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The New York Times
Opinions/New Jersey
A Superintendent
Under Pressure
EDITORIAL,
nytimes.com on the Web, September 23, 2007
When politicians and competing ethnic
groups fight for power in a big-city school system, the schools suffer
unfortunate consequences. That is especially true in a faction-torn city
like Paterson, N.J., where a Hispanic mayor and his political allies have
struggled for influence in a school system where an African-American holds the
top job.
Regrettably, this tug of war, combined with dissatisfaction among teachers and
their union, is threatening to force out a reform-minded superintendent who has
insisted on running the schools as he sees fit.
A number of public interest organizations and community activists say that
Michael Glascoe, the superintendent, has made impressive strides in his efforts
to improve Paterson’s seriously troubled schools during his two years on the
job. He has attracted millions of dollars of grants from organizations
like the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the Schumann Fund for New Jersey and the
Henry and Marilyn Taub Foundation. More important, student achievement
scores have begun to improve from their abysmal lows.
Dr. Glascoe, a former superintendent in the Fairfax County, Va., school system,
was recruited for the Paterson job by the state, which took over the district
several years ago and continues to exert ultimate control. Convinced that
things need to change, Dr. Glascoe, who is African-American, has stepped on many
toes. In a state where it is almost impossible to fire a tenured teacher,
he has done so twice. He has also transferred several teachers and
administrators to less attractive positions.
In addition, he has steadfastly declined to give jobs to friends of elected
public officials or to go along with some wishes of Mayor José Torres and at
least one other elected official of Hispanic background. He rarely
initiates conversations with public officials.
The result: big trouble for Mr. Glascoe. In a city that has lost so
many of its industries and big employers, the school system is one of the few
remaining places where political officials and ethnic and racial groups can find
jobs for their favorites, and politicians can secure business deals. The
recent indictment of Alfred Steele of Paterson, who resigned from the State
Assembly this month, alleges that in a federal sting operation Mr. Steele
indicated he would place insurance business with the city’s schools.
In a letter late last month, the state’s education commissioner, Lucille Davy,
informed Dr. Glascoe that the state would not renew his three-year contract
unless he met certain conditions within six months. These included raising
test scores further, improving relationships with “community groups and
stakeholders” and reducing “the number of grievances” from teachers and its
association.
It’s hard to believe that Dr. Glascoe can satisfy all these conditions within
the next six months. Obviously he should try to improve his relationship
with the teachers, but grievances are inevitable during a time when he is trying
to remove underperformers and pressure other teachers and administrators to do
better. Ms. Davy says that she had a brief conversation with a
representative of the Paterson teachers before sending out the letter.
Dr. Glascoe’s tenure has been marked by another controversy. Earlier this
month, the fire department closed all the schools for one day, a Friday, because
of fire code violations. Supporters of Dr. Glascoe say the violations were
relatively minor and that the mayor pushed for the school closings to divert
attention from protests over high city taxes. But any violation of the
fire code is serious, and that is especially true in Paterson, where a middle
school auditorium caught fire last spring. As superintendent, Dr. Glascoe
should have seen to it that the violations were corrected during the summer
vacation period.
But Ms. Davy’s letter to Mr. Glascoe was dated before the fire controversy.
And while she says she is troubled by the code violations, her complaints are
based on his overall running of the schools. In an interview last week,
Ms. Davy said the letter was an effort by her to get Dr. Glascoe to improve his
performance, and not simply a prelude to getting him out of the job.
Let’s hope that is the case. In a district with problems serious enough to
require a state takeover, there is no question that the state should remove a
superintendent who is not doing a good job. But the available evidence
suggests that this is not true of Dr. Glascoe. While the delay in
correcting fire-code violations was inexcusable, it should not be a determining
factor in whether he gets a new contract.
We would urge Ms. Davy to keep in mind that Paterson has had several
superintendents during the past decade and that another change would again cause
great disruption. Removing Dr. Glascoe could also convey an unfortunate
message to school staff: grumble loud and long enough, and you can get rid
of someone you don’t like.
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