| The Madison Metropolitan School District (MMSD) has been in a revenue squeeze since 1993 when state spending caps were first imposed. Due to its unique circumstances and the nature of the spending caps, MMSD's share of local property taxes has declined, while overall property taxes have risen. In fact, its actual revenues from property taxes declined by $2.5 million from FY2005 to FY2006 and rose by only $1.6 million in FY2007 -- the current fiscal year -- or only by 8/10 of one percent. In contrast, the inflation rate was approximately 2.5 percent for 2006. As the current president of the MMSD board of education, Johnny Winston Jr. has had to deal with the budgetary crisis on almost a daily basis. And in an era of flat revenues and rising prices and an environment of special educational interests without a clear district-wide vision and strategy for dealing with the continued budget crunch, Winston faces an increasing contentious process. Winston is concerned that the issue of minority student achievement is getting lost in the budget cuts and the process especially in an era when educational Affirmative Action programs are under legal attack. "One thing our board doesn't do and our administration hasn't done and the community hasn't really picked up on is that this is really about race," Winston said in an interview with The Capital City Hues. "When you look at the statistics overall, you see that African American students and Latino students are lagging behind other students in the district." Winston admits that part of this problem is due to students of color who come to the district with fewer skills than the student population that entered kindergarten in an MMSD school. "The issue for our district is that we are a very mobile district," Winston said. "Kids are coming into our district in the 6-8 grades and are deficient in their reading. And then you look at the statistics, we have widened the gap. We have kids on the high school level who are not reading any where close to where they should be reading. Again, Madison is a very mobile community. People come here for a better quality of life. So our statistical analysis is probably all over the board. That means we need to have more services that meet the needs of every student in the district." The extent of the problem is reflected in the district's special education enrollment. "One-third of African American students in this district are in special education," Winston emphasized. "That's just huge. It blows you away. Again, these are kids who are coming from different areas. Now, it isn't in the district's best interest to place kids in special education. It's expensive. So what we are doing is retesting kids as they come in. With a lot of school districts, particularly from Chicago and down south, you don't receive the transcript; it doesn't come with the kid. So you have to try to recreate that transcript and retest the kids to see if they don't need as many special education services as they needed before. I'm glad the district is doing that." However, the budget cuts over the past ten years have almost eliminated the district's targeted efforts to reduce the minority student achievement gap. "At one time, the race and equity office had 17 full time people," Winston said. "It was in human relations. Now it is down to one. Then I hear people complain that they are cutting strings. Wait a minute; we cut the whole race and equity department down to one. There was even a motion on the board level this past spring to cut that assistant superintendent position. I had to speak up and say 'We cannot do that. We have 25,000 students. And we have one employee who in essence affects all of those students. A psychologists or a social worker isn't going to affect all of those students. But that one position will." It was taken off the table and I'm really happy that was the case." In many ways, the race and equity initiative has been reduced to organizing trainings and other tasks, but the magnitude of the problem might be more than one staff person can effectively deal with. "I would like to think that a lot of people are getting it, that the new people we are hiring are getting it," Winston said. "It's just that there are a lot of people who are resistant to change, who will always look at the skin color first and that determines who gets into the math the program or the reading program they are in or who gets into talented and gifted programming or advanced placement programs. I keep saying on the board that race and equity is all of our responsibility." At the same time that targeted diversity efforts are being reduced, the representation of people of color has also been reduced. While there were four school board members of color on the school board in the late 1990s, there may be no school board members of color on the board this May if Winston is not reelected. And, in Winston's view, beyond the fact that he wants to be reelected, this is not a healthy trend. "I'm not trying to play the race card at all, but at the same time, when I really look at it, when you don';t have people who've been there, seen it with their own eyes, and can relate to other people, it's a travesty," Winston said. "Not having Juan Jose Lopez [who was not reelected to the school board in 2006] on the board hurts the board. Not having Shwaw Vang on the board next year will hurt the board. And I'm not going to sit here and say that I can be the leader of the Latino community or the Southeast Asian community. But I do have to try and give people who don't historically have a voice, a voice. So I do try to reach out to the Victor Arellanos of the community and the leaders of the Latino community as well as the leaders of the Southeast Asian community. You have to do that." And that decreasing lack of representation of people of color on the board may soon become a trend with the teaching staff as well. "Right now, teaching is becoming a lost profession, just in general," Winston reflected. "And I think it is more disproportionate among people of color who are not going into the teaching profession. We're losing people to Corporate America because they are trying to diversify as well. 'If I can make $60,000 and work in an office and do such and such, or I can go work with some kids for $32,000 per year,' the choice for most people is driven by economics. We have some really bright people in our district who are coming down the pipeline and I really want to look out for them. I think it is imperative that we continue to increase our minority staff. It is the responsibility of our staff like Eddie Thomas, but it's also the responsibility of the board, the superintendent, and our community. Once we get people hired, we don't want to lose them. We have to put our arms around them and make sure they feel they are a part of the community and get involved in programs and activities like 100 Black Men and all of those things that keep people here." During the 1970s, the Madison school district intensively and successfully recruited a generation of African American teachers. This created a bubble effect that may soon result in a dramatic loss of African American teachers as these teachers reach retirement age. "Our Latino population is rising and there are more Latino professionals who are coming," Winston said. "Those numbers are going to be good. But our African American numbers? We're going to probably feel the crunch. There's no doubt about that. That's why we need to continue to try and develop programs and services, but with the money constraints, you can't really do the things that you want to do." And with that lack of real participation on the board and staff level, Winston is concerned that efforts to provide a meaningful school experience for students of color may become hollow or may not have the right mix of activities and services to fully reach students of color. "One thing that is getting really tiresome is how people are using low-income students and people of color to get what they want," Winston said. "When I read blogs and listen to people say 'We need to do this for those kids.' And those kids might benefit in the short-term, but in the long-term, they don';t. I see this manifesting not only in the school district, but also in the city. Take strings for example. I think strings is a wonderful program. And I think the school district should have the program. But when someone says 'We need to have the program because of low-income students and students of color,' and when you look at the data and it shows kids are taking it in 4th and 5th grade, but never touch it after that, it's a problem. I could say the same thing with inclusionary zoning. Who';s buying those houses? I don't know who, but I don''t think it is doing what the proponents said it was going to do. They said we needed to create housing for people of color and low-income people. "I have a lot of respect for the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra and many of these programs that are doing fine arts programming for the young people in our community," Winston continued. "But if you really want to increase the numbers of low-income students and students of color, have the program at a neighborhood center. Charge your families an extra $25 and put that money toward the program that is at the Wexford Ridge Neighborhood Center or the Boys & Girls Club and have the program there. Start growing the program there. Maybe start with 10 students and have it grow to 20 and then 30. But alleviate some of those barriers because those kids aren't going to get to where the program is being held. I could say the same about ballet and drama programs. Have the programs in the community." And while most members of the Madison community philosophically feel that the district must meet the needs of its students of color, when proposals are brought forward, the education system and environment seems to resist change. "Allen Harris at East High School just got raked over the coals for saying he was going to redesign the talented and gifted program so that it was more reflective of the community and people were up in arms about it," Winston said. "Now we have this whole high school redesign. We're going to keep Art busy for the next 18 months. In Allen Harris' defense, here's a principal who's saying 'I would like to see my classes more reflective of the diversity of the school.' Unfortunately, when the masses hear that, they hear 'We are going to have heterogeneous classrooms and 'those' kids are going to keep my kids behind. They are going to water down the curriculum and they are going to hold my kids down." In meeting the needs of all of the students, Winston feels the district needs to take a broader view of what successful preparation for life or education after high school graduation really is. "My ultimate goal all the time is to get kids across the stage and get them graduated," Winston emphasized. "And that means by any means necessary because I truly don''t believe education is one size fits all. There are some kids who are going to go through the regular academic track at our high schools. There are going to be some students who are going to have opportunities through our alternative programs. There are going to be some students who may have more opportunities through the building trades so they can get a really good wage and be able to provide for their families. I want to build a multitude of ways for kids to be able to be successful. Just having a model that says 'Either you go to the University of Wisconsin or you're a bust' isn't right. There are many ways that kids can be successful and I want to try and help them do that. That's my ultimate goal." While Winston is concerned about the status of students of color, he also feels and realizes that the district needs to meet the needs of all its students lest critical constituencies leaves the district resulting in a loss of students and its tax base. He truly believes that the district needs to retain its strings program as a means to keep middle-class, primarily Euro-American students in the district. The board needs to make sure that the policies and budgets it enacts do not compound the problems the district is already facing. "There are people who are professors at the University of Wisconsin or affluent African American families who are not happy with the school system right now because their kids are not getting the opportunities they need in order to be successful," Winston confided. "Before White flight happens, Black flight happens. Middle class Black families turn around and say 'Gees, why are we here? My kid isn't getting an excellent education.' Or for whatever the reason, they leave and go to the suburbs or to a private school. It's interesting when you see the private schools and all of these other communities represented; you notice that people are voting with their feet. And yet, we have a lot of good people who are staying here. I'm very concerned that our district is going to turn into Milwaukee West. The district is going to look darker and poorer and the rest of the community is going to look the way it looks right now. We have to continue to keep our tax base strong. We have to continue to have classes and programs and services that meet the needs of all students." One solution, in Winston's view, is for the district and its community partners to do a better job of integrating its special programs like the talented and gifted program. "Unfortunately, we have too many students of color in our advanced classes who are the only student," Winston confided. "I think there are more students who look like me that can take those classes and do well. I would really like to try and spearhead that effort without causing a revolt. And through a partnership with WCATY, I think we'll be able to do that, where we can identify kids and have them start taking more advance placement courses and get them ready for college." With real shrinking financial resources and little public will to exceed the state revenue caps, the Madison Metropolitan School District is in a very difficult place as it tries to retain and improve its high educational standards, close the minority student achievement gap, and retain its middle and upper income students. "If a problem is going to be solved, Madison Wisconsin might be the place where you could do it because the tools are here," Winston said. "The people are here. It's a matter of getting it all going in the same direction in order to get it done." |
| An interview with Johnny Winston Jr. A look at minority student achievement By Jonathan Gramling Part 2 of 2 |
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