Braunger was already under attack late last year after a parent brought charges of financial mismanagement against his office. Things only got worse during a meeting last month when parents questioned him about their kids' test scores. Braunger acknowledged that scores at the school are low, but said that's what he would expect from low-income kids. Braunger told WW that he was only citing a statistical truth: Based on the high percentage of Binnsmead kids who qualify for subsidized lunches, the school, located on Southeast 87th Avenue, has more than its share of poor students. And studies clearly show lower scores for schools in less affluent neighborhoods. That may be true, but to the parents of the kids there, it sounded an awful lot like an elitist excuse that are likely to scare concerned parents--regardless of their incomes--out of the neighborhood. Sheri Messinger says she moved her family out of the district to get them away from Braunger. "It doesn't matter whether you make $5 an hour or $50 an hour, your kids deserve a good education," she says. School board member Joseph Tam says he knows people feel that eastside schools get the shaft when it comes to programs and quality of administrators. He plans to look at Binnsmead closely. |
