Blow Up The Baltimore City Public School System

[Update 9:35 PM EDT]
The school board of the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) has decided to lower the passing grade standard for students. They are lowering the minimum passing grade from 70 to 60. This is an effort to raise the graduation rate of the school system.

When city school students return to class Aug. 28, they'll find it easier to advance because the minimum passing grade for key subjects has been lowered from 70 to 60, a change that abandons a six-year-old policy once hailed as shock therapy for a troubled system.

With little fanfare or public input, the city school board voted 6-1 in early June, with one abstention, to reduce the minimum passing marks in reading, math and some science classes in the first through 12th grades.

Minutes of the board's June 13 meeting show that despite concerns about the lack of public debate, the board made the significant policy change in an unusually hurried fashion.

The sole vote against the change was cast by board member Anirban Basu, who argued that the new policy was, in effect, a lowering of academic standards.

Recently, a study was released that showed that the BCPSS was next to last in the graduation rate of its students. But, the bad thing is (if it can get worse), is the board making this change when the news was focused on the resignation of the BCPSS school chairman.

I'll state it again: It's time to blow up the BCPSS.

This is what should happen:

1. All public school students in the state of Maryland must be allowed to transfer to any school that has space. If the student wants to go to a school outside of his school system, the money to educate that student must follow the student to the new school system.
2. All schools in Baltimore that meet the state standards must be allowed to become charter schools without review.
3. All schools in Baltimore that do not meet standards must present a plan to become a charter school. These schools will be forced to under go intense monitoring and are subject to being paired with educational institutions to turn the schools around.
4. Parents of Baltimore city school students will be offered the chance to use school vouchers.
5. All parents of Baltimore city school students will be offered the chance to have tutors and tutoring service paid for until the students leave the public school system via graduation. This holds true even if the students leave the state.
6. All current members of the school board must be terminated.
7. A new school board must be created comprised of the following (I understand this is a huge board and is prone to problems):
   • One board member appointed by the state.
   • One board member appointed by the city.
   • One board member appointed by elementary school teachers. This member must be an elementary school teacher in good standing.
   • One board member appointed by middle/Jr. school teachers. This member must be a teacher in good standing.
   • One board member appointed by high school teachers. This board member must be a teacher in good standing.
   • Four board members who are at large members who are voted into office.
8. All current board members must be blind folded and shot.

That is my plan and it has been emailed to state legislators.