School Haze

Rarely do things that happen in the
halls of Congress have such direct an implication for a particular set
of people in our town, but the last-minute negotiations on the economic
stimulus package was one such moment. Funds for school rehabilitation
were offered up as part of the plan, then sacrificed, then given up in
a compromise and eventually, we think, reinstated. Republicans for the
most part fought the inclusion of the funds, calling it wasteful, while
Democrats, including Dan Maffei (D-DeWitt), argued that building and
upgrading schools made sense both for the economy and for the schools.  

To satisfy Republicans worried about
accountability, I suggest that we turn our schools into failed banks,
which the Republicans love to heap money on with no strings
attached—not even spending guidelines. We wouldn’t have to listen to
arguments that teachers are getting paid too much if we simply call
them bankers. But I digress.

Old school: Common Council President Bea Gonzalez appeared at a November rally to save Blodgett School.  MICHAEL DAVIS

Let’s look at the case of Blodgett
School. From its perch on Oswego Street, Blodgett has watched
generations come and go on the Near West Side. Lately it has been
kicked around like a taped-up soccer ball on a potholed street littered
with glass. The list of things that don’t work in the school is too
long to recite; it’s been held together for a decade only by the
determination of teachers and parents who refuse to cut and run. It has
been the recipient of charity from churches shocked to find conditions
here in our own city that they wouldn’t countenance in the Third World.{mospagebreak}

Last fall the Joint Schools Construction
Board, which decides how to spend the state and local monies still
available for building and renovations, held out a plan that
contemplated rebuilding Blodgett. Good people had an honest
disagreement on whether you could actually rebuild the aging structure,
or whether it had to be razed to spring anew from the ashes. 

Second District Common Councilor Pat
Hogan, a Democrat who worked for many years at nearby Seymour School,
thought that the Blodgett neighborhood could well be served by Seymour,
and argued that Blodgett be closed. Common Council President Bea
Gonzalez, standing outside the school in the cold last November, spoke
of the embarrassment felt by many when she said, “The Blodgett of today
is not something we should be proud of.” After another round of
meetings the leadership held out a ribbon of hope to Blodgett, but no
promises, essentially saying, “We’ll try to find the money—somewhere,
someday.”

People around Oswego Street have heard
this before. The money from the state, which they were once promised,
has been yanked in favor of other projects. Then the recession
deepened, and in the strange logic of economics, chances for money
coming to infrastructure projects increased. Along comes the stimulus
package, and at least one proposal for “shovel-ready” projects includes
money for school construction. School Superintendent Dan Lowengard said
that Blodgett and the Central Tech annex would get top priority. 

Then Congress threatened to cut the aid
out of the stimulus plan, and the superintendent seemed to be saying
that the priority was spending on teachers, not on buildings. Then (it
seems) the Democrats found enough Republican sympathizers to keep the
school money in the bill—and there was still a chance that Blodgett
might finally have its day.

It’s time to either get it on, or get it
over with. The dreams for a revived Blodgett and the talk of rebuilding
are by now old enough to join the Army. It’s time to let the kids know
we’re serious, or not. If the plans for the Near West Side include a
rebuilt Blodgett, let’s get to it. If not, it’s time to tell the
kids—and to give those families some clarity. That’s what grownups do:
They make the call. Either way, it could be all right. The educational
process isn’t about buildings, it’s about education. It’s this hanging
in the middle that we shouldn’t put up with much longer.