Yesterday I explained the ongoing controversy surrounding the false dropout rates reported by the Houston school district while Bush’s education secretary, Rod Paige, was its superintendent.
It turns out that shortly after I posted something about the so-called Houston “Miracle,” Paige was responding to questions about the situation. (I’m pretty sure it was a coincidence. I’m not arguing that my post influenced Paige’s response — I don’t have enough readers to affect the activities of cabinet secretaries.)
Paige’s reaction, however, was to shrug off the whole thing. That probably won’t work; in fact, it may pique the interest of inquisitive reporters even more.
Speaking to reporters at a breakfast Thursday, Paige said he “doesn’t know the details” about the false reports of Houston’s dropout rates.
“If there are or was some sloppy bookkeeping or some incorrect bookkeeping, that should be corrected,” Paige said.
If Paige was superintendent of the school district, how could he not know about fraudulent dropout rate reports? Indeed, if Paige received the credit for leading the district to such great improvements, then it’s not unreasonable to expect Paige to take some blame now that it’s been proven that the district’s results were not as great as advertised.
Also, this was more than just a “sloppy” clerical error. Schools with dozens of dropouts filed reports that said they had zero dropouts. This isn’t exactly a rounding error; it was an intentional attempt to deceive. If schools were under some pressure to file false reports, the public should know about that. And if Paige was somehow involved, than he shouldn’t be the secretary of education.
The White House, meanwhile, isn’t hinting at any displeasure with Paige, apparently hoping that that this controversy will eventually just fade away like the flap over Paige comments in the spring about supporting schools with an “appreciation for the values of the Christian community.”
“The president believes that Secretary Paige is a strong leader with a critical mission,” White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said yesterday.
Paige may have a critical mission, but right now I think it has less to do with improving education in America and everything to do with saving his job.