Reason #9,859,743,201 why Norfolk should elect school board

Local, Norfolk, Politics 1 Minute

Billy Cook

For once, I agree with Brian Kirwin:

Electing the School Board won’t solve everything, since electing the City Council hasn’t exactly stocked City Hall with geniuses. But it can’t hurt to get the schools free of this nonsense.

UPDATE: Billy Cook was unanimously reappointed. Still doesn’t change my opinion on elected school boards.

Published

3 thoughts on “Reason #9,859,743,201 why Norfolk should elect school board”

  2. Norfolk’s problem is not whether it elects of appoints its School Board, the problem is just like that faced by most cities. Large numbers of affluent residents have taken their children out of the schools, leaving behind a student population that is disproportionately from backgrounds where education, and good citizenship is not a priority.

    When I attended Maury High School several decades ago, the “White-flight academies” had already begun to siphon-off many of the top academic performing students, and several of our better athletes. Still, the class that I graduated with had a good percentage of students from Norfolk’s most successful and prominent families. I know that I learned a great deal from being in class with students from upwardly mobile families, and I think of how miserable it must be for today’s students not to have that positive influence in their classes.

    No amount of grand-standing before TV cameras is going to improve the Norfolk schools. Electing a Board will merely attract more megalomaniacs who will turn every issue into a political football.

    Norfolk and similar cities must come to grips with the fact that their schools are no longer places where broad cross-sections of society join in the pursuit of an education. The inner-city schools are stuck with those who either could not get away, or did not care to, or afford to go to better schools.

    Clearly, there is no packaged solution available, however some success has been gained by schools that culled out the punks and sent these junior criminals to disciplined, structured programs, so that the remainder of the students would be safe to learn.

    My observation of elected boards has shown that the elected boards are far less likely to make the tough choices needed to deal with problems, especially with burgeoning thug-wannabe elements in their schools.

  3. Average 9th grade pass rate in Norfolk Schools; 51%

    We needed to fix this yesterday. 600 students enroll, 200 graduate. Where are these kids?

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