WA#2

case study 1.8

Football Is King Claudia Coughran

Mr. Steve McKeesh is the superintendent of schools for Prairie Creek County Schools in a state located in the U.S. South. He has

served in this capacity for seven years and was hired because of his connec- tions to the community and his role as the high school athletic director and former head football coach for a team that won a state championship. The State has a strong local football culture at every level of competition. Recently, a state university won the NCAA football championship, a marked source of pride for the state’s residents. In this state, football coaches with winning re- cords are lauded, particularly those who bring home state titles. Mr. McKeesh is a 62-year-old Caucasian who has spent his entire educational career in Prairie Creek County Schools.

Prairie Creek County Schools is located in a rural part of the state. The student demographics indicate that slightly fewer than 10,000 students are enrolled in 14 schools. Approximately 58% of the students are non-Caucasian (they are mostly of African descent); the other 42% identify as Caucasian. Close to 13% of the students identify English as their second language, which is significantly higher than the state average of 2%. Of all students in Prairie Creek County Schools, 95% qualify for free or reduced-price meals that are served to students whose family income places them below the poverty line. Table 1 provides a clear picture of the demographics of the children in the school district, as well as their academic performance on standardized tests.

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Table 1. Children’s Demographics and Academic Performance, by Percentage

English- Not language Free/Reduced- Proficient in Proficient in Population Caucasian Caucasian learner price meal language arts mathematics

Prairie Creek County Schools 10,000 44 56 13 95 23 36

State Average 8,700 42 58 2 61 41 43

Mitchell, P. A. (Ed.). (2019). Ethical decision-making : Cases in organization and leadership. Myers Education Press. Created from utep on 2023-04-10 15:36:43.

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As a result of a recent election, the composition of the local Board of Education has changed. Two long-time members of the six-member board did not run for reelection. Two others are in the second year of their four-year terms, having defeated incumbents to secure their seats. The four new members won their seats by highlighting the need for high-technology options for students and improved Career Technical Education offerings. Academic performance indicators reveal that Prairie Creek County Schools have significantly fewer students who are proficient in mathematics and language arts than other dis- tricts in the state. The new school board members highlighted these statistics in their campaigns, and the community wants these numbers to improve.

Complicating matters is the fact that the Great Recession of 2007 was not kind to public education in general or to Prairie Creek County Schools in particular (Evans, Schwab, & Wagner, 2017; Grusky, Western, & Wimer, 2011; Rich, 2013). Nearly 60% of the homes in Prairie Creek County were foreclosed on between 2007 and 2010. These foreclosures resulted in de- creased property values and, in turn, to dramatically lower property taxes (Alm, Buschman, & Sjoquist, 2014; Chakrabarti, Livingston, & Roy, 2013; Evans et al., 2017).

The majority of funding for schools in the state derives from property tax- es. The state calculates these property taxes using millage rates. A school mill- age of $1 for each $1,000 of assessed property value creates the foundation for property taxes in this state. Property is assessed annually, enabling the local Board of Education to adjust the school millage rate every year. Annual adjustments to the rate allow the district to mitigate budget shortfalls from the state or federal governments. While generally unpopular, these annual millage-rate adjustments help maintain a stable funding stream and protect school districts from fluctuations in overall revenues.

Prairie Creek County is also one of 132 counties throughout the state that takes advantage of a law drafted in the late 1990s requiring the county to collect a sales tax on all goods and services, which is then transferred di- rectly to the local school board. Prairie Creek County collects an additional 2% of sales tax that goes directly into the school district’s account for capital outlay. This educational sales tax may only be increased by a ballot measure and must be renewed at least every five years. Recently, Prairie Creek County citizens raised the education sales tax from 1% (the rate since its inception

Mitchell, P. A. (Ed.). (2019). Ethical decision-making : Cases in organization and leadership. Myers Education Press. Created from utep on 2023-04-10 15:36:43.

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in 1996) to 2% in order to help offset revenue reductions from the state that forced postponements to deferred maintenance budgets.

To make up for revenue lost through property-tax losses during the Great Recession, Prairie Creek County Schools also began increasing school mill- age rates incrementally. More than 60% of homes in the county had gone into foreclosure, the county unemployment rate rose to 8.7%, and the school district saw a dramatic increase in the number of students in poverty, with 95% qualifying for free lunch. Residents were frustrated that their property taxes were increasing every year while salaries and home values were declin- ing. Questioning the wisdom of increasing the school millage rate was an- other reason the Board of Education found itself with four new members, as residents were feeling frustrated and angry. In the years leading up to the Great Recession, Prairie County Schools had decreased the school millage rate from 8.8% to 8.46%. Now the school millage rate was more than 10%, and the community wanted these increases to stop.

Table 2 shows the change in funding streams for Prairie Creek County Schools. As the Great Recession deepened, funding shifted away from the state and was replaced by local and federal monies. In budget years 2010 and 2011, the federal government infused significant monies into all school districts throughout the country to offset severe reductions in state coffers brought on by the Great Recession (The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, 2009). These stimulus funds were temporary, lasting only two years. Studies conducted ten years after the beginning of the Great Recession, indicate that the funds infused into school budgets at the beginning of the recession were successful in “shielding education from some of the worst ef- fects of the Great Recession” (Evans et al., 2017, p. 5).

Table 2. Revenue Resources for Prairie Creek County Schools

School State revenue Local revenue millage % Federal revenue Total budget

Year $ % $ % % $ % $

2003 57.4 66.5 20.3 23.1 8.70 09.88 11.3 87.6 2008 66.8 65.2 24.9 22.3 8.46 10.8 10.5 102.5 2010* 55.7 57.0 23.3 23.8 8.46 18.7 19.1 97.7 2011* 56.0 59.5 22.9 24.3 8.46 15.2 16.2 94.1 2013 53.2 60.9 22.1 25.3 8.29 12.1 13.8 87.4 2017 54.6 61.3 22.7 25.5 10.24 11.7 13.1 89.0

* indicates The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 fund infusion.

Mitchell, P. A. (Ed.). (2019). Ethical decision-making : Cases in organization and leadership. Myers Education Press. Created from utep on 2023-04-10 15:36:43.

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Table 2 illustrates how, as the economy weakened throughout the state, the local government was forced to increase its portion of the overall percentage to the budget, either through increasing the millage rate or increasing the sales tax earmarked for education. For example, in 2003, prior to the begin- ning of the Great Recession, state revenue accounted for 66.5% of the school district’s budget, whereas local revenue accounted for just 23.1%. In 2010, by comparison, state revenue accounted for 57% of the budget, local revenue represented almost 24% of the budget, and federal revenue represented more than 19%, almost double the U.S. portion in 2008. It is also clear that even in 2017, Prairie Creek County Schools had still not fully returned to the pre- recession funding of 2008, even with a marked increase in millage rates and a 2% education sales tax.

The mission statement of Prairie Creek County Schools indicates, as do most school-district mission statements, that the district is committed to “excellence in student achievement.” The district drafted a strategic plan that included five goals to support its mission. Recognizing that the way in which a school district allocates funds reflects that district’s priorities, it would make sense that a budget review would show the bulk of district resources allo- cated toward teacher, specialist, administrative, and paraprofessional salaries (Goldfinger & Kubinec, 2008). When resources are tight, and if “excellence in student achievement” were the mission, it would follow that reducing the number of classroom teachers would be the last option for the district.

However, a budget audit recently revealed that although 21 teachers lost their jobs, resulting in a doubling of class size in most elementary classrooms to 35 students, 15 full-time football coaches were paid from the district’s general fund. This revelation created considerable conflict in a community that reveres the state football champion-coach-turned-superintendent. Many community members voiced support for keeping the football coaches, even if it meant that classroom teachers would lose their jobs and class sizes would balloon. Others saw the revelation as further evidence of the “good ol’ boys club” wherein coaches and their salaries are sacred, even at the expense of young children learning to read. The school accrediting agency that conduct- ed the audit required immediate changes if the district wanted to maintain its accreditation.

Budgetary decisions are contentious and often heated in school-district settings. The new local Board of Education members campaigned and were

Mitchell, P. A. (Ed.). (2019). Ethical decision-making : Cases in organization and leadership. Myers Education Press. Created from utep on 2023-04-10 15:36:43.

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elected on a platform of improving student achievement and providing ad- ditional Career Technical Education experiences for students. Now, however, the board faces a dilemma that forces the possible academic achievement of students to compete with the historic football culture of the community.

Questions:

1. What immediate actions should the Board of Education take? Why? 2. What do these revelations say about spoken and unspoken leadership? 3. What do these revelations say about the current superintendent? What,

if any, action should the Board of Education take regarding his tenure? Why?

4. If these revelations were uncovered when economic times were better, would the issue be as heated? Why or why not?

5. What leadership lessons have you learned?

References

Alm, J., Buschman, R.D., & Sjoquist, D.L. (2014). Foreclosures and local government revenues from the property tax: The case of Georgia school districts. Regional Science and Urban Economics, 46, 1–11. doi:10.1016/j. regsciurbeco.2014.01.007

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Saving and creating jobs and reforming education. (2009, March 7). Retrieved March 4, 2018, from https://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/implementation.html

Chakrabarti, R., Livingston, M., & Roy, J. (2013). Did cuts in state aid during the Great Recession lead to changes in local property taxes? (Staff Report No. 643). New York, NY: Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Evans, W.N., Schwab, R.M., & Wagner, K.L. (2017). The Great Recession and public education. Education Finance and Policy, 1(1), 1–29. doi:10.1162/ edfp_a_00245

Evans, W.N., Schwab, R.M., & Wagner, K.L. (2017). The Greet Recession and public education. Education Finance and Policy, 1-50. https://doi. org/10.1162/edfp_a_00245

Goldfinger, P., & Kubinec, J. (2008). A guide to school finance in California

Mitchell, P. A. (Ed.). (2019). Ethical decision-making : Cases in organization and leadership. Myers Education Press. Created from utep on 2023-04-10 15:36:43.

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(8th ed.). Sacramento, CA: School Services of California. Retrieved from http://www.sscal.com/pdf/paul_book_2008.pdf

Grusky, D.B., Western, B., & Wimer, C. (Eds.). (2011). The Great Recession. New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.russellsage. org/publications/great-recession

Rich, R. (2013, November 12). The Great Recession: December 2007–June 2009. Retrieved February 20, 2018, from https://www.federalreservehistory.org/ essays/great_recession_of_200709

Mitchell, P. A. (Ed.). (2019). Ethical decision-making : Cases in organization and leadership. Myers Education Press. Created from utep on 2023-04-10 15:36:43.

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