Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed’s school takeover coup was for the city school board one of those "things that goes bump in the night". With a 2:38 a.m. fax last month from Sen. Jeff Piccola to Reed to cement the deal, Reed, by his own hand, put his feet to the fire of changing the school district’s downward spiral.

To do his bidding, Hizzoner will appoint a 5-member board of control. Before he’s even had time to catch up on the sleep he lost to get the deal done, lawyers have mooched into the act. Apparently, there is some confusion over exactly what budgetary powers the board of control versus the elected school board has.

At press time, there were various explanations and hedges on the issue by both sides and a threat by the school board to go to court. Great! More money wasted on court battles. First, we had legal tugs of war over juvenile authorities on premises. Now a legal battle over who has control over the budget of a school so far down in the academic ratings it has been taken over by city government. Don’t you just love it when adults behave more badly than the kids they supervise?

MODE has a few suggested nominations to the 5-member board of control.

Since money is the issue right out of the gate, we nominate Milt Lupos, longtime city and school financial advisor. If the 12 apostles were starting an IPO, they’d call Milt. He’s that honest about what steps ought to be taken and the financial repercussions.

No politics with him. He’s the one who recently had the sad task of telling the feuding school board that their failure to act timely on an $80 million bond issue added $3 million in interest. At the time, school director Francis Haas Jr. asked for a full-scale investigation into the district’s financial and personnel dealings. Apparently, he thought he smelled something funny. The next day, City Council President Richard House said: "We want to find out about some of allegations surfacing regarding school board members getting alleged kickbacks and dealing with contractors…" They need Milt on the board. Besides, he was nominated for a "Dr. Martin Luther King Community Leader Award" so we know he’s sensitive to those who like to play the race card in a game that gambles with children’s lives.

Next, we’d like to suggest a shared nomination between two individuals who should know better. One, the unnamed "lower level" Harrisburg Area Community College employee who last fall sent a racist email message targeting the local school district.

The other is Cumberland Perry Area Vocational Technical School Director Anthony Vicic who recently came under scrutiny from school colleagues for allegedly posting a racist joke on the school e-mail system. They can take turns sitting in classrooms reading aloud to children the alleged contents of their emails — and watch from a ring-side seat the human hurt and pain racism causes.

Fred Clark, former school district athletic director, would make an excellent choice.

A respected member of the community, he isn’t given to crying "racism" over every obstacle or tough choice that needs to be made. He believes in cooperation, communication, and outcomes — something we’re short on right now in the district.

Another shared nomination calls for the appointment of State Rep. Ron Buxton and Harrisburg Education Association president Rich Askey. Both opposed the takeover measure. Usually an avid Reed supporter, Buxton voted against the takeover measure on the insightful grounds that the bill didn’t address the "economic" realities of prolonged poverty as the real the real cause of low performance. Buxton can be given the job of making sure the board of control takes into account poverty and its direct relationship to poor school grades. Askey thought the whole idea excluded teachers. Teachers should never be excluded from educational reform. Include Askey and those he represents.

A controversial element of any collective process is institutional memory. That’s why we think well-known journalist and local historian Paul Beers would make an excellent addition to the board of control. Respected everywhere, Beers would provide discussions with an honest historical perspective and a clearly stated view of the future. He has no axe to grind. He’s seen it all and has all the t-shirts. Beers would add a levelheaded approach to what has evolved into a lopsided playing field.

Finally, if the elected school board blows this chance to act as mature custodians of the public good, I suggest they take a field trip to Market Square almost any day. Look for a guy I call "Governor". He’ll have a well-worn three-piece suit that says he’s seen better days but blown all his chances for success. Another clue to let you know it’s the Guv is his well-chewed cigar butt plucked from the gutter (I’ve seen him pick many.). He’ll ask the school board members for their spare change. Act foolishly now and know that’s where we’ll be finding graduates of the local school district in the not too distant future.