There is frequently a perception that news can be objective, that facts are facts and spin is the province of politicians and, perhaps, Fox News. To a certain extent, this is true; the base facts of a story are bedrock, beyond which further fracking has no yield. How those facts are presented, though, how they are ordered and emphasized, can effectively prime our perception of a given story.
A recent Baltimore Sun story boasted an attention-grabbing headline: “Howard school board to give Foose up to $25,000 in relocation costs.”
Below, the subhead (aka dek, in newspeak): “New superintendent is moving from bordering Frederick County.”
Taken together, these phrases seem designed to provoke. A quick read, the skimming attention usually granted to headlines, tells the reader that the incoming superintendent is getting half an average American’s yearly income to move from next door.
Hidden quietly, though, genially modifying, is the unassuming prepositional function words “up to,” as in “$25,000 is the upper limit Foose could receive.” (Not as in “I wonder what this article is up to.”)
It’s not until the sixth paragraph that the reader learns that Ms. Foose will only be reimbursed for costs actually incurred in moving, and that the Board of Education has oversight, approving application of taxpayer dollars to any expense.
I suppose Foose could cobble together a chain of quasi-licit receipts totaling some absurd amount, but I would suspect if the Howard County ends up spending tens of thousands of dollars to move one woman 30 miles, our problems are going to be an order of magnitude greater when that woman takes up residence and the reins of a near $700 million budget.
The Howard County Public School System budget, in fact, rivals the market capitalization of a surging Barnes and Noble. The book seller’s CEO, by the by, earned $1.6 million in fiscal year 2011. Feigned outrage over our superintendent’s salary, and comparatively meager bennies, seems a bit misplaced, at best; if anything, compared to her private sector compatriots, Foose can only shake her head ruefully at the cost of dedicating her life to education.
We tend to think that we are who we believe ourselves to be, but this is infrequently the case. We are, instead, how others perceive us to be, how they observe us in our actions and our speech. The best we can hope for is to emphasize those parts of ourselves we prefer, and hope the rest goes unnoticed. We’re constantly looking for that verbal pair of jeans that fits us just so, accentuating the good and camouflaging the bad. We emphasize what we want to draw attention to.
Perhaps in Howard County, staid and steady as it is, the reverse quietly becomes true. In a community where a misplaced towel becomes front-page news, controversy can be tough to come by. The best we can hope for is a grocer to set up a shell corporation in an attempt to evade archaic blue laws and provide convenience to consumers, but what are the chances of that actually happening?
In absence of actual uproar, in a place where impeached elected officials are duly voted out by a dutiful electorate and tax raises quietly acquiesced to by a willing base, nuanced shading and enhanced emphasis is the only tool left to possibly raise a political pulse.
A recent tweet from David Frum posited “successful political systems are (and should be) boring.” I couldn’t help but think of Howard County where, by most measures, we’re equally successful…and boring. Perhaps, than, an emphatic headline gives us something to discuss while we’re in line for wine at Wegman’s.
Leland L. Cogdell, Jr.
12:22 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
I got my moving-cost news from The Patch, which got its news from the Howard County Times, and it did not include the "genially modifying, ...the unassuming prepositional function words 'up to'." If it did, I would not have commented. The way it is written, it sounds like the taxpayers, through the Board of Education, are handing the new Super $25K to move. What was published in The Patch is below.
And I just think the $700 a month for a vehicle allowance is excessive. My monthly car payments are $207 for a lease on a 2011 Honda CR-V AWD with leather and nav and $157 a month for a 2011 Honda Fit with nav. We gave up the Volvo and the BMWs years ago to set a better example for our children and to help the environment. I'm interested to see what the new Super does with her $700 a month. If she has or gets a "green" car that cost $500 a month for payments, gas, oil, car washes, maintenance, insurance, and other upkeep, I would be interested to see whether see keeps the left over $200 a month, or returns that to the Howard County taxpayers.
--Ted Cogdell, Laurel, MD
Foose was selected as the new superintendent on March 27. On Thursday, she signed a four-year contract that will pay her $250,000 annually, according to the Howard County Times. In addition, Foose will receive a $700 monthly vehicle allowance and $25,000 for relocation costs, according to the article. (Foose must live in Howard County as part of the deal)
BOH
2:09 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
I applaud your frugality. I have never bought a new car, nor do I expect to in the future, and I paid off my last vehicle in under 2yrs. But the fact is that I am not the new superintendant of schools or other organizational leader with over 7000 employees, a proposed 2013 budget of $697.3 million, public accountability/scrutiny, and expectations to maintain or improve a system's performance that has been among the nation's most lauded for years.
Check the parking lot of even a lower-end apartment complex in Columbia, and note the numerous vehicles that cost more than $700/mo., which is what the car payment alone would be for a $30K vehicle at 6% for 48mos. While that's double the price of the most expensive car I've ever bought, the $700/mo. the cost probably does include insurance and upkeep.
People who land these jobs do so because they're in high demand, demonstrating superior competency and hard work. While it would be be admirable for such people to labor thusly for minimal remuneration, it'd be unrealistic to expect that, and affording them a lifestyle commensurate with their earned positions and accomplishments is both justified and normal. I don't espouse the fallacy that a higher income necessarily correlates with harder work and competency, and/or that all deference should be given to those who earn well and spend audaciously, but a $250K salary, $30K vehicle and reimbursement for actual moving costs aren't audacious in this case.
Jack
5:06 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
"public accountability/scrutiny, and expectations to maintain or improve a system's performance that has been among the nation's most lauded for years."
There is no accountability or scrutiny, all of this was done behind the public's back and the interviews were in a hotel next to BWI.
As for "nation's most lauded", well Howard county deserves the charlatan's award for best smoke and mirrors illusion in the education world.
Jack
4:58 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
Foose was paid 162K a year ago in Montgomery county so I do not beleive anyone, anywhere could justify her pay or rectify her inexperience.
Dyer is currently being impeached albeit the charges are so vague we may never know why.
The teachers union involved itself in the elections throughout Maryland which came early this year. I wouldn't say anyone of the BOE candidates was effectively removed and see a strong chance a write in vote could prevail.
Excuse me for the focus on education in your article. Perhaps "that facts are facts and spin is the province of politicians" is the point of the discussion. HCPSS states 95% proficeint on state assessments, 90% graduation rates and 90% of graduates go to college. This is the machine which drives the economy and off they go to common core where all students will be college ready by 2010. Amazing numbers by which the hcpss is perceived to be one of the best in the country.
Our dual reality, half of Howard county's graduates need remedial ed befor college and the college dropout rate is so phenomenal about 65% of Howard's children will be sent into the world completely unprepared without a college education or a skill.
How can anyone explain the complete disconnect between highschool and college without understanding the deception,and the misleading spin.
Howard county is better then our children as most of them will never be able to afford to live here. There is a sign for this "now leaving Howard county"
H.R. Pufnstuf
8:46 pm on Friday, May 11, 2012
Please do not insult publicly traded company CEOs by comparing them to government workers. A CEO has to worry about competitors, where revenues are coming from, macroeconomic trends, stockholder, board members, etc. A school superintendent's job, especially in a rich county like Howard, is a walk in the park compared to that. TJ's comparison of the Barnes & Noble CEO's pay with a government worker is shockingly stupid. Not that I expected better.
BOH
12:06 am on Thursday, May 17, 2012
You're ignoring that the CEO also doesn't have to worry about a lot of things that superintendents do. A successful CEO possesses a good skillset and certain abilities to meet the job's particular challengees, but so does a successful superintendent. Just because one earns significantly more than the other does not necessarily mean that one has significantly harder or more work to do. If I'm not mistaken, the largest public-sector head is probably (four-star) Gen. Alexander, who is Director of the NSA, Chief of the CSS, and CYBERCOM commander. His challenges and level of effort generally dwarfs anything the CEO of even an extremely successful publicly traded company has to do, yet his salary is capped at under $180K per year. Throw in fringe benefits and commanding general's housing and such, and yes, he's earning over $200K, but that's peanuts compared to any successful CEO with 38 years in the same company, that much budgetary control, that many employees, and that combination of expertise, experience, and education.
Jack
1:00 am on Thursday, May 17, 2012
BOH
I was reflecting on your comment. When the superintendent search began the BOE held a retreat to discuss how to proceed. Mr. Dyer taped the retreat and released it to the public via Howardpubliced. We never got any closer to transparent in this search. At this retreat he offered a General , I beleive of the war college as a candidate for superintendent who was willing to be publicly vetted for the position. The BOE agreed to consider applicants from outside the norm. This General was not among those the search firm eventually offered the BOE as applicants. Still, Foose has none of this experience and the administration of the hcpss does not appear inclined to train her. This is a bad situation, the administration was looking for experience lading to the continuation of the status quo where many like myself where looking for a new direction. Foose is neither, no more then a figurehead to stamp a process of teach to the test now marketed as common core. The truth is simple, the BOE threw away a million dollars and 4 years of our children's future with this charade which netted Foose as she flipped jobs.
H.R. Pufnstuf
7:31 am on Thursday, May 17, 2012
BOH, government leaders are nothing compared to CEOs. But you're right, the skillet is different. Which further proves my point that it's stupid to compare the salary of the superintendent to Barnes & Noble's CEO, as the authorof this article did. Apples and oranges.
BOH
1:16 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Ohai, how do you figure? What makes you think the CEOs are so superior to public-sector leaders? Granted, I've had much closer looks at the daily routines of a handful of CEOs (yes, seriously, including the Koch bros.) than of public-sector chiefs, but I haven't seen any reason to believe that CEOs are categorically more skilled and deserving of compensation than their public-sector counterparts. I'm interested to hear the reasoning by your dismissive attitude toward leaders of government organizations. Heck, most who've been chiefs on both sides usually seem to say the job's much harder on the public side.
Jack
1:15 am on Saturday, May 12, 2012
How bad is it? Baltimore chose first and the unqualified youngster, Dance, fliped jobs to hit the government job lottery for 255 thousand a year, a car, sorry no driver, up to10 thousand for his first move to an apartment and up to 10 thousand when he purchases a house. Can it get any better for the young novice? Yes, Baltimore hired him as a consultant for 1 month for about 21 thousand or 1/12 of his salary so he could get to know everyone. Wait, it gets better, he has a transition team which consists of such familar faces as Grassmick and Hickey to name but a few. The same folks who headed our education system with genius as our children were taught self esteem and passed along instead of being educated and teach to the test which has brought the American education system to it's knees. That's right folks the same people who are responsible for our problems are now holding Dance's hand in these frightening and overpaid exciting times while he is schooled in the way the status quo operates. To be brutally honest, the American tax payer is being fleeced.
Leland L. Cogdell, Jr.
10:32 am on Saturday, May 12, 2012
Yep, Jack, I sure am getting that fleeced feeling, sorry to say. Now, the guv-nah of MD wants to fleece us more with a big tax hike. That will go very nicely with our two-year (maybe three, four, or five years) pay freeze as federal employees for my wife and me, both of whom are federal employees, not to mention inflation and high gasoline prices, my wife's pay cut, and our house value, which is one-third less from its high of a few years ago. Yep, federal employees are to blame for the bad economy and $16T in public debut. Yep, it's all our fault, and a pay freeze is a great idea to help fix it. NOT!!! I'm sorry to say, but we will be changing our spending behavior next year as far as the schools go. Less supplies will be donated, less pictures will be bought, less will be paid for PTA support, less for fundraising drives, field trips may be missed, etc., etc. The list goes on and on. It all flows downhill.
--Ted Cogdell
Laurel, MD
Jack
12:17 pm on Saturday, May 12, 2012
Sounds like you bought into the "good times" hook, line and sinker. Different conversation my friend. Education is our future and whoever controlls what our children are taught controlls our future. As for flows down hill, not in our economy. The solution is from the ground up and it begins with looking at reality instead of accepting the illusion.
BOH
12:09 am on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Jack, I see a lot of bluster about how the rest of us have been duped by the school system, but do you have any evidence to support your claim? You make vague claims about statistical needs for remedial education, but only for HoCo, and fail to make relative comparisons. Furthermore, you don't even cite specific statistics. If you're going to make these claims, I'd sooner buy if you were to provide some facts. I'm truly interested to read them, so by all means, give my open mind something to mull. Thanks!
Jack
1:34 am on Thursday, May 17, 2012
You are right, facts are vague. Many calls to the hcpss produced almost as many unreturned calls and for those ho spoke with me, none could offer any statistics. The only source given was the Maryland Higher Education Commission where we are grouped with Carroll county under Mid Maryland which I have already read. Calls to HCC resulted in the same and after 2 weeks I was again sent to the MHEC. The most I could get out of HCC is 26% of HCPSS grads or about 1,000 begin there as freshman of which 2/3 need remedial ed and 11% graduate within 4 years with a 2 year degree. 20% of HCC students say they are going to transfer which overlaps those who graduate. HCC had no information on if these students transfered or what happened to them. HCC had no information on how many of HCPSS students enrolled at HCC after time off or returned from other schools albeit a substantial number. Minority schools such as Bowie State had similar results and so on as I continued with Maryland colleges until the better schools were posting somewhere around the 50% mark for graduation within 6 yrs in a 4 year school. Vague is absolutely correct. I beleive BOE member Vaillancourt in a discussion at Howardpubliced suggested a 35% college graduation rate for hcpss may be generous. Not trying to mislead anyone, I tried to compile as much as I could and even leaned to the favorable side for hcpss. Every business keeps track of it's product, it would be incompetent for the hcpss not to.
BOH
1:37 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Jack, the standardized tests (SAT, ACT, AP) and college admissions seem to indicate about HCPSS. I won't cite MD assessment scores, as they're not particularly useful for making comparisons at the national level.
When attempting to crunch HCC data, do you compare HCPSS graduates with the national average at similar institutions (jucos), or do you look at the numbers in a vacuum? Do you compare them to, say, PG, AA, BC, city, Harford, or Carroll county graduates? Looking at the numbers could be problematic if you don't define standards and compare to others. Besides, jucos are typically for students who either aren't admitted to 4yr. institutions right out of HS or who are pursuing career training other than a bachelor's degree (e.g. technology or health sciences certs/AA degrees).
As for dropout rates, surely you can see how those could be misleading. I technically "dropped out" of my law school program because I wanted to pursue a program that would offer a better return on investment (law school's generally a horrible investment of time and money for employement/salary purposes) and wouldn't make being a good single father a virtual impossibility. Yet your statistical analysis would not distinguish between that and pure academic inadequacy on my part, right? People drop out or change programs all the time at universities, and it's not particularly safe to say that it's usually because they were inadequately educated at the primary and secondary levels.
BOH
5:18 pm on Thursday, May 17, 2012
Jack, here's a bit of research I did on HCPSS for personal correspondence.
HCPSS's 2010-2011 5yr. cohort graduation rate was 90.9% (4yr. of 89.5%), compared to 84.6% for MD and about 72% nationwide. 90.6% of 2011 HCPSS graduates enrolled in college (26.6% juco, 64% university). I can't find statewide or MoCo data on that.
HCPSS had 44 National Merit Scholar semfinalists, of which 33 were finalists. That means that 0.824% of the 4004 students became finalists. For comparison, the 2011 national rate was just 0.467% (15,283 out of approx. 3.3 million graduates). On that note, the 44 HCPSS NMS semifinalists constituted 13.5% of the state's total of 327, despite being only 6.8% of the state's graduating class. Doubling the national NMS finalist and state NMS semifinalist rates is impressive, especially considering that each state has its own PSAT cutoff score for finalist selection, and that Maryland's cutoff ties with California (221) for third behind NJ and Mass (223) for the highest in the nation.
I have more data crunched on AP and SAT/ACT scores, but need to do a little more analysis before posting. I will say that they generally give very similar pictures to what the PSAT/NMSQT data show. The reality is that HCPSS students consistently have superior access to and scores on such tests. I know your focus was on students who need remedial study in college, but I'm not sure the methodology's sound nor data inclusive enough for you to conclude what you have so far.
Jack
1:33 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
BOH, What happens to the numbers when you isolate them to only affluent areas whether nationally, in state or by school ? Want to bet there is little difference? Actually we could group them by any metric and find there is no difference within. Do we want to look at similarities of students attending a 2 year institution compared to those attending a 4 year? So to answer your question, I am looking at the difference as well as similarities between other institutions. Looking at indicators such as the SAT/ACT and others. Looking at factors such as extra-curricular, inclusion, other life experiences such as being afforded more outside experiences as well in regard to success. Remedial ed reflects on K-12 as being unprepared academically is constant. There are a large number of students who drop out of 4 years and return to a 2 year for a number of reasons beyond inadequate accedemic ability albeit this still reflects on the K-12 because they were unprepared socially but appear eventually as graduates is constant. Still, graduate-dropout-transfer we still end with a significant loss who also lack marketable skills.
HCPSS does not look at their product once it walks across the stage.
BOH
11:18 am on Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Look, it's really hard to seriously heed the words of a person who can't spell "academic" correctly. And no, dropping out of 4yr. institutions to return to 2yr. programs does not necessarily reflect on K-12 preparation. If you believe it does, then you must believe it is the responsibility of K-12 schools to take on not merely education, but the whole-child preparatory process, which would be a policy doomed for failure. It completely ignores the onus that is on parents. Yes, many parents fail their kids, and to the extent possible, it's great that some teachers are able to compensate for that, but that does not make it the schools' responsibility to replace parenting. Parents, not schools, are responsible for children's psychological, emotional, and social development, although both HoCo and HCPSS have social services to support and augment such parental efforts.
Don't blame HCPSS for parental failures, because in addition to doing its job (education), it's also going above and beyond by helping kids overcome bad parenting. When the district fails to give children educational opportunity, which is something every single student has, then blame the district. One of my children just finished first grade at arguably HCPSS' lowest-performing elementary school (Cradlerock), but her parents ensure she goes to school with complete and checked homework every day. Several of her friends usually don't, and perform poorly as a result. That's their parents' fault, not the district's.
Jack
1:46 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
BOH, "I know your focus was on students who need remedial study in college, but I'm not sure the methodology's sound nor data inclusive enough for you to conclude what you have so far." I am looking at numbers in the 90% range offered by the hcpss which are misleading by themselves. Since K thru 12 shows consistantly in the upper range the step from K-12 to K-13 should maintain a success rate of 90%. However the significant drop after K-12 indicates the value by which the hcpss rated their product has been manipulated.
BOH
11:20 am on Tuesday, June 19, 2012
How does it indicate that? Where are you seeing that there is a significant drop between 12 and 13, and how does that compare to drops by students at schools coming out of other districts that perform in that 90% range? There are many other possible causal factors besides the malfeasant manipulation you're alleging, and to be honest, that's a bit slanderous.