I’m Doing a Terrible Job. Pay Me More!

Where would I be without the Madison School Board?

Every month or so they provide me with fodder for this blog. Why, just last week the district touted a new logo for which they paid an out-of-state design company $100,000, only months after the voters gave them another $600 million in taxing authority to spend, we thought, on actual education.

The Board provides me with so much material that I really should pay them. But then again I don’t need to as they’re poised to double their own salaries and give themselves taxpayer financed health insurance.

The Board will soon vote to make official a pay increase from $8,000 to $15,000. The Board president will get more and they’ll also get stipends to attend meetings that one would think are part of the job and should be covered by their salary. And then there’s the health insurance that will cost taxpayers about $200,000 a year if all seven board members take it.

According to a story in the Wisconsin State Journal, Board member Savion Castro summed up the reasons when he stated that most school boards are structured for “older, whiter, wealthier folks,” but that’s not an accurate reflection of the Madison district’s diverse student body, and increasing pay could make board positions “more accessible to the folks that look like the students and the families of the district.”

But, wait a minute. Four of the current board’s seven members are people of color, and two identify as having disabilities. There are no white men on the Board and nobody is wealthy. And in fact, one of the most dedicated, impactful board members in recent decades was Mary Burke, who committed the unpardonable sins of being both white and wealthy.

And while I’m on the topic, the philosophy behind Catro’s remark is pretty dangerous. Because he’s saying we should discourage public service based on race and income. In principle that’s what Jim Crow was.

So, the big pay boost is either a solution in search of a problem or just a fig leaf to cover the real reason for it: the Board members want more money and health insurance for themselves.

Now, I don’t have any problem at all with a reasonable increase, which would be about $3,000 upping the salary to $11,000 a year. That would cover inflation since 2015 when pay was last increased. These are, in fact, positions with substantial responsibilities and they do demand some time. Regardless of the terrible performance of this Board, these positions, in the abstract, are probably worth a little more than they’re being paid now.

But, on the other hand, nobody should do this work for the compensation. Most people put their names on the line for local office because they care about the community, not for the income or to move up in elected office.

And as for diversity, the real diversity we lack on this Board is diversity of opinion. There’s not a single member of this group that cares about taxpayers, good order in the schools, test scores or the fact that Madison is losing students to other districts and charter schools. Instead, all seven members of the Board are, like Castro, obsessed with identity politics.

The real change that could make a difference would be to go to a nine-member board elected by geographical district. If candidates had to run in a district one-ninth the size of the whole city, that would really open things up to more potential candidates — and most importantly, give more sensible candidates with better priorities at least some chance of getting elected.

Editorial note to readers: Starting today we’ve got a new rule on comments. Each reader will be allowed to make TWO COMMENTS PER WEEK, so husband those thoughts carefully. The reason for the change is that I’ve found that three or four people dominate the conversation. I’d love to have more people join in the discussion. And to anticipate the outcry, okay, okay, if somebody challenges you in a response to your comment, you get to reply without counting against your two comments.