Fighting back against politics in school systems.

But what happens when Mayor Scott leaves?

ALOT of people in this state have a lot of respect for the Office for Education Policy at the UofA. It’s a source of statistics and reports—and general hope—for those concerned with education in Arkansas.

And its executive director, Sarah McKenzie, is always good for a quote whenever an inky wretch needs a little perspective on a story about education.

Or a lot of perspective.

Sarah McKenzie and Josh McGee, also of the OEP, published an op-ed on the opposite page the other day titled “Frank solution.” As in Frank Scott, the new mayor of Little Rock.

The gist of the Voices piece: Put the new mayor of Little Rock in charge of the local, and failing, school district. As a young, organized, and inspiring mayor, Frank Scott could get the job done where others (including the state) have failed.

And if not, that’s another plus. At least he’d be accountable to the people as a duly elected mayor.

It’s tempting to put a lot more on Mayor Scott’s plate. Doubtless, he could handle it all. Or, as good leaders do, he’d likely delegate enough of it to able experts, then be bold enough to make decisions based on their input. As a mayor, Frank Scott might make an excellent school board if given half the chance.

But this would only be a good idea if the residents of Little Rock could always

be assured of someone like Frank Scott being behind the mayor’s desk. What happens when somebody else becomes mayor? What happens, for example, when a Bill de Blasio-type gets the job, and starts eroding all the charter schools? Or is beholden to special interests? Or has an ax to grind or campaign promises to keep? Little Rock has had a run of decent mayors in the modern era, but that doesn’t mean it will always be so.

Perhaps one reason America the beautiful went from having pols run the schools from City Hall to independent school boards in charge was to isolate the schools as much as possible from sooty politics. This being a mortal endeavor, you’ll never take politics out of the school system. But there are ways to diminish political pull.

Of course, third parties will try to elect school boards to their own ends, which happens frequently enough when unions try to elect a slate to the local school board, the better to negotiate contracts with themselves. But union pressure won’t ease when/if the mayor’s office takes over.

In short, we appreciate everything the Office for Education Policy is doing, and is trying to do. But handing over the Little Rock School District to the Little Rock mayor might be only a short-term solution. And bad policy in the long run.