Pubdate: Sun, 30 Aug 2015
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2015 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37

MORE JOBS, BETTER SCHOOLS

Putting city residents with minor criminal records to work on 
Baltimore's $1 billion school renovation project looks like a win-win situation

Ask anyone who lives in Baltimore the two things the city needs most 
and you're likely to get the same answer: Better schools for its 
children and more jobs for its working-age adults. That's why a 
proposal to make sure as many local residents as possible get work 
from the $1 billion plan to rebuild the school system's aging 
infrastructure sounds like a winner all around. Not only will young 
people get the modern school facilities they deserve but thousands of 
the city's unemployed could finally nail down a good job paying decent wages.

The plan, announced last week by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and 
schools CEO Gregory Thornton, calls for easing the city's hiring 
rules that limit the ability of those with criminal records to work 
in schools. Unfortunately, as a legacy of the war on drugs and 
Baltimore's past embrace of zero-tolerance policing, many who are 
most in need of the opportunities this construction spree will 
provide would be ineligible to benefit from it unless those 
restrictions are relaxed.

A recurring obstacle to lowering Baltimore's high unemployment rate 
has been the reluctance of employers to even consider applicants with 
less than spotless criminal records. Even a conviction for minor 
crimes, such as shoplifting or possession of small amounts of 
marijuana, can leave a blot on a person's record that follows them 
for the rest of their lives. Providing some of those people with work 
on the school reconstruction program could help make them more 
attractive to private sector employers in the future.

In Baltimore City last year, 23 percent of arrests made by police 
were for misdemeanor drug charges, the largest single category of 
arrests. Under current rules, none of them could apply for the school 
construction jobs the city will need to fill despite the fact that 
most of them probably pose little danger to society.

The mayor and school CEO's plan would allow city contractors to hire 
people convicted of nonviolent misdemeanor offenses even if they 
occurred fewer than five years ago. That might at first glance seem 
like a relatively small change, but it consider what a difference it 
could make in the lives of the more than 9,300 people arrested for 
minor drug offenses in 2014. It's more than likely that at least some 
of them have the skills to work as carpenters, painters, secretaries 
or file clerks. The city should be doing everything it can to get 
them back on the job and working.

We understand the reluctance many parents may feel to see any 
relaxing of these standards. The safety of children in schools is 
paramount. The system has considered whether to expand the pool to 
also include those with up to two violent misdemeanor convictions, 
but we would argue against it. Given how many people will be affected 
simply by allowing the hiring of those with nonviolent misdemeanor 
convictions, there is no reason to take the risk.

School officials need to consult extensively with parents and city 
officials as they draft policies on what sort of jobs those with 
criminal records might be eligible for, how they will be supervised 
and under what conditions they can be in buildings when children are 
present. Although the plan doesn't need to be approved by either the 
school board or the City Council, officials should consult with both 
bodies extensively.

Using school renovation funds to hire people convicted of minor 
crimes and help them make a fresh start in life fixing up aging 
school buildings looks like a win-win situation for Baltimore. Given 
proper safeguards, the risk to city school children seems minimal 
while the potential rewards are great. If the plan improves the 
quality of education in city schools while lowering the unemployment 
rate it will bring new opportunities to Baltimore's young people as 
well as their elders.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom