Getting Your Money’s Worth

By Stacey Orr Smith
Mom. Veteran Educator. Educational Consultant. Parent Educator.
President, Blaquesmith Consulting, LLC

During a major election cycle, there’s a heightened sense of civic duty or civic responsibility. Conversely, there’s what I like to call civic introspection. When one realizes that voting, volunteering, and paying taxes aren’t enough to move the needle on key issues for parents of school-aged children. Voters question where the tax dollars are going with regard to public education. Generally, achievement data tells the tale of where the money goes. However, local data for the largest school district in the state leaves the question begging.

It isn’t uncommon for parents to come to me for help with questions regarding education. They often ask me for recommendations on where they should send their child. This is a difficult question. But, once we tease out the crux of the issue, the question becomes, “What do we do when public education isn’t meeting the needs of the children they serve?”

This is an issue that weighs heavily on the hearts of many parents. The stress and anxiety of knowing you placed your child in an unfit or unacceptable educational environment takes a toll on your mental health. Just the act of dropping them off daily to a place that cannot or will not meet their needs, is mentally taxing. The truth of the matter is that most district parents have little control over the quality of the choices available to them with regard to school selection. After many conversations, it appears that Milwaukee Public Schools is the last resort for many parents. The overriding sentiment from parents is that they are just stuck. Two families with this dilemma stand out in my mind.

Family #1: Mid-40s: homeowners, taxpayers, 3 children. Considering moving out of the city solely for better educational opportunities. Sadly, moving would be more cost-effective than paying tuition for three children. My suggestion was that this couple check the achievement data and visit area schools that they think would meet their needs. In the feedback from the six schools visited the deal breakers for these parents were: an overall sense of disorder, issues with student safety, and class size.

Family #2: Mid-30s, homeowners, taxpayers, 2 children, volunteer weekly at the current school. Considering Choice/Charter, but these schools provide little to no support for a child with an IEP.

I could explain the WHY… decades of fiscal negligence, poor leadership, cronyism, turn a blind eye(ism), sweep-it-under-the rug(ism), etc. BUT, no parent wants to hear that when they have an immediate need for a safe, educationally sound environment for their child. No parent of school-age children wants to hear about how institutional change takes 5 years; with full knowledge that MPS is on its 5th “Change Model Initiative” in the last 25 years.

A district whose core brand is to capitalize on a population of ‘stuck’ consumers is an example of shameful exploitation of those they claim to serve.