Budget proposes ESL/bilingual advisory council

An inconspicuous provision in the newly unveiled MMSD budget document would establish an ESL/bilingual advisory council (Department & Division Detailed Budgets, page 55).

I encourage the Board of Education to remove the provision and give any proposed council the careful and detailed attention the board gave to the attendance task forces and equity task force.

As the provision stands, the budget document provides absolutely no justification, no charge, no detail, no membership, no cost, and no staffing for the proposal.

The advisory council might be valuable, but it needs much more consideration before the board acts on it.

Last year a similarly obscure phrase led to the creation of two new classrooms and an expenditure of $350,000 at Marquette.

I see a pattern here. Cryptic language being use to launch new initiatives without board or public input.

The specific provision reads:

Establish Division of ESL and Bilingual Education community advisory council to promote the dissemination of information to improve partnerships between families who speak other languages, community agencies and schools.

Posted by Ed Blume at May 1, 2006 8:37 AM
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