What is Accountability, Anyway?

What is accountability? An internet search for the definition of accountability found this definition; “being obliged to answer for one's actions, to an authority that may impose a penalty for failure.”

Our district is again asking the voters of eastern Racine County for authorization to exceed their spending caps by $6.45 million. Our district has asked for this same amount for the 3rd time since 2004. That means that many people, who like me, believed that we needed to give our school board and superintendent a little breathing room. They needed the time to develop some long term plans; the public agreed and the board and CEO went ahead and developed those long term plans, right?

NOT!

In this new age of accountability and openness, school districts across Wisconsin are providing the taxpayers and parents with their plans, perhaps to justify the need to exceed the spending caps. Why can’t Racine Unified do the same? Even the worst (by state testing standards) district in the state has academic goals that are shared with the public.

I know that deep within the bowels of Central Office, there has to be some goals. Why not share with us these goals? MPS has done this; there is a different action plan for each of their 223 schools. A closer look at one’s school individual action plan calls for different goals; and example of this would be:

The percentage of 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students scoring at/above proficient in Reading will increase by 3% for each grade level as measured by the WKCE and TERRA NOVA.


From looking at the different Educational Plans it is obvious some people at MPS realize that all schools are not the same and should have different goals. From that link provided previously, all the parents would need to scroll down and look on the right for the Educational Plan for their child’s school.

I believe that providing accountability is a good thing; I also believe that the district’s immediate needs (passage of the referendum) would be best served if the district immediately started sharing their goals and needs with the citizens of eastern Racine County. The future of our district depends on it and our children deserve better…