Community Criticizes B.U. Public School Plan

A plan which turns management of one of the most impoverished school districts in the metropolitan area over to Boston University (B.U.) continues to draw fire from community members nearly one month after its initial implementation.

The transferring of the Chelsea schools to B.U. for 10 years marks the first time in U.S. history that a private university has run a public school system. B.U. officials hope that the plan will become a model for urban educational reform.

But B.U. faces a daunting task in improving the Chelsea school system. Students from the district have tested among the lowest in the state for basic skills. The average annual income for a Chelsea household is $10,000, and the teenage pregnancy rate for Chelsea students is one of the highest in the state.

While many Chelsea residents have welcomed B.U.'s help, some community groups have argued that B.U. and the Chelsea school commission have not sought enough community input on the new set-up.

The privatization plan is facing two lawsuits, one from a teachers union arguing that the plan does not allow for enough public oversight and thus violates the state constitution, and another from Hispanic parents charging that city officials did not give the community adequate opportunity to respond to the plan before formally adopting it.

B.U. officials have denied the charges, saying they have tried to gain parents' opinions every step along the way.

B.U. President John Silber said that the claims that there has been a lack of community input are "not credible," citing "the number of consultations that have been made."

"[The questioning of B.U.'s accountability] obscures the fact that B.U. has signed a contract with a publicly elected school committee that candismiss B.U. at any time by a simple majority voteand to whom B.U. reports and consults at regularintervals," Silber said in an interview with TheCrimson yesterday.

B.U. officials said that they hoped to turn asignificantly strengthened school system back overto Chelsea in 10 years.

"I would hope that Chelsea would maintain itand not let it slip back," said Peter Greer, deanof B.U.'s School of Education. To this end, hesaid, "We have to build in structure to everythingwe do." The School of Education is nowadministering the schools, although the plan wasoriginally developed by the School of Management.

Despite B.U.'s grand plan for the Chelseaschools, some city residents have criticized theprocess that led to the historic arrangement.

The Chelsea Commission on Hispanic Affairsobjected to the initial lack of informationalmaterials printed in Spanish. The group alsocriticized the B.U. plan for not providing forbilingual education in the early childhood years.Approximately 52 percent of Chelsea's 3400students are Hispanic.

'Let's Be Partners'

"Educational reform should not come about inthis paternalistic approach," said Marta Rosa,president of the Chelsea Commission on HispanicAffairs and a candidate for the area's schoolcommittee. "If it's being called a partnership,then let's be partners."

B.U. has also faced questions aboutaccountability in its actions and use of funds.

When it approved the plan in June, theMassachusetts state legislature passed a home rulepetition which exempted B.U. from five publiceducation laws, including those requiring openmeetings, open records, public audits and thoseregulating the hiring and firing of personnel andteachers.

In apparent reaction to criticism fromcommunity members about a closed decision-makingprocess, B.U. and the school committee formed anoversight committee this summer to monitor B.U.'smanagement and to report to the state Board ofEducation.

But teachers have called such measuresinadequate and have questioned theconstitutionality of the entire plan.

Ed Weinstein, president of the ChelseaTeachers' Union, acknowledged that the plan had"some extremely fine provisions" and said thatmost Chelsea teachers are in favor of it. But hesaid that teachers had not been adequatelyconsulted while the plan was being drafted.

B.U.'s plan includes "family school" programssuch as daycare for children three months to twoyears old, preschool classes for three and fouryear olds, job training for parents and courses inEnglish as a second language for adults.

B.U. also plans to redesign the schools'curricula, eliminate junior high school and extendelementary school through eighth grade. This yearthe schools are trying pilots of some of theprograms.

The initiative comes at a time when the Chelseaschool system is facing a finanical crisis.Despite B.U.'s promise to contribute new funds tothe schools, Chelsea is facing a budget shortfall.

Silber said that B.U. has no intention "tosimply replace funds," adding that Chelsea shouldstabilize its own budget crisis. "[The budget]won't be a factor so far as B.U.'s decision tostay or go is concerned," he said. "We'll do thebest we can with the resources we have."

B.U. has pledged $400,000 as a one-time paymentto augment teachers' salaries by 5 percent.Chelsea teachers have not had a pay raise in twoyears, and Paul Clemente, B.U.'s associate vicepresident for financial affairs, said that thepayment was "a recognition that the teachers aregrossly underpaid...[made] to get the school offon the right foot."

Clemente said that B.U. hopes to find the moneyfrom state and city sources to increase teachers'salaries permanently