School boards under fire

by Diana M. Fessler

Commentary on the proposed Office of Education Accountability and Productivity (OEAP).

I've spent a good bit on time on the phone answering questions about OEAP. Since so many people are asking the same questions (and I'm giving the same response over and over), it seems appropriate to provide a short summary of what the OEAP and its Governing Council are all about. In order to fully understand the scope of OEAP, Sub. HB 412 and Sub. SB 55 must be viewed alongside each other.

The OEAP will have a Governing Council that is made of appointees. Two of the appointees will be John Goff, the head of the ODE and the other will be Greg Browning, the Director of the Office of Budget and Management. The bill is silent regarding the qualifications of the other four appointees. A director will be appointed by Browning.

Unless stopped, the OEAP will, among other things, be authorized to adopt rules requiring districts that have over 5,000 students to be operated by site-based management councils. Those rules will specify the power, duties, functions, and responsibilities "that would otherwise be exercised by the district board of education." [Line 1189-1215 Version 4, Sub. H.B. 412]

An article in the July 1996 issue of Education Week reported on the recommendation of the Education Commission of the States. Their recommendations were built on the premise that district school boards have become such a serious impediment to school improvement that state officials might consider disbanding them in favor of new boards with new roles." In speaking of education reform, they said, "These missions are fundamentally different from those now performed by local school boards, and it is hard to imagine how a board established to run schools directly could adapt smoothly to such a profound change. State governments might at some point need to dissolve existing local school boards and central administrative offices and establish new ones with the new mission." The State of Ohio, including Governor Voinovich, Dr. John Goff, and the chairs of the House and Senate Education Committees are members of the Education Commission of the States. Membership is paid with your tax dollars.

School improvement means wholly different things to different people. What it means to central planners is the total restructuring of our education system. Central planners know that intelligent people with an ounce of good sense aren't going "adapt smoothly" to implementation of radical, unproven, expensive programs and policies. Their solution: Dissolve existing local school boards and replace them with those who will allow restructuring to move forward without restraint.

Among other things, the OEAP is to establish the standards for proficiency tests and to phase-out the 9th grade test, replacing it with a 10th grade test. Currently, the State Board has oversight of the proficiency tests. Accordingly, not only does the proposed legislation diminish the "power, duties, functions, and responsibilities" of board members in districts with over 5,000 students, it also diminishes the authority of the State Board of Education. Is your board next?

The committee vote on Substitute H.B. 412 and Substitute S. B. 55 will probably take place on July 28 or 29 and the bills may be voted on by the full House and Senate as early as Wednesday.

July 27, 1997

Diana M. Fessler