What If Nobody Blinks?

As I write this editorial, the teachers of the Cleveland Public School System are deadlocked in negotiations with the school board and its administrative officers. The current contract already has expired but both sides have agreed to an extension until September 16, 1996. Both sides agreed to keep talking in a last-ditch effort to avoid a strike.

As is often the case, the major point of conflict seems to be money. In reality, lack of money is only the surface reflection of a much deeper problem. Without a doubt, the underlying issue in most school conflicts is control. Here's an example of what can happen.

At some point, a taxpayer -- typically a parent of one or more students attending the schools -- becomes dissatisfied with some aspect of how the system is operated. This usually results in an attempt to resolve the problem through one or more direct channels of communication. If the problem is with a teacher, who is contacted directly, the problem stands a good chance of being resolved. I say this because the vast majority of the teachers I have talked to or met with have been pleasant, cooperative and have the best interests of their pupils at heart.

If the problem falls under the jurisdiction of a school administrator; e.g., superintendent, traffic coordinator, etc., it is often possible to reach the appropriate individual via a meeting, or at least by telephone. At this time, the dissatisfied outsider is informed of the first commandment relative to initiating a confrontation with the school system: "Thou shall not criticize or suggest changes or perceived improvements to school administrators for they are wiser and more knowledgeable about school affairs than the more common and lower life forms, such as thyself."

The typical result of this confrontation is:

• Nothing changes in the way the school system operates.
• The taxpayer walks away totally frustrated.
• The frustrated taxpayer votes NO on all future school levies because it's the only way to get back at the system.

What brought this to mind was a conversation I had with a gentleman I met during my recent visit to IMTS. Like me, he was a graduate of the Cleveland school system. Unlike me, he had recently moved back into Cleveland because he wanted to be part of what he believes will be a rebirth of the city and its crumbling neighborhoods.

Back in the early 1970s, a Federal judge ordered forced cross-town bussing in response to a lawsuit that claimed neighborhood schools were the cause of defacto segregation. This devastated the school system in several ways:

• Many if not most of the families with the economic means to do so moved out of the Cleveland school district.
• The school district was forced to spend million of dollars each year on bussing; money that was badly needed to operate the schools.
• Cleveland residents who remained haven't passed more than one school money issue in the last 25 years.

When I pointed this out to the gentlemen, he observed, "And we won't pass one in the foreseeable future; until they stop wasting the money they have, we're not about to give them more."

I don't know if tax dollars are being wasted or not. I do know that without a good school system a city won't attract new businesses, won't see much in the way of economic growth and won't be able to generate the resources necessary to rebuild its decaying neighborhoods. It's impossible to fund the future with a seven percent cut in teacher's salaries!