School Board to Engage in Critical Thinking?

Baraboo News Republic - Dec. 7, 2007
Dateline: Baraboo
Superintendent's contract on docket for February

Baraboo School Board members will discuss Superintendent Lance Alwin's contract in February after voting against automatically extending his contract for another year earlier this week.

The standard contract between a district administrator and the board provides for an automatic one-year extension if no action is taken on the renewal of the contract, said Kevin Vodak, president of the board.

This does not mean that the Alwin will not be rehired at the end of his term, Vodak said.

The contract between the school board and the present administrator was signed in May 2007 and will expire June 30, 2009.

The board will be discussing this issue again in early February, said School Board member Patricia Spragg. - News Republic
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You heard it here first – before this week’s meeting! It was time for board members to find their kahonas and bring common sense to a board meeting. It’s a baby step – singular, lone, and atypical. They finally did it (TOOK YA LONG ENOUGH) and I respectfully give them credit for doing so. The brakes to the mindless head-bobbing of board members have been tapped. Hopefully the board doesn’t blow the opportunity to purge the district of a bad apple.

What is the motive behind board members not auto-blessing Alwin’s contract for an additional year? Could it be that they’ve finally seen the light? Possible, but doubt it.

Is the move a political ploy for board members preparing to run again? More likely. There’s a lot of community sentiment that the district administration is out of control and lacks leadership. By making community members perceive that Alwin is in danger of not having his contract auto-renewed, it may make some community members think board members have had a change of heart - just long enough and just in time for the election. After all, “perception is everything.” So is timing.

Why wait until February to take up the matter again? If board members want a snowball’s chance of being re-elected, this is one way to pull the wool over the eyes of the community long enough to get through the election. And, IF (a big IF) some actually get re-elected, all bets are off and God help us all.

Board members have proven time and again they’re clueless “working with” the government school system they’re supposed to be in charge of. It would be a shocker if the existing board members actually let Alwin’s contract lapse. It's being done now to get the bang for the political buck come elction time. Otherwise, it would have been a higher priority sooner. I don’t think all four incumbents will make it through the election process and be in office to have the chance to see it through. It’s doubtful the board will take further action of non-renewal until a few weeks prior to the election - just for suspense. Remember, timing is everything.

Bottom line: If by some miracle all the stars align at a board meeting and the board allows Alwin’s contract to lapse, the board will reserve the right to renege and Alwin would be a lame duck. Taxpayers would have a $200,000 paperweight for the next year and a half and Alwin would ultimately laugh his way all the way to the bank. An expensive lesson learned (and hopefully not repeated), but it beats the alternative of retaining a bad apple and it’s cheaper than buying Alwin out of a contract that never should have been renewed in the first place. DUH!

Baby steps…

By the way, what’s the deal with the BNR regarding this article? “Earlier this week,” buried on page three below the fold with the byline “News Republic”. Doesn’t anybody want to take credit for their hard work any more? Or, does the newspaper want to distance itself and not admit they made a mistake enabling Alwin and his “visions”?

UPDATE: This is an excellent description of critical thinking. I hope I didn't credit the school board prematurely in the headline! H/T - Chris.

The Lowering of the Bar/Boondoggle

Courtesy of EdWeek.org

U.S. Students Fall Short in Math and Science

Teenagers in a majority of industrialized nations far surpassed their American peers in mathematics in results that seem likely to add to recent consternation over U.S. students’ core academic skills.

• America Idles on International Reading Test
(December 4, 2007)

Here's one take on the subject, supported by several different responses:

Time will tell if the "flavor of the day" teaching methods really work. The initial report is: it's not looking good. Time to get back to basics before our educational system can't educate anyone past the equivalent of fourth grade in 1969. Remember, today's kids are the folks that will be caring for us when we get old. Don't they (and we) deserve better than what's on the horizon?

Boondoggle (def.): to do work of little or no practical value merely to keep or look busy.

Yep. Shoe fits.