Justice Brandeis once referred to sunlight as the “best of disinfectants,” as he affirmed the central role of publicity in effecting social change. School officials in Wake County will soon learn just how true this is as they embark on a sizeable bit of housecleaning in the months to come. This week, an outside audit team delivered a scathing 400-page report to Wake school leaders, shining a bright light on some of the county’s flawed education policies.
The credit for such transparency goes to Wake Superintendent Del Burns, who requested the $215,000 curriculum management audit. In a bold move aimed at boosting the system’s performance from “good to great,” Dr. Burns urged the school board to contract with Phi Delta Kappa this past spring to highlight and uncover breakdowns in Wake’s system.
Auditors clearly delivered the goods, scrutinizing 3,989 Wake County classrooms and a raft of documents, and interviewing administrators and school personnel. Their list of problems was long, their recommendations many. Overall, the report pointed to a lack of coordination in planning, a “liberal application of site-based decision making,” and no district-wide curriculum management. In a mind-boggling example of lax teacher-evaluation practices, auditors found just one teacher rating of “unsatisfactory” in a hefty pile of 363 randomly chosen evaluations. Additionally, the report recommended more comprehensive assessments for “all subjects taught at all grade levels,” since the system relies almost exclusively on state-mandated tests – no surprise to county parents. Auditors also found fault with a system-wide lack of financial “checks and balances,” leading to inconsistent curriculum alignment among new programs.
Will county officials implement the audit’s sweeping recommendations? Only time will tell. Administrators are due to respond to the school board on September 18. Let’s hope they link financial resources more closely with curriculum goals and the needs of children; after all, indiscriminately funneling funds into education coffers is – and always has been – a losing proposition.
Wake County may also be a bellwether of greater accountability to come across the country, particularly in the area of finances. While education budgets this year are still generous, the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is forecasting a downward shift in state economies for the remainder of the decade, meaning taxpayers and legislators may start asking a lot more questions about where the money goes. It’s about time.
In fact, in New York, the demand for increased financial transparency is already in play, according to a recent article in Education Week. Fifty-five of New York’s 705 districts are participating in Contracts for Excellence – agreeing to channel additional education dollars into five programs selected to raise student achievement. Unfortunately this year, a majority of the money is earmarked for class-size reduction and longer school days (or years) – popular proposals, but ones with mixed track records when it comes to elevating student performance.
In the end, how school districts respond to enhanced accountability matters a great deal. Transparency can serve as a catalyst for system-wide improvements to teacher quality, academic programs, and fiscal responsibility. But if public criticisms (like those contained in Wake County’s audit) ultimately go unheeded, officials will learn exactly what Justice Brandeis meant: namely, that sunlight always begets scrutiny – from parents and citizens. When that happens, like it or not, change is sure to follow.