by JC Bowman
posted April 23, 2008
I have been fortunate to be able to observe Hamilton County politics
from a distance, and rarely engage in the local politics. I have been
critical of education policy there at times, but admire many of the
people willing to engage in the process.
In 2000 for example I met with two candidates for the local school board who were both equally suited for the job. Those candidates were Gary Starnes and Chip Baker.
Although I did not help Mr. Baker, I declined to help Mr. Starnes and
have regretted that decision to this day and even went as far as apologizing to Mr. Starnes for failing to support him.
Baker could never clearly articulate to me why he wanted to serve on the school board. My assumption was he viewed the position as a leverage point to a future position. His mediocre performance thus far has probably limited his chance of advancement. In 2000, much like 2008 I certainly do not feel as if he would be acting on behalf of and in close concert with the people of Hamilton County-to envision the future of education in your community, to establish a structure and environment that allow all students to reach their maximum potential, to provide
accountability for the community on performance in the schools, or to
serve as the key community advocate for children and youth and their
public schools. I do not think Chip Baker is an evil, disgusting man.
However, as an outsider looking in, I simply do not think he has
accomplished much in his tenure. In fairness to Mr. Baker, this is
true of many school board members across America.
Many people start out idealistically to run for political office, and
then develop a sense of entitlement that they should be there in that
position. The motive for their re-election is not upon what they have
accomplished, or hope to accomplish, but rather that they deserve to be in office because they are the current office holder. Voters deserve better and should demand more. The dirty secret in politics is that education is a losing issue. You must pay lip-service to it politically, but in reality it is rarely an issue which you can hitch your wagon. Give the standard it is for the children answer, make sure you don't rock the boat and people just go about business as usual.
That may be depressing, but trust me secretly that is what many politicians think. Why else do you believe nationally there has been continued inability to enact a more comprehensive overhaul of the No Child Left Behind law?
Mr. Baker has served almost eight years on your school board. I am not sure his tenure has been based on the principles of accountability,
flexibility, and parental choice. I do not think he has the ability to
be an agent of change; rather he remains stuck in the status quo. I
have been fortunate during my life that I have met almost every major
politician in America. In that time no politician has impressed me less
than former Hamilton County Superintendent Jesse Register. That is why I welcomed the change to Dr. Scales. Despite many problems in the system, I encourage people to give him some time to correct some of the considerable issues he inherited. But if I had to pick one person who most closely reminded me of Jesse Register, it would be Chip Baker. He will always be closely identified with the failed policies of the Jesse Register administration and many of those issues inherited by Dr. Scales. Simply put, you need a change in District 2 on the Hamilton County School Board.
I do not personally know University of Tennessee Chattanooga Professor Joe Dumas. However, based upon his background and academic credentials alone, I have little doubt he could fill the vacuum of your current school board member. Voters must decide whether education really is an issue they deem worth committing to or whether they too are content to merely pay lip service to the issue. I would hope they would make education an issue of paramount importance in this election, and in all elections.
To become a better consumer of the education services, voters deserve to know how our education spending stacks up against other cities and states. Many candidates use data that really does not offer a fair comparison. To begin with, education costs less to provide in Tennessee than in many other locations. This should come as no surprise, given our low cost of living. Teachers are the most important determinant of school quality; on average, it costs less to hire good teachers in Tennessee, because it costs less for teachers to live here. To equalize the purchasing power of education dollars from district to district, county to county or state to state, you should also review geographic differences in education costs. For example, if you were to adjust raw spending data with a cost index you may arrive at a different conclusion than those who simply want to raise taxes under the guise of children, but spend those dollars mainly on the adults.
I would challenge voters to look for the candidate who promises to put
the most dollars into the classroom percentage wise. In Okaloosa
County, Fla., the school system puts well over 90% of the tax dollars
into the classroom. The results are amazing. Rather than a bloated
bureaucracy grasping to justify their existence, they have become the
number one academic performing district in Florida and one of the top
ten academic performing districts in the nation.
Hamilton County, you know where you have been, you know where you are at, and you need to figure out where you are going. We must make sure that every child gets a world-class education, regardless of their address, their parents' income, or the color of their skin. Ask yourself this question: in eight years with Chip Baker representing District 2 are you better or worse? You probably know the answer. Then vote accordingly for Mr. Dumas or Mr. Baker.
(JC Bowman can be reached at flapolicy@hotmail.com. He is the former chief policy analyst for Florida Governor Jeb Bush, executive director for School Choice for the State of Florida and faculty member at The Florida State University. He currently serves as CEO of EPPC Global Management, based in Cleveland, Tn.)
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