School Board Update March 2006

It’s been a busy few months on the School Board – below is an update. Thanks for taking the time to read about our schools and my activities as your School Board member. If you have any questions or comments, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Indya 

BUDGET
We passed our recommended budget in early March. This has been sent to the County Mayor and Commission for their consideration. The Mayor will propose his own version of the budget sometime in the next month, and then Commission will vote on it. Once that happens we will re-visit our budget and decide how to allocate the amount we’ve been appropriated, which is typically less than what we ask for, but hope springs eternal.


We requested a 4% increase over last year
We asked for $333.6m, an increase of 4.22% over last year’s budget of $320m. This is really a very conservative budget that covers inflation, non-discretionary items and a bit more. The non-discretionary increases include things like a state-mandated 2% teacher raise, salary schedule step increases for teachers and non-certified staff, retirement contributions, utilities and debt service increases for school construction projects. 

Last year we initially asked for $347m, which included a wish list of all our needs. We got $320m. This year we trying a different approach, based on expected revenues rather than a wish list. We’ve been told that the county budget is very tight. We’d like to maintain the schools’ share of any revenue increases. In recent years our total budget has increased, but our share of the total county budget has decreased. 


Potential Cuts
Our proposal includes some cuts too. We would cut, via attrition, 60 custodial positions, the remaining contribution to the Discovery Center, some positions in adult education, and $500k from our transportation budget. The superintendent also proposed a teacher realignment via a staffing formula, whereby schools get teachers based on the number of students they have, with some weighting in the formula for factors like at-risk population, special education and so forth. Currently some schools have much better student-teacher ratios than other schools and this formula would correct those inequities. Unfortunately, we’re correcting by cutting teachers rather than adding. We hope to be able to add teachers using this same staffing formula in the future. 

Fulton High School is one of the most under-staffed schools in Knox County. We hear about over-crowding in West Knoxville, but it exists in North Knoxville too. At Fulton space is less an issue than just needing more teachers. Fulton is the only high school in Knox County (there are 12) that has only 1 art teacher. I will advocate to bring more teachers to Fulton and other under-staffed 2nd District schools when we return to the budget in May.


Potential increases
The non-discretionary additions to the budget are mainly for raises for school employees. We are losing ground in teacher pay to surrounding counties, not to mention bordering states, and we’d like to change that trend. We have not given raises to our non-certified staff, food service workers, teacher aides, secretaries, custodians, etc., in two years. We also proposed adding a technology support person at each of our high schools. Currently we have a fair amount of computers, but little in the way of IT support when the computers malfunction, which we all know happens a lot. Another addition to the budget is a pilot program to start teaching Spanish in elementary schools. As a former Spanish teacher, I am a firm believer in the importance of foreign language instruction and think the earlier it is introduced, the better.


Capital Budget
We passed a capital budget for $46.5m, an increase of over 35% from last year’s capital budget. I don’t see how we can fund such a huge capital budget unless the County gives us more funding. 

The school board chair proposed a 1-2 year freeze on all capital improvement projects, in order to rein in our spending somewhat. I supported this idea for the sake of sound fiscal policy. Our debt service on building projects is now taking up a growing portion of our operating budget, which is not good. Other Board members felt differently and we are not going to institute a freeze on capital projects. As long as we are going to keep building, I will make sure 2nd District schools get their fair share. 

Inskip Elementary School was slated to get a $4m renovation in 2007. Then Inskip was removed from the capital plan altogether. After considerable urging on my part, Inskip is back on for a $3m renovation in 2008. I have visited all the schools on the Capital plan and truly believe that Inskip’s needs are just as acute as those of other schools.


SSN policy change
Like many of us, I’ve been worried recently about the rise in identity theft.  Large data bases are especially vulnerable to hacking and misuse. I advocated for a policy to protect our children from identity theft by no longer requiring students to furnish a Social Security number when registering for school. This amended policy passed unanimously.


Wellness Policies
I am very concerned about the health of our children. Without good nutrition, regular exercise and proper health care, kids struggle to learn. While this is a community-wide problem, we as a school system, can play an important role in educating our kids about wellness. 

To that end, I have worked to adopt a wellness policy that will make our school lunches more nutritious, regulate the food and drinks sold in vending machines and encourage students to be more physically active. The policy passed on first reading and I plan to propose some amendments that take it a few steps further, such as reducing the number of processed foods, requiring more whole grains, and perhaps encouraging the purchase of locally grown foods. We will also establish a Wellness Council to develop some of the details for how schools handle these issues. Anyone who is interested in serving on this council, just let me know.


Harvard Talk
I was invited to speak at Harvard University’s Urban Superintendent’s program in December, along with 2 other school board members from Miami, FL and Stamford, CT. The graduate students are experienced teachers and administrators who hope to become leaders in urban school systems. We shared our perspective on School Board and superintendent relations, the challenges of urban school systems and what school boards want from a superintendent. Knoxville is not on a lot of people’s radar screen up in Cambridge, MA, but I think they came away with a new appreciation for our community and I certainly learned a lot from the students and faculty. I was paid a $1,000 honorarium for my services, which I donated to Whittle Springs Middle School for field trips and professional development.


Teacher Advancement Program (TAP)
We approved a pilot program called the Teacher Advancement Program. I’m excited about it since it offers merit pay for teachers, more opportunities to advance by being a mentor or master teacher, and improved professional development opportunities. I am interested in new ways to compensate teachers and TAP does just that. The faculties will have to approve TAP by at least 75% before it will be tried in any school. The pilot program will be funded by the Great Schools Partnership and federal grants. Inskip Elementary, Pond Gap Elementary, Holston Middle School and Northwest Middle School are the proposed pilot schools.

In conjunction with the TAP proposal I would also like to see additional compensation for all teachers in Project GRAD schools. Project GRAD is a great program that is making a positive difference for inner city students, but it does require additional effort and work by teachers. I think they should be compensated for their efforts.


Site-based management
A few months ago some folks in Fountain City contacted me to discuss how the community can have a more positive, meaningful impact on their schools. Parents and community members are asked to give money and volunteer time, but are rarely included in decisions that affect their schools and children. We are fortunate to have a community that cares about its schools and wants to be involved, but how can we effectively tap into that energy?

I often think Knox County schools is too top-down and highly centralized. I read a great book about site-based management in education called “Making Schools Work” by William G. Ouchi. His model encourages entrepreneurial principals, greater autonomy, bottom-up management, increased accountability and more choice for parents. Schools would be funded on a weighted student formula, so the money is attached to the student, with extra funds for special needs students. Different schools have different approaches, depending on what best meets their students’ needs. Parents choose among them. It’s an interesting concept that might be worth exploring further. 

We discussed these topics at a recent meeting of the Fountain City Town Hall. Central High School Principal, Jon Miller, was kind enough to participate in the discussion and seemed open-minded to new ideas. 


Magnet Evaluation
A group of UT evaluators has been assessing the state of our magnet programs. I visited some magnet schools in Chattanooga recently and was very impressed. They have a lot of magnet schools, specialized curricula at each, and lots of demand for the slots in those schools. They also require parental involvement (18 hours per year), have paid parental involvement coordinators, and no racial quotas. It was interesting to see the differences and I look forward to learning what our evaluators recommend to strengthen our magnet programs.


Staying In Touch
I work hard to keep in touch with all the schools and communities in the 2nd District. I am attending PTA meetings at Belle Morris and Sterchi in the coming week and visit every school in my district at least once a semester. I read to 1st graders at Shannondale every Monday. I recently met with a group of African American teachers at Christenberry to discuss the disproportionate suspension rates for black students and learned a lot from their insights. I’ve observed Success For All (SFA), the Project GRAD reading program, being taught at several different grade levels and an entire 90-minute session taught by an excellent teacher at Christenberry. I am now a Project GRAD Board member and also attend meetings for the Great Schools Partnership. I also enjoy attending community meetings like Fountain City Town Hall and the Oakwood-Lincoln Park Neighborhood Association. And of course I attend all School Board meetings and workshops. 

If your school or organization would like to talk with me about education issues, please let me know. And please feel free to contact me directly about any school issues. I need your input in order to best represent you on the School Board!


Some sobering statistics:
According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, for every 100 high school freshmen in Tennessee: 

•61 will graduate from high school on time. 

•38 will immediately enter college. 

•26 will still be enrolled their sophomore year. 

•16 will graduate from college on time. 

As our older daughter prepares to enter kindergarten this August, it will be interesting to experience the school system directly as a parent. Thanks for letting me serve you on the Knox County Board of Education. I truly enjoy the work and appreciate the opportunity to make a difference in our community. Your questions and comments are always welcome.


Very Truly Yours,


Indya Kincannon

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