Gutting Educational Service Centers a Bad Idea

I watched the end of last Thursday's Senate Subcommittee Meeting on Public Education Funding (archived video here), and was alarmed at the committee's intent to gut funding for regional Education Service Centers. The part I watched had Senator Florence Shapiro interacting with TEA Commissioner Robert Scott, questioning the State's direct funding of the ESC's, specifically $40 million from the State's budget.

Shapiro certainly seemed to indicate that some ESC's should be shuttered, except those that generate their own revenue, such as Houston's Region 4 ESC (and as reward for their entrepreneurial activities, their State funding would go away, as well.)

The purpose and establishment of the ESC's, from the Texas Education Code:

§ 8.002. PURPOSE. Regional education service centers shall: (1) assist school districts in improving student performance in each region of the system; (2) enable school districts to operate more efficiently and economically; and (3) implement initiatives assigned by the legislature or the commissioner. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, § 1, eff. May 30, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. May 26, 1997.

§ 8.001. ESTABLISHMENT. (a) The commissioner shall provide for the establishment and operation of not more than 20 regional education service centers. (b) Regional education service centers shall be located throughout the state so that each school district has the opportunity to be served by and to participate, on a voluntary basis, in a center that meets the accountability standards established by the commissioner. (c) The commissioner may decide any matter concerning the operation or administration of the regional education service centers, including: (1) the number and location of centers; (2) the regional boundaries of centers; and (3) the allocation among centers of state and federal funds administered by the agency. (d) This chapter does not: (1) limit a school district's freedom to purchase services from any regional education service center; or (2) require a school district to purchase services from a regional education service center. Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 260, § 1, eff. May 30, 1995. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 268, § 1, eff. May 26, 1997.

This certainly makes it clear that TEA Commissioner Robert Scott has control over the number of ESC's as well as the flow of money to them. ESC's are required by law to assist school districts in implementing Legislative initiatives, improving student performance and operating more efficiently.

So, what do ESC's actually do, using State monies? As one example, for rural and small school districts, they greatly supplement activities such as training teachers and administrators on curriculum, accountability and data management systems, functions that, in a large school district, are provided by central office support staff. These activities are ongoing and critical for the efficient operation of school districts and for student success. I wrote about the need for this type of support in my post, Why Schools Need More Support Staff, Not Less.

Over the weekend, I heard from educator friends in large school districts around Texas, that they have been notified that they need to be prepared for whole curriculum departments at the district level to go away, including those for core subjects - science, math, ELA and social studies. Individual schools and districts are going to need to go somewhere for curriculum support, and they are probably assuming the ESC's will provide that.

It sounds to me like some school districts are taking Governor Perry's advice to cut administrative support before cutting classroom teachers. Gutting the regional Education Service Centers, while at the same time requiring school districts to drastically cut their budgets, should raise red flags with any thinking person who has even a rudimentary understanding of how public schools function. Without support from somewhere, we are dooming teachers to many fewer resources as they implement new science curriculum (and new social studies curriculum this fall and new math curriculum next fall), get high school students ready for end of course exams, and get elementary and middle school students prepared for the new STAAR tests.

Legislators need to think this all the way through to the end point of how real students, sitting in real classrooms, are going to be successful if too many parts of the current structural support to schools is eliminated.