May 13 Board Meeting Preview

Tonight's meeting starts at 6:30pm with recognitions for some of LCPS's very best teachers. Some are visiting international faculty... teachers from other countries who come here for three years. Others have joined the elite ranks of their profession with national board certification. I look forward to hearing about their accomplishments and recognitions and applauding them with the rest of the board.

Following public comment, the Superintendent's report and Board member comments we'll consider final passage of new rules for "Selection and Review of Library Media Center Instructional Materials," which is primarily an overhaul of the procedures under which materials (including library books) can be challenged by parents. This is in the wake of the And Tango Makes Three controversy of a few months ago.

After that we'll receive a report on a $2.4 Million left over from seven school construction projects. The funds will be returned to the County. These are for schools that opened between 2003 and 2005.

If those numbers grab your attention, you'll be interested in the 3rd quarter financial review that projects an end-of-year surplus of $9.3 Million, or about 1.3% of the operating budget. I know that some folks will say the budget was over-funded. My own perspective is that 1.3% is pretty accurate, and good fiscal management.

Finally, one last item, an issue of easements regarding the new Stewart Weller Elementary School in Ashburn.

Download full agenda information: Agenda & Addedum (PDF)

Meetings this Week

Here are the places that I plan to be this week:

Monday
NAACP Meeting, 7:30pm Leesburg. Mount Olive Baptist Church

Tuesday
Potowmack Elementary Volunteer recognition, 8:30AM
School Board meeting, 6:30pm. Key items:

• Award of Contract: Kenneth W. Culbert Elementary School
• Personnel Actions
• Elementary School (ES-20) Site Designation
• Rouse Property (Future High School Site)
  
• Policy Revision: Professional Development (diversity training for Board members)
  
• Policy Revision: Selection, Review & Challenge of Library Materials (response to Tango controversy)
• Policy Revision: Admission of Students Expelled or Suspended by other school districts
• Science Textbooks recommended for Adoption
• Title I restructuring for 2008-2009
• 2008-2009 Annual Plan for Special Education
  

Wednesday
Technology Steering Committee, 8AM
Potomac Falls Cluster PTO meeting, 9AM, River Bend Middle School
Health, Safety & Wellness Committee, 6:30pm. Topic: Children with Food Allergies.

Thursday
Loudoun Education Foundation, 8AM
Teacher of the Year Reception, 3:30pm Lightfoot Cafe
Potomac & Sterling Community Outreach, 5pm, River Bend Middle School
Algonkian Elementary Author Night, 7pm
Potomac Falls High School Band Concert, 7:30pm

Friday
Countryside Elementary Family Game Night, 6:30pm

Where I would like to be but probably can't:
Tuesday: Finance, Construction & Site Acquisition Committee, 6:00pm
Wednesday: Schools to Watch Celebration, Blue Ridge Middle School
Thursday: Horizon Elementary volunteer lunch, 11:30AM

Pengins in Place

I am pleased to read today that Dr. Hatrick has reversed his decision to censor And Tango Makes Three from Sugarland Elementary School. I am grateful that Dr. Hatrick initiated a full review of the process and responded appropriately to the discovery that the School Board’s policies were not followed in this case. It is clear that our policies require revisions to prevent this kind of controversy in the future, and the Legislative Policy Committee will begin this process tomorrow at 6pm.

I applaud the contributions of the members of the public who expressed their concern about the Superintendent’s decision and the challenge process. The public schools are a public trust, and work well only with public input.

Even baseless challenges and reversed decisions can have a chilling effect on freedom of speech in our schools. This event and the words of the Superintendent and the Board will not be far from the minds of our librarians when they select new titles for next year. Our policies call for a selection process designed “to bring students into contact with the human experience and… provide a wide range of materials on appropriate levels with a diversity of appeal and point of view,” and I hope that our librarians and principals will remember this and not be reluctant to challenge our diverse students with diverse library collections in the future.

Penguins and Parrots

Leesburg School Board Representative Tom Marshall recently wrote what I thought was a very nice response to a constituent regarding the book And Tango Makes Three. He has given me persmission to share:

It was clear to any adult that the author(s) had an agenda. It is also true that Penguins will sit on eggs and hatch them. Given that fact it might be unusual but not impossible to believe that instinctively two male penguins would sit on eggs ( or rocks) when all the birds around them were doing the same. Furthermore, it is possible that birds and other animals will form same-sex bonds and act like a pair. I have raised parrots, as a hobby, and I have seen this. On the other hand, parents can direct or redirect their children to read or not read books they deem inappropriate, but is it reasonable for a parent to make that decision for other children and other parents? Is it not possible for elementary children to see this story differently from parents and understand simply that an egg was hatched, that might not have been otherwise, and people came to Central Park to see the new baby penguin's birth as a good thing to be celebrated for the fact that it happened against the odds and that it was being cared for and nurtured.? Could a parent from a non-traditional family (same-sex parents or parents or individuals who have adopted a child) feel this story could relate to their situation and make their child feel more comfortable as a member of family that may not be the norm compared to families of their peers?
I would not vote to override Dr. Hatrick's decision, but I am not in full agreement with it. I certainly don't feel threatened by the book being in wide circulation. The Board, however, may want to look at their policies on how to handle any future challenges of this nature.
Tom Marshall, SB
Leesburg district

Penguins are Budget Distractions

As was reported in the press yesterday, my esteemed colleague Warren Geurin lamented on Tuesday night that the Tango controversy has distracted attention from the current budget process. He mentioned my blog in particular, as a few folks think that I've been fueling that "distraction." Certainly there has been significant press coverage of Tango, I'm sure in large part because people like to read about controversy and reporters in particular tend to be interested in censorship issues, as they base their careers on freedom of speech. I happen to also think that it was (and remains) a critical issue.

For the benefit of those who think I haven't contributed enough to the budget discussion, I have created a review below of the many budget posts that I have written in the past four months. At least one Supervisor read my most recent budget post but commented to me that s/he would need more than that one to be convinced. Well citizens, feast upon the following and then use the links at right to write to your representatives on the Board of Supervisors and tell them what you think of plans to cut the LCPS budget even more deeply than the previous Board did.

Click here for the printable version.

February 25: “The leanest central office I’ve ever seen.”

Critics of the recently submitted school budget feel that too much money is spent on administrative salaries, which, in turn, causes rising Loudoun taxes.

Leibowitz said, "This administrative structure is bare-boned. It's the leanest central office I've ever seen.

February 16: Administrative Costs & Textbooks

“93.1 percent of LCPS' employees are school-based, the highest percentage of school-based personnel among districts in the metropolitan area, according to the D.C. Washington Area Boards of Education Guide” You'll also see in the numbers that about 3% of our budget goes to Administration, while 79.8% goes to Instruction.

February 7, 2008: Teacher Salaries (concisely)

Our teacher salaries are set based on that free market, not as a moral judgment of how much someone deserves to be paid. When I consider the challenge and importance of the work that teachers do and the impact it has on the future of our world, I think they should be paid much more (same for law enforcement, firefighters, military and other public safety personnel), but no society has ever though it could afford to pay public employees according to the importance and risk associated with their jobs.

February 2, 2008: Four Good Questions

Realizing economy of scale is important and at LCPS, the number of administrators has steadily declined over the years in comparison to the number of students. While the student population has grown 141% in the past ten years, the number of administrators has grown only 90%. Of the ten DC-area public school districts, only the City of Manassas has a higher percentage of school-based personnel.

January 29, 2008: Self-Sufficiency Standard

"Everyone who works a full-time job should be paid enough to meet basic needs without help from family, friends or the government.”

January 13, 2008: Anatomy of a decision

In an $800 million dollar budget, there’s only so many $20K items you can have time to go over with a fine toothed comb. This is the nature of a large institution and you can’t pin that on LCPS. It’s the same at every large corporation and government organization I’ve ever worked at, with the US Military topping the list.

January 13, 2008: Budget Amendments Complete

While we cut back new school office staff, new technology and raises for our substitute teachers we added full-day kindergarten at four schools, gave a tech boost to our poorest schools, rolled back a school lunch price increase and started thinking in a new way about how we determine the appropriate starting pay for our custodians.

January 7, 2008: Budget Amendments Underway

We approved without amendment the following relatively small areas of the budget:

• School Board
• Superindentent's Office
• Deputy Superindentent's Office
• Public Information Office
• Planning & Legislative Services

All of this constitutes less than 1 percent of the budget. The total, by my calculations, is $5,889,881. It is an increase of 1.46% over the FY08 Appropriation. All of these offices combined have a total of 26.8 FTEs, and no new employees were added this year.

January 3, 2008: FY09 Growth and Funding

A reasonable person would then ask "Why does LCPS have an increase so much higher than the rate of inflation?" Here's why.

January 2, 2008: Budget Tools and Indicators

Cost per pupil: This is the big metric that everybody looks to, as if all the answers were in this one number. In FY08 our cost is $12,751 per student. This is 6th out of the 10 metro DC jurisdictions. Prince William, Prince George and Manassas spend less.

December 16, 2007: Weekend Education News

Since the School Board hasn't even yet voted on the budget, it is premature to suggest that we're bickering with the Supervisors over it. We all understand that this is going to be a tough year, and we're all going to do our best to work out the best possible budget for the kids and the county.

December 13, 2007: AP Fees & Budget Cuts

In the midst of the difficult choices that both Boards will need to make about tax rates, class sizes and what creates educational excellence, some School Board members are eyeing the AP fee payments, particularly for the many students from affluent families, as a potential target for savings. What do you think?

December 6, 2008: Budget Immersion

It is, officially, the "Superintendent's proposed budget," and before it gets to us it has been through his own vetting process. What it really reflects though is the work of at least a couple of hundred people, from principals and other school-level staff to supervisors and directors with the help of specialists and secretaries and up to the senior staff. To a person each member of the staff demonstrate a very clear command of their area of responsibility. I'm sure that they've had to justify each line item at multiple levels before they get to us, we're just the last so maybe they've warmed up by then.

November 30, 2007: Capital Improvement Plan

Did you notice that there was just one school bond on this year's ballot? That will be the last time that happens for quite a while. We need more schools, folks. We're packed to the gills. Most schools in growing areas are over capacity and the problem just gets worse in the coming years.
Only one speaker came to the public hearing held on the CIP on Tuesday, eighth-grader Katie Stevenson, who pressed us to build a Humanities Academy.

October 11, 2007: Cost Per Pupil

In the past 10 years, overall spending has increased by 92%, an average of 6.8% per year. In the most recent budget our cost per pupil increased only 1.56%.

Proposed Policy Revision: Challenges to Materials

Tonight I provided to my colleagues a proposed revision to policy 5-7D, Procedure for Review of Challenged Materials. These policy changes do not directly address the question of the book And Tango Makes Three. They do ensure that in the future the Superintendent cannot act unilaterally or outside of proscribed policy, and that no book will be removed without an opportunity for the public to provide input to its elected representatives.

These revisions implement three major improvements. First, they make binding the decision of the review committees designated by the school principal or the Division Superintendent. Second, they provide for School Board review of any decision to remove instructional material from libraries or the curriculum and require public input prior to removal of materials. Finally, they provide clarity on the status of materials after they have been removed.

The removal of a book without an opportunity for public comment and against the recommendation of instructional professionals and members of the community by the Superintendent who appointed them is made possible by a policy created by an earlier, unelected School Board. The addition of previously restricted materials to a library or the curriculum without review is made possible by a policy created by that School Board. It is the responsibility of this School Board to address these problems.

I make this recommendation after reviewing the policies of school districts around the region and around the country and after consulting with the Virginia School Boards Association and the American Library Association. I hope that my colleagues will approve this policy change and that Dr. Hatrick will submit his recommendation to restrict access to And Tango Makes Three in Sugarland Elementary School to the School Board for review.

The Legislative Policy Committee will review this proposal on Tuesday March 4th at 6pm.

Information on how other Districts approach their challenge policy can be found using the attached links:

• Sample Policies
• Fairfax Policy
• Sample Policy Matrix

Penguins Popping Up in the Press

With each passing day, Superintendent Hatrick's decision to pull the book And Tango Makes Three from sixteen Loudoun County school libraries gains more attention from near and far. This morning brings stories from both coasts.

The Loudoun Times Mirror published a story about New York-based National free-speech groups weighing in on the decision.

Now, national anti-censorship groups have sent a letter to Schools Superintendent Edgar Hatrick III condemning his decision regarding "And Tango Makes Three."

"No one is being forced to read 'And Tango Makes Three,'" states the letter from the New York City-based National Coalition Against Censorship and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression. " But restricting student access violates the rights of children whose parents want their children to be taught tolerance and respect for diversity."

And while this is a local decision, the LA Times editorial published today makes clear that from coast to coast, this is a national issue and we are being closely watched:

The book certainly sends a message that two-father families exist, and quite happily. That's simply the truth, whether or not some people would like to ban gay ornithological unions. Too bad that, even though two committees favored keeping the book, the superintendent pulled it from all elementary shelves in the school district.

It takes common sense and sometimes bravery to nurture tolerance at school. There are teachers, school counselors and even students doing this every day. Leaders would be better off supporting their efforts than putting more requirements on their shoulders or forbidding true stories of acceptance.

Outsiders cannot solve this for us, they cannot fight for us. We must do this ourselves, in our own way, from within our community, in our own words. And so, in case you missed it the first time,

I firmly believe that And Tango Makes Three
should be returned to the shelves
of Loudoun County Public School Libraries

Ours is a dramatically diverse community in the shades of our skin, the languages in our homes, the ways that we worship and the makeup of our families. We are a beautiful bowl of confetti and that is more so in our public schools than in any other part of our community. We are preparing our students for their diverse future, not our homogeneous past. Our school libraries have books about families of all kinds, books that tell kids about the different colors, languages, places, and ways to worship. They are incomplete without books that talk about different families. The State of Virginia's own Family Life Education program, in kindergarten, recognizes this need to talk about different kinds of families:

K.4 The student will recognize that everyone is a member of a family and that families come in many forms.
Descriptive Statement: This includes a variety of family forms: traditional or two-parent families-mother, father, and children; extended families--relatives other than the immediate family living in the home; single-parent families; adoptive families; foster families; fan-families with stepparents; and blended fan-families--new families formed by the marriage of a man and woman with children from previous marriages.

K.5 The student will identify members of his or her own family.
Descriptive Statement: This refers to identifying the adult and child members of the student's family.

While the state may have its head in the sand by omitting same-gender parents from its list in section K4, the state cannot deny that some kids in our community will identify two moms or two dads as adult members of their family in their finger-paintings that will hang on classroom walls. My kids and your kids are going to know these kids and see these drawings and hear about their families. As kindergarteners they don't know about sex, but they know about love, and we teach them that love is what makes a family. And Tango Makes Three is about love that exists in our children's world and if we let this book be taken from our libraries then next it will be the lesson taken from the curriculum and the fingerpaintings from the walls. Lessons about love and fingerpaintings of family are sorely needed in this world, and in Loudoun we can do our part by putting Tango back in our public school libraries.

Penguin Postcards from the Edge

I'm glad that the book that so much of the community and the nation is discussing this week involves penguins. They're appealing, familiar and easy to alliterate. Imagine if we were all having to write about Echidnas.

Civility. The Board has received dozens of emails about the Superintendent's decision to pull And Tango Makes Three from supporters and opponents alike. I am very pleased that by and large, these emails are civil and focus on the issue and don't personalize the argument. Yes, there are a few unreasonable folks out there who liken the book to teaching elementary students how to use intravenous psychotropic narcotics. And on the other side there are those free speech advocates so incensed that they would have the School Board dispatch Dr. Hatrick into retirement for this one decision. Both suggestions are so ridiculous as to not merit a response, and the harsh tones are not helpful to a healthy debate.

Effectiveness. Many of the emails the Board has received, both for and against, are from people far outside of our community. Texas, Colorado and Lynchburg VA are particularly well represented, but we have also heard from Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Oregon and the Big Apple. Frankly I don't think that these emails mean much to the School Board or the Superintendent. Thanks for your input world, but we've got a local problem here.

The least effective emails of all are not addressed to any member in particular and don't include an indication of where the author lives. Usually these are from Loudoun parents but in a time like this when we're hearing from people across the country, in my mind they are difficult to separate from those coming from out of state. For Loudoun County parents who want to weigh in on this issue (on either side) or on any other issue, here's how to be most effective when you write:

1. Use your individual board member's email address. Don't use the one advertised on the site "to contact all the School Board members or the Superintendent." Here's a link to mine.
2. Always write to both your district's representative and to the At-Large Representative, Tom Reed. They both represent you personally. If another district's representative is taking the lead on a particular issue, include that member too. These are the people who will make it a priority to respond to you.
   
3. Always address the members by name, be it first or last. "Dear Mr. Stevens:" is as effective as "Hey, John-". Again, this will tell us who you expect to hear back from.
   
4. Always, always, always tell us where you live or which Loudoun School your child goes to, if you have a child in school. Again, the impact of the words of parents of children in our schools is tenfold beyond that of an anonymous emailer.
   

Finally I'd like to leave you with a priceless email that I received last night. It's an excellent example of someone taking a side without making it personal:

I respect and feel privileged to have worked with [Dr. Hatrick] and his family and I think he is wonderful....but on this issue, I certainly don't agree with him. It just doesn't seem like the Ed Hatrick I worked with years ago, not to embrace diversity. Hopefully he will realize he has made a wrong decision and correct it.

See? It is entirely possible for us to disagree with each other and yet remain civil, friendly even. Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to add your voices. Yes, thank you even to the angry outsiders who think I'm an idiot. We're all in this together.

Penguins Marching

In the days since I posted my call to Put the Penguins Back, a lot has happend. The Washington Post published a piece over the weekend, bloggers have picked it up nationwide, there is now a Facebook group devoted to the issue and tonight I read that Church Executive Magazine has picked up the story. Folks have written letters to the Superintendent and to the School Board, mostly opposing the decision to pull the book from the shelves.

If you're keeping score, we have three Board members supporting the Superintendent's decision, three Board members opposed, and three who haven't expressed their opinion yet. At next Tuesday's Board meeting I expect there will be folks coming to the dais to speak for and against, but anyone hoping for the Board to vote on the Superintendent's decison will be disappointed. While I disagree with the decision, the School Board should not make a practice of overturning the day-to-day decisions of the Superintendent outside of the normal channel of appeals, and I will not support such an effort in this case.

I continue to emphasize that an inadequate set of policies for book challenges led us to this situation, and I will post a proposal for revised policies on Tuesday February 26th for consideration at the March 4th Legislative/Policy committee meeting.

Put the Penguins Back

Many of you are aware of the controversy surrounding the removal of a children’s book called And Tango Makes Three from the libraries of all Loudoun County public elementary schools. I have read the book, studied our policies and sought the input of the Superintendent and his staff regarding the process that was followed.

I believe And Tango Makes Three should return
to our libraries’ shelves.

Parents determine what is appropriate for their own children and how to guide their children as they learn and grow. The schools should not be an instrument of censorship for parents who want veto power over the judgment of other parents.

After spending the past week investigating the decision, I believe that the Superintendent and every LCPS staff member involved faithfully followed the policies provided by the School Board. I also believe that the policies, last revised in 1993, are deeply flawed and led to a bad decision. I will work to overhaul these policies.

I am researching the best practices for handling book challenges in public school libraries, and have asked the Superintendent’s staff to provide their input. I will present a new set of policies for consideration at the next meeting of the Legislative/Policy committee on March 4th.

Censorship at Sugarland Run

And Tango Makes Three has been removed from the shelf at Sugarland Run Elementary School.

It isn't time for me to comment on this yet. I found out about it on Friday, but I have few details yet. I have read the book. I have heard from Dr. Hatrick. I am studying the relevant policy. I just want you to be aware, and I want you to know that I am aware.

You may also find interesting the American Library Association's Intellectual Freedom and Censorship Q&A, or information on Censorship in the Schools.

Is the "C" word too strong? The ALA's definition:

Censorship. A change in the access status of material, based on the content of the work and made by a governing authority or its representatives. Such changes include exclusion, restriction, removal, or age/grade level changes.

Not everyone will agree that this is censorship. Some will say it's just good judgement. More to follow.