The Courier-Journal (Louisville)
Proposed JCPS breakup only ignores the bigger picture
Jefferson County Public Schools is abhorrent and should be abolished and broken up immediately!
Sadly, many in the state legislature and around Kentucky (fueled by misinformation and hyperbole) hold this view. As common sense would dictate, we need to have the mostly rural legislature determine the fate of the students in the largest (and most diverse) urban district in Kentucky. Only they can save us.
Yeah, OK. In my years of working with and around our legislature, never once have I been privy to conversations on how they can partner to improve outcomes for JCPS students. Rather, I have heard more about how the district has too many people making six figures and we have so many people below reading level. “JCPS is failing our students of color” is the new approach they are trying out. Critiques are valid, but valid critiques take introspection.
How have you helped JCPS students of color?
Have you created a state that provides opportunity for their families to thrive? Have you fully funded the district as legally required? Have we addressed systemic racial inequities that permeate through all facets of society? Nah? Oh, okay, well how about we do that and do as the annoying guy in the Zoom meeting says and circle back.
Look, we have our problems but simple-minded approaches are not the solution. Breaking up the school district? How does creating more districts solve the problem of having fewer bus drivers? Are we having autonomous buses in these fancy new districts? Also how are we paying them?
We also have a teacher shortage. I heard it proclaimed at a luncheon this was due to the lack of discipline in JCPS schools. What? Maybe some teachers are leaving for that reason but I’d venture to guess the low pay, lack of respect from legislature, pension underfunding and so on are more to blame. But again, that requires introspection. Easier to pass blame than shoulder any. And what about the national and state teacher shortages?
JCPS superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio is one powerful man to somehow control the national state of the teaching profession.
Real solutions are collaborative, not mandated from top down
The talk of splitting the district, or exploring the option as they say, does nothing to address the inequities that create the most pressing issues. If you want neighborhood schools, for example, invest in neighborhoods. There is no way to assemble multiple districts that doesn’t in turn create a have and have nots setup. Due to issues like redlining and other vestiges of racism, our community is segregated enough.
This isn’t new or original. Republican legislatures have been targeting urban districts and boards. Texas legislators have gutted the Houston school district, going so far as to change libraries to discipline centers and created a process that makes it harder to check out books than buy a gun.
Here is a peek behind the curtain — extremist right-wing groups propose and share model legislation and playbooks every year on ways to achieve their ultimate goal of, checks notes, unfettered power. When I worked as a legislative drafter, reps from these groups would reach out, alongside or with permission of a legislator and basically say, hey let’s pass this here... you go change the words to make it fit Kentucky.
So the notion that the legislature wants to “look” at what changes are needed is suspect, they already have a playbook from states like Texas or Wisconsin.
We need a school district that works for all students
To get there, we need the support of those who are able to empower it. JCPS is a district of almost 100,000 students who speak over 140 languages in 165 schools. And contrary to popular belief, they are doing some amazing things. Despite being underfunded and under attack, JCPS has four of the top 10 high schools in the state, and recently boasts the Kentucky high school teacher of the year in my friend and fellow Advisory Council for Racial Equity member, Kumar Rashad.
Every child in this community deserves a quality education that prepares them to have a bright future, successfully compete in a global economy and pursue their dreams. We need to create true partnerships between the district and the state that has the ultimate goal of that success. This district has unique challenges, which also allows it to have unique accomplishments. Not all problems in a relationship means you break up — that is the easy way out — so is any proposal to split a district without thinking about the larger picture and at least trying to see what it looks like when the state gets fully behind its largest, and most diverse, district.