By Fritz Edelstein
November 1, 2004

Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and St. Paul Mayor Randy Kelly participated in a town hall panel discussion with their school superintendents (Clark County Schools Superintendent Carlos Garcia and St. Paul Public Schools Superintendent Pat Harvey) at the 48th annual meeting of the Council of Great City Schools in Las Vegas October 22. This session was co'sponsored by The United States Conference of Mayors. It is believed to be the first ever national town meeting of its kind where mayors and city school superintendents discussed how the two leaders make their relationship work.

From the outset the two mayors and their school superintendents agreed that urban school superintendents and mayors need to work together to tackle the challenges facing public schools today. The "how" was the crux of the conversation.

In his opening comment, Kelly stated, "Without great school systems, you can't have great cities. Schools are an anchor for our neighborhoods." Goodman spoke about using his bully pulpit to assist in improving education and broadening community involvement in education. He said, "The city needs to be an advocate to create incentives with the private sector that often have to be embarrassed or cajoled into working with the city and schools to solve problems," he said.

The key areas covered during the discussion, facilitated by CNN correspondent Maria Hinojosa, were improving student performance; what city and education leaders can achieve through teamwork; importance of parental involvement; and the value of good public schools to the community as a whole.

Kelly said his support and interest in education was strong enough to warrant creating a cabinet level position to focus on the achievement gap between ethnic groups and other education priorities of the city. "We need to do whatever it takes to make sure kids get the best education possible," he said.

Garcia praised Goodman for his willingness to work with the district on issues involving zoning and placement of schools. He further stated, "We need to focus on what's right because too many times, we focus on only what is wrong." With the mayor's support and involvement, the city worked with the county school system to swap land that enabled the district to build a school and community center on one site rather than two. Garcia went further and said, "When mayors talk, people listen. They help promote what is right and given Goodman's popularity it is very helpful for the district." As a result of this public conversation, the two are now talking about a strategy to help teachers with housing, which might include special zoning, subsidies or special rental and mortgage rates for teachers, because local housing costs have become almost unaffordable.

One of the major problems in urban schools across America is the very low graduation rate. In Las Vegas, Goodman talked about how high school dropouts can get jobs parking cars at casinos and hotels and earn more than a living wage. This is a constant challenge to the city and the district. They are working on some new strategies that will give students a chance to earn and learn at the same time. Las Vegas being a 24-hour town further complicates matters.

Harvey spoke very pointedly and said, "I can't do it alone. I need the support of elected officials. We need to be on the same team to do what is best for kids. The community is incomplete if we don't work together." An example of this in St. Paul is that the mayor has used VISTA volunteers assigned to the city in the schools to assist with improving learning with a focus on reading.

Kelly felt that it is too much for a mayor to have to govern a city and oversee the operation of schools. He said, "A mayoral takeover of the schools would not work well in St. Paul." He prefers partnerships and working behind the scenes on a common agenda to move the city forward. However, he stated, "I would work in education whether or not the school system wanted him to be involved and even though he did not have the responsibility for education." Goodman expressed an interest to have more responsibility.

A clear consensus from both the mayors and the superintendents was that mayors need to be hands on in education so one can see what one needs to do. While the mayors and superintendents are respectful of each other and pretty much stay out of each other's business, they also recognize the importance of working together, being collaborative and understand if they don't, little will be accomplished for the good of the city.

Kelly believes that both the city and the county need to be responsible so that kids are ready for school including creating the appropriate pre'school opportunities as well as other services such as health care. "We need to explore ways in which we can reduce costs for such things as health care. We need to be more connected to our schools and possibly the city and school system buy certain services together that will bring the cost down for the city, school system and its employees," explained Kelly.

Both mayors expressed concern about immigration and the implications for their school systems and city services. St. Paul has one of the largest Hmong populations in the nation and is about the get several thousand more. Kelly visited one of the refugee camps that are closing because he did not want to wait and it is not in anyone's interest to fall behind in planning for new immigrants. There are many issues, which need to be addressed including housing, human services, and education for the transition. "That is what leaders have to do, understand what is coming at you and educate the public about it," Kelly said.

Both mayors emphasized that kids are our future and they add to the richness of the community and we must make sure we address their needs. Goodman emphasized the importance of getting parents more engaged with schools and their child's education. In Las Vegas, this becomes a problem because of the 24-hour nature of the town, but he believes it can be and needs to be done.

In his concluding remarks Kelly said, "We need to put the interest of children at the center of the table. School systems put up too many barriers, which hamper mayoral involvement. Cities will invest in the schools but it must be a partnership."

Goodman concluded, "Government can get involved in these issues to assist the education system to recruit its workforce, build schools, and ensure a quality education for every child. I may not agree with everything said today but we have to do it and especially involve parents in the education of kids. If we as mayors can promote it, put a face on it, we can do it and be successful."

Clearly, the town hall meeting opened up new opportunities within the two communities for joint ventures and encouraged the two organizations to think of other venues to organize similar discussions between mayors and superintendents. This was a beginning of a new and fruitful conversation.