Fool Me Once…

At a pro-override “forum” last Thursday, a gentleman in the audience observed that student outcomes don't track with the per-pupil spending in various local communities. Doesn't this disconnect demonstrate that more money spent doesn't necessarily get us a better system of education? That gentleman was quickly shut down by the moderator, but not before a voice said, “we need more money so the teachers don’t leave.”

Melrose override proponents claim that the primary reason teachers are leaving the district is low salaries. There certainly are proven, great teachers who have left the district. They are teachers who arrived early every day, left late, teachers who would make up individualized quizzes for students based on their weaknesses on the prior exam, and teachers who would do anything to get a class of struggling students up to par for AP Exams by running after-school and summer study groups. Anyone who has taken the time to speak with these dedicated teachers knows that none of them left because of low salary.

Why these excellent (mostly veteran) teachers left points to administrative dysfunction and mismanagement. They tell similar stories of demoralizing and harassing treatment by administrators, many of whom were hired without any prior experience in their positions.

Certainly there ARE teachers and administrators who take positions here for the money and benefits, and these same individuals jump ship the minute they get a few years of experience, a partially-funded advanced degree, and a higher offer elsewhere. These teachers, however, are generally NOT the teachers who have been instrumental in building the quality of education Melrose has offered historically. These are NOT the teachers that we need to worry about attracting or retaining.

A few years ago the Aldermen decided to raise the mayor’s salary by 25 percent. The most strident argument used for the pay raise was the need to “attract and retain talented individuals in the office.” Two years after the increase to 25%, the mayor whom they were trying to retain took a job in another town. We should learn from our mistakes. Just because people claim higher pay is the way to retain an employee doesn’t mean such a simplistic approach is true or viable. It doesn’t provide the persistent security that a culture of respect, loyalty and dedication to the common interest of educating Melrose youth brings.

Pouring more money into the same Melrose school administration that has proven dysfunctional will not attract or retain the best educators, nor will it improve student outcomes. Taking an honest look at the fuller picture is the only reasonable first step toward addressing Melrose’s problems, and that requires moving away from the insular, defensive, and self-congratulatory management culture toward a self-reflective one.