SOME QUESTION NEW POWER HELD BY SCHOOL SITE COUNCILS

BY JORGE BARRIENTOS, Bakersfield Californian staff writer

Saturday, Feb 27 2010 -- As a library media specialist at Sierra Middle School, Cynthia Rendel catalogues books, teaches middle-schoolers how to do research and Spanish speakers how to speak English, among other things.

Earlier this month a council -- composed of a principal, teachers, other staff, parents and students -- made the decision to cut her job next year in favor of keeping the vice principal.

The council's decision was part of the Bakersfield City School District's newest effort to close a $5.5 million budget gap. In short, the district will stop spending general fund money on counselors, librarians, vice principals and other positions and instead let site councils make those staffing decisions using their own money.

Rendel thought the council's decision was not fair to students.

"I think the school is doing a huge disservice," she said. "Kids are now not going to be getting the teaching that comes with these jobs."

The problem, some teachers and school officials say, is that site councils are often ill-equipped to make these types of major decisions. Some observers worry that council decisions are dominated by the priorities set by principals.

But others say nobody's better at figuring out what's best for schools than campus stakeholders.

DISTRICT DECISION

The district's decision to give site councils the new responsibility was relayed to school principals the first week of February. By Friday of that week, councils across the city were meeting and cutting dozens of positions.

The move saves BCSD, the state's largest elementary school district, $1.6 million and affects 95 positions.

Although many -- if not all -- of the district's 41 school site councils have already made their personnel decisions, the district does not yet have a tally of positions lost, spokesman Steve Gabbitas said. The district would not let school principals and staff divulge what those decisions were. The district hopes to have that information in coming weeks.

Gabbitas said school sites have been in charge of making program and personnel decisions for years, including whether to retain clerks and cafeteria workers. It's only recently that the district decided to stop funding vice principals, and instead leave that decision to councils. Ultimately, the BCSD school board must approve all council decisions before they go into effect. In other districts, decisions of this magnitude are made at the district level.

Marlene Fong, a consultant on instruction and professional development for the California Teachers Association, said the new BCSD site council responsibilities are unusual and carry a "heavy burden."

"They're asking the councils to supplant what the district normally would (do), and butcher their own," said Fong, who has trained school site councils throughout the state for 10 years.

SCHOOL SITE COUNCILS

Elementary school site councils are composed of 10 people: a principal, three teachers, a school employee and five parents. In middle schools, students are involved. Members are elected by peers.

Councils are typically in charge of developing plans and proposing expenditures for the school, usually for such things as supplies and low-level school workers. The district board ultimately approves or denies those decisions. According to district policy, councils "are a major part of the overall decision-making structure at each school."

David Kopperud, an education programs consultant with the California Department of Education, said councils play an important role in how categorical money -- money for specific purposes -- is spent. Individual councils manage hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Councils receive state and federal money that is supposed to be used for programs and positions targeting student success, especially for the neediest students.

Stiern Middle School's site council manages the most money of all BCSD schools, according to this year's district allocation reports. It controls $245,000 in state economic impact aid -- which funds children who are transient, from low-income families or who need to learn English -- and $591,000 in Title I money, federal funds for low-income students.

"Councils are really powerful tools for school improvement if managed correctly," Kopperud said. "They can really change the climate of the school."

They're particularly powerful now, he said, because spending decisions are more critical when "the pot has shrunk" and "you're cutting into the bone."

"These are important decisions, and they're hard decisions," he said. "Maybe a good site council can come up with solutions."

Other school officials say perhaps such crucial decisions should not be left to councils. Many councils, Fong said, are not well organized and do not run as intended.

"In most cases, the councils end up rubber-stamping what the principal brings to them," Fong said.

However, local school leaders say that's not the case in their districts.

Gary Bray, a management analyst for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools office, said the councils' new responsibilities are "not much of a stretch."

It's an opportunity for schools to make decisions that are best for them, and generally, he said, there are no "hidden agendas."

"In my experience, most councils are organized well enough to make these decisions," said Bray, who's worked in local education for 40 years. "These times are really tough. BCSD is taking a bold step in trying to get local schools to determine what's best for them."

DECISIONS

At Sierra Middle School's council meeting earlier this month, emotions ran high as more than 30 staff, parents and students packed a classroom to discuss which positions to keep and why. A handful of staffers argued for their own jobs, but ultimately, Rendel's position was cut as the council decided to use available funds for the vice principal's position.

Some staff members felt the decision was politically based and not in the best interests of students, and that all teachers' opinions were not taken into account.

"Our opinions made no difference because the vote was already guaranteed," said Sierra teacher Ed Delavega.

Maria Briseno, president of Sierra's council and the parent of an eighth-grader, said the process was "tough." Everything was done correctly, she said, and everyone on the council made his and her own vote.

"One sees what is best needed in the school," she said in Spanish. "It's not easy. But it's necessary."

Principal Tomas Prieto, declined to comment for this report. But at the council meeting, he said all of the positions were essential, and that the council's job was "to make decisions in the best interest of the students."

Dozens of school administrators, teachers and staff contacted for this report would not comment on the record about the council's decisions, citing district rules against discussing personnel issues with the media.

In addition to jobs lost to cuts by site councils, the district decided on Tuesday that it would cut 120 positions, mostly teachers, next year. The proposed cuts came after the district was able to hold off on layoffs the last few years, and instead tap into considerable reserve funds. Officials are hoping teacher retirements will save some of those jobs.

At Compton Junior High, council members could not agree on a decision at their first council meeting this month. A week later, the school council met again and eventually agreed to cut its vice principal, a librarian and a counselor. The latter two also teach classes.

The school staff will be at "bare bones" next year, said Jennifer Scott, a Compton teacher who recently addressed the school board about cuts.

"We understand the district has to cut," Scott said. "But why are they so close to the classroom?"

For Sierra Middle's Rendel, who is tenured and expects to land another position, her teacher-librarian credential seems like a waste of $15,000. She believes once the economy improves and the district returns to normal, librarians will remain out of schools and out of work.

She hopes she's wrong.