How To Fix A School System

The Board of Education wants money - lots of money - to put up new school buildings in Queens. But what board members fail to realize is that new buildings are not the only way to "chip away" at overcrowding. The school board of Houston, Texas, can prove it.

In 1996, Houstonians refused to vote through a $390 million bond issue, leaving the city with burgeoning schools and no money for new ones.

So Superintendent Rod Paige and his school board tackled the problem from a different angle: reform.

Under Texas law, the public schools are allowed to contract out for services - including education. The board, therefore, contracted with three private schools to teach as many students as needed to prevent crowded conditions at certain Houston schools. And the board contracted with a private company, Community Education Partners, to teach Houston students who have disciplinary or academic problems.

The district's populous schools also found relief in an extensive charter-school law and a program that allows Houston students to attend the district school of their choice, provided there is available space.

Still, more classroom space was badly needed. In response, the Houston board decided to invest their resources in converting empty commercial space to schoolrooms.

But no amount of renovation could alleviate the need for two new high schools. To put up those buildings, the city declare two underdeveloped neighborhoods "tax increment investment zones." This plan operates on the assumption that a new school will attract more commercial and residential growth to the surrounding area. As the zone becomes more desirable, people move in, and that means greater tax revenue. The tax money generated by the presence of the school is then dedicated to paying off the cost of the construction.

These reforms are within the realm of the possible for new York City. But they do require recognition of the fact that doling out money for buildings is just the most obvious, but not the only, way to handle the problem of overcrowded schools.

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