One of the reasons I chose accounting and finance for a career was that there is a high degree of certainty when dealing with numbers. One plus one always equals two and three times three always equals nine. What I didn’t foresee was the politicization of public education including school finance. More and more power is being concentrated at the state and federal level. Politics reign supreme while sadly less and less solid empirical research is going into the decision-making. The results are obvious. All too often a particular course of action, which seems reasonable on its surface, turns out to have significant negative consequences when implemented. If only our leaders had taken the time to do their homework before leaping into action.
My observation over the years I’ve been in education is that educators tend to be conflict avoidant. It could be that we see ourselves as “intellectuals” and as such we are above “getting down into the gutter” and passionately advocating for public education. Alternatively we fear saying something that someone might take offense. In this case “feelings” outweigh knowledge. The truth is that at some point we must conclude that life is not without risks and that in the end our lives can only be measured by what we stand for.
Now as business managers we are in a tough spot. We work for a superintendent and he/she works for a Board of Education. It is from this level of the organization, not ours, that leadership should come. Sometimes that is the case and sometimes it is not, hence our dilemma. In the end all we can do is all we can do. Write that one down. In my view staying silent may be the worst choice we can make. Why? Because in the end if and when things go wrong someone is going to get blamed and there is no better scapegoat in a financial crisis than the quiet, docile business manager. In a good organization divergent views are welcomed and “outside the box” ideas explored. In most districts our perspective is unique and while sometimes our ideas seem far-fetched at first, with a little refinement that crazy idea becomes practical. Let me give a case in point.
One of the eight “position points” of the Practitioners Summit was for the state to adopt a statewide teacher schedule. The intent was for this idea to become the basis for a broader discussion on standardizing compensation and reducing the administrative time school districts spend on labor negotiations. Initially, State Superintendent Mike Flanagan stated his opposition to the idea at the MSBO Annual Conference in 2009. Recently, Superintendent Flanagan has reconsidered his position and has expressed support of the idea. You see ideas are like seeds – sometimes they wither and die and sometimes they take root and grow, but until they are sown nothing will happen.
I can’t tell you what to do in your district. Only you know the political landscape. What I am urging you to do is to care enough about the future of public education to speak up when you have the opportunity and share you ideas and insight. Change is going to happen so don’t be apologetic for being passionate about working for positive change.