2/1/2007:  Tonight I am speaking about checks and balances.  As we go forth in our effort to write a charter for the Town of Plymouth I caution us all to remember checks and balances in this preparation. Checks and balances are fundamental to our democracy at all levels.  It requires compromise. No one individual or group is always right or has all the good ideas.  As we have been listening to speakers advocating for one thing or another there has been no consensus building so far.  A system of checks and balances may take more time to get a project accomplished, but it has greater trust from the governed.

As a school committee member I am using examples of how schools can be affected by what is written. I, as an elected member of the school committee feel a strong obligation to the 20% of Plymouth’s population that are its students. They have no vote or voice in any form of government that we might propose.  They have a right to a decent education that will prepare them for the global society with all its challenges that we live in today and they will in the future. 

Tremendous burdens have been placed on the school system and the bar has steadily been rising through the Federal No Child Left Behind program and the state MCAS requirements.  It puts continuous stress on students and staff, but also strains the budget as we strive to add more tests, remedial teaching, government reporting, etc.   

There lies our problem.  Everyone, it seems, would like to get their hands on the school budget dollars.  People have complained that the school budget isn’t submitted to town meeting by line item so that it can be cut.  Massachusetts Ed Reform required this by law for all communities.  As we prepare our budget, though, we hold budget meetings line by line openly and televised and have a public hearing.  The budget is always available at school administration.  My concern is that you know I am not now advocating for or against any particular form of government.  I wish to make that very clear as I go forward.  I am just concerned about checks and balances as we write whatever document.   

The School Board News of the National School Boards Association this month has an article in it entitled D.C., L.A. mayors make plans to take over school districts.   I will summarize it.  In D.C. the mayor announced one day after taking office that he would take over the school budget and give management authority to a new chancellor, who would be a cabinet member.  He would also appoint a new ombudsman to communicate with parents and a facilities manager to guide a $200 million school construction program.  The elected school board would continue to oversee curriculum, standards, teacher certification, and a few other areas related to academics.  Interesting because he takes the $$ and the school board still has the responsibility of the instruction pieces that are needed to make the schools increase their performance. Therefore he has no accountability for the low-performing schools that he stated he was so concerned about.  The school board will still take the heat while he has the dollars they need for the remediation. All this under the guise of improving his city’s low-performing schools.

In L.A. it’s the same reason for the grab of funds.  The method is different.  It was done with a new state law which was struck down in court as an unconstitutional breech of power.  But the mayor plans to appeal it in court and will go forward with his plans to remove authority from the school board to the superintendent who will report directly to the mayor.  This is a challenge to state law for the rights of citizens to elect their school board representatives.  It has become a political agenda with the facts distorted by the mayor.   

Last week when Weymouth’s Mayor David Madden spoke with us, he also spoke to the fact that he took over the budget of the school rolling it into municipal finance.  He seemed pleased and noted that it took the school committee a long time to get used to the idea. 

Again – checks and balances.  Does he take responsibility when No Child Left Behind and MCAS scores fail to meet adequate levels?  He noted that as a member of the school committee he usually does not vote on the prevailing side of an issue.  What does that mean?  No one can effectively represent everyone or we wouldn’t need more than one branch of government.   

Remember when Bill Nolan came to speak with us as Chair of the last charter commission he conceded that one of the mistakes they made was being too strong on the school issues.  The fear in the community at the time was about the independence of the school committee to fulfill the 1993 Massachusetts Ed Reform Law mandates. 

Other changes that could affect the schools are:  the mayor being a member of the school committee or even its chair.  We do not advocate that he be the chair.  The mayor being a member removes one elected position. If the mayor sits on multiple boards where is his first loyalty, the taxpayer or the children? 

How a person would be selected to replace a member in the event a member could not fulfill his term is another issue.  Presently it’s the school committee along with the selectmen that vote to fill the position.  If a mayor/council or manager/council it could be many more of them with the school committee creating a huge imbalance.  The school committee would be outnumbered and lose its voice in the choice to fill the position on its board. 

The building committee is an important discussion.  The law provides that the school committee votes on a school building project.  It used to be that the town and schools had separate building committees.  In later charter changes it was made one town building committee with only 1 school committee member.  That was later voted to become 2 school committee members which is presently the case.  The problem for the school committee members is they have to sit through all town building issues which they are actually not involved in at all.  We should have someone from the building committee speak to us.  Perhaps a subcommittee for schools could be an answer.   

We also should look at the possibility of a mayor being able to veto a needed building project. Mayor Madden also mentioned that when he took office he did not like the approved building project and vetoed it, replacing it with his building project.  Building projects need the approval of the school committee by law, so we need to look at a check and balance to keep a needed project. 

When we speak about fixing what’s broken, the town and schools have been diligently working on this over the past couple of years.  Examples of this successful effort are as follows:

• The superintendent meets weekly with the town manager and town department heads

• The school department has combined its health insurance expenditures into the town municipal budgeting process

• Budget guidelines are now discussed and the school committee follows the recommendation set by the selectmen

• Joint elected committees now meet periodically on major town issues which has set a new precedent

• All of these cooperative efforts should be continued as they have developed a spirit of cooperation that has not been seen in this town in a long time. 

Plymouth’s future depends on the quality of students that we graduate.  We need to serve them in the best way possible.  They are our legacy.  Let’s not forget them when we write our charter.  They can’t vote and don’t have a voice. They depend on us for that.