On November 13, after only two years in the job, Abram Lucabaugh resigned as superintendent of the Central Bucks District School Board in eastern Pennsylvania. What made this seemingly nondescript event newsworthy was that in a rather small school district, only 17,000 students in 23 schools, Lucabaugh, whose annual salary was $315,000—after an $85,000 raise in July—was awarded a monstrous $712,000 severance package by the school board.
An interesting case. I’ve been a public school teacher for a long time and have taught in a variety of social settings. Luckabaugh scored big-time, and his story reads like a career ed-ucrat’s wildest wet dream. Dirty little secret: the surest way to guarantee a comfortable middle-class retirement as a teacher is to become an admin. For those who find they don’t really enjoy the work it makes more sense than a complete career change, and the entry bar is not set very high. It is a path that favors certain attributes, though, and they don’t necessarily match those of strong teachers, despite the fact that they are a very diverse group. But once entry into administrative work is gained there is little incentive to ever return to the classroom. So we end up with a mediocre collection of careerists, many of them earnest but less capable than those over whom they exercise institutional authority. The resulting tension between teachers and administrators has been present everywhere I’ve taught, in schools from inner-city LA to rural Nebraska. So it’s safe to say the problem is structural. It’s not too surprising that a right-wing astro-turfing effort would gain temporary traction in a small district; in massive LAUSD the political cross currents lean in the opposite direction. At their root the common thread is a taste for political small-ball with the potential for enticing personal payoffs. A tweak that would go far toward improving the dreary picture would be to rotate experienced teachers into (and out of) administrative positions. Probably never going to happen, but one can always dream.
Thanks for this. Really interesting to get a perspective from the inside. Your rotation idea is excellent, which is probably why it won't happen. It would require the acquiescence of the very people who would be displaced. The bureaucratic imperative is, alas, extraordinarily difficult to overcome. What we are seeing, which is encouraging, is teachers fighting back and refusing to stop teaching the way they know they should. Also, these controversies make how kids are being taught much more public and, as a result, parents who would have just sat back are getting involved. In that sense, Moms might have done as a favor, just as Alito might have done us a favor with the Dobbs decision. Less egregious might have meant less backlash.
Thank you for this well written article exposing such egregious behavior! Claiming to speak for or on behalf of the people while screwing them over is a well worn tactic of political manipulation, and unfortunately works too well.
Thanks. One of themes I stress is that democracy can only function effectively with an aroused citizenry that recognizes that participation is the only way to protect the institution. Democracy is an unforgiving system--if you stay home, others, whether you like them or not, get to make the rules.
“Democracy is an unforgiving system--if you stay home, others, whether you like them or not, get to make the rules.”
Oh my gosh, yes! If you stay home… that’s it in a nutshell, isn’t it? I’m taping this to my laptop for me, when I feel overwhelmed. We need political activism for certain, but not everyone is cut out for that. I think if more people realized participation can take many forms, maybe not only would we have more people engaged but we’d also feel less helpless. “Why bother?” is deadly.
Totally correct. It isn't a lack of activists--there are plenty of those, sometimes too many--but rather, well, laziness. You always see huge voter turnouts in countries that have just initiated free elections, but the turnout here, until recently, has been abysmal. Recently though, hot button issues have gotten more people to the polls. Let's hope it lasts.
An interesting case. I’ve been a public school teacher for a long time and have taught in a variety of social settings. Luckabaugh scored big-time, and his story reads like a career ed-ucrat’s wildest wet dream. Dirty little secret: the surest way to guarantee a comfortable middle-class retirement as a teacher is to become an admin. For those who find they don’t really enjoy the work it makes more sense than a complete career change, and the entry bar is not set very high. It is a path that favors certain attributes, though, and they don’t necessarily match those of strong teachers, despite the fact that they are a very diverse group. But once entry into administrative work is gained there is little incentive to ever return to the classroom. So we end up with a mediocre collection of careerists, many of them earnest but less capable than those over whom they exercise institutional authority. The resulting tension between teachers and administrators has been present everywhere I’ve taught, in schools from inner-city LA to rural Nebraska. So it’s safe to say the problem is structural. It’s not too surprising that a right-wing astro-turfing effort would gain temporary traction in a small district; in massive LAUSD the political cross currents lean in the opposite direction. At their root the common thread is a taste for political small-ball with the potential for enticing personal payoffs. A tweak that would go far toward improving the dreary picture would be to rotate experienced teachers into (and out of) administrative positions. Probably never going to happen, but one can always dream.
Thanks for this. Really interesting to get a perspective from the inside. Your rotation idea is excellent, which is probably why it won't happen. It would require the acquiescence of the very people who would be displaced. The bureaucratic imperative is, alas, extraordinarily difficult to overcome. What we are seeing, which is encouraging, is teachers fighting back and refusing to stop teaching the way they know they should. Also, these controversies make how kids are being taught much more public and, as a result, parents who would have just sat back are getting involved. In that sense, Moms might have done as a favor, just as Alito might have done us a favor with the Dobbs decision. Less egregious might have meant less backlash.
Thank you for this well written article exposing such egregious behavior! Claiming to speak for or on behalf of the people while screwing them over is a well worn tactic of political manipulation, and unfortunately works too well.
Thanks. One of themes I stress is that democracy can only function effectively with an aroused citizenry that recognizes that participation is the only way to protect the institution. Democracy is an unforgiving system--if you stay home, others, whether you like them or not, get to make the rules.
“Democracy is an unforgiving system--if you stay home, others, whether you like them or not, get to make the rules.”
Oh my gosh, yes! If you stay home… that’s it in a nutshell, isn’t it? I’m taping this to my laptop for me, when I feel overwhelmed. We need political activism for certain, but not everyone is cut out for that. I think if more people realized participation can take many forms, maybe not only would we have more people engaged but we’d also feel less helpless. “Why bother?” is deadly.
Totally correct. It isn't a lack of activists--there are plenty of those, sometimes too many--but rather, well, laziness. You always see huge voter turnouts in countries that have just initiated free elections, but the turnout here, until recently, has been abysmal. Recently though, hot button issues have gotten more people to the polls. Let's hope it lasts.