Interview with Zulfi Ahmad, Director, Grants, Research and Development, Cincinnati Public Schools
The governing structure of theCincinnati Public Schools has undergone radical change during the last two years. Many central office positions have been eliminated and the number of staff has been reduced by more than 50 percent in the past year alone. Only those middle management positions that are indispensable or result in cost savings have been retained.
Local school governance also has been restructured. Previously, the district was divided into three area superintendentships, but these positions were eliminated. Today, the schools are organized into nine mini-districts. In place of a full-time administrator, a principal from each mini-district is designated as the "lead principal" in that mini-district. The lead principals serve in the superintendent's cabinet and advise the superintendent on such issues as policy, procedures, and education initiatives.
Local school councils are also being established. The councils include representatives from the community, parents, teachers, and administrators. While the role of the councils has not been firmly decided, their responsibilities will likely include making recommendations about local school budgets and staffing.
The next step in Cincinnati's reform process is to examine how students' lives are affected by restructuring. While current efforts have focused primarily on district reorganization, many schools have begun to utilize new materials and technologies to restructure their curricula. For example, the principles and processes of "total quality management" form the basis of a major staff development effort aimed at school staff. The effort is driven by two TQM concepts: customer satisfaction and management by facts.
Another major initiative of the Cincinnati Public Schools is the creation of a semi-autonomous, pilot mini-district to serve as a leader in research and development related to school reform. The Cincinnati business community provides material and technical assistance to this mini-district so that its staff may experiment with new technologies and powerful support systems. For example, business representatives support a voice mail system that allows parents to learn what's going on in the schools and keep track of their children's homework assignments.
Cincinnati's rationale for decentralizing is based on two beliefs. First, many stakeholders believe that authority should be as close to the actual work as possible - that is, at the local school level. Second, these stakeholders believe that bureaucracy was slowing reform efforts. Conversely, they hope that decentralization and restructuring will expedite school reform.
To gauge the success of their reform efforts, schools must ask themselves the following questions:
One influence on current reform efforts is the Cincinnati Business Committee. Comprising 30 CEOs from the city's largest corporations, this committee appointed a Commission that examined school restructuring for one year. In September 1991, they completed a report that accused the district of inefficiency. The reportreceived significant attention because the district was requesting a tax levy in November 1991 to reduce a $50 million deficit. In order to mobilize public support for the new tax, the Commission recommended reducing costs through decentralization. Although the tax levy passed, the school system still faces a $170 million debt that must be cleared in ten years. In addition, the Cincinnati Business Committee helped the school administration obtain waivers from state regulations.
To help schools make the transition to decentralized governance, the business community has offered the school district, free of charge, the services offinancial, management, and education consultants. The business community also is helping the school district to establish a world class leadership academy for teachers and administrators.
Resistance to change "Restructuring was a painful but much needed job. When it began it was like a big tidal wave, sweeping the old structure away in its path. Now, our biggest challenge is to make the new structure powerful and productive. Staff are accustomed to the old structure and will require major staff development. Staff development and the necessary attitude changes are going to take longer than decentralization and restructuring."
Diverse leadership "The most important requirement for major restructuring is diverse leadership - particularly leadership from the outside and leadership that is not one-sided. Leadership should include women, minorities, and other stakeholders."
Posted on April 26, 1995
URL: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/envrnmnt/go/93-1cinc.htm