Politics and Education

As we near the election, it seems that politics are at the top of the mind in everything we do and think about. Public education has always played an important part in politics in this country, but it also has been subject to continual political scrutiny. As are some of the educational organizations that are in various communities, who are simply trying to help, including groups like Children of the City. I support a number of educational charities, which you can read about at www.roccobasile.org. In any case, I am intriegued with the progress of educational trends and politics in this country...

Local politics and education are inseparable, as every city’s local school system is an organization with a political culture. It is a very competitive environment in which various groups from both within the system, and outside, compete for power, and typically, very limited budgetary resources. Yet our local school systems are devoted to children and tax dollars -- two of our most important resources.

It is nothing new that limited resources create varying degrees of funding ability for most local school systems, which in turn creates a lot of competition for existing resources. That’s why special interest groups compete, and funding priorities become the object of political debate at all levels – local, state and national.

In general, education is often a major part of both national political party platforms as well as local community discussions. We have seen that focus in the recent news about the current elections.

In case we have forgotten -- our country’s Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution delegated authority over education to the states, and each state varies from highly decentralized local education systems to more centralized state systems like Hawaii. But the most recent trend has been movement toward increased state standards and accountability systems.

Federal Interest in Education has long been part of our culture. In 2001, under direction of President Bush, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was renewed and renamed No Child Left Behind Act (2001). It was a critical step in bettering our country’s public education – the objective being - to increase accountability by identifying schools that were in need of improvement. It also called for “highly qualified” teachers in every classroom. Many believed that it empowered knowledgeable parents with the ability to wage war against school administrators who were not responsive to parental concerns.

Of all the localized special interest groups – from football supporters, planning and zoning committees, business, boards and various other local agencies, there is also the idea that diverse communities can become divided on school issues in areas of socio-economics. And as always, religion and political affiliation can also play a role in the politics of local education, and public education advocates and privatization groups often differ on local policies. Even community business groups can also be divided regarding the money required for facility improvement projects such as stadiums. the passing of school bond issues to finance school facilities can become very politically charged. That is why effective local school leadership lies in balancing these diverse special interest groups.

The reality is that politics are part of every local school system. Effective local school leaders must therefore learn to work within the unique political reality of their local system to accomplish organizational objectives. This is something that one of the charities that I work with called ChildrenoftheCity is quite good at, and I know they follow these guidelines for the betterment of the community as a whole. They try to clearly understand and empathize with varying points of view; they are honest about divergent positions; they try to include all stakeholders in the decision making process; they collaborate within the community, and Children of the City builds partnerships for overcoming future challenges. It works.

-- Rocco Basile