Educational civil rights

Someone's smelling the morning coffee: This from South Carolina:

Today this black Democrat [Sen. Robert Ford] says the new civil-rights struggle is about the quality of instruction in public schools, and that to receive a decent education African-Americans need school choice. He wants the president's help. "We need choice like Obama has. He can send his kids to any school he wants."(WSJ)

And from Tennessee:

Bound by the unit rule, House Democrats killed the [charter schools] bill but Republicans are attempting to resurrect it.

"We have not changed our caucus position. We've asked everyone to hold our positions on that but I don't know if everybody will or not," said [Rep. Mike Turner (D-Nashville) ]. "If somebody breaks, there won't be any horse heads in the bed in the morning. There'll be some teeth gnashing, but there won't be any permanent damage." (Commercial Appeal)

I will, again, encourage the passage of the charter schools bill and would suggest that TEA (Tennessee Education Association) leaders buy dental night guards. Standing in the school house door and keeping children from an educational choice that works because the TEA will lose some members or cannot force charters to be just like the failing public schools they do control is evil. It's not about TEA membership. It's not about paying back campaign markers. It's about the children--remember? Don't make them wait another year to get the education they were promised long ago. They don't have the time to spare. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. A step forward is better than no movement at all. Seriously consider what you would want if these were your children. Vote for expanding charters.

Teacher Union legislative report

Each week during the legislative session the Tennessee Education Association provides an overview of legislation they support and oppose. Don't wait to read these. They haven't archived these in the past.

Choice: Last week's included solid objection to charter and virtual schools along with vouchers and help for private pre-K programs. Obviously they are eager to protect their educational monopoly regardless of whether these options are good for children.

Money for Classrooms--Not: Requiring 65% of the BEP money actually get to the classroom is objectionable to this union because it could impact 'support services'. I hope that teachers on the front line, in those classrooms, (many of whom are union members) go back to this union leadership and remind them that the classroom is where the bulk of this money belongs.

Feeding Children: Further TEA objects to reducing the sales tax on food. These very same union leaders will likely also demand expansion of school breakfast and lunch programs recognizing that some families cannot afford to feed their children and good nutrition is essential to the learning process. But we cannot allow those families that extra 1/2 cent to help them do the job themselves. Please, folks, we're currently running a budget surplus of over $115 million. Money isn't the problem. It's where the money goes that's the biggest problem. Let's leave more at home--the first and best 'support service'.

Lottery Bank of Tennessee:

And they want to carve out their own little lottery niche:

Legislation has been introduced which will provide financial assistance to individuals preparing to be teachers in the areas of mathematics or science. SB 223/HB 450 would require that the Tennessee Student Association Corporation (TSAC) administer a loan-scholarship program for students training to become mathematics or science teachers.

Do we really want the Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (that's student assistance) enabling these fledgling adults to get into debt? Why is a lottery scholarship not sufficient? Oh, yeah, that's right, it's akin to pay for performance.

Gov. Bredesen has already suggested in his State of the State address that lottery funds be used for loans to local school districts. I'll remind you that the excess funds are artificially created by not fully funding scholarships for students.

This session, I will ask the General Assembly to pass legislation to enable us to set up a state-wide bond pool which will give individual school districts access to capital at the lowest possible cost—the lowest possible transaction cost and the lowest possible interest cost. This will particularly help smaller rural districts.

In order to give that pool the credit it needs to borrow as inexpensively as possible, I will ask you to transfer $100 million from the lottery reserves—about a quarter of the total—to this bond pool for use in enhancing credit; getting the best possible bond rating and interest rate.

And the referenced legislation allows TSAC to use funds from sources other than the lottery losings to provide these loans. Do we really want the TSAC to become a banking entity? I don't.

Debt is a dangerous and unforgiving master. The State of Tennessee should not become one of its partners.

Equal Pay for Equal Work?: And don't even talk about tying pay to performance.

It's a sad list.

Quote of the day

Maybe the new Tennessee Education Association president Earl Winman would like a chance to reword this.

He tells educators across the state that schools are reaching out, but too often, "there is a lack of respect for teachers."

"But it takes shared responsibility. We don't blame the police for crime or firefighters for arson," Wiman said. "So why blame teachers for low achievement?" Commercial-Appeal