"A recent professional audit of the Charlottesville city school system doesn’t seem to be resolving any of the conflicts that have roiled parents, teachers and administrators since the school year began.

Released on November 30, the 155-page audit was performed by Phi Delta Kappa. People had their first chance to comment publicly on the audit on Thursday, December 2, at the school board’s regular meeting at Charlottesville High School.

The audit recommended broad changes to the city school system to deal with the so-called achievement gap, a general performance disparity between black and white students that plagues many school districts across the country.

In Charlottesville, the issue has taken on new urgency because the federal No Child Left Behind program demands all students pass standardized tests before they graduate. New superintendent Scottie Griffin is charged with meeting the NCLB standards amidst criticism that her reforms could turn city schools into “testing mills,” as one speaker said on Thursday. One city elementary school, Clark, has already been sanctioned under NCLB.

Charles Morrill, PTO president at Buford Middle School, praised the report as “the unvarnished truth,” and supported the audit’s call for reorganization.

“I ask that you get your act together and do some of these things,” he said. “Let’s end the incredible waste of money.”

Rick Turner, UVA’s dean of African-American Affairs, who has been a regular outspoken presence at school board meetings lately, said the report proves the achievement gap is not simply related to social and economic factors: “Now we know that for too long the problem has been one of leadership.” Others aren’t so sure.

Five PDK auditors spent four days in September examining the school system, leading some to wonder how such a rapid assessment could be complete or accurate.

“It seemed like a monumental task for five people,” said CHS language teacher Diane Price. “They were in my class for about two minutes.”

Parent Paul Wagner opposed the PDK audit because he believed it heaped all the blame for the achievement gap on the school system.

The achievement gap already exists “at the kindergarten door,” Wagner said. Administrators should “make schools places where every parent wants to send their child,” he said. “If we do that, the achievement gap will take care of itself.”

There will be more chances for people to comment on the audit in the coming weeks; school board members said Thursday they will decide in 2005 which of the audit’s recommendations they will incorporate into the system. The entire audit can be seen at www.ccs.k12.va.us." (John Borgmeyer, C-Ville Weekly, December 7, 2004)