C-J's on Berman's legacy

This from C-J:

Sheldon Berman has completed his four-year tenure as superintendent of the Jefferson County Public Schools.

Just as the arrival of Donna Hargens to replace him should be a time for all in the community to welcome her and wish her well, Mr. Berman's departure should occasion gratitude for his substantial good work here, even from those who agreed with the school board's decision not to renew his contract.

This is a time when public school administrators, principals and teachers often are treated as political ping-pong balls, batted around mercilessly both by those who have understandable frustrations about the contemporary challenges in educating children, as well as by those eager to exploit ideological divides by superimposing on schools broader debates that range from government spending to race.

It is tempting to say that theirs is a thankless job, except that remarkably so many of them don't find it so. They instead take deep satisfaction every time a child excels, becomes excited by learning or overcomes an obstacle.

In such an environment, Mr. Berman's special talent was to see the need for deep systemic change in the JCPS system, to define a clear vision for long-term improvement (as opposed to obsessing about the next round of standardized test scores) and to emphasize teachers' professional growth. He found strong partners in this venture, achieving the most productive relationship in memory with the teachers' union and attracting teachers and staff to persistently low-achieving schools with the strongest commitments to quick turn-arounds.

Mr. Berman's tenure was cut short for all the wrong reasons. A largely dysfunctional school board — motivated in some cases by personal grudges and agendas, spooked by a noisy minority opposed to transporting students to achieve diversity and equal opportunity, and rattled by the low achievement scores that bedevil every urban district in the nation — seemed incapable of working with the superintendent on a common strategic plan. That will have to change for Ms. Hargens to have a chance.

Deep change in the direction and culture of an entire district takes time. Mr. Berman wasn't given time, but he leaves behind a strong platform — a new framework for teachers to design lessons with rigor and meaning, sophisticated methods to measure performance, reduced class sizes and dropout rates, freshman academies, new magnet schools and career-themed high schools, and much else.

It is unfortunate that Mr. Berman must move on to Oregon. But the loss will be greatly magnified if the school board and the new administration reflexively dismantle a structure for progress that has been so thoughtfully constructed and that holds such promise.

Berman Headed to Eugene

Where Charter Schools Await

This from Toni at C-J:

JCPS Superintendent Sheldon Berman

hired to lead Eugene, Oregon schools

Outgoing Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Sheldon Berman has been named the new school chief in Eugene, Ore. The Eugene School Board voted 7-0 Wednesday night to hire Berman, one of three finalists, as their next superintendent.

“Dr. Berman is a visionary educational leader and has engaged both staff and community members in moving schools forward through difficult conditions,” Eugene school board chairman Craig Smith said in a prepared statement. “We believe he is an excellent fit for Eugene.”

The district, the fourth largest in Oregon, has about 16,500 students in 38 schools, including three public charter schools, and an annual budget of $140 million. By comparison, JCPS has approximately 100,000 students in 155 schools and an operating budget of about $1 billion...

Monday Musings

By Penney Sanders

I cannot remember a time when both Fayette and Jefferson County School Districts had superintendent openings at the same time. It portends a unique opportunity for Kentucky.

Let’s start with Louisville/JCPS. Could the situation have become more ludicrous - and more importantly, is it salvageable????

A bit of history. When Dr. Berman was hired 4 years ago, he was the “last man” standing candidate. The other two finalists dropped out and rather than reopen the search, for whatever reason, the JCPS Board chose to hire Berman.

Furthermore, Berman came from a small district in New England. He had no experience with the immense infrastructure that constitutes JCPS and was a novice at Kentucky hardball school politics. He was behind before he began. (So, how/ why did the headhunters put him on the list for Louisville??)

In a part of organizational analysis called, succession theory, Berman was an outside-outsider. Furthermore, his predecessor (Daeschner) had been in the position for 14 years. Succession theory and common sense indicate that Berman was not destined to stay long in the position: too many accumulated problems and too many people in place who could not be removed or motivated to change.

Couple the bussing morass with the announcement that JCPS had 12 high schools on the state’s lowest performing list (6 per yr. for 2 years =12), it should come as no surprise that Berman’s contract was not renewed. Based on the performance of the schools and the lack of overall progress in the district, the Board took appropriate action to not renew.

Urban superintendents have a short life-span under the best of circumstances. In this case, the circumstances were full of conflict. Berman had been selected by default and his Board flipped on him. It was a bad fit that only got worse. The only logical outcome was don’t renew and move on - It is happening all over the country.

Therefore, I do not understand why there has been such weeping and wailing from the Courier Journal about Berman’s departure. A 5-2 vote to not renew is compelling. Even if the Board had changed its vote in public, in private, Berman would have lacked the support and confidence of the Board. That, as we all know, is a killer for a superintendent.

Now, the Board has an opportunity to get it right. They must conduct a search that will yield them a strong group of candidates. Additionally, they should not rush to hire someone. In fact, an interim superintendent may be a good idea for the district at this time.

An interim, no doubt someone from within, could, with the full support of the Board, do much of the necessary program and personnel adjustments - i.e. clean house and continue instituting the changes necessary to get the poor performing high schools back on track.

This is a strategy that is often employed in the private sector-the transitional person does the dirty work and the new person arrives with the opportunity to install his/her personnel and programs. The messy stuff is over and done with.

Regardless, the JCPS Board must be committed to improved schools for ALL students. This continued whining that because students are poor or from disengaged families simply cannot be allowed to continue as the excuses for poor school performance. There are too many urban districts in this country that are demonstrating positive student achievement to allow JCPS to continue this category of caterwauling.

Finally, the Board must realize that it is the assessment of student performance which is the basis for the way we judge schools in Kentucky and in the US. The presentations at the recent League of Women Voters Forum that sought to deemphasize assessment were at best disingenuous if not delusional.

Kentucky was first on board to adopt the Common Core Standards and will, I assume, quickly adopt the assessments that will accompany those standards. The result will be higher standards and much more rigorous measurements/assessments. Competition will be more intense and the stakes for Kentucky students will be higher. JCPS must be ready.

This is a critical juncture in the history of JCPS. With 12 high schools on the state’s low performing list and concerns about student performance overall, the Board must select and SUPPORT a strong, instructionally-focused candidate who has a history of turning schools around and who will be committed to the tough work of transforming low performing, low expectation schools into schools of excellence based on successful student outcomes. Think: Michelle Rhee or Arne Duncan.

The Board must share with the candidates the problems the district faces. NOTHING can be sugar-coated; all the uglies out in the open. A new superintendent must understand the issues related to the failure to intervene in low performing schools until they were hemorrhaging, the frustration with bussing and the need to adopt a “no more excuses” approach to instruction.
It will be a difficult position but there are men and women in schools and districts throughout the country who could lead a JCPS turnaround. The trick will be to identify them; these types of “in the trenches” leaders are not often in the stable of the hired headhunters. The Board may have to do some serious searching on their own. In fact, to do less and not hire the best, subjects the Louisville community to more failing schools. That is not an option.

JCPS Superintendent Sheldon Berman says it's time to 'move on'

Board wisely avoids Ray & Associates

This from Toni Konz at the Courier-Journal:

Superintendent Sheldon Berman’s contract to head Jefferson County schools won’t be extended.

Shortly before the school board was scheduled to discuss a potential extension Monday night, Berman asked it to drop the discussion from its agenda. Board chairman Steve Imhoff complied, and the board voted 7-0 later in the meeting to hire a Nebraska executive search firm to help it find a successor to the embattled superintendent.

“At this point, I think it’s time for all of us to move on,” Berman told the board.

Afterward, he told reporters that “working with either a divided board or a board that has some concerns – it may be better to move on and let them select a new superintendent.” ...

After setting aside the Berman issue, board members voted to hire McPherson and Jacobson of Omaha, Neb., to help them find a new superintendent. The board has not yet approved a contract, but according to a proposal the firm submitted to the board last week the search is expected to cost the district $36,500 plus travel, office and advertising expenses.

Imhoff said he will negotiate an agreement and should have a contract ready for approval by the end of the month.

Two other search firms – Greenwood/Asher & Associates of Miramar Beach, Fla., and Ray and Associates of Cedar Rapids, Iowa – had interviewed before the board last week, along with the Omaha firm...

Better the Devil You Know?

As recently as 2009, a survey of JCTA members pointed toward trouble for recently non-renewed Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Sheldon Berman.

57.1% either disagreed or strongly disagreed that they were satisfied with Berman's administration of the schools. 60% disagreed or strongly disagree that Berman exhibited effective leadership that fully supports teachers. 76.2% agreed or strongly agreed that they felt safe in their school. 59.9% disagreed or strongly disagreed that Berman involved classroom teachers in a collaborative decision making process.

So it has been somewhat surprising to find the JCTA leadership apparently lining up behind the superintendent.

It also seems it won't matter.

This from C-J:

Sheldon Berman supporters say

they will seek new JCPS school board

vote to keep him

With the teachers union and NAACP lining up behind him, supporters of ousted Jefferson County Superintendent Sheldon Berman say they will push for a new school board vote next month to keep him.

Board of education member Linda Duncan said Tuesday she will formally ask the school board at its Feb. 14 meeting to reconsider its decision to replace Berman, whose contract expires on June 30.

Duncan, a Berman supporter who was on the losing end of the 5-2 vote last November that ended his tenure, said she wanted to give Berman's supporters
time to make their case to retain him — which would require at least two board members to change their mind.

“I wanted a little bit more time for input from the community, before we close this and say, ‘That's it,'” she said.

Members of the Jefferson County Teachers Association and the Louisville branch of the NAACP both said they plan to use that time to lobby board members to retain Berman, who they say has been a staunch advocate for integrated schools and has instituted education reforms.

But board members who voted against Berman, including Debbie Wesslund, Diane Porter, Joe Hardesty and Carol Ann Haddad, said Tuesday they remain committed to finding a new superintendent....

Jefferson County teachers union votes to ask that Sheldon Berman be retained

Board Members Express Doubt in a Revote

Wesslund Replaced as Chair

This from the Courier-Journal:

Jefferson County's influential teachers union has thrown its support behind ousted Superintendent Sheldon Berman, voting Thursday to ask the school board to extend Berman's contract, instead of letting it expire June 30.

The board of directors for the Jefferson County Teachers Association voted 18-9 Thursday afternoon to formally ask the school board to retain Berman, whose contract was not renewed last November.

Thursday's vote came after Linda Duncan, a school board member who represents District 5, and state Rep. Darryl Owens, D-Louisville, met with the teachers union and asked it to endorse Berman, JCTA President Brent McKim said...

“We've already discussed this — it's over,” said school board member Carol Haddad, who represents District 6. “We need to move forward — the community needs to know that we are moving forward.”

Joe Hardesty and Diane Porter, two other board members who voted against a contract extension for Berman, also said they did not favor revisiting their votes.

“A lot of thought went into my decision, so I would not be inclined to change my vote,” said Hardesty, who represents District 4...

[Steve] Imhoff, who represents District 2 and who was voted school board chairman by a 6-1 vote Monday night, said he has not talked to any board members about bringing the issue back up for consideration.

Berman Out in Jefferson County

JCPS Superintendent

Sheldon Berman

to be replaced

A lack of urgency on achievement cited

Yesterday, while JCPS Board members were pondering the fate of Superintendent Shelly Berman, the rest of the city was reading this: Will overhaul help or harm academically struggling Iroquois High School? This is the first in a series of planned articles about six Jefferson County high schools listed as “persistently low achieving. The law calls for an overhaul of failing schools. But supporters say the poor performance masks the real, if modest, gains Iroquois has made while serving some of the district's most challenging students, many of whom arrive years behind in school, disillusioned with learning and lacking support at home.

And they question whether changes that could result in a wave of new teachers and administrators — not just at Iroquois but other so-called “failing” schools — is simply change to placate the public and politicians with no guarantee of success.

“We have been concerned with the stagnant growth

in the key areas of reading and math.

As a board, we wish to refocus our energies

on student achievement on every level

with an emphasis on making substantial progress

in student performance.”

----JCPS Board Chair Debbie Wessslund

This from Toni Konz at C-J:

The Jefferson County Board of Education decided Monday night to replace Sheldon Berman as school superintendent.

After an interim evaluation of his job performance in a private session, the board voted 5-2 not to renew Berman's contract when it expires in June. Instead, the board will begin a nationwide search for a new superintendent.

“The most important duty of the (school board) is to choose and support a superintendent who will lead a successful school system that prepares all students for post-secondary education and careers,” board Chairwoman Debbie Wesslund said in a statement read during the public portion of the meeting.

“We reviewed past evaluations of the superintendent, student performance progress under his leadership, as well as management and operations issues,” she said. “The board has determined that it will not renew his contract.” ...

Berman told C-J he was “very surprised and disappointed” with the board's decision. “We've made a lot of progress and have some very important initiatives that are moving forward in a very positive direction,” Berman claimed.

But the past year has been marked with controversy and discontent, including parents complaining about long bus rides required by the district's student assignment plan and a growing number of district schools being listed among the state's lowest performers.

Direct link to C-J video here.

Is Berman On the Way Out?

School board may decide

JCPS Superintendent's future on Monday

This from Toni Konz at the Courier-Journal:

The Jefferson County Board of Education has called a special meeting Monday afternoon to conduct an interim evaluation of Superintendent Sheldon Berman, which could lead to a decision on whether to extend his contract or start a search for a new district leader.

“We are going to revisit the evaluation we did over the summer and the next step will be to consider his contract, which expires in June, and whether we extend it or not,” said board chairwoman Debbie Wesslund. “It’s possible we’ll make a decision on Monday, but it’s not a guarantee.”

Berman, who makes $273,182 a year, plus benefits, and is in the final year of his four-year contract with the school board, said Friday he wants to stay with the district....

Board members said [in July] that it was “unacceptable to continue to have some of the lowest-performing schools in the state,” referring to the six schools that were named among the 10 lowest-performing schools in Kentucky in 2009.

They also noted that the new elementary student assignment plan “met a rocky beginning” when it was implemented at the start of the 2009-10 school year.

Since that evaluation, six more Jefferson County public schools were identified as being among the lowest performing in the state for 2010.

The district also began facing a push for a return to neighborhood schools, including a proposed state law that would allow them, after mistakes and confusion on the first day of school resulted in hundreds of students spending extra hours on buses, with some not getting home until 9 p.m...

It seems the fundamental question for the board should be whether the district is headed in the right direction. If that's how they view it, then...
Hasta La Vista
Adios
Ciao
Sayonara
Auf Wiedersehen
Farewell
Buh Bye

Frost School Council Disbanded by KBE

Frost Middle School loses appeal to keep site-based council

Little Evidence of Student Achievement Focus

This from Toni at C-J:

An appeal by Frost Middle School's site-based decision-making council to keep its authority was denied by the Kentucky Board of Education Wednesday.

The board voted 10-0, with board member Doug Hubbard absent, to uphold Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday's recommendation that the council be disbanded and its authority transferred to Sheldon Berman, superintendent of
Jefferson County Public Schools.

Holliday's recommendation came as a result of leadership audits conducted at 10 of the state's lowest performing schools, including six in Jefferson County.

...In its appeal to the state board, Frost's council said it "has the capacity to lead this school to become high achieving and our hope is that you will allow us to be part of this change."

But ...Chairman Joe Brothers said he went through the minutes of several recent Frost council meetings and was surprised that there was "little mention" about student achievement.

"The minutes do not give the kind of attention to student achievement as they
should," Brothers said. "To me, that is problematic."

Tonya Mobley, a Frost parent who had served on the school's council, said Wednesday she is disappointed with the decision.

"I think they had their minds made up before they went into the meeting," she said. "It bothers me because they are not at the school every day, they don't really know what's going on."

Mobley said she also doesn't understand how the state auditors concluded that the council was not operating efficiently when a separate review by the Jefferson County
Public Schools site-based council office gave the Frost group the highest possible rating in terms of efficiency in April...

Other actions taken by the board include:

• approved suggested amendments to 703 KAR 5:180, the regulation that relates to the intervention system for persistently low-achieving schools
• approved changes to 702 KAR 7:130 (emergency and ordinary versions), the regulation related to uniform procedures for approval of alternative, innovative school calendars
  gave final approval to 704 KAR 3:303, the regulation related to required core academic standards
• approved district facility plans for Nelson County and Ashland Independent
• approved district facility plan amendments for Henderson County
• approved local district working budgets
• gave final approval to 702 KAR 5:110, the state regulation related to reimbursement for vocational school pupil transportation
• approved the Kentucky Minimum Specifications for School Buses, 2011
• approved the designation of Rogers Hall at the Kentucky School for the Deaf as surplus property
• approve the recommendation from the commissioner of education to reappoint Lea Wise Prewitt of Mt. Sterling as an at-large member to the Kentucky High School Athletics Association (KHSAA) Board of Control
• approved a KHSAA-implemented alternative training course for coaches

The board heard a presentation on reporting requirements outlined in 702 KAR 7:065, the regulation designating the KHSAA as the entity to manage interscholastic athletics.

The board also agreed that members Billy Harper, Dorie Combs, Brigette Ramsey and David Karem should serve as the nominating committee to select a proposed slate of officers for 2010-11.

State audit: 6 JCPS schools should replace principal, council or teachers

This from Toni Konz at C-J:

Six of Jefferson County’s lowest-performing public schools should replace their principal, their site-based council or both, according to the results of state-wide leadership audits released Tuesday.

The audits, obtained by The Courier-Journal in response to an open-records request, also say that four of those schools replace at least half of their teachers to turn around their low academic achievement.

The findings are the product of leadership assessments — a result of a new law that prescribes an intervention system for the state’s lowest performing schools — that were conducted earlier this spring by auditors who spent a week at each school, collecting test data, interviewing faculty and staff, observing teachers and speaking with parents and students.

The auditors determined that the principals at Western Middle, Frost Middle, Valley High and Fern Creek High schools “do not have the capacity or capability to continue their roles and responsibilities” at the schools...

Leadership Audits Catch JCPS Off Guard

Leadership audits target

10 Kentucky schools

A couple of weeks ago, I had a nice chat with an inquisitor - oops, I mean "auditor" - on one of the state's new leadership audit teams. This former K-12 and higher ed educator has been on audit teams before. But this one, he says, is different. This one's out for blood.

Perhaps this is exactly what should happen. Some of our state's lowest performing schools have been that way for a long time now. Proposed changes that work at the margins have not shown success in moving student achievement in a positive direction. Maybe it's time, in some cases, to close or restructure schools, fire leadership and ineffective teachers...to consider new options.

This is clearly where the Obama administration is driving school reform and Kentucky is on the bus.

Politics K-12 reported that part of President Barack Obama's plan for reauthorizing NCLB includes a menu of interventions he would like to see states use in the schools struggling the most. "All of the options call for fairly dramatic interventions, and nearly all of them would require that a failing school get rid of its principal." The feds encourage differentiated consequences that involve a more nuanced look at a low-performing school's performance. For example, schools where students are struggling across the board would be subject to a different set of consequences than schools that are having trouble with only one NCLB target. It's a "tiered" approach to judging how schools are doing and an enhanced set of remedies for fixing their shortcomings.

Last week leadership assessments got underway at 10 of Kentucky's lowest-performing schools, including Fern Creek, Shawnee, Western, and Valley high schools, Frost Western Middle in Jefferson County.

This from Toni Konz at C-J:

“This is some very serious stuff,” said Lisa Gross, a spokeswoman for the Kentucky Department of Education. “It's quite different from the kind of assistance we've provided in the past — the consequences are much higher.”

Under House Bill 176, which the General Assembly passed in January, the state had to identify its lowest-performing middle and high schools, based on last year's test scores, and outline a range of interventions aimed at turning them around.

Those interventions include: replacing the principal and site-based decision-making council, replacing more than half the faculty, closing the school and transferring its students to higher-performing schools or restarting the schools under the management of a private or nonprofit operator.

The Kentucky auditors will scour every inch of the school community and recommend one of four intervention options. Then it will be up to Superintendent Sheldon Berman to select which of the four options Jefferson County will implement during the 2010-11 school year.

Recently, Obama and Duncan applauded a decision made in Rhode Island to fire an entire faculty that failed to agree to a restructuring plan.

JCPS Director of Testing and Accountability Bob Rodosky told C-J he was caught off guard by the audits. “It came as a surprise to us," he said.

Rodosky said he hopes the auditors will take into consideration some of the improvement strategies the district has already put in place at several of the schools affected.

“We understand that some of these schools have struggled, and we've tried to find solutions,” he said. “We just want to make sure that the solutions we've tried have been given a chance.”

But Rodosky said the district isn't sure what the outcome will be.“The auditors are looking at things differently than what they've done in the past, so we aren't sure what to expect,” he said.

My sources suggest that good intentions and modest efforts are not likely to earn much sympathy from the auditors.

KDE spokeswoman Lisa Gross told C-J that Kentucky is asking for approximately $50 million in School Improvement Grants. Each of the 10 schools are eligible to receive $500,000 per year for up to three years to implement the improvement strategies outlined in the new law but only if they agreed to participate in the leadership-assessment process this year. This is a lot like volunteering for a root canal, or perhaps a colonoscopy.

Western High principal David Mike said Friday he was preparing for the auditors visit to his school, which takes place next week.

“I am very worried about it,” he said.

He should be.

Photo from Monty Python: "Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!"

Shelly Berman on Charter Schools

Shortly after the 16 January KET show on charter schools I got a call from Dick Innes of the Bluegrass Institute. Innes apparently felt that I had "been a little rough" on BIPPS and that there were apparently some unnamed people who were thinking about picketing my home!?

Well shucks. First of all I'm never home, so I'd suggest my office at EKU. But I couldn't remember what it was I had said about them. At least, not recently - although whatever it was, I'm sure I meant it.

As usual, Innes and I agreed on some things and disagreed on others; but came at things from different directions.

At any rate, the conversation turned to the KET debate on charter schools (KET VIDEO). Bill Goodman's participants Rev. Jerry Stephenson, chair of the Kentucky Education Restoration Alliance, Jim Waters from BIPPS (who, now that I think of it, I have criticized Waters for his passing acquaintance with accuracy and his introduction of creationism into conversations about Kentucky schools - was that it?) KEA's Sharron Oxendine, and JCPS Superintendent Sheldon Berman.

Innes and I agreed that Berman's assertion that Charter Schools were a failed reform, was at least premature, if not inaccurate. Then Innes informed me that he had uncovered an earlier (and inconsistent) quote from a report Berman wrote:

"What we're saying is it's possible to have public schools and charter schools stand side by side and learn from each other."

Innes wrote about it over at his place. I said I'd look into it when I got the chance.

The public record on Sheldon Bernman and charter schools seems to begin in 2004 when he served as superintendent of the Hudson School District in Massachusetts. At that time the Massachusetts Board of Education was considering their first seven charter schools. (Boston Globe 16 Jan 2004)

Berman attended a rancorous meeting where accusations were exchanged in a packed auditorium. Berman and other officials were "concerned about the charter school's proposal because it lists a 15 percent attrition rate" which suggested that the charter schools did not intend to educate everyone, as it promised, but instead planned to create an elite school, skimming the best pupils from the communities.

The Massachusetts board approved three of the seven charter applications including the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School, Community Charter School of Cambridge, and KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School. (Globe 25 Feb 2004)

Berman complained to the Boston Globe that residents were never able to comment on changes that were made after the period for public input. "This final proposal did not receive public review," Berman said. "To create an elitist academy is antithetical to the role of public education."

Berman responded with a lawsuit along with school officials from Marlborough and Maynard. "I think there are some substantive issues that have not been fully addressed and deserve a second look," Berman said. (Globe 26 Feb 2004)

The three communities contended in the suit that the Board of Education's review of the charter school was "egregious enough" to justify legal action, said Hudson School Superintendent Sheldon Berman . "We were appalled by the lack of thoroughness and fairness in the process," Berman said. "The [charter school's] application did not meet the standards set by the board itself." Berman said the suit had "a viable chance" to succeed. "We're on strong ground here." (Globe 21 Mar 2004)

The Boston Herald called our Berman by name in its (27 Mar 2004) editorial titled, Oh no, not competition!

In an astonishing display of narrow-mindedness, school committees in Marlborough, Maynard and Hudson are suing the state because they DON'T want to compete with a charter school approved for the region.Talk about fear and loathing! The three school committees filed suit against the state Board of Education in an effort to halt the scheduled fall 2005 opening of the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School. Sheldon Berman , superintendent of the Hudson schools, said, "I think we have a ate] [sic] board with an ideological agenda. It's supportive of privatization and not that clearly in support of public education."

A year later, the Advanced Math and Science Charter School has said it exceeded enrollment projections and held a partial lottery. Berman said the enrollment figures only represented parents of students who were interested in attending the school. The Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents, which opposes charter schools on the grounds that they drain funding from public schools, will issue a report next week asking the state to require official enrollment registration before funding the schools, Berman said. (Globe, 20 Mar 2005)

Then, in what reads like an olive branch toward charter school advocates, a report co-authored by Berman and released by the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Task Force on Charter Schools said that tensions between charter school advocates and traditional public school advocates had become so intense that it was difficult to dispassionately assess the effectiveness of charter schools. But the report also called for a host of changes to shore up the charter school application process.

Marc Kenen, executive director of the Massachusetts Charter School Association, said he was encouraged by the tone of the superintendents' report. ''For them to say that charter schools can coexist with traditional public schools, it's certainly a big step for them to take," Kenen said. (31 Mar 2005)

But it didn't end there.

By April 14 2005, (Globe) Berman and his colleagues had amended their lawsuit saying that the charter school's proposal for teaching special-education students was deficient. Berman said newly discovered documents "lend validity to the issues we raised" particularly the special education issue and strengthen the school districts' position. Four of seven independent evaluators who assessed the school's application in 2003 as part of the Department of Education's charter school review process gave the school low marks in its plan's "commitment to serving the needs of special populations of students." Berman said state officials only recently disclosed these documents, which the suit called "clear evidence of the arbitrary and illegal nature of the board's decision."

The Boston Globe called Berman an unofficial spokesman against the charter schools, being one of three districts that sued the school and the state Board of Education in an attempt to overturn the board's approval of the academy. "And he has rallied at least a dozen other school systems from Worcester to Boston to join a complaint against the state Department of Education for approving the charter school, one of the largest complaints against a single charter school so far." (Globe 22 May 2005)

Berman said he had visited Russia and Japan to study their educational systems. He said that not all students with special learning needs would be able to keep up with such rigorous programs and would ultimately drop out. It's an issue that Berman understands well. Several years ago, he authored a report on special education that received national attention and led to increased funding in Massachusetts and other states. Berman also contends that the academy would drain funding and talent from the public schools and undermine their efforts to beef up curriculum. "We have some of the most advanced science and math courses in the state," he said of Hudson High School. "We offer four calculus courses. I don't think there's another school around that does that."

Berman said he does not oppose charter schools in general but considers the Marlborough academy an attempt to create an elite private-styled school at taxpayer expense, he said. He said the school only recently provided more than 4,000 pages of documents that lawyers had requested, and that many of the signatures on petitions used to show support for the charter school were names that could not be verified. "They're very intent on getting their own way," Berman said. "They have essentially subverted what we believe are important regulations . . . and misrepresented themselves."

Berman, 56, said a background in competitive fencing he was a former assistant fencing coach at Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology has taught him a lot about public policy debate. "It isn't all about attack," he said. "It's about being calm and handling things in the most appropriate way. In fencing, it's most effective to let [the opponent] fall on your point. It's also that way in public policy." But Berman is not sitting idly by. Brookline School Superintendent William Lupini said he joined the complaint after realizing his school would be affected by the new charter school. "Shelley has been the workhorse, the driving force in putting together very research-based, very reasonable position papers," Lupini said. "I can't think of anybody I'd rather be working with on this issue."

Boston Globe readers responded to Berman's position saying,

"The basis of the suit, filed by Superintendent Sheldon Berman of Hudson, seems
to be that "not all students with special learning needs would be able to keep up with such rigorous programs." Yet it is many of those "special learners" not being served in their current public schools who AMSA is attracting. Massachusetts testing procedures ensure that children are held to a minimum standard of learning. But where are the services for those who go beyond the minimum?"

And this:

Berman is a master at whipping local school boards into a frenzy about things like the academy because he is absolutely terrified of competition. So are the other school superintendents. Several are already changing curriculum to better compete and that's good. Hopefully Berman's specious arguments against the academy will be rejected by any judge that has to review the case. It is the future. So is increased competition in the K-12 education business. It's been a monopoly for way too long. As a result, as Alan Greenspan often says, our children are behind the rest of the world in math and science after about the fourth grade. Folks who have lots of money already have, and take advantage of, a plethora of alternatives to public schools. It's time that folks who can't afford to pay twice for schools have access to some alternatives. (Globe 29 May 2005)

Berman's colleagues responded with recognition. Opposition to charter schools was among the reasons that Superintendent Sheldon Berman recently received the prestigious President's Award from the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents. Berman believes he was recognized because most of the state's superintendents "have become aware of how significant this issue is," he said last week. This is the second time he has gotten the award. "I am very, very honored," he said. (16 Jun 2005)

Amid cries that Berman had somehow manipulated the data, a report by Worcester Polytechnic Institute graduate students showed that "several local charter schools [were] enrolling disproportionately small numbers of special education and limited English proficient students."
Robert Harrington, superintendent of the Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School, accused Mr. Berman of being "full of "hatred." Berman, who co-chair the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents' Charter School Task Force, said they proposed the study to WPI because the state didn't seem to be researching the issue. (Worcester Telegram & Gazette, 7 June 2007)

If the implication from Innes is that Berman didn't tell the whole truth by declaring charter schools to be a failed reform - having already declared that public schools and charter schools could stand side by side - I'm not sure that holds up.

(I would have asked Berman myself if past information I had received from had held up, but it didn't. When I was defending him I exchanged several amiable messages with Berman. But when his information turned out to be untrustworthy, and I asked him about it, he stopped writing. I'm still waiting for his explanation as to why that is the case.)

The record would seem to indicate that Berman has been and remains a charter school foe, the 2005 report notwithstanding.

The record also suggests that Berman didn't have to wait two seconds before he considered charters to be a failed idea. He told the Globe in 2005 that "he does not oppose charter schools in general," but the evidence suggests he does.

But Innes had another concern.

If I heard this right, at one point, Jefferson County Superintendent of Schools Sheldon Berman claimed that only two of the 50 charter schools in Massachusetts – where he served before coming to Kentucky – were really performing well.

I wondered about the same thing. Innes wanted me to know he had the goods on this one from a 2006 Massachusetts Board of Education report. It looks to me like he does.

The study of 56 Massachusetts charter schools found:

• When there is a statistically significant difference in MCAS performance, it is much more likely to favor the charter school than the CSD.
• In both English Language Arts and Mathematics, at least 30 percent of the charter schools performed statistically significantly higher than their CSD in each year with the exception of 2001. In 2001, 19% of the charter schools performed statistically significantly higher than their CSD in English Language Arts and 26% in Mathematics.
• The percentage of charter schools performing higher than their CSD each year has remained fairly constant in English Language Arts and Mathematics while the number of charter schools and the number of students tested in charter schools has increased.
• The percentage of charter schools performing lower than their CSD has declined to approximately 10 percent in Mathematics and dropped below 10 percent in English Language Arts.

Similar patterns existed for all demographic subgroups, with the likelihood of the significant difference favoring the charter school being most prevalent for the African American, Hispanic, and Low Income subgroups.

Because eighteen charter schools were located within the city of Boston, the aggregate performance of those schools was also compared to the Boston Public Schools. In this comparison, the analysis showed that:

• Charter school students in Boston as a combined cohort have performed statistically significantly higher than students enrolled in the Boston Public Schools each year from 2001 to 2005 in both English Language Arts and Mathematics, except there was no statistically significant difference in performance in English Language Arts in 2001.
• Among the African American, Hispanic, Low Income, and Special Education subgroups, charter school performance was statistically significantly higher than the CSD in each year since 2002 in both content areas.
• Charter school students in the White subgroup performed statistically significantly higher than their counterparts in the Boston CSD in 3 of the 5 years in Mathematics and 4 of the 5 years in English Language Arts.

Now, the only problem with all this is that the study acknowledges that the demographic characteristics of students attending a particular charter school may differ from the demographic characteristics of the students in the CSD...which was one of Berman's original complaints.

Charter Debate to Continue on KET

Charter schools will be debated on

KET’s “Kentucky Tonight” show

at 8 p.m. Monday, January 18.

Scheduled guests include:

• Rev. Jerry Stephenson, chair of the Kentucky Education Restoration Alliance
• Jim Waters, director of policy and communications for the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions
• Sharron Oxendine, president of the Kentucky Education Association
• Superintendent Sheldon Berman of Jefferson County Public Schools

Charter schools are public schools contracted out to the private sector. In 1992, the first two charter schools operated in St. Paul, Minnesota. By September 1999, almost 300,000 students attended 1,682 charter schools operating in 33 states. By 2000, 38 states had laws allowing charter schools and a year later there were 2,372 such schools in America.

More recently the heat has been turned up on states lacking permissive charter school laws because Education Secretary Arne Duncan tied billions of federal dollars to state acquiescence. Pass a charter school law and better your chances in the Race To The Top sweepstakes.

WFPL reported that several Louisville pastors have been working with Republican Rep. Brad Montell of Shelbyville who filed a bill to allow charter schools in the state. Rep. Stan Lee of Lexington filed a similar bill in July. Both would have permitted charters to operate in competition with successful schools. The vote on Montell's bill was tied in committee, so lacking a majority, died. But supporters sense they are close and vow to push on.

• Expect Stephenson to say that the greatest need for charter schools is in inner city Louisville where a number of schools are failing.
• Expect Waters, the BIPPS communications director, to swear by Carolyn Hoxby's widely discredited study and offer it as proof of charter school effectiveness despite substantial evidence that charter performance is as varied as that of the public schools they would replace.
• Expect Superintendent Berman to defend JCPS's continued efforts to turn around their most challenging schools despite years of stagnant results.
• Expect Oxendine to question the need for charter schools based on their mixed performance nationally.

The data on charter schools is far from conclusive. Taken as a whole it's impossible to conclude that they are any better, and are sometimes worse, than the public schools. But in places, they have shown success. As I have said before, if education were a natural science, it would be like meterology; highly-localized and ever-changing. Successful charter schools seem to focus on the success of each child, building relationships, and a high quality faculty working their butts off - like in successful public schools.

As early as 1999, Arizona researchers found "evidence of substantial ethnic segregation," and that charter schools "were higher in white enrollment than other public schools." (Cobb & Glass)

In "Does Choice Lead to Racially Distinctive Schools?" Weiher and Tedin (2002) found "that race is a good predictor" of the school choice families make. Whites, African Americans, and Latinos transfer into charter schools where their groups comprise between 11 and 14 percentage points more of the student body than the traditional public schools they are leaving.

In "Decade of Charter Schools: From Theory to Practice, Bulkley and Fisler (2003) at Rutgers
found that "although some successes are evident, there is still much to learn about the quality of charter schools and the experiences of charter school stakeholders. There is strong evidence that parents and students who remain in charter schools are satisfied and that charter schools are more autonomous than other public schools. But the jury is still out on some of the most important questions, including those about innovation, accountability, equity, and outcomes."

In "The effect of charter schools on charter students and public schools ," Bettinger (2004) at Case Western Reserve found that "test scores of charter school students do not improve, and may actually decline, relative to those of public school students," but charters had no significant effect on test scores in neighboring public schools.

In "Charter Schools and Student Achievement in Florida," Florida State's Tim Sass (2006) found achievement to initially be lower in charters. However, by their fifth year of operation charter schools "reach a par with the average traditional public school." Charters targeting at-risk and special education students demonstrate lower student achievement, as do their public counterparts. He found no difference between charters managed by for-profit entities than charters run by nonprofits.

In "Skimming the Cream" West, Ingram & Hind (2006) of the London School of Economics and Political Science found evidence suggestive of both "cream skimming" and "cropping off" educational provision to particular groups of students. "It is concluded that the introduction of market oriented reforms into public school systems requires monitoring and effective regulation to ensure that autonomous schools do not act in their own self-interest."

In "The Charter School Allure: Can Traditional Schools Measure Up? Bowling Green State's May (2006) found that "urban school districts are losing significant resources to charter schools" and that "despite the lack of statistically significant evidence of academic gains, parents perceive an enhanced educational experience." The author surmises that the chasm between perceived charter school success and traditional school failure is a "perception gap"

In "The Impacts of Charter Schools on Student Achievement: Evidence from North Carolina," Bifulco at U Conn and Duke's Ladd (2006) found that "students make considerably smaller achievement gains in charter schools than they would have in public schools" and say there is "suggestive evidence" that "about 30 percent of the negative effect of charter schools is attributable to high rates of student turnover."

Then came the study that defined the debate.

It was the first peer-reviewed detailed national assessment of charter school impacts since its longitudinal, student-level analysis covers more than 70 percent of the nation’s students attending charter schools. In “Multiple Choice: Charter School Performance in 16 States,” reasearchers at the Center for Research on Education Outcomes (CREDO) at Stanford University found that "there is a wide variance in the quality of the nation’s several thousand charter schools with, in the aggregate, students in charter schools not faring as well as students in traditional public schools."

While the report recognized a robust national demand for more charter schools from parents and local communities, it found that 17 percent of charter schools reported academic gains that were significantly better than traditional public schools, while 37 percent of charter schools showed gains that were worse than their traditional public school counterparts, with 46 percent of charter schools demonstrating no significant difference.

Then, something unusual happened.

Education Week reported Stanford colleague Caroline M. Hoxby, an economics professor, issued a memo critiquing the CREDO study in tandem with results from her own study of charter schools in New York City. That study showed that charter schools in the city were having the opposite effect on their students’ achievement as the CREDO researchers found.

In a memorandum titled "Fact vs. Fiction: An Analysis of Dr. Hoxby’s Misrepresentation of CREDO’s Research," the Center for Research on Education Outcomes, (CREDO), fired back.

The memo, "A Serious Statistical Mistake in the CREDO Study of Charter Schools," by Caroline Hoxby, does not provide any basis whatsoever for discounting the reliability of the CREDO study’s conclusions. The central element of Dr. Hoxby’s critique is a statistical argument that is quite unrelated to the CREDO analysis. The numerical elements of it are misleading in the extreme, even had the supporting logic been correct. Unfortunately, the memo is riddled with serious errors both in the structure of the underlying statistical models and in the derivation of any bias.

This is all going on at Stanford University, the same campus where the conservative Hoover Institution does its work with such notable conservatives as Condolesa Rice and Donald Rumsfeld. It the same place where Eric Hanushek tries to prove that money doesn't matter in education. One gets the distincitive au de political bias from the place. Turns out that Hoxby works there too. What a surprise.

“I don’t think the field of education research or policymakers are well served by scholars going back and forth with dueling memos, without peer review and without ample time to think it through,” said associate professor of education and sociology Sean F. Reardon, a colleague of both scholars at Stanford told Ed Week. “But I don’t think either side got it right,” he added.

Neither study has been published yet in a peer-reviewed journal. But that won't stop political operatives from citing them as definitive evidence.

Changing the Story in Jefferson County

Doncha hate it when circumstances force you to choose who to believe? ...when new information causes you to reassess what you thought? Such is the case in Jefferson County.

In November, I fired a volley at Jefferson County Board of Education Chairwoman Debbie Wesslund for her "lame excuse." Wesslund had said she believed the school district did nothing wrong in closing Berman's evaluation to the public because disciplinary action was at least possible during the session. The Attorney Genearl disagreed. My position was that such possibilities - absent specific actions -ought not qualify as exceptions to the Open Meetings law.

It now appears that her concerns might not have been based so much on "possibility" as "probability." One of the members, Larry Hujo, says he was upset about Berman's handling of a threatening situation at Wilt Elementary and had to be talked down. And if that is the case, and Wesslund suspected it, should have said so, and then gone into closed session. The public had a right to know.

Then there's Berman's assertion that his evaluation was all jonquils and daisies.

This from the Courier-Journal:

Affidavit shows school board member

sought to punish Berman

At least one Jefferson County school board member broached the subject of reprimanding or terminating Superintendent Sheldon Berman during his closed-door evaluation last summer, but Larry Hujo said he was later talked out of pursuing any action by other board members.

In an affidavit filed in the board’s appeal of a state Attorney General’s opinion that it violated Kentucky’s open-meetings law by conducting Berman’s evaluation behind closed doors, Hujo said he “had serious concerns about Dr. Berman’s performance” and “made inquiries about procedures for implementing certain disciplinary actions against Dr. Berman, including issuing a reprimand and/or terminating his contract.”

Hujo was the only one of the seven board members to call for such drastic action, according to six affidavits filed in the case. In fact, Hujo said in a telephone interview Thursday, other board members and Berman later expressed in the closed-door meeting that they thought Hujo’s sentiments were too strong.

“I asked what it would take to terminate his contract. I was upset,” Hujo said. “I was the only board member that had an issue.…”

Following that meeting Berman proclaimed how positive the experience was. He told C-J he felt his evaluation was “a positive review” and Wesslund said that the board “did not discipline (Berman) on any specific issues,” but rather “pointed out areas of improvement.” Hujo told C-J he wanted his concerns included in Berman’s evaluation, but other board members did not agree.

In a hearing before Jefferson Circuit Court Judge Irv Maze Thursday, lawyers for the Jefferson County Teachers Association and several other local school boards and state education organizations spoke in support of the Jefferson County school board’s appeal. They argued, in part, that "requiring superintendent evaluations be done in public would have a chilling effect on openness and accountability" because school boards would be reluctant to express criticisms of their superintendents.

With their handing of the situation at Wilt Elementary, the investigation of the principal's handling of the Pleasure Ridge Park High School situation and Berman's obfuscation of the facts surrounding his travels, it's hard to see the openness Jefferson County is worried the Attorney General's ruling might chill.

Host of schools support fight to keep superintendent evaluations private

OK...but shouldn't the education groups really be pushing for new legislation? Isn't it the language in the law, rather than the ruling, that needs fixing?

This from the Courier-Journal:

The Kentucky Department of Education, its board and a host of school boards from around the state are seeking permission to file a brief in support of the Jefferson County school board’s fight to keep superintendent performance evaluation discussions out of the public eye.

“Our main thing is that there was never any intent in the legislation to require one individual in a school district to be evaluated in public. Everybody else has their evaluations done in private,” said Brad Hughes, spokesman for the Kentucky School Boards Association, one of the entities that have filed the motion.

The Jefferson County Public Schools Board of Education is appealing a state Attorney General opinion that the board violated state law when it evaluated Superintendent Sheldon Berman in closed session July 29. The Courier-Journal contested that action, seeking the attorney general opinion. The case is pending in Jefferson County Circuit Court.

Jefferson County board Chairwoman Debbie Wesslund...

...gave a lame excuse that ought to be ignored. If board's can simply circumvent the law by stating the mere potential for discipline or dismissal, then everybody would do it and the law would be meaningless. Such possibilities - absent specific actions - do not qualify as exceptions to the Open Meetings law.

Sheldon Berman already announced that his evaluation contained nothing negative. But that's another topic.

Why go to the court? A lower court, correctly in my view, held that “The exceptions to the Open Meetings Act are to be strictly construed in light of the decided preference that the public’s business be performed before the eyes of the public.” It's hard to imagine the basic principle of a strict test being overturned on appeal.

If there is to be an exception made for school superintendents - and perhaps there should be - it ought to be specifically stated in the law.

I wonder. Is it possible that school administrators have already had conversations with legislators? If so, is the idea of an exception in the law getting any traction?

More Travels with Shelly

Back in May, Page One Kentucky was raising questions about the amount (and nature) of travel Jefferson County Superintendent Shelly Berman was engaed in - what with all the failing schools and other pressing business in Louisville and all.

At Page One, Jake Payne counted "a total of 18 missed work days for non-JCPS-related meetings... throughout the school year."

But Berman told KSN&C, that over a two-year period (Dec 2007-Jan 2009), at most it should have "calculated to about 9 days out of the district rather than 18."

I asked for comment from a few Jefferson County Board of Education members and no one wanted to comment. But finding no tangible evidence of concern, I blew it all off saying, "Perhaps more information will come to light that will cause me to change my assessment, but at this point it sure doesn't look like it."

This week, in the wake of revelations at the Bluegrass Airport, The Kentucky League of Cities and the Kentucky Association of Counties, Adam Walser at WHAS TV thought it might be a good idea to check up on Louisville school district executives. Are they living high-on-the-hog off tax dollars as well? Surely not.

This from Walser at WHAS by way of KSBA:

Are Dr. Sheldon Berman’s travels

raising funds, and prominence or are they excessive?

Using an Open Records request, WHAS11 discovered that Dr. Sheldon Berman took 40 days of professional leave during a 13 month period.

Berman says he’s raising JCPS’s stature, but local education leaders say they want him home more often.

During a time of tight budgets and layoffs, most school districts are cutting down on travel. In Jefferson County Public Schools, teachers and administrators are limited to one district-funded trip per year for professional development.

But we’ve learned that Superintendent Dr. Sheldon Berman is on the road a lot more than that.

WHAS11 filed open records requests to see how many days Sheldon Berman has taken Professional Leave and to find out where he’s going.

We determined that between June 30th, 2008 and July 31th of this year, Berman spent 40 work days, or two full months, on the road.

While Berman says much of that time was spent seeking new sources of funding and raising the district’s profile, some local education leaders believe he’s spending too much time away from the office.

The destinations reach across thousands of miles to Austin, Boston, Orlando, Washington, California, Canada, and even Cape Town, South Africa.

These are not the travels of a pilot or a movie star, but of Jefferson County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Sheldon Berman. He sits on several organizations’ boards and often attends national and international educator meetings.

“The vast majority of any travel I’ve had has been paid for by other organizations or grants,” said Berman. “We’ve had some outstanding grants.”

Berman says part of his job as Superintendent of the nearly 100,000 student Jefferson County Public Schools district is to meet with foundations, businesses and government leaders.

“If the travel is related to a grant that brings a great deal of money into the district and benefits the district and the students, then that travel’s probably worthwhile,” said Brent McKim, President of the Jefferson County Teachers Association.

But McKim says all trips are not worth Berman’s $1,000 a day salary.

“Certainly at that salary the superintendent makes, it’s appropriate for him to look at that. It’s appropriate for the school board to look at that,” McKim said.

Some school board members are taking a closer look than ever. “If I’m on the fence on go here or not go there, I’d like the superintendent to be here in Louisville, Kentucky,” said School Board Member Stephen Imhoff. Imhoff says Berman’s main job is overseeing children’s education.

This year, only 33 of the system’s 133 schools met “No Child Left Behind” goals, representing a 13% drop from last year. In August, Berman received a “C” from the majority of respondents to a teacher’s survey. Teacher’s used the words “hypocrite”, “arrogant”, and “self serving” to describe him.

Former JCTA Executive Director Steve Neal, who sat on the selection committee that brought Berman from a small district in Massachusetts in 2007, is now critical of Berman. “Dr. Berman is way out of the norm in the amount of travel,” said Neal. “He’s hired at almost 300-thousand dollars a year to run a billion dollar business and he has no place being gone so much.”

Neal says some of Berman’s trips were not necessary, including a visit to Manitoba, Canada to see polar bears with the director of the Louisville Zoo last October. Neal says at that time, he was trying to address important school-related issues with Berman. “I think it was a poor judgment of timing to go look at polar bears,” said Neal.

Berman says the trip was important. “I think it drew attention to one, the endangered species and two, the work that the Louisville Zoo is doing,” Berman said. Berman was appointed to the Zoo Board after the trip, but that isn’t why he said he took it. “I did a broadcast back to four schools here while I was on that trip,” he said.

School board member Imhoff questions its impact. “I even looked up the North Pole on the Internet, so that was a little bit of a benefit to me,” Imhoff said.

In late May, Berman left the United States again, attending the World Congress on Civic Education Conference, in Cape Town, South Africa, where he was a presenter.

Since wind and ice storms pushed back the end of school, the trip ended up corresponding with the last week of classes.

“We did hear from a number of our teacher members who were concerned about the superintendent being away during the last week of school,” said Brent McKim. “And they point out that they’re not allowed to take personal days or take off during the last week of school, even though they have a daughter or a son getting
married.” “They only work a 187 day year and I work a 260 day year. That’s a much different context,” said Berman.

Berman missed every single graduation.

“Not attending graduations is symbolic in a negative way,” said Steve Neal. “It sends a wrong signal to the staff, the teachers, the parents and the students.”

“I Think the only thing I really missed was the graduations. I really didn’t miss the end of school. In fact, I was in touch with the district all the way through that by both cell phone and e-mail,” Berman said.

That’s not acceptable to school board member Imhoff. “We would not like for that to happen again,” Imhoff said. “The last few weeks of school are very important.”

Berman says there was another reason he didn’t alter his plans.

“At the end of that, which was after school ended here, I planned a vacation attached to that,” Berman said. “So that was one period of time when I actually was gonna take a little bit of a break.”

Despite criticism of his travels, Berman says it’s vital to bringing JCPS more national
prominence. “There’s a fine balance between restricting funding and preserving resources and saying we have to be out there and hustle for more resources. And at a time like this, we need to pursue as many competitive grants as we possibly can.

Most of the costs of Dr. Berman’s trips were paid by outside sources. In most cases, the money didn’t come directly from the school district’s budget.

So, Page One counted 18 days.

Based directly on information from Berman, KSN&C counted 5 days from Dec 2007 to June 2008 and another 4 by January 2009 - for a total of 9 days.

WHAS's open records request showed that between June 30th, 2008 and July 31th of this year, Berman spent 40 work days on the road.

If Berman refuted WHAS's claim it didn't get into the story; but that seems unlikely for a professional journalist.

So unless Berman traveled 35 days between Jan 22 and July 31st of 2009, it sure looks like I got myself ...snookered. I have written to Berman for clarification.

There's more; again from Walser:

Superintendent’s credit card bills

reveal taste for fine dining

When WHAS11 asked for Dr. Sheldon Berman’s credit card statements, we discovered expensive meals at some of Louisville’s finest establishments. Some education leaders believe now’s not the time for those types of expenses.



Jefferson County Public Schools has nearly 100,000 students and 16,000 employees, so what’s a few hundred dollars here and there?

It’s a lot, when you’re laying off dozens of janitors and cafeteria workers and cutting back on district programs, according to some local education leaders.

In this time of budget cutbacks, we thought it was only fair to take a look at Dr. Sheldon Berman’s credit card bills.

The expense reports look like those you might expect from the Chief Executive Officer of any large corporation here in Louisville. After all, JCPS Superintendent Sheldon Berman’s budget is bigger than most at almost $1 billion.

But the difference is that these bills aren’t being paid by shareholder, they’re being picked up by you, the taxpayer.

We found bills for meals at some of Louisville’s most exclusive restaurants, including Lilly’s, Napa River Grill, Seviche and Le Relais.

Dr. Berman says the $200 or $300 dinners are few and far between.

“You would find very few of those on my credit card bill,” said Berman. “If you found more than 4 or 5, I’d be surprised.”

But we found twice that many bills from three or four star restaurants at a cost to the district of more than $1,400.

The delicacies Dr. Berman’s guests enjoyed included crusted sea bass, snapper and trout. Berman says the expensive meals were mainly to reward outside review committees and to impress applicants for some of the school district’s top jobs.

“When you’re trying to bring somebody from a major district and you’re trying to show them that Louisville’s a great place to be, you want to share with them not the most expensive restaurants because these are not the most expensive in Louisville, but a nice place that would interest them and make them feel more at home,” he said.

School board member Stephen Imhoff says he was not aware of all the meals. “You just mentioned this to me. Sometimes, school board members are the last people to know things,” Imhoff said. “Because of the economic situation, we need to save as much money as we can,” said Imhoff. “A hundred dollars here and a hundred dollars there is significant.”

“It sends a horrible signal to people that are working hard everyday to make a living and paying taxes to see somebody do so much spending,” said former Jefferson County Teachers Association Executive Director Steve Neal. “So much money that could be better directed toward the education of children.”

We also discovered a bill the district paid for a $300 a night hotel room.

Not [the way] teachers would like to see money spent, especially at a time with declining student test scores, [Neal says.] “They see textbooks. They see reading materials. They see extended school services, even if it’s only for a few kids,” said Neal. “If we’re in a hard budget time, I share in that pain of that time as well,” said Berman.

Berman says he’s declined his allotted raise in recognition of the economic downturn, which was much more than all of the expenses at fancy restaurants on his credit card.

And your superintendent says cutting back on costs like travel and fine dining could damage JCPS’s image nationally.

“You want to be very careful to not lose the prominence that Jefferson County has achieved in the national arena,” said Berman. Prominence Berman says helps bring in millions of dollars in grant money…for what he considers a very small investment from local taxpayers.

Berman told us that he travels and spends far less now than he did as superintendent of the Hudson Public Schools system in Massachusetts, which is much smaller.

Writing at The Ville Voice, Jake is doing the happy dance.

Told Ya So: Berman Wasting Your Money

Jefferson County Public Schools superintendent Sheldon Berman loves to spend your tax dollars (and grant money) on fancy travel around the world. Places like Austin, Boston, Orlando, Washington, California, Canada, South Africa...

Conway: Board broke law on open meetings

As predicted, Kentucky Attorney General Jack Conway ruled in favor of the Courier-Journal which agreed with a opinion Conway's office had already issued. Sweet. I think C-J's on to something.

Jefferson County Board of Education chair Debbie Wesslund argued that the possibility of critical comments being made about Jefferson County schools Superintendent Sheldon Berman is the same as the actual disciplining of the superintendent - thus justifying a closed meeting.

Not.

If this situation needs fixin' - and it may - then the legislature is going to need to fix it.

This from C-J:

School chief should have been

evaluated in public, opinion says

The Jefferson County Board of Education violated Kentucky's open-meeting law by conducting Superintendent Sheldon Berman's evaluation in private, Attorney General Jack Conway said in an opinion issued Tuesday.

The ruling came in response to a complaint The Courier-Journal filed after the school board held Berman's annual evaluation in closed session July 29, despite a 2008 attorney general's opinion stating that such evaluations must be public except when they might lead to discipline or dismissal.

“There's no reason they shouldn't be able to give a truthful, honest evaluation in public,” said Jon Fleischaker, an attorney for The Courier-Journal.

The ruling, which has the force of law, will require the board to conduct its evaluation in the open next year, he said.

Board Chairwoman Debbie Wesslund disagreed with the opinion, saying she believes the district did nothing wrong because discipline against Berman was at least possible at the session. She said she will consult with the board and attorneys before deciding whether to appeal to circuit court.

“We feel confident that we didn't break the law,” she said. “It was not a secret
meeting.”

But Conway's opinion says the board's interpretation of possible disciplinary action was much too broad, and that it “opens the floodgates to tenuous claims based on an agency's desire to shield (itself) from unwanted or unpleasant public input.” ...

Where Seldom is Heard a Discouraging Word

It should be expected that JCPS board chair Debbie Wesslund thinks that Louisville schools are special. But so special that they are not bound by the same Attorney General's Opinion as the rest of the school districts in the state?

She argues that the possibility of critical comments being made is the same as the actual disciplining of the superintendent - thus justifying a closed meeting - even though her own superintendent thought the whole experience was positive. If Superintendent Sheldon Berman was disciplined, he didn't know it.

I can certainly think of many reasons why a district would want to operate in confidence. A public meeting in a place like Jefferson County (or anyplace, really) could become very difficult to manage - what with the public clamouring for accountability over the Max Gilpin tragedy. Perhaps 1000 disgruntled union teachers would want to add a grumbling voice to their recent survey. Surely there are a few hundred parents who might want to spend an evening expressing their displeasure over not getting their child into the school they wanted.

But on the law? This looks like a winner for the Courier to this casual observer.

This from Toni Konz at C-J:

JCPS board defends closed session on Berman

JCPS says opinion isn't binding

The chairwoman of the Jefferson County school board said Thursday that board members did nothing wrong when they evaluated Superintendent Sheldon Berman in a closed session in June, despite a state attorney general's opinion that such evaluations should be public.

After The Courier-Journal filed a complaint Monday about the closed-session evaluation, Debbie Wesslund issued a letter saying the attorney general's opinion "is not binding on the Jefferson County Board of Education."

The board "complied with (the attorney general's opinion) and the Kentucky Open Meetings Act, since there was reason to believe that there would be discussions conducted by the board that might have led to discipline of the superintendent," Wesslund wrote.

Jon Fleischaker, an attorney representing The Courier-Journal, said Thursday that the newspaper will file an appeal with Attorney General Jack Conway.

"We do not believe it is adequate to say that certain things might come up (during the closed session)," Fleischaker said. "They have to have more than a slim possibility that something could come up in order to go into closed session."

The newspaper's complaint stems from the June 29 closed meeting, in which board members discussed Berman's job performance during the past year as part of his annual evaluation. Following the session, the board issued a public statement commending Berman.

In a telephone interview Thursday night, Wesslund said that the board "did not discipline (Berman) on any specific issues."

"We pointed out areas of improvement," she said. "There was a possibility of discipline because there are seven board members and we each have different
opinions."

Berman said Thursday he thought his evaluation was positive. He also said he was "not aware of any consideration of discipline."...

C-J Challenges JCPS Closed Session on Berman

I can understand why a district would want to defy the Attorney General's Opinion that a superintendent's evaluation must be held in public. But the argument that criticism is the same thing as discipline still seems to violate the opinion.

An AG's opinion has the force of law until overridden by a court or the legislature.

Surely, superintendents will seek a new law to take this issue out of the AG's hands.

This from C-J:

JCPS meeting about Berman might be illegal

Board evaluation held in private

A closed-door meeting conducted last week by the Jefferson County Board of Education to evaluate Superintendent Sheldon Berman may have violated a state attorney general's opinion requiring that such evaluations be done in public.

The Courier-Journal filed a formal complaint Monday with board Chairwoman Debbie Wesslund about the June 29 closed meeting, in which board members discussed Berman's job performance over the past year.

After the closed session, the board issued a public statement commending Berman.

Jeremy Rogers, a lawyer for the newspaper, said that, depending on the board's response, the newspaper could pursue the complaint with the attorney general's office...

Max Gilpin the real loser in JCPS report

Admit nothing.

Deny as much as possible.

Stall.

Protect, protect, protect.

Blame somebody who isn't here to protect himself.

This investigation blamed Max Gilpin

for Max Gilpin's death. Now that's outrageous.

This OpEd by Rick Bozich in C-J:

Pleasure Ridge Park high school football coach Jason Stinson got what he wanted. I'm not talking about the 271-page shrug that the Jefferson County Public Schools is trying sell as a final investigative report into the death of Max Gilpin, a 15-year-old PRP player.

I'm talking about what Stinson and some of his staff were trying to accomplish on that steamy Aug. 20 practice when Gilpin ran, collapsed and eventually died.

Multiple players told investigators that Stinson barked instructions to the PRP players that they would run until somebody quit the team. Several said Stinson chirped, "We have a winner," when somebody finally had enough.

The goal wasn't to stir up a good, old-fashioned, Bear Bryant-case of "Junction Boys," nausea and exhaustion. No, sir-ee. This was about building character, creating team unity or making teenagers men. As one player said, this was about proving they deserved to be Panthers. Run until you quit, you creampuffs.

And that's precisely what Max Gilpin did. He ran until he quit forever...

Stinson's Pedigree:

Bear Bryant coached Howard Schnellenberger at the University of Kentucky.

Schnellenberger coached Jason Stinson at the University of Louisville.

Jason Stinson coached Max Gilpin