Time to Pivot

Today I want to offer encouragement to my 260 colleagues around the state who sit is the same seat as me. This legislative biennium has been one for the record books. There is no doubt the policies that have been enacted over the course of the last two years will have far reaching consequences. While we are already beginning to see the ramifications of these decisions, I suspect in the coming years our work will become even more challenging as the full weight of these laws become more pronounced. In months and years ahead, our communities will look to us for a steady hand on the tiller. They are lucky to have you at the helm. 

We are a little less that two weeks from the [presumed] end of the legislative session. Thank goodness! With the final passage of the AEA reform bill, it appears [I hope] that major educational policy for the session is complete. Granted, with a couple weeks remaining before 'sine die' anything can happen. I would be remiss if I didn't point out there are still a few landmines lurking just below the surface that may reemerge as amendments to other bills navigating their way through the law-making process. This legislative session has been especially stressful for many education stakeholders, especially our colleagues from the Area Education Agencies. Truth be told, each general assembly seems to bring about feelings of dread for the public school community. At least it does for me. It appears as though education is always being 'reformed' whether it needs to be or not. Oftentimes those who are pushing for the reforming aren't doing a lot of listening or talking to those who will be responsible for executing the policy once enacted. 

In my earlier days as a superintendent, my frustration during the legislative session was palatable. I spent a lot of time in Des Moines, advocating, arguing, and being a thorn in the side of our legislators. (I'm sure many of the would agree.) The side effects of which made me irritable, caused difficulty sleeping, and generally put me a in bad mood. So in the last couple of years I have come to realize that, YES the advocacy is important....but! At the end of the day, if we don't speak up then we can't complain when legislation goes sideways. Yet in the final analysis, while we may have moved the needle ever so slightly; it still comes down to one thing: politics. Understanding this and controlling the variables that can be controlled will help you sleep better and easier to be around.

This doesn't mean we should give up and throw in the towel. Far from it. Rather, it means we need to temper our expectations. Doing so will make us healthier and better leaders. Our communities will better served if we do so. Difficult decisions are on the horizon for many and you/we need to be at our best. In fact, some of you are already in the throes of budget cuts and building closures. I have been in your shoes and empathize with the position you are in. I encourage you to stay strong, and to provide detailed facts with supporting evidence when making your recommendations. In most cases, the decisions that are being debated are the result of many factors and policies. It would be wise to illustrate the cascading effect of the many variables that led to the place we now find ourselves. It is important to help our communities understand the nuance. To paint with too broad of a brush, or to point to one single change in policy risks credibility. Yes, it is complicated and multi-faceted. But our community members can handle it. 

At the same time we must turn the page. Most of us did not ask for, nor advocate for many of these policies. But the time for making our argument has past. It is time for a pivot to enactment. Our politicians can now help us by providing the details we need to carry out the law. We are all aware what the key components of this new legislation entail. What is unclear is exactly what all this means. 

And finally, we need to take the win. There was a lot we didn't get out of this session. But we did get a new and sustainable revenue source that will boost teacher wages. We have all lamented the shallow talent pool that haunts us during hiring season. It's April, and we are scrambling to find teachers. The new money to boost teacher salaries won't totally solve the problem, but it will help. That my friends is a big deal.