This time the subject wasn't the board's power struggle with the superintendent, how to kill charter school legislation, or whether the board should hire its own lawyer. It wasn't the board's public image or who's lobbying whom.

Rather, board members talked about the 64 city schools that face a possible state takeover because of low pupil test scores and other shortcomings, and what might be done to help them. They discussed how to continue helping gifted students in the school system reach their full potential.

The board's new president, Michael Hooks Jr., proposed requiring the "low-performing" city schools to add two or three hours to each school day to help students catch up academically. This intriguing proposal raises some questions but bears closer examination.

A small-scale experimental program the district is initiating - Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) academies - will require students to devote more time to the classroom as well as homework. KIPP is a voluntary program modeled after successful academies in Houston and New York.

How would Memphis students and parents react to a board mandate to devote more time to the classroom? Would it motivate students to excel or add to school avoidance problems?

How much would it cost to expand classroom hours in 64 city schools? Supt. Johnnie Watson says plenty of teachers would be willing to work longer hours because, among other reasons, they would no longer have to hold down two jobs to support their families. How would the district raise the money to pay them for those extra hours?

Hooks also has formed five committees to address problems in the district. One is charged with devising a plan to solicit funds from major employers in the Memphis area to help pay for the extended-hours program.

The city school board was united, as well, in its decision to oppose a proposal by a group of special education administrators to shift responsibility for intellectually gifted children from Tennessee school systems' special education departments to the general education curriculum.

Such a move effectively could end the practice of developing individual education plans for gifted students in the same way individual plans are crafted for students with learning disabilities. Individual plans not only help gifted students fight off the boredom of a standard curriculum, but also help them make the best use of their academic gifts as they prepare for college.

Legislation that would shift gifted students out of special education and fully into the mainstream presents a temptation to administrators and lawmakers who search for cuts in tight state and local budgets. The learning potential of gifted students, however, should not be among the sacrifices Tennesseans are required to make by a General Assembly that is reluctant to enact necessary long-term fixes in the state's revenue system.

Education deserves to be a higher priority of state and local governments, as a necessary investment to protect Tennessee's economic prospects. A school board that focuses on developing policy initiatives and on searching for answers to the questions that dog the Memphis school system can render a valuable service to the district and the community.

January 17, 2002