Sept. 20, 2022

There was some “throw-the-rascals-out” rhetoric this morning, as challengers made the case that the CMS Board of Education has failed in its chief duty: to ensure the education of all children.

Two of the three incumbents running for re-election in Districts 2, 4 and 6 were present. District 2 member Thelma Byers-Bailey has been board vice chair for three years. District 4 member Carol Sawyer promoted her work on refashioning board policy to revamp discipline and overhaul equity standards. (District 6 incumbent Sean Strain was out of town; District 2 challenger Juanrique Hall and District 6 challenger Summer Nunn did not attend.)

Voters get to judge Nov. 8 whether throwing incumbents out is merited. But it was clear from the details discussed that simple solutions may ignore nuances; that local boards are hobbled by state-imposed rules; that CMS shares with most every school district in the nation an acute shortage of the assets they need most – trained, experienced teachers; that money-driven policies like creating pre-K-only facilities that force pre-kindergartners to move to a new school for kindergarten, find new friends and adjust to a new place might be behind breathtaking learning loss among pre-K’s brightest stars.

Candidates for Districts 1, 3 and 5 were invited to attend the Sept. 13 Forum. That video is here.