Arizona weighs state takeovers
Arizona lawmakers are moving closer to giving the state power to take over an entire school district where students fail to learn year after year. A bill that will be reintroduced this legislative session would allow the state to replace the struggling district's superintendent. That newly appointed superintendent would report directly to the state, instead of the local school board, for at least three years. It would apply to any district where the state has designated at least half of its schools as "underperforming" and at least one as "failing." These labels are based on student test scores, attendance and graduation rates. The state Board of Education would determine if the poor showing is a result of the district's academic mismanagement and if the superintendent needs to go. The state already can take over individual district schools where kids fail to learn. It has replaced curriculum or the principals, and even teachers and staff, at 17 schools that didn't meet state standards in 2006-07. In 2005, lawmakers granted the state power to place an entire district in receivership if it mismanaged money. Four districts are in receivership. The district academic-takeover bill has been a tougher sell. Tom Horne, Arizona's schools superintendent, has been trying for four years. It's unpopular with the Arizona School Boards Association. The state already has enough power to intervene in schools and districts with poor academic records, said Janice Palmer, the association's lobbyist. "It is troubling," Palmer said. "A governing board is elected by its community. It's responsive to its community, and the community expects it to make decisions about the superintendent. What we really need to do is work together to improve education for the future instead of taking folks over."
It's mainly Democratic lawmakers who have been uneasy about giving the state power to bypass local boards and take over an entire district. For the first time, three Democratic legislators who represent the Roosevelt District community teamed up to rewrite and sponsor the bill. "The people are upset about how the district is run," Campbell said. "It's been consistently bad. We've changed school-board members. We've changed school-board presidents. The results are the same." Now, even a former Roosevelt board member and president, Rep. Ben Miranda, a Phoenix Democrat, is ready to open the door for the state to take charge. "It's not about educating kids anymore," Miranda said about Roosevelt. "It's an employment agency that fights and resists any effort to change it and meet the goals and objectives of any school district, and that is to educate its kids." Twenty states and the District of Columbia have taken over districts, according to the Education Commission of the States. Results are mixed. Research shows a takeover can help eliminate nepotism, improve financial management and upgrade school buildings. Academic gains come more slowly, sometimes not at all. Arizona's Superintendent Horne said that if the proposal becomes law in Arizona, parents and students at failing districts will see "monumental" changes. "You would have instructional leaders making sure the teachers have a sense of urgency and are effectively teaching academics to students," Horne said. "That's what we don't have now."
Arizona Republic, 1/28/08, By Pat Kossan