Money for Memphis schools. Where?

The Memphis Commerical Appeal is reporting that their school board has pledged to fully fund their school budget and like Nashville it now comes down to where will the money come from?

"It's not clear where that extra $17 million will come from -- $11.5 million for city schools, $5.5 million for county schools -- though.

One possible source would be another 12 cents on the county's property tax rate, which is already higher than it should be and could be bumped by another 14 cents to cover a $20 million debt service payment."

The Commercial Appeal also opined: "The pledge was admirable and courageous. With an extraordinary effort, it might be kept."

And the Metropolitan Nashville PS's effort will also need an extraordinary effort.

I expect the Stand for Children and the Memphis Education Association folks will soon be placing yard signs in Memphis as well.

From my point of view, observing the Memphis contingent on the various education committees in the Tennessee Legislature, I always thought it odd that while the DOE was reporting the Memphis area schools as being some of the worst in the state that their legislative contingent was weilding so much power across the state via their seat on those education committees. Seems to me they should have been helping to correct the problems at home before attempting to "help" other districts across the state.

We're all stakeholders, all the time.

What started as a nice little article by John Branston about the White Station (Memphis) graduation ended with a paragraph I can't help but comment on.

"When I read the thoughtful editorials and columns about improving public education in The Commercial Appeal on Sunday I just shook my head. For the first time in 15 years I was no longer a stakeholder in the Memphis public school system. And the only people who can improve the public schools are the parents and teachers and administrators of the 163,000 students in the city and county schools."

I really believe that we never quit being stakeholders in the public education system. I understand that some of us aren't as intimately involved in the system once our children graduate or move on to another education choice, but the truth is that we still have to pay taxes to support that system and we still will be living in a world of those who've been in the public schools. Making sure that our tax money is spent wisely, that the children are really educated and safe are responsibilities that remain as long as we live in this world. We cannot and must not shirk our responsiblities once our children are out of that public system. Former parents, non-parents, and people of other education choices can provide valuable perspective and insight and have some responsibility to provide their viewpoint to current parents, teachers and administrators. This is a huge task that needs the help of the entire community, not just those currently involved.

I hope Mr. Branston, and others that have found themselves in his situation this spring, will seriously consider how they can contribute to the well-being of the system and the children. One afternoon a week or month as a teacher's aid, reading to children, painting a classroom or caring for the grounds will help keep you involved and be appreciated.

More "Waltzing" in Memphis?

This morning Darrell Phillips, Memphis television reporter and blogger has posted that some on the Memphis School Board are "jittery" about having partaken in an E-Cycle trip in Miami. E-cycle was the bogus company the FBI used in their Tennessee Waltz sting to expose corruption in the Tennessee legislature.

It'll be hard to work on raising that $17 million for schools AND money for a defense fund at the same time. I hope they were honest, but let the housecleaning continue.

Dropping out or getting on with life?

I'm working on a longer essay on education choice but this seemed too timely to wait.

Break from the herd

(Registration is required.)

Bill Gates did it. So did Brad Pitt, Michael Dell and Louis Armstrong.

07:07 PM CDT on Saturday, May 28, 2005

Maverick education reformer JOHN TAYLOR GATTO advises today's ambitions young people to cut loose from convention, drop out of college and tune in to America's greatest export: creativity.

(snip)
It's an equation we've all heard many times: College graduates make more money, therefore they are happier, therefore send more people to college to find better lives for themselves.
(snip)

Not a single press account I read or heard bothered to point out that Mr. Gates himself dropped out of college after a single year. Or the even more provocative detail that he hasn't bothered to go back. Not even $40 billion or so in the bank represents security enough for him to take time off from the office to improve himself?
(snip)

Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, was a dropout, too. He never bothered to go back for a degree either.

Steve Jobs, the big man behind Apple, dropped out of Reed College after one semester. In all the years since, a pressing need for a diploma hasn't surfaced yet. Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple, abandoned college and never looked back.

And whatever Michael Dell of Dell Computer owes his dazzling success and his billions to, it isn't college. He, too, dropped out. Larry Ellison, CEO of Oracle ... you guessed it!

Some measure of the gross disinformation peddled on high can be guessed at if you realize that nobody in the computer business believes that high school or college training has much to do with success in the design or operation of the things.

(snip)
It turns my stomach to say this, but we owe more than we know to our dream team: David Geffen of Dreamworks (flunked out of Brooklyn College), Yoko Ono (dropped out of Sarah Lawrence), Blockbuster founder Wayne Huizenga (logged only three semesters), Ted Turner (kicked out), Bill Murray (dropout), Sharon Stone (dropout), Brad Pitt (dropout) – hey, I could go on until Christmas.
(snip)

Go read the rest. Take a holiday from conformist thought and ruminate on what an education is really for.

Love on TSBA and national committee

Thanks to Simply I for pointing out that Charles Love of our recent "Tennessee Waltz" corruption investigation is not only a member of the Hamilton County School Board but also a member of the Tennessee School Boards Association (TSBA).

Charles Love
Southeast District Director

Charles has served on the Hamilton County board since 1996, serving as vice chairman in 1998 and chairman since 1999. He serves as the Southeast Regional Coordinator on the TLN and has been recently elected as regional representative to the FRN. He is active in the community, serving on various committees. He is the owner of Charles Love and Associates lobbying firm. Charles and his wife, Sandra, have two children.

Article II of the TSBA Code of Ethics:

My Relations to My Community

Section 1. I will endeavor to appraise fairly both the present and future educational needs of the community and to support improvements as finances permit.
Section 2. I will represent at all times the entire school community and refuse to represent special interests or partisan politics. [emphasis added--ed.]
Section 3. I will endeavor to keep the community informed about the progress and needs of the schools.

How can a lobbyist avoid representing 'special interests or partisan politics'? I would have thought his job would immediately disqualify him for service. Instead the TSBA includes the fact in his bio and moves on.

A few links to clarify the acronymns follows.

TLN is the legislative arm of the TSBA.:

The Tennessee Legislative Network (TLN) was created to accomplish TSBA's legislative goals. The network is composed of school board members representing each of the school districts in Tennessee and governed by a board of directors, which is charged with setting TSBA's legislative priorities.

This webpage shows Charles Love as the "Chairman Elect". If I read correctly their next scheduled meeting is June 19th in Gatlinburg.

FRN is part of the National School Board Association's Federal Relations Network according to the TSBA.

TSBA's federal legislative efforts are supported by the Federal Relations Network, or FRN. The FRN was established by the National School Boards Association and consists of board members from each congressional district. Each year TSBA takes part in the NSBA Federal Relations Network Conference, where Tennessee school board members visit the nation's capitol to meet with the state's senators and congressmen to discuss the needs of local school systems.

$40K and a living wage.

This from Education Intellegence Agency via Daryl Cobranchi's blog.

"The National Education Association Representative Assembly will open July 3 in Los Angeles and the union will use the occasion to launch its latest initiative: a campaign to establish a minimum teacher salary of $40,000 nationwide and a "living wage" for education support employees.

Can we agree that what it takes to support body and soul in Tennessee isn't the same as what it takes in New York? Can we agree that there are some unquantifiable benefits to living in Tennessee that some of us value above cash? Can we agree that the taxpayers wallet isn't bottomless? Can we agree that no national organization ought to make policy decisions for our neighborhood? Can we agree that great teachers ought to be given great salaries and others should either be willing to retrain so they can become great teachers or encouraged to find another line of work?

If you have children in the public schools or are a taxpayer wondering where you're money is going, you really should subscribe to Mike Antonucci's weekly reports. It's a quick read about what's going on across the nation with special focus on the unions. Do it soon so you don't miss his insightful and pithy comments about the NEA convention over the July 4th holiday.

"Waltzing" school board member

Hamilton County School Board member Charles Love was missed at last evening's board meeting according to this News Channel 9 (Chattanooga) report.

"The board members sat facing the crowd in their assigned seats.
All were present but one. Charles Love's empty seat confirmed what folks had been hearing all day long.
(snip)
The board can't say what will become of Love's school board seat.
(snip)
The school board says they realize the scandal may hurt their credibility, but they hope and pray the allegations against their fellow member won't prove true. "

Ummm, those'll have to be private prayers, I'm sure.

And from the Knoxville News-Sentinal comes the first person account by Rep. Joe Armstrong of the moment Sen. John Ford was arrested. And also this:

"Armstrong said he has also known "for years" Charles Love, also indicted in the TBI-FBI sting, and had signed on as a co-sponsor at Love's request.

Love, who serves on the Hamilton County Board of Education, has registered as a lobbyist for several years with clients ranging from Memorial Hospital of Chattanooga to Homebuilders of Tennessee, according to Drew Rawlins, director of the Registry of Election Finance."

Here's a .pdf of the charges against Mr. Love courtesy of Nashville's WTVF television.

If true these actions will have an impact on these people, their families and their communities that far exceeds the cheap payoffs made. Corruption is sad, but to sell yourself, your family and your community for so little money is beyond that. What were they thinking?

Sting has education link.

Legislators were arrested this morning in a sting operation conducted by the FBI, TBI and USDOJ. The sting involved a bogus computer recycling company trying to get legislation passed to their benefit.

Along with several legislators one of those arrested was Hamilton County School Board member Charles Love.

From the Tennessean this morning comes this paragraph:

"The bill would have allowed electronic recycling companies to contract with the state to dispose of surplus state computer equipment not claimed by school districts. Newton said it was pushed by E-Cycle Management Inc., an Atlanta-area company, and Charles Love, a Hamilton County school board member and lobbyist."

There were two bills filed this year that may have been used in this sting:

*HB0037 by *Newton, *Jones U, *Sargent, *Bowers, *Miller L, *Stanley, *Armstrong.
Surplus Property - Broadens types of surplus computer and electronic equipment available to LEAs; requires all surplus computer and electronic equipment not disposed to LEAs to be disposed of by a qualified electronic recycling company by negotiated contract for sale to be disposed of out of state. - Amends TCA Title 12, Chapter 2. (This bill was withdrawn just yesterday.)

and

HB0631 by *Jones U. (*SB0028 by *Ford.)
Surplus Property - Provides an alternative method for disposing of certain surplus computer and electronic equipment. - Amends TCA Title 12, Chapter 2.

Oddly, in this morning's Chattanooga times-Free Press there is is this:

School board member Love files for bankruptcy
Hamilton County Board of Education member Charles Love said Wednesday he filed for bankruptcy last week. BY ASHLEY ROWLAND AND MICHAEL A. WEBER STAFF WRITERS

Unfortunately, I can't get the Times-Free Press to allow me to read the article.

There is BIG money in education, as this sting so clearly proves.

And so the battle begins.

The Tennessean's article titled "Schools feel insulted" is one thing but the photo of Dr. Pedro Garcia, the Director of Schools is surely insulting. Very tabloid. Wonder how long they had to wait to get that precise look?

But back to the important things. The first half of the article is whining about how there won't be enough money for pay and benefits. The children are mentioned in the article, by Mayor Purcell, in the article's paragraph 16.

"School board Chairwoman Pam Garrett was indignant that Purcell singled out schools among city services for criticism."

Well, Ms. Garrett, maybe schools were singled out because schools make up so much of the budget. Maybe because some of those school proponents were running around saying "education is the most important thing we do as a community". The problem with pushing yourself to the front of the line is, you're going to be the first to get the sharp words.

And so those public school proponents, wrapping themselves in 'it's for the children" are already gearing up for the fight over the contents of the taxpayer's wallet.

"He further placed responsibility on school officials to help rally support for a sales tax increase saying it will give them "the opportunity to prove to us all they can and will deliver for our children."' Nashville City Paper

So instead of laying out the facts to the taxpayers, voters and parents of how well the system has utilized the resources we've given them and what their plan of action is for the future, the local Stand for Children organization has already e-mailed folks urging them to "come and write pre-addressed postcards to Metro Council members and make a few phone calls to our database of community members interested in taking action. You can also pick up your yard sign and bumper sticker while you are here." They're even offering free pizza and childcare (up to age 10). But if you can't make those meetings you can pick up yard signs and bumper stickers at the Metro Nashville Education Association (teacher's union) headquarters.

I expect they'll be a few outraged letters to the editor about how some of these yard signs are disappearing and being defaced. Welcome to politics in Nashville.

Gov. Pre-K poll: last known numbers

An e-mail from a Tennessean reporter got me thinking about that AWOL poll from Governor Bredesen's blog. I checked with some of my 'associates' across the country and it looks like from among them, the last time the poll was seen was just before 2:00 a.m. Sunday 5/15/05. According to a source I trust, you don't have to, the results at that time were:

43% for government pre-K (957 votes)
54% against government pre-K (1180 votes)
3% undecided (48 votes)

And according to my 'sources' the poll was gone by about breakfast time that same Sunday morning.

Nashville Mayor suggests tax hike.

From the Mayor's State of the City address this morning:

"This year the schools completed a comprehensive survey of funding options available for education. They made it clear that they desire more certainty in their funding as well as increased investment. That is why I will recommend that the Metro Council endorse an increase in our local sales tax in the amount of a half cent.

While state law requires only half of these funds be directed to local schools, I will recommend that these funds be directed to two purposes only, and the largest portion be directed permanently to our schools.

This will require a vote of the people of Nashville, which I think will be a very good thing for our city and for our schools. It will give our schools an opportunity to share more broadly what they have accomplished with the investments we have made and it will allow our school system to explain what they can accomplish with future investments.

We all know that the promises and expectations established by the school system and school director three years ago have not been met. That does not mean that we should abandon the 70,000 school students who will end their school year today. But even more certain, we should not abandon those expectations.

This public referendum and the year ahead will give the school board and our director of schools the opportunity to prove to us all that they can and will deliver for our children.

The school board and council can and should decide the date for this referendum, but I think for our schools as well as our children, sooner is better and I hope it can be done in the opening weeks of the coming school year."

There is no 'right' to a summer vacation.

This issue comes up on a regular basis since our society became less agricultural and local economies began to rely on this long summer break for cheap student labor and additional summer caretaking. Our society is so geared toward the public school calendar that any amount of tweaking always causes friction between competing interests.

Here are links to an article in the Nashville City Paper telling us the Nashville school board will hear a local professor on the pros and cons of a balanced calendar which " includes the same number of instructional days — 180 — but disperses them more evenly throughout the school year."

On the mountain side of the state an editorial in the Mountain Press from Sevierville encourages the legislation (HB0625, HB0623) proposed by Rep. Joe McCord (R-Maryville) to create the same school calendar across the state. "McCord has in mind a school term that doesn't start before Aug. 21."

You'll hear the usual outcry from parents whose working routine will be impacted, day cares, summer camps, the tourist industry and other folks providing summer care, activities and diversions. Let's also not forget that summer is also the prime time for overhauling some of those facilities that are heavily used and aging.

A Call for Honesty.

This seems an interesting difference of opinions.

We have Carol Johnson of Memphis saying:

"Given an almost 20 percent dropout rate (as calculated by the Tennessee Department of Education), it is obvious that our schools are not meeting the challenge to effectively educate all students." Commercial Appeal of 5/22/05

and this from Tri-Cities.com

"Tennessee’s graduation rate of 60 percent is well below the national average."
(snip)
"State leaders claim official graduation rates that are much higher – about 89 percent for Tennessee..."

We can always blame fuzzy math, I suppose.

The Tri-Cities.com editorial says that whatever the number we need to rethink "the typical classroom experience" and go "further to keep intelligent but under-motivated students from falling through the cracks."

Be honest about true dropout rates

TriCities.com

May 24, 12:31 AM EDT

Interesting last line from Mr. Huth.

Interesting last line from Eric Huth the Metro Nashville Education Associaton negotiator is provided by the Nashville City Paper on 5/23.

“I think we’re all glad to have it behind us and ready to work together to get a tax increase for the boys and girls of Nashville” Huth said.

This is the top of the article:

Teachers to get raise

By Katharine Mosher, kmosher@nashvillecitypaper.com May 23, 2005

The Metro Nashville Education Association (MNEA) and Board of Education closed negotiations last week settling contract items including salary issues and non-instructional time. Metro schools employees will receive a 3 percent pay raise inclusive of the state raise as long as sufficient local funding is available.

I don't think the mayor checked the Fox 17 poll this morning before his speech.

What kind of tax would you support?
5% Property tax
9% Sales tax
7% Wheel tax
80% None

[Thanks to Ben Cunningham.]

Apparently Mr. Huth knew something we mere citizens had to wait until this morning to hear: Purcell asks property, sales tax hikes By Craig Boerner, May 24, 2000 Posted: May 24, 8:50 a.m. Mayor Bill Purcell today proposed an 84-cent property tax increase and a half-cent sales tax increase to meet the cost of running the city. The majority of the half-cent sales tax increase would go to schools and the rest would be used for tax relief for senior citizens.

"I guess we'll pick her."

Physical Education in schools is the subject of this Nashville City Paper editorial from 5/23/05.

"Right now, Metro schools require two days of physical education a week for grades K-4. P.E. is an elective in middle school. In high school, students are required to take one year of P.E. and one year of lifetime wellness."

(snip)

"The value of physical education classes is they not only teach athletics, but they teach a healthy lifestyle that students can then take into adulthood."

From my point of view PE taught many of us that our self-esteen was going to take a severe hit when it was time to choose up sides, that your otherwise impressive GPA suffers when you aren't able to do 20 laps of the pool or create a modern dance that looks half-way graceful and that the wait in line to get your turn at bat only interrupted your ongoing gossip about whatever clique you weren't in.

In my opinion, there needs to be plenty of wiggle and "outdoor voice" time in elementary schools, every day, a couple of times a day. No young child I've ever met was hardwired to sit quietly in one place for very long. Later on the emphasis should beless on learning a new sport and more on finding the physical activity that the child likes that will lead to maintenance of life-long fitness. Maybe if we retrofit treadmills and stationary bikes with PS2 controllers or book racks we'd make some progress. Wouldn't some love to get that equipment contract! Of course, bringing back neighborhood schools and providing safe sidewalks that children can utilize on their walk to school might work too.

She knows what works.

Sue Johnson, superintendent of Memphis City Schools is quoted in this Commercial Appeal article from 5/22/05. In this article she appears to acknowledge that they know the answer is smaller schools, more individualized instruction and teacher quality. Unfortunately it seems she offers the usual excuse, taxpayers are demanding

"economy of scale" resulting in the closing of existing smaller schools and merging them into larger school organizations. . . .

And she offers her own measuring stick of success:

"The true measure of success is increased high school graduation rates and higher post-secondary enrollment."

I'm sure parents and taxpayers will be glad to hold her accountable to that standard.

Pre-K Post-vote

The Tennessean education writers were very busy putting together a series of eleven articles on Pre-K . Maybe I wasn't paying attention, but shouldn't we have gotten this series before the legislature voted? I'll list the headlines with links to the articles. If you have any interest in reading them do so, or e-mail them to yourself quickly as the Tennessean has recently begun requiring payment for archived stories.

From the Sunday, 5/22/05 edition:

Head Start wonders how it will fit into Tennessee's pre-K plans
Day cares fear losing children to public pre-K
In the long term, Tennessee's pre-K wouldn't depend on lottery proceeds
South may lag in education overall, but it leads in pre-K
Governor: Pre-K gives kids an even chance
Pre-K studies

and from the Monday, 5/23/05 edition:

Agencies must play nice for pre-K plan to work
Pre-K not popular with everyone
Pre-K teachers in short supply, and new program demands more
State's pilot pre-K started small but set high standards
Price tag may limit what areas add pre-K

I sure hope I'm wrong, but I suspect this will go the way of kindergarten. That, too, was just for at-risk children, but now it's universal.

I grieve for all those young children who really need to be at home during those tender years. I'm amazed that the public school system hasn't educated parents to the point that they can pass on fundamental skills to their own children. This isn't rocket science and can be done by parents for the vast majority of children. We should be enabling parents to be their child's first teacher. The suggestion that simple lesson plans for parents to follow should be included in the "Imagination Library" was a great one and should have been tried first. But our education experts know best, or so they tell us.

And so while failing to get some 25% of their charges through a basic high school education, and somehow managing to successfully flip that failure, the educacrats have been rewarded with the care of even younger children. I'll bet you didn't even get one of their yellow "Pre-K Now" mugs, didja? Well, they haven't forgotten you. You will get the bill.

For those of you who'd like to explore alternatives check out http://universalpreschool.com/. From their main page:

"Yet, the demand for child care that stems from the increasing proportion of families that have both parents in the workforce, along with the agenda of special interest groups, have resulted in a national campaign to institutionalize all preschoolers through government mandated and funded "universal preschool." While government "preschool for all" programs may be convenient and profitable for adults, we need to stop and consider, "'What is best for young children?'"

[Added after initial posting]


Folks may also want to check http://www.cato.org/pubs/pas/pa-333es.html

"Public preschool for younger children is irresponsible, given the failure of the public school system to educate the children currently enrolled. The desire to "do something" for young children should be tempered by the facts, and proposals for universal preschool should be rejected."

And I'll repeat the URL for the Tennesse Center for Policy Research's article titled "Hard Lessons Learned: Applying 40 years of government pre-K to benefit Tennesse's children today".

A little help here, please.

My state senator, Joe Haynes and I disagree on a regular basis. Here is another instance.

According to this morning's Nashville City Paper, Sen. Haynes refused to allow an amendment to his bill (SB100) that would require voters to prove their US citizenship. I'm with Sen. Norris, I don't understand what could possibly be the objection to making sure that only citizens get to vote.

“Some of the fears that some of my democratic colleagues and I have are that this will make it difficult for some people to register to vote,” Haynes said. He added he did not believe every person could recall immediately where their birth certificates are.

Um...it's not like elections sneak up on folks and they're caught unaware of the event. I would think that any voter who took this responsibility seriously, would know that an election were coming, have researched the candidates and made sure their registration status was current. It's not that difficult to obtain your birth certificate. I suggest that everyone have a certified copy handy.

And don't we want to make it difficult for 'some people' (non-citizens) to register to vote? While we don't need to make voting unnecessarily difficult, something as basic as making sure only citizens elect our representatives seems an essential foundation to our republic. Proving you're a citizen is a long cry from our history which has required a poll tax be paid or land ownership.

Trying to work it out.

Those of you in Memphis don't want to miss Sen. Mark Norris' (R-Collierville) comments in the Commercial-Appeal this morning regarding the special school district legislation, SB2062.

To whet your appetitie:

The legislation would allow Memphis and Shelby County Schools to establish permanent, fixed boundaries and raise funds beyond those appropriated by Shelby County, subject to legislative approval.

(snip)

Q: Explain exactly how the districts would operate if these proposals are ever approved.

Q: How has Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton's consolidation campaign affected the situation?

Q: How would these changes benefit students in the two school systems?

Q: Where have you found support for this proposal in Memphis?

Where have I heard this before?

MNPS spokesman Woody McMillan is expressing the system's displeasure at the recent Newsweek rankings of schools which I blogged about last Thursday. Apparently, the magazine limited their study to public schools that 'take all comers' and not those that cherry pick students.

[Author Jay] Mathews said in an e-mail that he purposely chose not to include those schools because he wanted to develop a ranking "to honor schools that have done the best job in getting average students into college-level courses. It does not work with schools that have no, or almost no, average students."

It's a hard pill to swallow when your education choice keeps you on the outside, isn't it?