Stop bickering and give our superintendent a real chance. Our future depends on it. | Kinsella

My father grew up in Dublin, the son of a bus driver, and left school when he was 12. Seeing little opportunity for his future he emigrated to England when he was 15, and eventually found his way to the United States. My mother grew up in Wicklow and finished school when she was 14, despite being a gifted student, and also left Ireland to pursue opportunity.

Why did they leave school so early? Because their families couldn’t afford to send them to secondary school as it was only available as a fee-paying option. The state didn’t think high school was important enough, so the only option was private school or a Christian Brothers Catholic school.

Think about what that means for a desperately underdeveloped country, who only 20 years before had gained its independence and was now attempting to enter the world economic market. Ireland would need a skilled and educated workforce if it wanted to develop from a 19th century agrarian economy into a modern 20th century one that could contribute to the European market’s post-war industrial boom. But with the majority of its population only educated to a primary school level, the future was stark.

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Ireland’s economy and education system was in a state of decline. In the mid-1950s, just 17% of eligible students were enrolled in secondary or vocational schools. For those students actually in secondary school, only 30% of boys and 14% of girls took science as a subject - when only half of the science teachers had a science degree.

The limited opportunity for education in Ireland also contributed significantly to Ireland’s population crisis. Ireland at that time had the distinct honor of being the only European country along with East Germany to have a declining population rate. The 1950s are often referred to as the “lost decade” in Ireland because out of a population of 3 million, Ireland lost more than half a million people to emigration - three of every five children would leave Ireland to find opportunity elsewhere.

And then along came Donogh O’Malley, Ireland’s newly-appointed, Minister for Education. He realized that Ireland’s future was directly linked to the education of its people - without an educated workforce that saw opportunity and a reason to stay in Ireland, the country would continue to hemorrhage its youth and talent and would never be able to take its rightful place amongst the free nations of the world. To state it another way, O’Malley believed that the educational system in its then current form was an existential threat to Ireland’s survival.

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It was a hard rule in Irish politics that ideas for new policy had to be approved by the Finance Minister and the Taoiseach (pronounced tee-shock, the Irish word for Prime Minister), and if it dealt with education it absolutely, positively, had to be run through the Catholic Bishops. O’Malley knew they would never agree with his proposal in the halls of government or the Bishop’s palace, so in September 1966, Donogh O’Malley courageously went out on a limb, held a press conference, and changed Ireland forever. He unilaterally stated that beginning the following year all secondary education would be free, and that all primary school managers and principals should arrange for “adequate sanitation and heating” and send the bill to his department.

O’Malley rightly calculated that the measure would be so popular that both the government and the church would have to fall in line behind the proposal. And fall in line they did, and it changed everything. Those first generations of students to attend secondary school under the new system became the catalyst for the economic miracle that was the “Celtic Tiger” of the 1990s. Having transformed itself practically overnight due to the courage of one politician, Ireland is now recognized as having one of the finest education systems in the world. All because one man understood that education is the key to unlocking a prosperous and opportunity-filled future, and had the courage to make it a reality.

I can’t help but see similarities between Ireland’s journey toward educational success and our own struggles here in Escambia County. As it was in Ireland, the achievement gap in our educational system is an existential threat to our growth and prosperity. Over a half-century ago one person with an aspirational idea took on an entire political and cultural system in order to bring hope and promise where there was none. Once the educational cat was out of the bag, there was no stopping the tide of progress and prosperity. It may have taken a while, but it never would have happened without Donogh O’Malley’s cunning and courage.

If only we could do the same and concentrate on the things that matter instead of the many distractions that have been brought before our school board these past couple of months. It appears there are some who would rather see our school system fail just so they can say that our superintendent is failing, and thus return us to a system that led us to the very difficulties we find ourselves in.

It also appears there are those who would prefer to abrogate their authority and responsibility rather than take the mantle of leadership that has been bestowed upon them by the people. It appears that for some, petty politics and Machiavellian maneuvering are more important than the future of our community and our children. Like O’Malley, we need bold and decisive leadership that is both aspirational and inclusive – inclusive actions like Representative Michelle Salzman’s proposed bill to ensure that qualified military children are afforded the opportunity to attend the school of their choice - not the divisive squabbling we’ve seen that distracts from the core issues at hand.

Most recently, Superintendent Tim Smith called for unity in purpose so that we may all work together toward building a school district that serves each of our students equally. It’s beyond time we stopped our bickering and gave him a real chance. Fortunately we have elected members on the school board who understand that, and for them we should be thankful.

Let’s get serious about education, and let’s get serious about supporting our superintendent. The numbers show that our district has improved under his leadership during a very challenging time. If the school board has legitimate reasons to doubt his effectiveness, then I urge them, in the strongest possible terms, to use the system in place to affect his removal and replacement and not via the nefarious and capricious attempts of these past few months. The people voted for an appointed superintendent so we could take politics out of education, yet there are some who want to inject negative politics back into it. The school board chose Tim Smith. I urge all members of the school board to work together instead of focusing on petty politics and give him the support he needs to close the achievement gap in our schools.

We desperately need aspirational leadership that will lift our school district and allow our teachers, administrators, and students to reach their fullest potential. I know we can do it. West Florida High School is a shining example of what’s possible when we give our teachers the tools they need. As my father said to me when I left for boot camp many years ago, “stay away from complainers.” It’s time some of our school board members stopped complaining and started leading.

Retired U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Kinsella is the former commanding officer of Naval Air Station Pensacola. He is now executive director of the Aylstock, Witkin, Kreis & Overholtz Center for Leadership at the University of West Florida. 

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Escambia County Schools: Petty politics hurting our schools. Kinsella