Editorial: Banda needs to hit ground running as school opens
Published: Sunday, Aug. 31, 2014 - 12:00 am
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| SacBee Priority: Banda needs to suck up to the mayor right away |
José L. Banda faces his first big challenge as the leader of Sacramento City Unified schools on Tuesday when the district welcomes back students for a new school year.
First days back are always chaotic and hectic, but this will be old hat to Banda. He’s spent more than three decades in California school districts as a teacher, principal, administrator or superintendent. Banda was chief of Seattle’s schools until he was lured back to his home state earlier this summer to replace Jonathan Raymond.
Disappointingly, though, Banda said when he was hired that he took the job to get back to California’s generous retirement system. Nothing about kids or education. Admittedly, it was quite an enticement for a 57-year-old nearing retirement age. This stint could boost his annual retirement pay by $61,400 a year.
The Bee’s editorial board sat down with Banda last week to give him an opportunity to disabuse us of the notion that he’s in town mostly for the money, looking for an easy ride into retirement.
We didn’t hear the excitement or vision we hoped for from someone so exceptionally well-compensated. His annual salary is $290,000.
Yet we remain hopeful. Banda is intelligent, experienced and capable. He can rise to the challenge in Sacramento and instill confidence in parents that their children will receive excellent education in Sacramento’s public schools.
It won’t be easy. To help, we offer five suggestions.
1. Meet the mayor right away.
It’s a bit puzzling that Banda has been in town for nearly a month and has not met with other local school district leaders, with parent groups or Mayor Kevin Johnson. Perhaps the latter is not actually a surprise; Banda dislikes charter schools and Johnson is a big fan. He even founded one – St. Hope in Oak Park, which was challenged by the Sacramento teachers union.
Johnson’s wife is Michelle Rhee, formerly head of D.C. schools and founder and former president of Students First. She is considered one of the foremost advocates of charter schools and educational reform in the country and recently became board chairwoman of St. Hope.
If Banda wants to do well in this job, he’s going to have to make the effort to have a relationship with the city’s celebrity mayor and his wife.
2. Start a teacher advisory council.
Banda hasn’t met with teachers in any real way, either, as school has been in recess. But he has managed to take three meetings with the Sacramento City Teachers Association leaders and one with the classified staff union.
Reaching out to SCTA makes sense; the union may well have control of the Sac City school board after November’s election. But three times in three weeks?
He clearly has orders to repair the damage between the unions and the administration right away, but he can’t continue to Editorial: Banda needs to hit ground running as school opens - Opinion - The Sacramento Bee:
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