Charter option for Polk

By Clark McLeod

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I am sure there are many in the community who would like to help the children, parents and teachers who feel Polk Elementary School is a special environment for learning. As an outside observer, at first, my understanding was that the school was suboptimal because of the number of students served and that the building would be sold. Consolidation would create economies of scale - larger classes and more enrollment while saving on building repairs.

Then I read that this was not a financial decision and the building would not be sold. From my perspective, it seems like the closure of Polk Elementary (approved by the school board on Monday) is not a fix for anything!

Should we consider an alternative solution? My lifelong passion for, and involvement in education in Iowa leads me to believe we should. By state law and with permission of the Cedar Rapids school district, a charter school could be created and operated by a parent/teacher organization.

The charter school could rent the building for $1 a year and be responsible for maintenance and utilities. It would be essential that the school district agrees to pass through virtually all of the per-student funding (more than $7,000) because there are a number of students with special needs. This funding would likely give the new charter school more than sufficient money to operate the new Polk school.

In the unfortunate event that the charter school fails, the students and building would revert to the district, and we would be no worse off than we are today. In the meantime, the district would be dollars ahead because it would be relieved of maintaining and staffing a building.

Next steps? Leadership drawn from parents, teachers and community groups must organize the charter school and bring a proposal back to the community and the school board - a proposal designed to be a winning solution for students, the school district and the community. The charter school must create a learning environment with a vision far exceeding status quo, one that offers a prototype that can be used by our community and others.

In the end, this isn't about a building or a school district making change. This is more about community leaders, parents and educators accepting the responsibility to creatively propose a solution that will ensure success. This is about raising expectations and creating a better future for children, parents and the community.

Clark McLeod of Cedar Rapids is co-founder and adviser to Fiberutilities Group LLC. He founded McLeodUSA in 1991 and led other communications companies over three decades. cmcleod@

fiberutilities.com