Tom Madden: Vote yes: And provide greater accountability

Minneapolis public schools are facing unprecedented challenges, including a persistent and unacceptable achievement gap, state funding shortfalls and declining enrollment linked to long-term demographic shifts. We also live in a city where 80 percent of the residents do not have school-aged children. The solutions required to address these and other pressing issues include the need for greater outreach and engagement with all communities in Minneapolis. With the school board being a part-time, elected position, it is nearly impossible for board members to meet with all the taxpayers and other constituents in the city, let alone all school sites, neighborhood groups, PTAs and student groups. The current board has put in more time on the job than any in recent history, and yet we still seek increased engagement throughout Minneapolis. Without moving toward politically appointed or full-time boards, there exists a workable solution on your ballot this fall. It's called the accountable, balanced and connected (ABC) referendum -- also known as school board election reform.

The ABC referendum would change the school board governance structure from the current seven at-large seats to six seats elected by district and three seats at large, similar to how we elect our Park Board commissioners today. By adding two members and breaking up the job into districts for some, ABC would enable board members to ensure all schools and neighborhood groups are met with regularly -- just as you may experience today with your City Council member. It also enables the school board to be better connected to our city's diverse communities. The three at-large members ensure that all of our schools' kids are the key focus for our school district, just as the current at-large seats do today.

Over the last decade, trends in school governance have shifted decisionmaking authority closer to the school level. Parents serve on site-based school councils. Newly emerging models of site-based management are being developed and proven effective. Principals are exercising more site-based accountability. The trend toward decentralization creates greater flexibility to respond to changing needs within individual schools and a clearer line of accountability for both success and failure. Research demonstrates that the strongest schools are those with strong connections to neighborhood and community. I believe that the ABC referendum, if approved, would further enable the Minneapolis school board to strengthen connections to all of our neighborhoods and communities.

The new governance model would encourage individuals within underrepresented communities to run for school board. Underrepresentation is often thought about in gender and racial terms, but can also apply to entire geographic areas of the city without any elected board member as a resident or a school board without the professional backgrounds required to ensure a broadly experienced and balanced board. By removing many barriers that may have prevented them from running for office under the current system, we open the door to individuals with a broad range of talents, skills, life experiences and competencies that could infuse the school board with additional perspective needed to enact meaningful reform.

Forty percent of school districts nationwide elect their school boards in part or in whole by district. Eleven Minnesota districts -- including the state's largest district, Anoka-Hennepin -- elect their school boards this way. A body of evidence suggests that school districts that adopt a version of this governance model achieve at higher levels than comparable districts with all at-large models. Last year, the Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE) recognized three districts that elect their boards in similar ways to receive its annual award for quality, using criteria to measure performance that included the quality of school governance, progress in closing the achievement gap, and the level of community connection.

The Minneapolis public schools face continued daunting challenges. We have adopted the goal of making every child college-ready by 2012. In order to achieve this ambitious goal, significant structural reform will be necessary and widespread public support of those efforts will be essential. Adopting a reformed election process could go far toward creating that support.

Tom Madden is a Minneapolis school board director.