Inglewood High grad takes over city's troubled school district

Kurt Streeter:

Kent Taylor, superintendent of education in southern Kern County, was selected Wednesday to lead the Inglewood school district -- the first major move by the state after its takeover of the financially troubled district.

Before his Kern County stint, Taylor worked as a teacher, principal, administrator and school board member in several Southern California districts, mostly in the San Bernardino area. He grew up in Inglewood and graduated from Inglewood High in 1982, facts he emphasized repeatedly during a Wednesday news conference.

The appointment is about "coming back to the community that I love, the community that produced me," he said, recalling several teachers who mentored him as a youngster. "This is a great district, a wonderful district, and we have great things happening here.... Do we need to figure out some fiscal things? Yes, we do. But I'm the guy who is going to come and work with everyone and listen to everyone.... We're going to continue to move forward."

The unions are blaming Inglewood's shortfall on education cuts, but per-pupil spending is about the same as it was five years ago. The real problem (other than too generous benefits, which are an issue in most districts) is that enrollment has declined by more than 20% since 2006, which has shrunk the total pot of available money. Many of the city's working class families have left. Meanwhile, about 10% of students have fled to charter schools--and for that the unions have only themselves to blame.

Seven charters have sprouted up within the last five years as alternatives to Inglewood's failing schools, which are among the worst in the state. Only 30% of seventh graders meet state math standards while merely a quarter of 11th graders are proficient in English. The charters outperform traditional schools by 100 to 200 points on the state Academic Performance Index (which ranges from 200 to 1000). Most charters also operate at lower cost.

The district intends to float bonds to renovate facilities in order to draw back students, but energy efficient buildings and a spiffy, new athletic center won't make up for a poor education. And they sure won't help close the district's $10 million structural deficit.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at October 6, 2012 1:58 AM
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