We Can Hope for the Best, but... Are We Prepared for the Worst?

As we sit idlely by and watch our school system literally and figuartively crumble before us, the money seeping out the reserves like water through a sieve, I have to force myself to think logically about what is happening right now.  

Today, a federal court hears evidence regarding a Georgia law that has been in effect for a couple of years now and has already been challenged, tweaked and challenged again. Why is it still being called unconstitutional? Perhaps the prior challengers did not have as much "gusto" (read:money) as the DeKalb County taxpayers.  

You can call us many things here in DeKalb, but don't call us frugal. If spending money was a superpower, we would rule the universe (but then we would use it as collateral in some kind of high interest bond and lose it in foreclosure). We just do not know when to stop and evaluate the effectiveness of the "plan." We are filled with the people who cannot resist sayings like, "cash back," or "same as cash" or "no interest untill ..."  

We think we can redistrict, furlough, tax and build our way out of the mess we are in. But, the truth is that isn't working. We can fundraise, bake sale, partner and lobby for change, but we cannot stop ourselves from obsessing over the "stuff" and pushing the hard work of finding solutions to the back burner again and again.

We are the only school system in the country, out of the thousands that are reviewed by SACS each year, that has ever been on Probation facing possible loss of accreditation for purely governance issues. And, we may possibly be the only system that continues to elect board members who seem to have a mental block of some sort when it comes to education - either talking about the education of children, or learning anything from the taxpayer-funded education we are paying for.

We are determined to spend every last dime, nickel and penny we have to get to the bottom of this issue of constitutionality. One question I have is: who wrote this law? Why isn't anyone asking the author of the bill to stand up explain this little mess he or she has gotten us into? Have they read the state constitution? Do they understand what it means? Do they know how to do the job THEY were elected to do?  

I know for a fact that when we worked with Rep. Karla Drenner to pass a cell tower ban on school grounds, a big chunk of it was deleted before we ever tried to get it into the House Rules Committee. When I asked why, I was told, "it's unconstituntional." And that was the end of that. There was no one who was even willing to try to put forth our bill in any form that would actually help those schools that had been approved for towers, but had not secured permits or started to build. I still wonder why a five term lawmaker like Rep. Drenner would need for anyone to tell her what is and is not constitutional, but who am I to ask about things like that, right? I'm just a taxpayer.  

You can call me bitter, but I've been working very diligently for the better part of two years now on trying to uncover and expose the problems in our schools. And, I know I am not alone. A lot of moms and dads like me have spent countless hours pouring over all the details of the various proposals and announcements that are made by the school system, trying to make sure their latest spending spree, followed by cuts in the school house or increases to our taxes, would not bring immediate harm or danger to my family or our neighborhood.  

Yes, I have an ulterior motive that is self-serving, I guess you could say. I would like for my first grader to be able to attend a pubic high school one day as I have no hopes of her receiving a quality education in the public schools in DeKalb right now. I'm trying to get ahead in this game by helping fix the system now, if that is possible, so that I might have a few years of financial relief down the road in order to save for my child's college.  

I have lived here for more than a decade as a homeowner, so I've paid a substantial amount toward this school system. And, it is broken. 

I do not blame Michael Thurmond, the new Interim Superintendent, one bit for not enrolling his child in a DeKalb County private school. To suggest that he should do otherwise is absurd. He knows how bad our schools are. He was called in to "fix" them, remember? Why would anyone expect him to have to sacrifice a quality education for his own child when he was asked to come in a try to save an admittedly failing system? More importantly, why are we all just sitting back and watching this federal decision today and not thinking ahead about what other options we might have?

Our lawmakers have placed us in an awkward and expensive situation here. They cannot blame all of the financial peril on the school board any longer because we are looking at some substantial legal fees right now, thanks to them. Should the ousted board members fight the state on this law? I think a better question would be, "why is there a law that has passed our state legislature, both House and Senate, their various committees and focus groups, and we are still looking at the possibility of a very viable legal challenege.  

The NAACP today were protesting at the office of Governor Deal, claiming that he does not have the right to remove our board members, but, he does. That's exactly what the law says he can do. Did they read it? Why are they protesting it now? Aren't they the ones who are supposed to be watching for this type of legislation as it comes up as a bill so they can help defeat it before it ever becomes a law? Why does it seem to me like a lot of people who should have been involved with the school system a lot sooner are only starting to show up now when we are in a full blown crisis?

And, if we are lagging a few steps behind where this runaway train has been taking us, then we need to quickly jump ahead. So, as the federal hearing takes place, we should start thinking about another looming deadline - SACS will be back in MAY.  Does anyone have any idea about whether or not we will be ready? And what will the sanctions be if we are not ready? And, with the state board apparantly impressed with Ms. Tyson, does that mean we can anxiously await her return to the helm? Did she every really leave?

Further, what will we do if December rolls around just as quickly and our district loses accreditation? Not only will there be a lot of students in a terrible predicament, but we will have a huge number of very irate parents on our hands who will not be satisfied with forcing their children to suffer through a year or longer of unaccredited status in hopes thing will improve.

A lot of people will leave and then our county will truly be banckrupt, finanically. That means no money to renew Mr. Thurmonds contract, no money to pay for any teachers or administrators. To put it bluntly, we will be screwed.  

Dunwoody is at least trying to come up with their "exit strategy," but it is a bit of a longshot. But, what other ideas are out there? I would like to suggest that we seriously start reading up on the concept of vouchers, a way in which the taxpayer funds could be provided for the education of children in the event of the total loss of systemwide accreditation.  

We could use our own tax dollars in this way to actually stimulate the economy in the private sector, while leaving the government officials to fix the fallout from their faulty, loophole system of lawmaking that ignores the constitution, protects lobbyists and leaves taxpayers on the hook for the bill.  

Vouchers have been shown to not only be good for the child who finds an opening in a private shcool, but they also raise the quality of education being provided at the public school through true competition aimed at providing the best possible service to the children. It is a true form of "choice" that allows the money to stay with the child and requires the two systems (pubic vs. private) to both step up and compete for that money.  

Read more about Vouchers here, and tell us what you think about them in the comments.  

Should this be an idea to take to our legislative officials and ask for them to start considering it right now? If we wait too long, their session will be over and it will be another year before we can accomplish anything.  

Who knows where we will be in a year, but I'll tell you one thing... If the schools fail, and I were a kid, I would hope my parents would have found a way for me to be sitting in a desk at the nearest private school the next year. There is no way a child would be getting the education he/she deserves in DeKalb on January 2014, if accreditation is lost on December 31, 2013. It will surely be a dismal and doomed system by then, without the money and without the promises of Michael Thurmond. He will be gone. The taxpayers, gone. The property values that bring in the tax dollars - gone.  

Maybe it is time we start thinking like Dunwoody and find ourselves an exit strategy? Personally, I'm tired of waiting for the lawmakers, lawyers and board members to figure it out for us. Someone has to think about the kids.