Education Reform Needs Local Input

Education in California is at a crossroads. Everyone from parents to politicians is calling for reform, improved test scores and school accountability.

The Orange County District Superintendents’ Organization, which represents the 28 school districts and the Orange County Department of Education, also believes it is time for change in the state’s educational system.

However, we believe that if educational reform is to be successful, local school districts must have a say in creating the framework for reform.

Over the last 20 years, public education for kindergarten through 12th grade has moved from a locally controlled system to one that has been overly regulated and state controlled. Orange County superintendents believe this is wrong.

We interact daily with students, parents and communities. We see their struggles and successes, their dreams and their needs. We recognize the unique challenges that face each of the schools in our districts. We are held accountable for our performance, yet, for years, our actions have been strapped by financial inadequacies and constantly changing policies and procedural mandates from the state.

That is why the county’s superintendents are fully committed to education reform and improving student achievement through the development of a K-12 master plan. Proposed by the state legislative analyst’s office, a master plan would provide a logical structure to govern the education reform system and determine the appropriate state role in K-12 decision-making. Such a plan would identify the roles that each level of governance, from schools to districts to the state, should play.

A master plan could promote growth in productivity and generate positive student results by setting clear lines of accountability, methods for measuring progress and incentives for excellent performance.

Under a master plan, local school districts, not the state, should be responsible and accountable for program decisions and fiscal policies. A master plan would take politics out of the process and replace it with reasonable thought and strategy.

We think students would be served best if their teachers, parents, principals, superintendents and governing boards have the power to make decisions affecting their education.

The state should concentrate on taking responsibility for policies that local boards cannot address effectively on their own. District accountability, funding adequacy, research and evaluation and district support services are also important state roles.

Working in alignment with state curriculum standards, we know what programs work in each of our schools and where special attention should be paid. The flaw in the state’s “one size fits all” reform packages is that what may work in Los Angeles may not be what we need in Orange County.

Many of our school districts already have taken aggressive steps to improve student performance and offer an array of interventions to assist students at risk of underachieving. In the last several years, many state programs have been initiated without input from local school districts. Programs such as class-size reduction are sound educationally yet hasty because the state does not provide enough funding for facilities and staffing to implement the entire program.

We acknowledge the positive aspects of these programs. However, we believe they were put forward without a strategic plan for long-term success. In business, Fortune 500 companies do not move forward with new policies and change without a solid plan of attack. Why should our public school system operate differently?

Orange County superintendents seek to forge an alliance with Gov. Gray Davis and our state representatives to achieve higher academic standards and accountability. Orange County school districts need considerable program and financial flexibility in order to implement an educational program that will work in our local communities.

Orange County faces unique educational challenges. We have an extremely diverse student population, with many students from different cultures and countries. Student enrollment is growing countywide, which creates myriad logistical and facilities dilemmas.

We also face financial obstacles in striving to maintain the high standards and educational programs that Orange County parents and the community have come to expect from our schools. Local educational leaders must be allowed input on decisions that affect our students, teachers and staff.

Decisions made in which local schools, parents and students were involved have proved to be the most effective. Without such input, our students will be shortchanged. A master plan would help bring control back to the local level and empower our schools to make the most of the educational tools the state provides.

In their genuine zeal to help promote better student performance, state legislators and the governor would be well-reminded that top-quality business long has understood that top-down management approaches from hundreds of miles away do not work.

Education is about students and student learning. We are morally obligated to provide each and every one of the 471,412 students in Orange County the best opportunity possible to achieve and succeed. They are our future doctors, teachers, artists, engineers and business and civic leaders; how can we offer our students anything less?