During my four years on the School Board, the question of closing a school or program has come up three times. A month into my term, the School Board voted to pause the Virtual Learning Program, effectively ending it. In 2023, we considered whether to close Nottingham Elementary as a way to create swing space that would facilitate other, future school renovation and construction projects. This spring, we considered eliminating the Integration Station preschool program for budgetary reasons.
There's nothing I can think of that generates more upset for a school division. If Superintendents and School Boards are going to propose closing a school, it has to be done with an ironclad rationale and with the utmost care. In Fairfax County in the 1980s, both my elementary and high schools were closed due to declining enrollment while I attended. As a parent and a PTA leader, I participated in deliberations that led to the closure of McKinley, my kids' elementary school. (At the time APS proposed this, it was not guaranteeing that the entire school community would move together to the newly-constructed Cardinal Elementary, which is why it is correctly categorized as a school closing.) During that same process, APS moved two option programs, Escuela Key and Arlington Traditional School. So--I have some history with this topic. Because of that, and because of my most recent experience with Integration Station, I have been curious about how APS and other school divisions could improve how we take up this topic and make good decisions. I reached out to staff and families who are part of the Integration Station, Nottingham, and VLP communities to learn about their experiences and hear their ideas for how we could do this better. (Please note: While to my knowledge there are no immediate plans to close or move anyone in Arlington, I do think it would behoove us to develop a policy and related processes that would govern this if it comes up again.) I spoke with 13 individuals and here's what I heard: 1. Identify clear goals. What problem(s) are we trying to solve? What initial data suggest that closing or moving this school or program will be a good solution? These goals should not change during the decision making process. The individuals I spoke to felt like the following would be reasonable goals to identify:
2. Involve the right people. Before a closure or move is recommended to the School Board and communicated to the public, there should be serious deliberation among a group that includes:
The individuals I spoke with felt particularly strongly about the need to include the principal(s) as individuals with deep, specific knowledge of their school community and the impacts that would need to be anticipated and planned for. They also strongly recommended incorporating Transportation from the start and consistently including Special Education, English Learning, and DEI so that the needs of specific populations are always factored in. I shared a worry that involving school principals and/or FAC representatives might risk making something public before a recommendation is fully developed. The individuals I spoke with suggested that this worry implies a lack of trust: “Why would you assume that people can’t exercise professionalism and discretion?” They advised that the greater risk was bringing forward an ill-conceived recommendation because we hadn’t involved the right people from the outset. 3. Utilize a clear decision making framework. This group should employ a checklist of essential questions that need to be answered, including:
4. If a recommendation is going to be made to close or move a school or program, develop a comprehensive communications plan in advance. Who needs to be informed? Who needs to be engaged? When and how should we reach out to those groups? This would include families, students, and staff at the school or program in question; staff and students at the school(s) receiving any new students as a result of the change; community organizations partnering with the school or program in question; the County Board; and the general public. The individuals I spoke with observed that sometimes the very valid reasons for recommending a change get lost in the way it is communicated. They suggest the following improvements in communication and engagement:
If you have experience with this issue and can suggest other thoughtful improvements, I'd love to hear from you. I believe that the School Board does its best work when it listens closely and is open to making positive course corrections based on what it learns. In four years, I have never been disappointed when I've done so. Last week, the School Board meeting included an Information/Action item that recommended a change to the approved school year calendar. I chose to abstain from this vote—something I have not done before as a board member.
Since the meeting, I’ve received questions and comments about my decision to abstain. As an elected official accountable to the community I serve, I believe it’s important to explain any vote I cast--or in this case, my decision not to vote. (This is why I have maintained a public record of all my votes since taking office, along with my commentary on particularly significant votes, in multiple languages.) As a board member, I have always sought to understand an issue as thoroughly as possible in order to make an informed, responsible decision. This involves asking questions (often I ask a lot of them!); listening carefully to the perspectives of families, staff, and students who will be affected by a vote; studying how other school divisions have handled the same issue; and when necessary and possible, working with my colleagues and APS staff to explore compromises or alternative solutions. Because of this, I don’t like Information / Action items. Normally, an issue and a related recommendation are presented an Information item and not voted on as an Action item until the subsequent board meeting. This allows board members time to deliberate and it gives the community time to understand what’s being proposed and advocate. In this case, the School Board learned about the proposed calendar change Tuesday afternoon. It was shared with the community on Wednesday, and the board was to vote on Thursday. The issue at hand was (is) deeply important to many in our community. It was also divisive: in the space of about 24 hours, the School Board received hundreds of emails. I carve out time to read all incoming emails, but in this case I was not able to because I also have a full-time job. Additionally, from Thursday morning right up until the time of the meeting, I was receiving new information about the possible consequences of this vote. In the very limited amount of time available, I could not study what other school divisions were doing in response to the same issue, and I could not explore whether there were possible compromises or ways to mitigate the negative impacts of a vote in either direction. There are completely valid reasons why this was presented as an Information / Action item. It is also true that I was deeply conflicted about the decision (to learn more about that, you can watch the meeting video and listen to my comments beginning at 3:31:20). With the time I’d had to deliberate and the information that was still coming in, I could not cast a responsible, well-informed vote. So my decision was to abstain. Board members may abstain from a vote for a few different reasons. Abstention is different from recusal: in abstention, the board member participates in the discussion but declines to vote. In recusal, the board member has a conflict of interest and does not participate in the discussion or the vote. I understand that an elected official’s decision to abstain may be seen as an abdication of decision making responsibility. And I believe that it’s my job to cast votes that are reflective of serious thought, study, and engagement. Last week, those two principles were in conflict. I’m not a career politician and I don’t have a degree in any related field; I made a judgment call. It’s entirely possible that I should have made a different call, and if you believe I should have done so, I welcome your constructive feedback. Dear friends,
I’ll be voting for June Prakash in the Arlington Democrats’ School Board Endorsement Vote, and I hope you will join me. For information about how to vote in person or online, please see HERE. Please note that voting concludes on May 10! I support June because I believe she will provide the kind of oversight and leadership that we need right now for Arlington Public Schools. When I think about some of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing APS right now, these are top of mind: Deep Knowledge of, and Experience with, APS Operations. As a board member for the past four years, I’ve seen firsthand the need for APS to strengthen various areas of its operation. And while there has been some good progress, it will require sustained effort. June brings firsthand experience with APS operations, a deep understanding of the complexities involved, and a recognition of the significant impact that operational success or failure can have on APS’s ability to ensure that every student in our community learns, thrives, and excels. These are among the most timely and urgent needs I see in APS today:
Educator Perspective and Experience. It is not an easy time to be a teacher. Public education is under attack. Policymakers and the general public are asking schools to meet an increasing number of societal needs. Teachers often lack the time to learn about and apply new strategies that will improve teaching and learning. Many teachers cannot afford to live in the communities they serve. These issues are not unique to APS, but they certainly apply here. On top of those universal needs, I see the following local challenges:
The School Board makes its best decisions when it is keenly listening to the perspectives and experiences of students, families, community members, and the staff members who are the lifeblood of the system. June has worked in APS as a kindergarten instructional assistant—she has firsthand APS educator experience. During her tenure as president of AEA, she has listened attentively to the needs of staff members in myriad roles and advocated constructively on their behalf with APS leadership. The School Board needs a member who will make decisions that are grounded in the goal of valuing, retaining, and developing a truly excellent staff. June brings that experience and orientation. I have deep respect for the other candidate in this race and I believe she is a tremendous asset to this community. I believe she brings strengths, experience, and perspectives that would also add value to the School Board. I wish a little bit that there were two seats open, because I think these two candidates would complement each other very well. But when I ask myself, “What do the School Board and APS need most urgently right now?”, in my experience the highest-priority needs are in operational improvements and in the way APS values, supports, and learns from its staff members. I am confident that June Prakash will do great work in these areas, and in others, if elected to the Arlington School Board. I hope you’ll join me in voting for June. Last night, the School Board approved its FY26 Proposed Budget, which now goes through a period of public discussion and refinement before the board approves a final budget in May.
Below, I'm sharing the remarks I made at last night's meeting about our proposed budget and the process we've undertaken to develop it. Later today, the School Board and the County Board will gather in a joint public work session to share and discuss each organization's FY26 proposed budget; I encourage you to watch via video stream or join us in the County Board Meeting Room at 1 pm. I want to thank the Superintendent and members of his leadership team for their partnership and willingness to work together a little differently this year. In particular, I am grateful for the conscientious work of Andy Hawkins, Tameka Lovett-Miller, and John Mayo. When we began our budget work in July, we knew we would have a considerable gap to cover. In the initial scenarios we looked at, the gap ranged from an estimated 35 million dollars on the low end, if we built in just a step increase for our employees with no cost of living adjustment, to 55 million dollars if we wanted to give a step and a 3% COLA. We also knew we would not have reserves to plug that gap as we’d done in years past, nor did we want to keep using reserves, which are one-time money, to fund ongoing costs. Back in the summer, we agreed we wanted to align our financial resources to our strategic plan and data about changing student needs. We wanted to free up resources for priorities and needs that are currently unfunded. We had the goal of ensuring that we can recruit and retain skilled, talented, and effective staff. And we wanted to do all of this in a way that would increase our financial stability and reduce our structural deficit. These were our goals at the outset, which I hope you saw reflected in the budget direction the School Board approved last October. In my School Board life, whenever we’re wrestling with a mighty problem, I like to remember that we are not the only school division in the universe. I ask myself, “What have other school divisions done when they faced similar problems?” So my work began with a lot of study of what other divisions have done to close budget gaps and realign resources. This study of other districts factored into our work over the summer, and it also is reflected in the analysis we commissioned from an outside company that has worked with many other school systems on issues just like ours. Tonight in the budget presentation, you heard about things that are being proposed as potential reductions. What you didn’t hear about are the things that we did NOT include, and that we saw in other school divisions. I think this is useful context for what is being presented, so I want to talk just a bit about things we rejected, for a variety of reasons. We did not increase class sizes, which is admittedly the easiest lever to pull when a school division wants to reduce costs. In our public meetings, we regularly hear from APS educators during public comment who talk about the impact of class size increases on their workload and their ability to know and support each one of their students. We did not eliminate retiree health benefits as other divisions have done, because we know that these benefits are significant to our retirees, who devoted so many years to our community, and because we know they are an important reason why many educators choose to stay with APS. We did not outsource and privatize parts of our operation like Extended Day, transportation, or custodial and maintenance services, as is the case in many other school divisions. These employees are members of our APS family and they form valuable relationships with our students, staff, and families that enrich our school communities. Many students begin and end their days with our bus drivers and Extended Day staff, who get to know them and provide positive support. We did not scale back or eliminate our program for court-involved young people, or our program for older students that enables them to complete credits for a high school diploma while holding down one, and sometimes more than one, job. We did not close a neighborhood school, which many school divisions have done as enrollment flatlines or decreases and the cost of building upkeep and renovation increases. These are just a few of the measures that we determined weren’t a good idea for Arlington Public Schools. There are other ideas we decided have promise, but will require more study and may take more than one year to implement. An example of this is converting more, or all, of our schools to renewable energy sources. At a net zero school like Discovery, this saves hundreds of thousands of dollars in utility costs each year. I also want to say a few words about our process, which has been different this year in that the School Board and Superintendent are presenting this budget together. This year’s budget in my estimation required a different approach, where the board in its governance role and the Superintendent in his leadership and operational role had the opportunity for extended deliberation, discussion, and reflection. Now we are bringing you the work we’ve done to date as a result of our deliberation, but our work is not done. The work sessions, hearing, and community engagement over the next several weeks are a crucial part of getting to the best possible result. If you know anything about me from my time thus far on the board, I hope you know and trust my sincere belief that each of us has unique knowledge and perspective to share, and it’s only when we are genuinely curious and listening to each other that our own understanding and decision making can be enriched. You see things in your classrooms, in your homes and school communities, and in your team’s work here at Syphax, that I can’t see or know nearly as well as you do. When you share those ideas and considerations with me, I make better decisions. It’s in that spirit of transparency and collaboration that we have posted, along with the proposed budget, a number of other documents that provide a window into our work to date. We’re showing you our work, and asking you to help us elaborate and improve it. Finally, I want to note that in this particularly difficult budget season, and at a time of economic and job uncertainty for many in our community, we are necessarily having to make decisions that have a very human impact on many people. I want to say to those of you directly impacted by the proposed reductions that I am aware this is difficult and emotional. For me, that’s why it’s even more important that we use the time between now and May to be absolutely sure that we are making the most careful and strategic decisions possible. I thank all of you in advance for the contributions I know you will make. Dear Friend,
It has been my joy to serve on the school board for the last three years. This is the most purposeful, fulfilling work I have ever had. I have loved meeting new people, learning new things, stretching myself, and feeling like I am contributing to important, positive changes in our schools. I genuinely believe I would be happy doing this work forever. I say this despite its demands and challenges, some of which I would never have chosen for myself or made public in the way that happened for me last year. If I didn’t love the work so much, then the toxicity aimed at me, personally, from some of my former colleagues would have driven me out the door already. It is no secret that I have concerns about the Arlington Dems Caucus process connected to school board elections. I am grateful to the Dems for opening a forum on this topic in 2022 and making some reforms based on what they heard. Here's some additional feedback on the Caucus: If I have done my research correctly, I would be the first candidate standing for re-election who has a 9 to 5 full time job, the school board job, the extra work of being Chair, and a partner and school-age children at home. That is indeed a lot. Holding the Caucus means that someone like me needs to figure out how to do all that and add several months of extra campaigning in the spring, before the state’s June filing deadline, which would otherwise be when a campaign could launch. This spring, I will also be leading the school board and the community through some serious and overdue budget work. I love a good challenge–and until very recently, I believed I was up for the challenge of campaigning for a second term. But added to all of this, I am now navigating a serious family situation that needs my time and energy for the foreseeable future. I am struggling with it, and I need to acknowledge my limits. I can’t run a campaign and take care of myself and my husband and family in this moment, all at the same time. I will repeat–I love this work. I hope that sometime in my life I will have the opportunity to do it again. But in this campaign cycle, I will not be seeking a second term. In choosing your next school board member, I urge you to prioritize certain habits of mind over specific domain knowledge. APS knowledge can be learned. What can’t be learned, in my experience, are the dispositions of curiosity, humility, open-mindedness, and self-scrutiny. My work on the School Board has never been about me, and it has never been about being part of an elite group that believes rigidly and narrowly in its own insular correctness and expertise. My work on the School Board has been about listening to you, learning from you, and exercising my best judgment on your behalf. I encourage you to listen closely to discern if candidates hold a genuine belief that good ideas and valuable perspectives can come from all parts of our community, and if their sense of accountability to the community they serve will extend beyond Election Day. I will be listening closely, too, and I plan to make an endorsement and support the best candidate in any way I can. Thank you for placing your trust in me and giving me this amazing opportunity to serve. I indeed have been blessed. The idea behind Choir! Choir! Choir! is pretty simple: strangers gather, rehearse for about an hour, and then perform a song together. The brainchild of Daveed Goldman and Nobu Adilman, it started in Toronto in 2011 and then spread around the world. My sister introduced me to Choir! Choir! Choir! in 2020. A group had gathered in New York City two years before to perform David Bowie's "Heroes" with special guest singer David Byrne. When my sister sent me the link, we were in the early months of the pandemic and no choirs could assemble anywhere. Being part of a choir is beautifully human. It says something about our need for connection and the amazing things humans create together. We can all name people with extraordinary voices--soloists whose talents we could never hope to match--but singing in a choir is different. 40 or 70 or 400 ordinary voices join together and make something none of them could do alone. The sum is truly greater than all its parts.
I feel that way about our country, too, even though our bonds seem increasingly fragile. It's evident that no matter who wins the election, we'll be sorely tested in the days and weeks ahead. "Heroes", especially when sung by a group of everyday, un-heroic strangers joined by shared affection and purpose, seems like a good song for these times. If you're not a Bowie/Byrne fan, maybe the song below will be more your style. (And if you want something that's more purely fun, you might like the Choir! Choir! Choir! performances with Rick Astley or Colin Hay--the latter I think is remarkably good!) This one is "We Belong," written by Lowen & Navarro but made famous by Pat Benatar. It also makes me think of this moment in America: "Whatever we deny or embrace / For worse or for better / We belong, we belong together."
|
AuthorMary Kadera is a school board member in Arlington, VA. Opinions expressed here are entirely her own and do not represent the position of any other individual or organization. Categories
All
|