Former Wake County Schools Superintendent Tony Tata has been named today the new state Transportation Secretary by Gov.-elect Pat McCrory.
Tata was noted for his logistical skills during his long career in the U.S. Army, where he rose to the rank of brigadier general.
But Tata's critics will also point to the major problems that the school system experienced this school year with the buses. It's one of the factors that the school board's Democratic majority cited when they fired Tata, officially without cause, in September.
Tata had presented a plan, approved by the school board in March, to remove 27 buses from the road to save money. On its own, staff would go on to remove 25 more buses.
The 52 buses were removed the same time that bell schedules were changed at many schools and buses were asked to run an additional 13,200 miles a day to service the choice plan.
Once this school year started, parents of thousands of students complained about buses coming late or not at all. The problems grew so bad that Wake ultimately wound up restoring 43 of the 52 buses.
Tata would on several occasions apologize for the bus problems. In the ensuing fallout, Don Haydon resigned as chief of facilities and operations although board Democrats charged that Tata had made him a scapegoat.
Comments
NC Spin
Sun, 01/06/2013 - 13:28 — shank56Gov. Pat was special guest this morning. I am very impressed with his vision and insight. I hope he is successful. As for Tata, he will be managing a big budget and the Gov says none of his people will work in silos anymore. They will meet together as a team every few weeks . Breath of fresh air.
Give them all a chance. Even the Pope.
Glad for Tata
Sat, 01/05/2013 - 12:23 — Dove314Am glad to see Tata get a substantial position where he will likely do a lot of good. As Snordone commented, it is a shame it is not in education since he seemed to have an interest. But glad to see him rise above "The Real School Board of Wake County" and their nonsense.
did he?
Sat, 01/05/2013 - 14:10 — EBDarcyIf he had a real interest in education, why didn't he get a job with another district? He's certainly not the first Superintendent to be fired after a change in leadership or following some bad decisions, that doesn't make him unemployable. Surely he could have found a job in another district run by a Borad alum. If anything the fact that he took the DOT job shows he's the political hack that he claimed not to be.
but he is a member of cabinet now
Sun, 01/06/2013 - 09:11 — snordonenot a lowly superintendent with limited power over the big picture of education in NC. My guess (and hope) is that when the administration unleashes their education reform agenda mentioned yesterday by McCrory that it will be heavily influenced by cabinet and Tony.
There is more than one way to make things happen, and this just might be the most direct and effective way.
As far as Tony being a political hack, he is not. I can't defend some of the others, their political aspirations were larger than the BOE from the beginning. But Tony was genuinely interested in reforming the system for the benefit of ED children. His candor about the magnet schools and our achievement data was purposeful. His selection of principals was purposeful. Our achievement gains for our most vulnerable children were staggering, double digit gains in one year. His insistence on using data for inclusion in math was real. He would still be our superintendent if it were not for Jim's ego and Kevin's fear of reform.
He is a conservative (I am not), but political views - in my opinion - don't take away from someone who is genuinely of substance. Those who do their job well are above the fray. Tony is above the fray.
Achievement gains
Sun, 01/06/2013 - 12:29 — Solon77At dinner the other night we were talking about how administrators take credit for student achievement gains. My freshman daughter said: How can they do that, I am the one who did the work, not them. My son who is taking AP History said it was a joke. It took 6 weeks after school started to get text books. As far as the overall achievement scores - you are falling into the same trap that you criticized the past administration for. Look behind the numbers to individual schools where the results were mixed at best. While some schools were up, there were nearly as many that were down. Baileywick after receiving small school status and extra funding was down significantly. Why was this glossed over along with all of the other schools that declined ?
We discussed BE before
Sun, 01/06/2013 - 17:18 — snordonemy kids are not there anymore and I don't know what went wrong last year, but teacher turnover is definitely an issue. Several transferred.
Overall the district gain was incremental at best, but the magnets and the R schools made significant gains. They are not where several of our best Title I schools are, but they moved in the right direction for the first time in years. Some of it may be because of the ED Task Force, they will never be able to put that toothpaste back in the tube (math placement, school to prison pipeline) and there will always be scrutiny of how our ED kids do now. This is a huge deal for Wake.
I believe that with Judy running our data department we would have made substantial gains in another few years as a district.
The adults in the room are the only ones who matter, then and now. Administrators and Teachers are the single most important part of a child's education. It is nice that your kids recognize that they work hard, but they have no idea where they would be if they were not in the school they were in. My daughter went to West Millbrook MS before AJ Muttillo - I learned first hand how much a principal matters. It was awful, out of control and full of teachers who were not teaching, and he transformed that school, literally overnight.
Yes, your daughter deserves
Sun, 01/06/2013 - 13:07 — woodstockYes, your daughter deserves credit for the work she, but the issue here is more related to why others do not put in the appropriate amount of work/effort to achieve and how to get them to so. You seem to be ignoring that there are indeed strategies, tactics and policies that administrators can implement that encourage more students to become more engaged.
Generic Response
Sun, 01/06/2013 - 17:38 — Solon77What specific strategies, tactics and policies ?
I'll suggest an answer
Sun, 01/06/2013 - 20:21 — snordoneSpecific strategy: Start with the belief that "Children do not determine the success or failure of a school, the adults in the school do." Choose leaders (such as AJ Muttillo, Elaine Hanzer, Mary Page (retired)) who put effective teachers in place and use data to make decisions.
Tactics: Central office supports teachers and principals, not the other way around.
Policies: Course placement is determined by a child's aptitude, not their zip code or skin color. All children are capable of high academic achievement and it is the system's job to get them there. Effective teachers are rewarded with higher pay, those who are not effective do not stay.
Suggestion
Sun, 01/06/2013 - 21:13 — Solon77Choose leaders - Muttillo was at West Millbrooke well before Tata came on the scene.
Course Placement - Contrary to what many think, I do not believe there was a system wide conspiracy to keep certain segments back. There were to many examples of schools where all students participated in high level math. At the same time there were schools in affluent areas that appeared to be held back. But this movement was well underway before Tata arrived on the scene. With regards to effective teachers rewarded with higher pay - I hope you don't mean like the DC.
What I did see was a poorly executed assignment plan. Two new schools not publicized and under enrolled. Parents forced to wait hours in line to register their kids. An assignment plan that sent kids 20 miles away. A transportation plan that at least doubled ride times and stranded students. Allocation of funds to schools on the basis of who screamed the loudest. Walnut creek not staffed until called out on. I know you are in academia, but in the private sector one would have been fired. Not for any one by itself but for the culmination.
not even close
Mon, 01/07/2013 - 20:31 — snordoneto an understanding of what really happened, but sounds like a good Kevin story to me. I was there, I know exactly what happened and so does Kevin because he was cc'd on the emails. I have them and Del's canned "Thanks for your concern, we will take it under consideration" response.
Yes, AJ was pre-Tata. I used him as an example of excellent leadership. We had several schools with amazing leaders (Hanzer, Page), but Tata knew that leadership is what mattered.
The assignment plan that was released was what happens when you meet the assignment criteria of the BOE majority without the political maneuvering that is common in wake. Honest, true assignment that is computer-driven and based on achievement. Software driven, not politics-driven. Once you factor in politics it looks like 2011 :)
There was a system-wide
Sun, 01/06/2013 - 23:06 — shearertwThere was a system-wide culture that deliberately held ED students back...period. The report Burns tried to hide proved that without a doubt. The Dems then embarrassingly attempted to drag their fight and fought the movement to change the culture. They repeatedly said these students would fail! They owned it! The Rep BOE is the ONLY reasonath placement changed period and Tata implemented that change. The kids didn't fail, they succeeded. The Rep BOE and Tata deserve every single but of that credit because it absolutely would have never happened without them. If it wasn't for Ron M, we would have NEVER seen the report!
I wish I could show you the emails
Mon, 01/07/2013 - 20:26 — snordoneOMG - it was unreal. I really believed that they were pure evil for their lack of understanding and caring.
You can (share them).
Mon, 01/07/2013 - 20:50 — shearertwYou can (share them).
unfortunate that he was not placed in education
Fri, 01/04/2013 - 13:05 — snordonebut he does have experience in reforming a very screwed up large system.
maybe a better fit
Thu, 01/03/2013 - 22:36 — stepbystepThere is certainly great irony in this appointment, as WCPSS continues to mop up the transportation fiasco from the start of the year. Actually, most of the schools still affected seemed resigned to just coping with the craziness for the rest of the year. But Mr. Tata and Mr. McCrory will probably get along quite well with one another.
Sweet!
Thu, 01/03/2013 - 19:29 — woodstockSweet!
Way to go Pat! First Art, now Tony!!
Thu, 01/03/2013 - 17:20 — FSandYOULook out liberals, they're coming for you!
And there are more surprises in store!! Hang on Kevin, Keith, Susan, Jim and what's that other person's name again?
I can never remember that name darn it.
Er...
Thu, 01/03/2013 - 17:44 — bpuli9999John? Deborah? Debra?
Can't Stop
Thu, 01/03/2013 - 17:20 — occum_sharpeLaaauuuggghhhiiinnnggg! Everything will run smoothly every third or fourth day.