Change is improvement

AB394, like a similar bill in the Legislature that would convert handfuls of underperforming public schools into charters, is a “nuclear option” designed to bypass a school district that many see as perennially ineffective. But is it too much, too fast? “Let’s stop saying we’re going to change the deck chairs on the Titanic,” said bill sponsor David Gardner, an assemblyman from Las Vegas. “Let’s actually try something.”

Brune, of the Guinn Center, said she understood the frustration with CCSD, but if the state had to prioritize which education programs to fund, a breakup should not be high on the list.

“In the grand scheme of things, tinkering with the size of the school district isn’t really going to move the ball down the field,” she said.

She said a far better predictor of low achievement in a district was large school sizes and inexperienced teachers.

Gardner thinks smaller districts will increase parental involvement in schools, which could set higher expectations and improve student performance. He said CCSD is top heavy and doesn’t do a good job listening to parent concerns.

Still, he conceded the plan might be ineffective.

“That’s always a possibility,” Gardner said. “But it’s always a possibility that we keep doing what we’ve been doing for 40 years and nothing changes.”