Mismanagement Continues at Madison County Schools
Posted by BrianMadison County school system leaders are going away together in hopes of creating a more unified central office.
School board members, Superintendent Terry Davis and several high-ranking system employees will spend the next two days at the plush Marriott Shoals Hotel & Spa in Florence talking education and getting better acquainted.
For the last two years the leadership of the Madison County school system has been whining about not having enough money. Less than a week after the county commission finally put to bed their hopes of a tax increase they take a retreat to a “plush” hotel in Florence (70 miles away).
According to school officials the trip will only cost taxpayers $3,600, although I doubt that number includes transportation costs. As a percentage of their operating budget $3,600 is a rounding error, but the mere decision to use taxpayer dollars in this fashion while simultaneously complaining about not having enough taxpayer dollars highlights a culture of poor decision making. It is easy to see why the public vehemently opposes giving them more money to fritter away on fancy trips.
Their trip has even riled the Huntsville Times’ John Ehringer, albeit for a different reason.
The Madison County Board of Education has no business traveling 70 miles to Florence to hold a retreat so school officials can talk about school matters. The board has no business holding such a retreat even though it’s quick to point out that the discussions will be open to the public.
…[T]he money isn’t the main problem. The main problem is public access. The Madison County school system serves the people whose children attend the schools and the larger community. Everything the school system does is the public’s business.
Why should frank and detailed talks have to be conducted out of town? Is there something in the water here that’s counterproductive to constructive dialogue? (No.) Does Huntsville lack hotels or conference venues suitable for the retreat? (Of course not.)
…
The net effect of these meetings, despite their cost, minimal or otherwise, is to exclude the taxpayers, parents and citizens. Were county taxpayers able to take off work Monday and Tuesday, drive 70 miles each way and pay for meals and lodging in Florence just to ensure that a supposedly open government was truly open?
Maybe the school’s leadership doesn’t want the public to know where the location of the week is for their proposed new high school.
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June 19th, 2007 at 6:30 pm
“Their trip has even riled the Huntsville Times’ John Ehringer, albeit for a different reason.”
They’re banning together, working to get their way with money and influence. Are they defensive and withdrawn on their own turf? Do they selectively release information that serves their self-interests? Do they believe their self-interests are the public’s interests? And the students’ self-interests? You bet. If the results aren’t good enough, then the only kind of reform worth pursuing is system reform, not self-serving, teacher-advocated reform.
They’re banning together, often through websites, non-profit organizations and behind-the-scenes networking, often designed to protect their identities and conceal their agendas. In fact, finding all the various ways in which they are deeply engaged in the public debate is an important job of reporters.