Proposition 2 1/2 Focus of School Debate

The most pressing concern of the Cambridge School Committee is to form long-term plans to deal with the fiscal constraints imposed by Proposition 2 1/2, eight candidates for the committee's seven seats agreed last night.

Speaking at a "Candidate's Night" at the ARCO Forum at the Kennedy School of Government, the candidates--including seven incumbents--said the committee must form long-term evaluation procedures for teachers, administrators, and schools by which to judge their success, and thus their fiscal viability.

They agreed that seniority was not enough to decide which teachers should be laid off during budget cuts. Their position is opposed by the Cambridge Teachers' Association.

Candidate Sara Mae Berman added that such evaluation programs would be useless unless the school committee can negotiate "flexible teacher contracts which permit us to reward good teachers," and "to make sure that our administrators do their job properly or are removed."

Performance

The candidates emphasized the important of leadership at the administrative level, which, Berman said, could "develop rapport with and put pressure on teachers to perform."

Some of the candidates also suggested that the school board would not be able to make ends meet on current revenue. "We need a moderate override for Proposition 2 1/2 next year, because the city cannot support a good education program if the revenue is cut back every year in the years to come," incumbent Glen Koocher '71 said.

Berman suggested that the state should replace some of the revenue that Cambridge loses because of the tax-exempt status of Harvard and MIT, as Connecticut does for New Haven. She also suggested a raise in the rate at which businesses are taxed.

Fair and Firm

Robert Reardon also advised "strong financial control" on the monthly expenses of the system. "We just cannot have overruns under Proposition 2 1/2, or the children will suffer," he warned.

The candidates emphasized the need to involve citizens in the school committee's programs to keep people informed about the school system and to maintain adequate levels of funding. "Seventy per cent of the people in Cambridge do not have children in the system. We need wide community support. And we have a selling job to do--to tell the community we're doing a good job," Berman said.