committee. They would, essentially, demand that their child's school secede from the public school system and be autonomous entities. Of course, many of them have already seceded from the public system via the magnet schools. I'm glad their children have been afforded this option. But here's another example of how our educational castes are splintering the system.

These few parents seem to think that the lack of the right kind of evidence for something equals its inability to be part of the solution.

And what gets completely lost in this push to meet the demands of a few vocal parents and their children is that these schools are owned by the public not them. This system is paid for by the public. It is accountable to the public. The school board members voting on this are accountable to the public, paid by the public and need to keep in mind that making a few parents happy may very well result in making a lot of already frustrated voters and taxpayers even more resolute in their belief that what they want is of no matter. And when that MNPS budget hits the Metro Council and those councilmen must vote on the appropriation--who do you think they're going to listen to? Will it be a few parents who are unwilling to cooperate with the system in its effort to make improvements or voters and taxpayers who are weary of demands on their wallet without any say in the process?

From my point of view SSA is a small price to pay for the goodwill of the community that could pay off at budget time and even bigger dividends if these experienced principals are right and SSA does enhance safety and education.


UPDATE: Ashley Crownover posted a correction to the tone of the City Paper article on the MPASS e-list saying it wasn't the intention of the organizers of MPASS to pursue legal action but that if the vote was for SSA it would be reasonable examine whether the rules had been followed.