Rochester Board of Education President Van White says he was taken aback by a proposal Mayor Lovely Warren discussed on Friday, that would see the current city school board dissolved.
He says he met with her in the last week and she didn’t bring it up. White says he needs to work on his relationship with the mayor.
“I hope and pray that she thinks that I’m strong enough to hear not only when we agree but when we might disagree," White told reporters.
White says that the district has made significant progress in recent years and he expects that the graduation rate will be higher than 60%. He says the graduation rate at East High should be higher than 70%.
Interim Rochester School Superintendent Dan Lowengard says the district needs a partnership with the mayor and that a referendum and state takeover would not yield any real changes. He says the district already has its marching orders, from the state appointed distinguished educator’s report.
“We shouldn’t even be debating what we ought to do but who’s going to do it and when. That’s been my frustration, it needs to be a joint effort the whole community working on it. We’ve got the game plan we don’t need to find new ideas they’re right there," Lowengard said.
