A State Takeover Of Southbridge Schools?

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Ken O’Brien
In light of recent developments a number of peoplehave suggested that it is time for the Southbridge School District to go intostate receivership.
I am not convinced that this is a good idea.
I fear that it may be a hasty, knee-jerkoverreaction to unfortunate but correctable personnel decisions as well as theconcurrence of those issues with a period of transition and realignment. 
Southbridge already has a less than enviablereputation. While some may see a state takeover as a way out, experience suggeststhat such an action carries with it a stigma that is difficult to escape.
Take for example the comment ofone student in the recently taken over Lawrence school district. “I don’tthink it’s right, because when I go somewhere people already judge me beforethey know me just because I’m from Lawrence, and that just makes it evenworse,” he said. “They think that I don’t do anything and that I can’t learnand that I’m stupid.”
A similar sentiment was expressed in acase in Ohio. “The Little Miami School District in Warren County knowsfirst-hand the dreadful “black-eye” that accompanies a state takeover. Thestate makes all the decisions regarding what programs and teachers remain.”
The school district cannot simply invite the stateof Massachusetts in and hand over control of the district. The MassachusettsDepartment of Elementary and Secondary Education will make the decision when orif they will come into the district and initiate a takeover.
If such an action occurs, there is a complete lossof autonomy. The financial implications of this may extend beyond the schooldepartment.  One of the provisions of theturnaround plan for the Lawrence School District that entered into receivership states, “A budget for the district including any additional funds to beprovided by the Commonwealth, federal government or other sources”. (page 21)
What is troubling is the term “other sources’. Theearlier cited Ohio case noted, “When the state takes over a school districtthey do not shut the doors.  They willhave a district take out loans in order to keep those doors open.  They will keep placing larger and largerlevies on the ballot until a levy passes, and that levy will go toward payingoff that loan.  The state’s goal is tomake sure that they get their dollars back from the loans and to return adistrict to local control whenever possible. A state takeover is not ashort-term or long-term solution.”
Other provisions of the Lawrence Plan might provetroubling as well.
Pursuantto G.L. c. 69, §1K, the Commissioner and the Receiver must create a turnaroundplan intended to maximize the rapid improvement of the academic achievement ofstudents in the district.  TheCommissioner and the Receiver will take all appropriate steps necessary tosupport the goals of the turnaround plan. Among other things, through the turnaround plan, the Commissioner andthe Receiver may reallocate the uses of the existing budget of the district;provide funds to increase the salary of an administrator or teacher working inan underperforming school in order to attract or retain highly-qualifiedadministrators or teachers, or to reward administrators or teachers who work inchronically underperforming districts that have achieved the annual goals inthe turnaround plan; expand the school day or school year or both of schools inthe district; limit, suspend or change one or more provisions of any contractor collective bargaining agreement in the district; limit, suspend, or changeone or more school district policies or practices, as such policies orpractices relate to the underperforming schools in the district; providejob-embedded professional development for teachers in the district; provide forincreased opportunities for teacher planning time and collaboration focused onimproving student instruction; and establish steps to assure a continuum ofhigh expertise teachers by aligning the following processes with the commoncore of professional knowledge and skill: hiring, induction, teacher evaluation, professional development, teacheradvancement, school culture and organizational structure.  (page 9)
The locally elected school committee is essentiallya cipher for as long as the receivership lasts:
SchoolCommittee:  The Receiver will continue towork to build the effectiveness of School Committee interactions. This willinclude continued updates about district information and a professionaldevelopment plan developed in coordination with the Massachusetts Associationof School Committees.  The professionaldevelopment will focus on building the Committee’s capacity and preparing it to resume its duties whenthe district has demonstrated sufficient gains and embedded the requisitepositive change to meet its goal of exiting receivership.(page 14)
One of the first things that happened in Lawrence wasthe terminationof 16 teachers.
An excellent article detailing the atmospheresurrounding the events in Lawrence appears in the current issue of CommonwealthMagazine.
Another consideration is the actual effectiveness ofsuch a state takeover. It is instructive that Lawrence underwent a prior statetakeover in 1998 from which it emerged in 2005 (page 36 of pdf) only to go back intoreceivership by a decision made in 2011.
As the author commenting on the Ohio experiencenotes, “A state takeover is a long, painful process and one that no schooldistrict would ever want to experience.”