Speakers Highlight Contrasts in Baltimore City, County School Systems

Stephen Arum of the Rotary Club of Catonsville introduced the featured speakers, both school board members, by referring to his experiences as host to international visitors who were always fascinated by the contrast between our locally controlled school systems and their countries’ centralized ones. 

Lisa Akchin, one of the 9 Baltimore city Board of Commisioners, was appointed in 2010 by the governor on the recommendation of the mayor.  She is Associate Vice President and Assistant to President Freeman Hrabowski at UMBC.

Mike Bowler also new to the Baltimore County Board of Education in 2010, is one of seven members who represent specific districts.  There are also 4 at-large members and one student member. 

With identical budgets of $1.2 billion dollars, Baltimore city spends $14,000 per student and Baltimore County spends $11,500 per student.  While that may sound like a lot of money, Akchin noted that one year of incarceration costs $38,000 per inmate. Arum noted that according to 2002 Census data, there are 13,000 local school boards and entities in the United States.

Baltimore County’s school board, the largest in the state, comprises appointees who are recommended to the governor by the county executive.  From 1970-2004, Mr. Bowler worked for the Baltimore Sun, specializing in education.  He is also the author of The Lessons of Change: Baltimore Schools in the Modern Era, a modern history and analysis of the Baltimore city school system, written in 1991 and revised in 1997. 

Akchin and Bowler were invited by the Rotary Club of Catonsville to address a community meeting at the Rolling Road Golf Club to compare and contrast the approaches to education in Baltimore City and Baltimore County.  Both Akchin and Bowler were appointed to their school board positions and both serve without pay.

Fifty years ago, Baltimore City witnessed the shift to a majority-minority school population.  Akchin asked how many in the audience of 30 people had seen The Wire.  She said, “things are much different than they were in Season 4.” 

Though 84 percent of Baltimore city students qualify for free lunches, the highest percentage in the state, Superintendent Dr. Andres Alonso says that poverty is 'no excuse for what we do or do not get done.'”

Akchin said that under Alonso’s leadership, the city schools have begun to see “true systemic change.” 

There has been a 34 percent reduction in central office staff.  The budget process also has decentralized: principals used to control 5 percent of their school budgets, now they control 80 percent.  Twelve schools have been closed; 11 innovative schools have opened.  With 29 elementary charter schools and school choice in middle and high school, no student is obliged to attend the school in his or her neighborhood.  Enrollment is up, the graduation rate is up, the dropout rate is down.

In Baltimore County that shift to a majority -minority occurred in 2010.  Bowler credits county Superintendent, Dr. Joe Hairston, with “educating the diverse student body, pre-k through high school.” 

Hairston’s motto is “all means all,” and the achievement gap between minority and white students in the County is narrowing. 

However, Hairston’s philosophy has been to take power away from the 178 schools in the county, and he has “unapologetically” centralized his administration.  Bowler cited a recent letter to the editor of The Sun by Catonsvillian Susanne Ogaitis-Jones, which the newspaper entitled, “Bureaucracy Run Amok.” 

“I agree,” Bowler stated, “I said so at the last board meeting.”  Bowler illustrated his frustration over the limits of centralization with the fact that Baltimore County has only one charter school, “The superintendent has to be willing to cede authority if you are going to have choice.”

Both Akchin and Bowler agreed that appointed school boards are working well. Despite the criticism that appointments are undemocratic, Akchin and Bowler appreciate the freedom to vote on radical and difficult issues without having to cater to a constituency.

For the future, Akchin sees the city moving away from concentrating on remediation and toward more emphasis on proficiency and advanced and AP level instruction.  Bowler said he anticipates that economic and demographic changes in the County will perhaps lead it into some of the same challenges that the City is just emerging from. 

“It will be interesting if the two lines cross on the graph," he said.

Akchin ended the discussion with the hope that “we will get to the point where we care as much about the future of other people’s children as we do about our own.”