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Johnson, Baker Share A Convention Moment
Former delegate Rushern L. Baker III, left, and County Executive Jack B. Johnson, once rivals, in Denver.
(By Justin D. Ross)
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Hope Porter, a parent of two Bowie High School students, led off the critique by observing that the school was crowded, with 35 students in an Advanced Placement government class and 33 students in another class.
June White Dillard, president of the county branch of the NAACP, hammered the school board for voting 6 to 4 to spend $36 million on a new school system headquarters, calling it "an action which is fiscally irresponsible" in tight economic times.
One speaker gave the board a break from the criticism, and then David L. Cahn, a leader of Citizens for an Elected Board and never one to mince words, blasted the board for not fighting the superintendent's initiative to move successful schools into an "autonomy zone," where principals would be given more freedom. Cahn said the zone would reduce the level of parental participation in school governance.
"We elected you to set policy and make decisions," Cahn told the board. "The superintendent works for you."
Finally, Carol Chin, a parent from Charles H. Flowers High School, pointed out problems with the new class scheduling computer system. She noted that more than 300 students were packed in the cafeteria on the first day of school, waiting for class assignments.
Deasy, who usually keeps his peace during public testimony, reacted sharply to Cahn's remarks: They were "factually false," he said, and parents would have an intermediate level at which to appeal questions of school governance.
Regarding Porter's note about crowding, Deasy said that "in many places in the county, staffing isn't just right for enrollment" and that at schools such as Bowie, staffing adjustments will bring classes down to a normal size.
Deasy also made a note of the district's new "student information system" software, saying that it had improved payroll and transportation, but that some kinks with the enrollment system were being worked out. "It's a darn sight better than what we had," he said.
After the meeting, Dillard chatted with District 1 board member Rosalind Johnson. She promised to justify the purchase of the headquarters by giving Dillard a not-so-grand tour of the school system's funky digs in Upper Marlboro -- mice, mildew and all.
Perhaps she'd better save that for Halloween.
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