Mecklenburg commissioner suggests teachers should be ‘put in jail.’ Really?

Mecklenburg County Commissioner Vilma Leake is known for her splashy — and often misguided — remarks. But her latest comment, which she made at a county budget meeting last week, may be among her worst.

As commissioners received an update on student literacy initiatives, Leake criticized the lack of progress being made on student achievement in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.

“Every parent in this community ought to take out a warrant and have every educator arrested and put in jail for not seeing that their children are not given a quality education, college ready,” Leake said.

We certainly understand Leake’s frustration, which is shared by many within the community. Concern over student outcomes has put CMS and county commissioners at odds. Just last year, commissioners voted to withhold $56 million from CMS until the district released a detailed plan to address achievement gaps in its lowest-performing schools (even though that’s not allowed under state law). Many of these schools are part of Leake’s district.

Student test scores, particularly in reading, have been plummeting and show little sign of improvement, despite efforts that have been awfully slow-moving. And Black and brown students are falling even further behind.

It’s obvious that the district is failing its students, and more needs to be done to help them succeed.

But teachers are not the problem.

Demonizing educators is wrong, no matter who does it. But it’s especially wrong when public officials use their platform to suggest, of all things, that parents should have teachers imprisoned. It’s not constructive, and it can even be harmful, especially for teacher morale.

Teachers everywhere are overworked, underpaid and underappreciated. Schools are underfunded. In fact, CMS is already struggling to retain teachers. More than 1,000 teachers have resigned this school year alone, and it’s not hard to imagine why.

It also doesn’t benefit students to tell parents that teachers are the enemy. Teachers want to see their students succeed, and most of them are doing everything they can to make that happen. Getting students back on track will require parents and teachers to work with, not against, each other. As both a retired teacher and school board member, Leake should know this better than anyone.

After a story from WFAE and tweet from WSOC’s Joe Bruno shed light on Leake’s comments Thursday, several commissioners took to Twitter to denounce her comments and voice their support for teachers.

“She does not represent my views whatsoever on education, teachers, or the education budget. I will continue to advocate for the appropriate funding for education, and will support teachers always,” commissioner Laura Meier, who represents District 5, wrote.

District 4 commissioner Mark Jerrell and District 6 commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell also spoke up, and we’re glad to see them taking a stand. Other commissioners, including chairperson George Dunlap, did not, and that’s disappointing.

Teachers, of course, play a significant role in student success in the classroom. But education equity — and the failure to adequately address it — is much bigger than teachers. It is a systemic issue.

It’s the responsibility of the school board, which has a responsibility to create specific plans to boost student success. It’s the responsibility of the city and county, both of which must put in place programs and policies that ensure children are happy, healthy and safe at home. (The county also allocates — or in some cases, refuses to allocate — funding to the district.) And, finally, it’s the responsibility of the state legislature, which has for decades failed to provide sufficient funding for public schools as dictated by the Leandro plan.

Teachers are just one piece of the puzzle, and they have very little control over institutional factors that leave far too many students behind. Leaders like Leake should understand this. Her inflammatory, insensitive rhetoric won’t do anything to help students. It might, however, make matters worse.