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Sense Instead of Dollars: A View of Education Reform
| Article
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19339 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
Date : |
6 / 1991 |
4,380 Words |
| Author
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Linus Wright
Linus Wright is a former undersecretary of the U.S.
Department of Education. From 1978 to 1987, he was
superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District.
Since 1989 he has served as president and chief executive
officer of Ideal Learning, Inc., an educational computer
software company located in Irving, Texas. |
During the past ten years the debate over how to improve American education has spread across the country and involved virtually every segment of American society--because after all, almost everyone has some stake in our school system, if only as a taxpayer. On the one hand, we hear some educators and politicians arguing that what is needed is a massive influx of tax dollars, both at the federal and state levels. On the other hand, a number of people in and out of education have said that money will not solve our problems and that some kind of substantive reform must take place, a complete reordering of our methods and priorities. As the debate continues, it becomes increasingly apparent that the nation's taxpayers are unwilling to shell out more money for a system that just isn't working.
I understand and share some of the skepticism of these taxpayers. At the same time I believe that some additional funding is clearly needed, particularly for teachers. But many of our current problems can be tackled using remedies other than new appropriations at the federal, state, or local levels.
But just what remedies should we use? There is no single answer to that question. Each district must work out its own destiny, and it is the genius of our form of government that we allow local governments to do just that.
However, in order to illustrate how one urban district overcame what seemed to be insurmountable obstacles, let me give a brief history of the Dallas Independent School District during a five-year period when it appeared as if it were doomed to financial deprivation and academic mediocrity. It is not a story with a hero, because too many contributed to the success achieved. And it is not a story with a perfect ending, because nowhere in our nation is education free of problems. But it is a story of how a team of educators analyzed the seemingly hopeless situation they faced, developed realistic plans, and put their school system in order.
Reform in Dallas
When I came to the Dallas Independent School District (DISD) in 1978, few people on the national level were talking about educational reform, but in Dallas we had to talk about it. The district was in terrible shape. We had the highest expenditure per student in the state of Texas, yet our students were near the bottom of the list in achievement on standardized tests. Our ad valorem tax rate was the maximum allowed by law--$1.50 per $100 of assessed property value; yet we were
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