The Northwest Herald is reporting that only two school districts in McHenry County are running referenda. The two districts that are running referenda only serve a small portion of McHenry County and they are Barrington Community Unit School District 220 and Belvidere Community Unit School District 100.
A big thank you goes out to Ken Book and the rest of District 50 for not running another referendum. Good luck to Steve Miller, Mark Stricker and Ken Book who all deserve to be re-elected because they have managed to control costs and balance the budget while improving student performance in District 50 schools.
As Ken Book reported in the March 27, 2006 edition of the Northwest Herald
"We have tightened our belts and done what the public has asked us to do in terms of balancing the budget."
District 50 has not run a referenda since it seventh defeat of a referenda on April 5th 2005. Despite threats of cancellation of programs if the referenda failed the board has since balanced the budget and reinstated programs.
Quote of the Day
""We have tightened our belts and done what the public has asked us to do in terms of balancing the budget." Ken Book District 50 School Board President.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Saturday, February 17, 2007
A’ for initial assessment:
The following editorial is from the Daily Herald. It would be great if Gov. Blago would appoint the same time of person for the State Board of Education that oversees the K-12 system as well. Bravo to Ms. Hightman who stated “We need to be looking at affordability and accountability, and making sure whatever dollars we’re given are spent well.”
A’ for initial assessment:
At first glance, Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s appointment of Carrie Hightman to head the state’s Board of Higher Education is surprising. After all, Hightman has spent her career as an attorney and telecommunications executive, not an education professional. But the Buffalo Grove resident sure hit the right notes in telling one reporter after her appointment, “We need to be looking at affordability and accountability, and making sure whatever dollars we’re given are spent well.” That assessment — in light of declining state aid and soaring tuition — is right on the money.
Quote of the Day
“We need to be looking at affordability and accountability, and making sure whatever dollars we’re given are spent well.” Carrie Hightman.
A’ for initial assessment:
At first glance, Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s appointment of Carrie Hightman to head the state’s Board of Higher Education is surprising. After all, Hightman has spent her career as an attorney and telecommunications executive, not an education professional. But the Buffalo Grove resident sure hit the right notes in telling one reporter after her appointment, “We need to be looking at affordability and accountability, and making sure whatever dollars we’re given are spent well.” That assessment — in light of declining state aid and soaring tuition — is right on the money.
Quote of the Day
“We need to be looking at affordability and accountability, and making sure whatever dollars we’re given are spent well.” Carrie Hightman.
Friday, February 16, 2007
A new twist in ballot battle
The following piece appeared in the Daily Herald.
Our guess is that the district's electoral board will throw these two candidates off the ballot because they are not part of the tax and spend crowd. If these two individuals were part of the tax and spend crowd they would surely remain on the ballot. A similar incident occurred in a recently passed election where a school board member had their petition passed at a school event and they remained on the ballot. The district's electoral board should do the right thing since the paperwork was filled out wrong by those trying to remove the candidates they should let the voters decide whether or not Groth or Clark should be elected. The board should prove once and for all they want a truly representative board elected in District 300.
A new twist in ballot battle
By Jeffrey Gaunt
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Thursday, February 15, 2007
Turnabout, it seems, is fair play in Community Unit District 300.
A pair of residents are trying to remove two school board candidates from the April ballot for failing to adhere to the letter of state law.
But the objections filed by residents Lisa Ihssen and Silvia Realzola also seem to violate the technical requirements of state statute.
And if the district’s electoral board agrees that the objections don’t conform to state code, the candidates stay on the ballot — whether or not their election paperwork contains errors.
Realzola’s objection cites six specific errors in the election paperwork submitted by candidate John Groth.
For instance, Realzola said, Groth wrote that he’s from Rutland-Dundee Township — which doesn’t exist.
Groth also wrote that District 300 is in Kane County, when it’s also in Cook, DeKalb and McHenry counties, Realzola said.
“Illinois statute says if you’re going to do this, you have to fill out paperwork in a certain manner,” Realzola said Tuesday.
Illinois statute also says the objections have to be filled out in a certain manner.
State election code says, “The objector’s petition … shall state the interest of the objector and shall state what relief is requested of the electoral board.”
Realzola didn’t include her interest in filing the objection.
Her objection states only, “These above mentioned inaccuracies/omissions should be grounds for removing John Groth from the ballot.”
When asked about the omission, Realzola said she does have an interest in the case — even if she didn’t include it on her paperwork.
“Then they can leave him on (the ballot) I guess,” Realzola said. “But I do have an interest. Like I said, I’m a parent. I’ve got four kids in the district. I’m a district voter in Dundee Township.”
There was a similar omission in the objection Ihssen filed against candidate Monica Clark.
Ihssen’s objection states that Clark left her nominating forms at a local restaurant and that no one was present to collect the requisite signatures.
But Ihssen, who did not return calls for comment Monday or Tuesday, also did not include her interest in filing the objection.
And she violated a second requirement of that same law by failing to say what should happen if the electoral board finds in her favor.
Her petition reads, “I believe that a candidate or the circulator of the petition should be present when obtaining petition signatures and I would like to object formally.”
The decision on whether or not to remove Clark and Groth from the April ballot now rests with the three District 300 school board members who form the electoral board: Mary Warren, Susie Kopacz and Anne Miller.
Hearings on the two cases are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the district offices, 300 Cleveland Ave., Carpentersville.
Quote of the Day
"In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards. "
Mark Twain
Our guess is that the district's electoral board will throw these two candidates off the ballot because they are not part of the tax and spend crowd. If these two individuals were part of the tax and spend crowd they would surely remain on the ballot. A similar incident occurred in a recently passed election where a school board member had their petition passed at a school event and they remained on the ballot. The district's electoral board should do the right thing since the paperwork was filled out wrong by those trying to remove the candidates they should let the voters decide whether or not Groth or Clark should be elected. The board should prove once and for all they want a truly representative board elected in District 300.
A new twist in ballot battle
By Jeffrey Gaunt
Daily Herald Staff Writer
Posted Thursday, February 15, 2007
Turnabout, it seems, is fair play in Community Unit District 300.
A pair of residents are trying to remove two school board candidates from the April ballot for failing to adhere to the letter of state law.
But the objections filed by residents Lisa Ihssen and Silvia Realzola also seem to violate the technical requirements of state statute.
And if the district’s electoral board agrees that the objections don’t conform to state code, the candidates stay on the ballot — whether or not their election paperwork contains errors.
Realzola’s objection cites six specific errors in the election paperwork submitted by candidate John Groth.
For instance, Realzola said, Groth wrote that he’s from Rutland-Dundee Township — which doesn’t exist.
Groth also wrote that District 300 is in Kane County, when it’s also in Cook, DeKalb and McHenry counties, Realzola said.
“Illinois statute says if you’re going to do this, you have to fill out paperwork in a certain manner,” Realzola said Tuesday.
Illinois statute also says the objections have to be filled out in a certain manner.
State election code says, “The objector’s petition … shall state the interest of the objector and shall state what relief is requested of the electoral board.”
Realzola didn’t include her interest in filing the objection.
Her objection states only, “These above mentioned inaccuracies/omissions should be grounds for removing John Groth from the ballot.”
When asked about the omission, Realzola said she does have an interest in the case — even if she didn’t include it on her paperwork.
“Then they can leave him on (the ballot) I guess,” Realzola said. “But I do have an interest. Like I said, I’m a parent. I’ve got four kids in the district. I’m a district voter in Dundee Township.”
There was a similar omission in the objection Ihssen filed against candidate Monica Clark.
Ihssen’s objection states that Clark left her nominating forms at a local restaurant and that no one was present to collect the requisite signatures.
But Ihssen, who did not return calls for comment Monday or Tuesday, also did not include her interest in filing the objection.
And she violated a second requirement of that same law by failing to say what should happen if the electoral board finds in her favor.
Her petition reads, “I believe that a candidate or the circulator of the petition should be present when obtaining petition signatures and I would like to object formally.”
The decision on whether or not to remove Clark and Groth from the April ballot now rests with the three District 300 school board members who form the electoral board: Mary Warren, Susie Kopacz and Anne Miller.
Hearings on the two cases are scheduled to start at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the district offices, 300 Cleveland Ave., Carpentersville.
Quote of the Day
"In the first place, God made idiots. That was for practice. Then he made school boards. "
Mark Twain
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Comments on our Blog and Labels
Dear Friends and Readers,
For some reason the settings on our Blog were accidently changed. Comments were set to be moderated. I have since posted those comments that were backed up over the past year. We will make every effort to have comments posted.
Google recently updated its templates for Blogs. I am in the process of placing labels on our previous posts so readers can better search specific topics on our Blog. I will notify you all when the labeling is complete.
Best Regards,
Cathy
For some reason the settings on our Blog were accidently changed. Comments were set to be moderated. I have since posted those comments that were backed up over the past year. We will make every effort to have comments posted.
Google recently updated its templates for Blogs. I am in the process of placing labels on our previous posts so readers can better search specific topics on our Blog. I will notify you all when the labeling is complete.
Best Regards,
Cathy
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
NEA vs. America's Future
Ms. Zettler's posts on the Northwest Herald website
reminded me of the following article in the World Net Daily.
When U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige called the National Education Association a terrorist organization last February, he wasn't as far off the mark as the terrorists said he was. The National Education Association annual convention just concluded, and it is clear the NEA is more harmful to America's future than ever before.
This year's NEA platform reads a bit like a manifesto of a Third World socialist party. It isn't simply the NEA's typical opposition to parental choice, local educational control, charter schools, performance-based teacher salaries, vouchers, religious faith in school, and – since many NEA members pay dues by force of threat, intimidation and coercion – ordered liberty in general.
The NEA opposes those things, but its new platform also reaches into further political extremes that bear no hint of reflection of America's fine teachers. Though the National Education Association – at the local, state and national levels – collects nearly 1 billion dollars in annual dues from members, those members often have no choice about paying dues, nor about the expending of their hard-earned dollars to promote the appalling platform of national union bosses.
Above all else, the NEA is a political organization. According to Forbes magazine, the NEA fields "the largest army of paid political organizers and lobbyists in the U.S., dwarfing the forces of the Republican and Democrat national committees combined." But in one sense, the NEA is the most powerful constituency of the Democratic Party – 95 percent of political expenditures go to the Democrats, and the union enthusiastically endorsed John Kerry at the NEA convention.
How else is the NEA bearing in vain the names of America's teachers? Here are some sample business items and resolutions from their convention:
Feasibility study of NEA coalition with NAACP and National Council of La Raza (The Race) to seek a gargantuan lawsuit "on behalf of the economically poor students of this country."
"Priority" lobbying for the socialistic "establishment of a national, universal health care system."
Support for a New York City communist teacher.
Endorsement of a range of family-planning options for students.
Endorsement of in-state university tuition rates for illegal aliens.
Opposition to Wal-Mart's corporate decisions relating to unions.
Opposition to the Bush tax cuts.
Endorsement of Cesar Chavez National Holiday (Apparently, Labor Day isn't left-wing enough).
At a special banquet, the NEA bestowed its award for Creative Leadership in Human Rights to Kevin Jennings, co-founder and director of the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. Among other radical efforts, GLSEN sponsors an annual day-long interruption of classes in thousands of high schools to protest the "silencing" of homosexuals. The implication is that the NEA endorses GLSEN's efforts to infuse an anti-traditional family agenda into America's schools.
Even more stunning was the NEA reaction to a Department of Education report, released on the eve of the NEA convention, suggesting that 4.5 million students might be victims of sexual misconduct by teachers during their time in school. NEA spokesman Michael Pons dismissed the report, saying it did "more harm than good by creating unjustified alarm and undermining confidence in public schools." In a similar statement in Education Week in March, an NEA spokesman rejected evidence that some teachers were guilty of sexual misconduct like that of the Catholic Church.
Unlike many school districts that responded to the shocking Department of Education study by suggesting that more will be done to prevent abuse and harassment, the NEA is in denial that there are sexual misconduct problems in America's schools. Professor Warren Throckmorton of Grove City College observes, "The nation's largest teachers union is on the defensive."
There isn't space to delve into all the problems with the NEA beyond its recent convention. But the activities of the convention are enough evidence that teachers are without a real voice in the school system. The NEA effectively stifles the diverse wills of professional teachers who want individual career plans instead of obnoxious and expensive dues-funded political agitation by a mass-fueled, agenda-driven socialist union.
The NEA has become America's most noteworthy rip-off. Teachers pay into what they are told is a professional organization for their benefit. Instead, teachers are frequently stuck paying annual dues in the hundreds of dollars for the sake of an extremist political agenda in which they are absolutely voiceless.
For too long, the NEA has done everything it can to take the professionalism out of teaching. If Americans fight back now, at school-board meetings, in state legislatures, at the polls, in every circle of public opinion and public policy in which we can have our say, there just might be hope for the future of America's schools.
reminded me of the following article in the World Net Daily.
When U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige called the National Education Association a terrorist organization last February, he wasn't as far off the mark as the terrorists said he was. The National Education Association annual convention just concluded, and it is clear the NEA is more harmful to America's future than ever before.
This year's NEA platform reads a bit like a manifesto of a Third World socialist party. It isn't simply the NEA's typical opposition to parental choice, local educational control, charter schools, performance-based teacher salaries, vouchers, religious faith in school, and – since many NEA members pay dues by force of threat, intimidation and coercion – ordered liberty in general.
The NEA opposes those things, but its new platform also reaches into further political extremes that bear no hint of reflection of America's fine teachers. Though the National Education Association – at the local, state and national levels – collects nearly 1 billion dollars in annual dues from members, those members often have no choice about paying dues, nor about the expending of their hard-earned dollars to promote the appalling platform of national union bosses.
Above all else, the NEA is a political organization. According to Forbes magazine, the NEA fields "the largest army of paid political organizers and lobbyists in the U.S., dwarfing the forces of the Republican and Democrat national committees combined." But in one sense, the NEA is the most powerful constituency of the Democratic Party – 95 percent of political expenditures go to the Democrats, and the union enthusiastically endorsed John Kerry at the NEA convention.
How else is the NEA bearing in vain the names of America's teachers? Here are some sample business items and resolutions from their convention:
Feasibility study of NEA coalition with NAACP and National Council of La Raza (The Race) to seek a gargantuan lawsuit "on behalf of the economically poor students of this country."
"Priority" lobbying for the socialistic "establishment of a national, universal health care system."
Support for a New York City communist teacher.
Endorsement of a range of family-planning options for students.
Endorsement of in-state university tuition rates for illegal aliens.
Opposition to Wal-Mart's corporate decisions relating to unions.
Opposition to the Bush tax cuts.
Endorsement of Cesar Chavez National Holiday (Apparently, Labor Day isn't left-wing enough).
At a special banquet, the NEA bestowed its award for Creative Leadership in Human Rights to Kevin Jennings, co-founder and director of the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network. Among other radical efforts, GLSEN sponsors an annual day-long interruption of classes in thousands of high schools to protest the "silencing" of homosexuals. The implication is that the NEA endorses GLSEN's efforts to infuse an anti-traditional family agenda into America's schools.
Even more stunning was the NEA reaction to a Department of Education report, released on the eve of the NEA convention, suggesting that 4.5 million students might be victims of sexual misconduct by teachers during their time in school. NEA spokesman Michael Pons dismissed the report, saying it did "more harm than good by creating unjustified alarm and undermining confidence in public schools." In a similar statement in Education Week in March, an NEA spokesman rejected evidence that some teachers were guilty of sexual misconduct like that of the Catholic Church.
Unlike many school districts that responded to the shocking Department of Education study by suggesting that more will be done to prevent abuse and harassment, the NEA is in denial that there are sexual misconduct problems in America's schools. Professor Warren Throckmorton of Grove City College observes, "The nation's largest teachers union is on the defensive."
There isn't space to delve into all the problems with the NEA beyond its recent convention. But the activities of the convention are enough evidence that teachers are without a real voice in the school system. The NEA effectively stifles the diverse wills of professional teachers who want individual career plans instead of obnoxious and expensive dues-funded political agitation by a mass-fueled, agenda-driven socialist union.
The NEA has become America's most noteworthy rip-off. Teachers pay into what they are told is a professional organization for their benefit. Instead, teachers are frequently stuck paying annual dues in the hundreds of dollars for the sake of an extremist political agenda in which they are absolutely voiceless.
For too long, the NEA has done everything it can to take the professionalism out of teaching. If Americans fight back now, at school-board meetings, in state legislatures, at the polls, in every circle of public opinion and public policy in which we can have our say, there just might be hope for the future of America's schools.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Tax swap will shortchange
The following editorial appeared in the Northwest Herald.
After years of endorsing referenda we hear the following from the Northwest Herald Editorial board: "Also, tax swap supporters continue to ignore the fact that there is a huge spending problem in education. Any tax swap plan that ignores the gross inefficiencies in Illinois public education should be a nonstarter." Stop the presses hell must have frozen over and pigs must now fly?
Tax swap will shortchange
A new proposal to fund education in Illinois would shortchange McHenry and Kane counties.
Some lawmakers want to raise the state income tax by 2 percent, while decreasing property taxes. The plan also would impose a sales tax on services such as hair cuts and lawn care. This is not the first such tax swap plan to be proposed. And like the others, it has all the earmarks of a shell game.
The biggest problem with such proposals always has been that they do not provide enough property tax relief. The result is that areas with higher incomes, such as McHenry and Kane counties, end up paying more in taxes.
State Rep. Jack Franks, D-Woodstock, said McHenry County would end up paying $97 million more in taxes if the proposal became law. That’s not acceptable.
Also, tax swap supporters continue to ignore the fact that there is a huge spending problem in education. Any tax swap plan that ignores the gross inefficiencies in Illinois public education should be a nonstarter.
Franks, who is opposed to the tax swap plan, has raised one potential change that should be considered: Countywide school districts. Illinois is littered with tiny school districts that employ entire administrations to oversee paltry enrollments for one or two schools.
“We could have more efficiency and get rid of a lot of administration,” Franks correctly observed.
Many people agree that relying on property taxes is not the best way to fund education in Illinois.
But any talk of reform must be all inclusive. The goal cannot simply be to boost revenue for schools at the expense of taxpayers without taking a long, hard look at how schools are run and how existing tax dollars are spent.
The elimination of wasteful spending must be part of the discussion.
Unfortunately, we keep getting these tax swap plans that simply attempt to collect more tax money and soak suburban taxpayers for the benefit of Chicago.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Utah lawmakers OK vouchers for all public school kids
The following piece appears on the CNN website.
Utah lawmakers OK vouchers for all public school kids
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- A divided Utah Legislature approved one of the nation's broadest voucher programs Friday, allotting up to $3,000 for any public school student to put toward private school tuition.
Voucher programs in the handful of other states that have them generally are aimed at poor families or students attending schools that have poor academic records. There will be no such restrictions in Utah, which has the largest class sizes in the country and until now has spent less per student than any other state.
The Senate approved the bill 19-10 on Friday, a week after the House endorsed it by a single vote, 38-37. Both chambers are controlled by Republicans. Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican whose children attend public schools, has said he will sign the bill into law.
The vouchers will be open to any of Utah's 512,000 public school students. The amount will depend on family income, but even affluent families would be eligible for at least $500 per child. Students already in private schools would not be eligible.
To view the whole story visit the CNN website.
Quote of the day.
“What is needed in America is a voucher of substantial size available to all students, and free of excessive regulations”
— Milton Friedman
Utah lawmakers OK vouchers for all public school kids
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (AP) -- A divided Utah Legislature approved one of the nation's broadest voucher programs Friday, allotting up to $3,000 for any public school student to put toward private school tuition.
Voucher programs in the handful of other states that have them generally are aimed at poor families or students attending schools that have poor academic records. There will be no such restrictions in Utah, which has the largest class sizes in the country and until now has spent less per student than any other state.
The Senate approved the bill 19-10 on Friday, a week after the House endorsed it by a single vote, 38-37. Both chambers are controlled by Republicans. Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican whose children attend public schools, has said he will sign the bill into law.
The vouchers will be open to any of Utah's 512,000 public school students. The amount will depend on family income, but even affluent families would be eligible for at least $500 per child. Students already in private schools would not be eligible.
To view the whole story visit the CNN website.
Quote of the day.
“What is needed in America is a voucher of substantial size available to all students, and free of excessive regulations”
— Milton Friedman
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Watch your pocketbooks - Coalition offers plan to raise taxes to help schools, pensions
A 67% increase in your income taxes looks to be on its way. The following story is posted on the Students First website.
Coalition offers plan to raise taxes to help schools, pensions
2/9/2007
Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A coalition of Illinois lawmakers and interest groups tried to jumpstart debate over school funding Thursday by introducing a plan to raise state taxes.
They want to raise income taxes by two percentage points, to 5 percent, and impose a new sales tax on services, such as hair cuts or lawn care. Those increases would be partly offset by cuts in property taxes and income tax breaks for the poor.
Supporters said only the top 40 percent of Illinois taxpayers would see any net increase.
They estimate the plan would generate $5 billion that could be used to increase school funding and shore up state pension systems.
Similar tax plans have been discussed before without generating enough legislative support to pass. And teachers, parents, lawmakers and business groups have complained for decades about the school-funding system, to no avail.
But the critics hope this year will be different.
''I think the political will is there,'' said the sponsor, Sen. James Meeks, D-Chicago.
Lawmakers won't have to face the voters again for nearly two years. Democrats have a larger majority than ever in the Legislature. State finances are in disarray, removing any hope of getting significantly more school money through normal channels. Supporters have spent years discussing a ''tax swap'' and building support for the concept.
The biggest hurdle could be Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who opposes a tax increase and early in his administration ruled out expanding sales taxes to cover services.
Blagojevich has suggested privatizing the state lottery to raise money for schools.
But that would generate nothing for government pension systems, which are billions of dollars short of the money they'll eventually need to pay retirees.
Meeks predicted supporters would be able to find enough votes to override any veto.
He was joined at a Statehouse news conference by the Illinois Federation of Teachers, Voices for Illinois Children, several Urban Leagues chapters, the A-plus Illinois Coalition and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Coalition offers plan to raise taxes to help schools, pensions
2/9/2007
Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - A coalition of Illinois lawmakers and interest groups tried to jumpstart debate over school funding Thursday by introducing a plan to raise state taxes.
They want to raise income taxes by two percentage points, to 5 percent, and impose a new sales tax on services, such as hair cuts or lawn care. Those increases would be partly offset by cuts in property taxes and income tax breaks for the poor.
Supporters said only the top 40 percent of Illinois taxpayers would see any net increase.
They estimate the plan would generate $5 billion that could be used to increase school funding and shore up state pension systems.
Similar tax plans have been discussed before without generating enough legislative support to pass. And teachers, parents, lawmakers and business groups have complained for decades about the school-funding system, to no avail.
But the critics hope this year will be different.
''I think the political will is there,'' said the sponsor, Sen. James Meeks, D-Chicago.
Lawmakers won't have to face the voters again for nearly two years. Democrats have a larger majority than ever in the Legislature. State finances are in disarray, removing any hope of getting significantly more school money through normal channels. Supporters have spent years discussing a ''tax swap'' and building support for the concept.
The biggest hurdle could be Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who opposes a tax increase and early in his administration ruled out expanding sales taxes to cover services.
Blagojevich has suggested privatizing the state lottery to raise money for schools.
But that would generate nothing for government pension systems, which are billions of dollars short of the money they'll eventually need to pay retirees.
Meeks predicted supporters would be able to find enough votes to override any veto.
He was joined at a Statehouse news conference by the Illinois Federation of Teachers, Voices for Illinois Children, several Urban Leagues chapters, the A-plus Illinois Coalition and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
German Homeschooled Child Sentenced to a Child Psychiatry Unit
The following letter was sent to us by our friends at Home School Legal Defense Association. Please take a the time to write a letter if you have the time.
February 5, 2007
HSLDA--German Homeschooled Child Sentenced to a Child Psychiatry Unit
Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:
The situation for homeschoolers in Germany is getting worse each week. Just last Thursday, a 17-year-old homeschooled girl was forcibly removed from her parent's custody by over 15 police officers. The homeschooled girl has been placed in the child psychiatry unit of the Nuremberg clinic.
Homeschooling is not legal in Germany. There are over 40 cases currently in court or being appealed. Christian families are fleeing Germany for safety in nearby countries. The unconscionable treatment of sincere and faithful Christian homeschool families is a sad legacy from Germany's past. Homeschooling was first banned under Adolf Hitler, and that ban is still enforced today.
Many families who have had their children forcibly taken from their home each day and taken to government school have since fled Germany, but there are still some homeschoolers. The latest incident involves 17-year-old Melissa Busekros, the girl sent to the Nuremberg psychiatry unit. What is being done to this sensitive girl--just to set an example of enforcing the compulsory schooling at all costs--is reprehensible and causing trauma to unassuming and lovable Melissa.
In the summer of 2005, when Melissa was 15, she was told she would have to repeat the seventh grade at the government school because she was failing math and Latin. She had good grades in the rest of her classes, so her parents tutored her at home for those two subjects. When the school officials found out they were angry and then expelled Melissa, so the family began to homeschool full time.
However, the Youth Welfare office then took the family to court because they were homeschooling. Then, on Tuesday, January 30, 2007, social workers and police officers came to the Busekros home and forcibly took Melissa to the child psychiatric unit where she was questioned for four hours before she was returned home. Then two days later, 15 police officers and social workers came to the Busekros home and took Melissa away from her parents by force and placed her in the child psychiatric unit.
According to Melissa's father, Hubert Busekros, this treatment was justified by the psychiatrist's finding two days previously that Melissa was supposedly developmentally delayed by one year and that she suffered from school phobia.
Nevertheless, one organization concerned with education expressed outrage at the treatment of Melissa Busekros.
"The Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit [the Network for Freedom of Education] condemns this inconsiderate and totally incommensurate behavior on the part of the officials involved and demands that they give Melissa her freedom and return her to her family immediately," the group was quoted in an article on its website. To view the site, as well as more information and a photograph of the Busekros family, go to http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3697 .
ACTION
We ask you to take a moment and do two things: First, call or email the German Embassy and give them this message:
"We are shocked to hear of the Busekros' homeschooled daughter Melissa being removed from the custody of her parents and being placed in a child psychiatric unit. This is an outrage that hearkens back to the Nazi era. We cannot believe a free nation would put a homeschooled child in a psychiatric ward for 'school phobia.' The attack on the
homeschool families throughout Germany must stop."
The German Embassy can be contacted at:
Dr. Klaus Scharioth
Ambassador
German Embassy
4645 Reservoir Road NW
Washington, DC, 20007-1998
(202) 298-4000
The embassy can be emailed from its website: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3696 .
Second, pray for the German situation. Only God can change the situation for homeschoolers in Germany. Attempts by German homeschoolers to organize or to change the laws through court continue to be lost, but with God all things are possible. We ask that you cry out for the German homeschool families.
BACKGROUND
German parents have been fighting for the right to homeschool for the last seven or more years. However, all efforts have failed in the face of the stubborn German government and their official response that they cannot "allow a counterculture to exist."
We believe the hope for Germany will be via the international pressure bearing down so that they abandon their witch-hunt after homeschoolers and their terrible treatment of these innocent families.
Homeschoolers remaining in Germany are hoping to legalize homeschooling in one state and thereby make a safe-haven for
homeschoolers. However, the German homeschoolers are so few and the attacks so intense that it is hard to make any progress in this area.
If you wish to assist the Germans in their struggle for homeschool freedom, or with many other struggling countries, you can donate to HSLDA's international fund via the Home School Foundation at http://www.homeschoolfoundation.org/ .
Your donation will be used to meet the homeschooling needs in Germany. After meeting the known homeschooling needs in this country, if there are remaining funds, this money will be transferred to the Foundation's International Fund to meet homeschooling needs in other countries.
Thank you for standing with these families and taking a moment to assist them.
Sincerely,
Christopher J. Klicka
HSLDA Senior Counsel
Director of State and International Relations
February 5, 2007
HSLDA--German Homeschooled Child Sentenced to a Child Psychiatry Unit
Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:
The situation for homeschoolers in Germany is getting worse each week. Just last Thursday, a 17-year-old homeschooled girl was forcibly removed from her parent's custody by over 15 police officers. The homeschooled girl has been placed in the child psychiatry unit of the Nuremberg clinic.
Homeschooling is not legal in Germany. There are over 40 cases currently in court or being appealed. Christian families are fleeing Germany for safety in nearby countries. The unconscionable treatment of sincere and faithful Christian homeschool families is a sad legacy from Germany's past. Homeschooling was first banned under Adolf Hitler, and that ban is still enforced today.
Many families who have had their children forcibly taken from their home each day and taken to government school have since fled Germany, but there are still some homeschoolers. The latest incident involves 17-year-old Melissa Busekros, the girl sent to the Nuremberg psychiatry unit. What is being done to this sensitive girl--just to set an example of enforcing the compulsory schooling at all costs--is reprehensible and causing trauma to unassuming and lovable Melissa.
In the summer of 2005, when Melissa was 15, she was told she would have to repeat the seventh grade at the government school because she was failing math and Latin. She had good grades in the rest of her classes, so her parents tutored her at home for those two subjects. When the school officials found out they were angry and then expelled Melissa, so the family began to homeschool full time.
However, the Youth Welfare office then took the family to court because they were homeschooling. Then, on Tuesday, January 30, 2007, social workers and police officers came to the Busekros home and forcibly took Melissa to the child psychiatric unit where she was questioned for four hours before she was returned home. Then two days later, 15 police officers and social workers came to the Busekros home and took Melissa away from her parents by force and placed her in the child psychiatric unit.
According to Melissa's father, Hubert Busekros, this treatment was justified by the psychiatrist's finding two days previously that Melissa was supposedly developmentally delayed by one year and that she suffered from school phobia.
Nevertheless, one organization concerned with education expressed outrage at the treatment of Melissa Busekros.
"The Netzwerk Bildungsfreiheit [the Network for Freedom of Education] condemns this inconsiderate and totally incommensurate behavior on the part of the officials involved and demands that they give Melissa her freedom and return her to her family immediately," the group was quoted in an article on its website. To view the site, as well as more information and a photograph of the Busekros family, go to http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3697 .
ACTION
We ask you to take a moment and do two things: First, call or email the German Embassy and give them this message:
"We are shocked to hear of the Busekros' homeschooled daughter Melissa being removed from the custody of her parents and being placed in a child psychiatric unit. This is an outrage that hearkens back to the Nazi era. We cannot believe a free nation would put a homeschooled child in a psychiatric ward for 'school phobia.' The attack on the
homeschool families throughout Germany must stop."
The German Embassy can be contacted at:
Dr. Klaus Scharioth
Ambassador
German Embassy
4645 Reservoir Road NW
Washington, DC, 20007-1998
(202) 298-4000
The embassy can be emailed from its website: http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=3696 .
Second, pray for the German situation. Only God can change the situation for homeschoolers in Germany. Attempts by German homeschoolers to organize or to change the laws through court continue to be lost, but with God all things are possible. We ask that you cry out for the German homeschool families.
BACKGROUND
German parents have been fighting for the right to homeschool for the last seven or more years. However, all efforts have failed in the face of the stubborn German government and their official response that they cannot "allow a counterculture to exist."
We believe the hope for Germany will be via the international pressure bearing down so that they abandon their witch-hunt after homeschoolers and their terrible treatment of these innocent families.
Homeschoolers remaining in Germany are hoping to legalize homeschooling in one state and thereby make a safe-haven for
homeschoolers. However, the German homeschoolers are so few and the attacks so intense that it is hard to make any progress in this area.
If you wish to assist the Germans in their struggle for homeschool freedom, or with many other struggling countries, you can donate to HSLDA's international fund via the Home School Foundation at http://www.homeschoolfoundation.org/ .
Your donation will be used to meet the homeschooling needs in Germany. After meeting the known homeschooling needs in this country, if there are remaining funds, this money will be transferred to the Foundation's International Fund to meet homeschooling needs in other countries.
Thank you for standing with these families and taking a moment to assist them.
Sincerely,
Christopher J. Klicka
HSLDA Senior Counsel
Director of State and International Relations
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Valedictorian Complains of ‘Hollow’ Public School Education
This summary is not available. Please
click here to view the post.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
TEA's check register now online! Texas leads the way in public education financial transparency
The following is from Peyton Wolcott's Website.
" You have no idea how much pleasure it gives me as a native Texan to be able to write this headline.
After toiling in the grassroots education reform vineyards as a volunteer for many years, suddenly late last
September a light bulb went off and I realized that many of our public records issues could be addressed by a very simple remedy: School districts could post their check registers online.
Thus of a simple remedy was born a very simple project, The National School District Honor Roll, honoring those
districts posting their check registers online. Texas Governor Rick Perry (left) with Texas Commissioner of Education Shirley Neeley and Deputy Commissioner Robert Scott
Increased transparency: clearly an idea whose time has come. Responding to questions earlier today regarding the
Texas Education Agency's decision to post its check register online this week (link below right in red box) in conjunction with the governor's press release today (below right, grey box) deputy TEA commissioner Robert Scott pointed out that increased transparency was the governor's initiative. "It's something he feels very strongly about, Scott said. "We at TEAwholeheartedly agree."
To view the rest of the story click here.
The following press release from the Texas Governor is also on Peyton Wolcott's website.
Gov. Perry's press release
"Texans deserve a budget that make sense. Perry today offered budget reform proposals that he says are meant to promote
fiscal responsibility and transparency in state government. The list includes....requiring all Texas agencies to publish expenditures online in a clear and consistent format. Perry says Texas has a record budget surplus, so it's time to make one-time payments to reconcile past accoun- ting maneuvers and accurately balance the budget. The governor also
says--starting today-- expenditures made by his office will be available to view online.
DATE: 01/31/07
Quote of the Day
"Superintendents and school boards would have to be willing to be perceived as being anti-open government and anti-
transparency to turn down your request that they post their check registers online."
Peyton Wolcott
" You have no idea how much pleasure it gives me as a native Texan to be able to write this headline.
After toiling in the grassroots education reform vineyards as a volunteer for many years, suddenly late last
September a light bulb went off and I realized that many of our public records issues could be addressed by a very simple remedy: School districts could post their check registers online.
Thus of a simple remedy was born a very simple project, The National School District Honor Roll, honoring those
districts posting their check registers online. Texas Governor Rick Perry (left) with Texas Commissioner of Education Shirley Neeley and Deputy Commissioner Robert Scott
Increased transparency: clearly an idea whose time has come. Responding to questions earlier today regarding the
Texas Education Agency's decision to post its check register online this week (link below right in red box) in conjunction with the governor's press release today (below right, grey box) deputy TEA commissioner Robert Scott pointed out that increased transparency was the governor's initiative. "It's something he feels very strongly about, Scott said. "We at TEAwholeheartedly agree."
To view the rest of the story click here.
The following press release from the Texas Governor is also on Peyton Wolcott's website.
Gov. Perry's press release
"Texans deserve a budget that make sense. Perry today offered budget reform proposals that he says are meant to promote
fiscal responsibility and transparency in state government. The list includes....requiring all Texas agencies to publish expenditures online in a clear and consistent format. Perry says Texas has a record budget surplus, so it's time to make one-time payments to reconcile past accoun- ting maneuvers and accurately balance the budget. The governor also
says--starting today-- expenditures made by his office will be available to view online.
DATE: 01/31/07
Quote of the Day
"Superintendents and school boards would have to be willing to be perceived as being anti-open government and anti-
transparency to turn down your request that they post their check registers online."
Peyton Wolcott
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Utah House passes universal school choice - Milton Friedman’s vision is one step closer to victory
The following press release was sent out by the Milton & Rose D. Friedman Foundation. New Hampshire must define an "adequate education" by this summer. This is a perfect opportunity for our legislators to include universal school choice for all students. School choice will not only improve the quality of education but also reduce the costs of education.
Utah House passes universal school choice
Milton Friedman’s vision is one step closer to victory
INDIANAPOLIS—Today, the Utah House passed, by a vote of 38 to 37, what could become the nation’s first ever universal school voucher program. The legislation, House Bill 148, would allow every family in the state to have a choice in their child’s education and would become the first program to achieve Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman’s vision for universal school choice.
“ Utah is getting to the core of what education is all about — learning should be tailored to each student,” said Elisa Peterson, executive director of the Salt Lake City-based Parents for Choice in Education, which has led the local school choice effort. “ Utah parents want the freedom to choose education based on their child’s unique needs.”
HB 148, spearheaded by the tremendous leadership of Speaker Greg Curtis and bill sponsor Rep. Steve Urquhart, would establish the “Parent Choice in Education Act,” that would provide every Utah parent with school-aged children a voucher worth $500 to $3,000 that could be used at any eligible private school. Children currently enrolled in private school who meet the eligibility for free and reduced price lunch would also qualify for the voucher. The voucher amount will based on a families’ annual income.
"Utah's children are smiling today...and somewhere so is Dr. Milton Friedman,” said Peterson. “How fitting that a bill giving choice to all of Utah's children could be passed in the same week that Dr. Friedman was honored."
On Monday, Milton Friedman, who passed away last November at the age of 94, was honored in cities around the country including Chicago, New York and San Francisco. Because of his 1955 essay on the role of government in education, Friedman is widely recognized as the father of the school voucher movement.
"This is the biggest step that has been taken toward achieving Milton Friedman’s dream of liberating children so they can reach their full potential,” said Patrick Byrne, president and CEO of Utah-based Overstock.com and Friedman Foundation board member. “This is the greatest social issue facing our country.”
HB 148 will now be sent on to the Utah Senate. In previous years, broad-based school choice programs have received much support in the Senate. Successful passage there would send the bill to Gov. John Huntsman, Jr., who signed the state’s special needs voucher bill in 2005.
“The victory today proves that in the end freedom always trumps fear,” said Robert C. Enlow, executive director and COO for the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation. “Over the past six years, we have been honored to work with so many dedicated Utah legislators and local leaders. Their passion for educational freedom is what has made this possible.”
-30-
The Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation, dubbed "the nation's leading voucher advocates" by the Wall Street Journal, is a non-profit organization established in 1996. The origins of the foundation lie in the Friedmans' long-standing concern about the serious deficiencies in America's elementary and secondary public schools. The best way to improve the quality of education, they believe, is to enable all parents with the freedom to choose the schools that their children attend. The Friedman Foundation builds upon this vision, clarifies its meaning to the public and amplifies the national call for true education reform through school choice.
For more information on school choice in Illinois we recommend the Heartland Institute
and
The Champion.org.
and
"A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. "
Milton Friedman
Utah House passes universal school choice
Milton Friedman’s vision is one step closer to victory
INDIANAPOLIS—Today, the Utah House passed, by a vote of 38 to 37, what could become the nation’s first ever universal school voucher program. The legislation, House Bill 148, would allow every family in the state to have a choice in their child’s education and would become the first program to achieve Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman’s vision for universal school choice.
“ Utah is getting to the core of what education is all about — learning should be tailored to each student,” said Elisa Peterson, executive director of the Salt Lake City-based Parents for Choice in Education, which has led the local school choice effort. “ Utah parents want the freedom to choose education based on their child’s unique needs.”
HB 148, spearheaded by the tremendous leadership of Speaker Greg Curtis and bill sponsor Rep. Steve Urquhart, would establish the “Parent Choice in Education Act,” that would provide every Utah parent with school-aged children a voucher worth $500 to $3,000 that could be used at any eligible private school. Children currently enrolled in private school who meet the eligibility for free and reduced price lunch would also qualify for the voucher. The voucher amount will based on a families’ annual income.
"Utah's children are smiling today...and somewhere so is Dr. Milton Friedman,” said Peterson. “How fitting that a bill giving choice to all of Utah's children could be passed in the same week that Dr. Friedman was honored."
On Monday, Milton Friedman, who passed away last November at the age of 94, was honored in cities around the country including Chicago, New York and San Francisco. Because of his 1955 essay on the role of government in education, Friedman is widely recognized as the father of the school voucher movement.
"This is the biggest step that has been taken toward achieving Milton Friedman’s dream of liberating children so they can reach their full potential,” said Patrick Byrne, president and CEO of Utah-based Overstock.com and Friedman Foundation board member. “This is the greatest social issue facing our country.”
HB 148 will now be sent on to the Utah Senate. In previous years, broad-based school choice programs have received much support in the Senate. Successful passage there would send the bill to Gov. John Huntsman, Jr., who signed the state’s special needs voucher bill in 2005.
“The victory today proves that in the end freedom always trumps fear,” said Robert C. Enlow, executive director and COO for the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation. “Over the past six years, we have been honored to work with so many dedicated Utah legislators and local leaders. Their passion for educational freedom is what has made this possible.”
-30-
The Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation, dubbed "the nation's leading voucher advocates" by the Wall Street Journal, is a non-profit organization established in 1996. The origins of the foundation lie in the Friedmans' long-standing concern about the serious deficiencies in America's elementary and secondary public schools. The best way to improve the quality of education, they believe, is to enable all parents with the freedom to choose the schools that their children attend. The Friedman Foundation builds upon this vision, clarifies its meaning to the public and amplifies the national call for true education reform through school choice.
For more information on school choice in Illinois we recommend the Heartland Institute
and
The Champion.org.
and
"A major source of objection to a free economy is precisely that group thinks they ought to want. Underlying most arguments against the free market is a lack of belief in freedom itself. "
Milton Friedman
Friday, February 02, 2007
$34.06 an Hour That's how much the average public school teachers makes. Is that "underpaid"?
The following article appeared in the Wall Street Journal.
No commentary needed the article speaks for itself.
$34.06 an Hour
That's how much the average public school teachers makes. Is that "underpaid"?
BY JAY P. GREENE AND MARCUS A. WINTERS
Friday, February 2, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST
Who, on average, is better paid--public school teachers or architects? How about teachers or economists? You might be surprised to learn that public school teachers are better paid than these and many other professionals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public school teachers earned $34.06 per hour in 2005, 36% more than the hourly wage of the average white-collar worker and 11% more than the average professional specialty or technical worker.
In the popular imagination, however, public school teachers are underpaid. "Salaries are too low. We all know that," noted First Lady Laura Bush, expressing the consensus view. "We need to figure out a way to pay teachers more." Indeed, our efforts to hire more teachers and raise their salaries account for the bulk of public school spending increases over the last four decades. During that time per-pupil spending, adjusted for inflation, has more than doubled; overall we now annually spend more than $500 billion on public education.
The perception that we underpay teachers is likely to play a significant role in the debate to reauthorize No Child Left Behind. The new Democratic majority intends to push for greater education funding, much of which would likely to go toward increasing teacher compensation. It would be beneficial if the debate focused on the actual salaries teachers are already paid.
It would also be beneficial if the debate touched on the correlation between teacher pay and actual results. To wit, higher teacher pay seems to have no effect on raising student achievement. Metropolitan areas with higher teacher pay do not graduate a higher percentage of their students than areas with lower teacher pay.
In fact, the urban areas with the highest teacher pay are famous for their abysmal outcomes. Metro Detroit leads the nation, paying its public school teachers, on average, $47.28 per hour. That's 61% more than the average white-collar worker in the Detroit area and 36% more than the average professional worker. In metro New York, public school teachers make $45.79 per hour, 20% more than the average professional worker in that area. And in Los Angeles teachers earn $44.03 per hour, 23% higher than other professionals in the area.
Evidence suggests that the way we pay teachers is more important than simply what they take home. Currently salaries are determined almost entirely by seniority--the number of years in the classroom--and the number of advanced degrees accumulated. Neither has much to do with student improvement.
There is evidence that providing bonuses to teachers who improve the performance of their students does raise academic proficiency. With our colleagues at the University of Arkansas we found that a Little Rock program providing bonuses to teachers based on student gains on standardized tests substantially increased math proficiency. Researchers at the University of Florida recently found similar results in a nationwide evaluation.
Of course, public school teacher earnings look less impressive when viewed on an annual basis than on an hourly basis. This is because teachers tend to work fewer hours per year, with breaks during the summer, winter and spring. But comparing earnings on an annual basis would be inappropriate when teachers work significantly fewer hours than do other workers. Teachers can use that time to be with family, to engage in activities that they enjoy, or to earn additional money from other employment. That time off is worth money and cannot simply be ignored when comparing earnings. The appropriate way to compare earnings in this circumstance is to focus on hourly rates.
Moreover, the earnings data reported here, which are taken directly from the National Compensation Survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, do not include retirement and health benefits, which tend to be quite generous for public school teachers relative to other workers. Nor do they include the nonmonetary benefit of greater job security due to the tenure that most public school teachers enjoy.
Educators sometimes object that hourly earnings calculations do not capture the additional hours they work outside of school, but this objection is not very compelling. First, the National Compensation Survey is designed to capture all hours actually worked. And teachers are hardly the only wage earners who take work home with them.
The fact is that teachers are better paid than most other professionals. What matters is the way that we pay public school teachers, not the amount. The next time politicians call for tax increases to address the problem of terribly underpaid public school teachers, they might be reminded of these facts.
Mr. Greene holds the endowed chair of education reform at the University of Arkansas and is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, where Mr. Winters is a senior research associate. Their report, "How Much Are Public School Teachers Paid?," was released this week.
We highly recommend the book Education Myths by Jay P. Greene before any parent or voter considers a tax increase for education.
Quote of the Day
Whenever is found what is called a paternal government, there is found state education. It has been discovered that the best way to insure implicit obedience is to commence tyranny in the nursery. -- (1874) Benjamin Disraeli
No commentary needed the article speaks for itself.
$34.06 an Hour
That's how much the average public school teachers makes. Is that "underpaid"?
BY JAY P. GREENE AND MARCUS A. WINTERS
Friday, February 2, 2007 12:01 a.m. EST
Who, on average, is better paid--public school teachers or architects? How about teachers or economists? You might be surprised to learn that public school teachers are better paid than these and many other professionals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public school teachers earned $34.06 per hour in 2005, 36% more than the hourly wage of the average white-collar worker and 11% more than the average professional specialty or technical worker.
In the popular imagination, however, public school teachers are underpaid. "Salaries are too low. We all know that," noted First Lady Laura Bush, expressing the consensus view. "We need to figure out a way to pay teachers more." Indeed, our efforts to hire more teachers and raise their salaries account for the bulk of public school spending increases over the last four decades. During that time per-pupil spending, adjusted for inflation, has more than doubled; overall we now annually spend more than $500 billion on public education.
The perception that we underpay teachers is likely to play a significant role in the debate to reauthorize No Child Left Behind. The new Democratic majority intends to push for greater education funding, much of which would likely to go toward increasing teacher compensation. It would be beneficial if the debate focused on the actual salaries teachers are already paid.
It would also be beneficial if the debate touched on the correlation between teacher pay and actual results. To wit, higher teacher pay seems to have no effect on raising student achievement. Metropolitan areas with higher teacher pay do not graduate a higher percentage of their students than areas with lower teacher pay.
In fact, the urban areas with the highest teacher pay are famous for their abysmal outcomes. Metro Detroit leads the nation, paying its public school teachers, on average, $47.28 per hour. That's 61% more than the average white-collar worker in the Detroit area and 36% more than the average professional worker. In metro New York, public school teachers make $45.79 per hour, 20% more than the average professional worker in that area. And in Los Angeles teachers earn $44.03 per hour, 23% higher than other professionals in the area.
Evidence suggests that the way we pay teachers is more important than simply what they take home. Currently salaries are determined almost entirely by seniority--the number of years in the classroom--and the number of advanced degrees accumulated. Neither has much to do with student improvement.
There is evidence that providing bonuses to teachers who improve the performance of their students does raise academic proficiency. With our colleagues at the University of Arkansas we found that a Little Rock program providing bonuses to teachers based on student gains on standardized tests substantially increased math proficiency. Researchers at the University of Florida recently found similar results in a nationwide evaluation.
Of course, public school teacher earnings look less impressive when viewed on an annual basis than on an hourly basis. This is because teachers tend to work fewer hours per year, with breaks during the summer, winter and spring. But comparing earnings on an annual basis would be inappropriate when teachers work significantly fewer hours than do other workers. Teachers can use that time to be with family, to engage in activities that they enjoy, or to earn additional money from other employment. That time off is worth money and cannot simply be ignored when comparing earnings. The appropriate way to compare earnings in this circumstance is to focus on hourly rates.
Moreover, the earnings data reported here, which are taken directly from the National Compensation Survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, do not include retirement and health benefits, which tend to be quite generous for public school teachers relative to other workers. Nor do they include the nonmonetary benefit of greater job security due to the tenure that most public school teachers enjoy.
Educators sometimes object that hourly earnings calculations do not capture the additional hours they work outside of school, but this objection is not very compelling. First, the National Compensation Survey is designed to capture all hours actually worked. And teachers are hardly the only wage earners who take work home with them.
The fact is that teachers are better paid than most other professionals. What matters is the way that we pay public school teachers, not the amount. The next time politicians call for tax increases to address the problem of terribly underpaid public school teachers, they might be reminded of these facts.
Mr. Greene holds the endowed chair of education reform at the University of Arkansas and is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, where Mr. Winters is a senior research associate. Their report, "How Much Are Public School Teachers Paid?," was released this week.
We highly recommend the book Education Myths by Jay P. Greene before any parent or voter considers a tax increase for education.
Quote of the Day
Whenever is found what is called a paternal government, there is found state education. It has been discovered that the best way to insure implicit obedience is to commence tyranny in the nursery. -- (1874) Benjamin Disraeli
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Using the Delphi Technique to Achieve Consensus
The piece below is about the Delphi Technique and the complete article is posted on the Eagle Forum.org.
The Delphi techinque is used at pro-referendum meetings and schools at pro-referendum group meetings to persuade voters and parents to take the stance of the referendum pushers.
"In group settings, the Delphi Technique is an unethical method of achieving consensus on controversial topics. It requires well-trained professionals, known as "facilitators" or "change agents," who deliberately escalate tension among group members, pitting one faction against another to make a preordained viewpoint appear "sensible," while making opposing views appear ridiculous.
In her book Educating for the New World Order, author and educator Beverly Eakman makes numerous references to the need of those in power to preserve the illusion that there is "community participation in decision-making processes, while in fact lay citizens are being squeezed out."
"How to Diffuse the Delphi Technique
Three steps can diffuse the Delphi Technique as facilitators attempt to steer a meeting in a specific direction.
Always be charming, courteous, and pleasant. Smile. Moderate your voice so as not to come across as belligerent or aggressive.
Stay focused. If possible, jot down your thoughts or questions. When facilitators are asked questions they don't want to answer, they often digress from the issue that was raised and try instead to put the questioner on the defensive. Do not fall for this tactic. Courteously bring the facilitator back to your original question. If he rephrases it so that it becomes an accusatory statement (a popular tactic), simply say, "That is not what I asked. What I asked was . . ." and repeat your question.
Be persistent. If putting you on the defensive doesn't work, facilitators often resort to long monologues that drag on for several minutes. During that time, the group usually forgets the question that was asked, which is the intent. Let the facilitator finish. Then with polite persistence state: "But you didn't answer my question. My question was . . ." and repeat your question.
Never become angry under any circumstances. Anger directed at the facilitator will immediately make the facilitator the victim. This defeats the purpose. The goal of facilitators is to make the majority of the group members like them, and to alienate anyone who might pose a threat to the realization of their agenda. People with firm, fixed beliefs, who are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in, are obvious threats. If a participant becomes a victim, the facilitator loses face and favor with the crowd. This is why crowds are broken up into groups of seven or eight, and why objections are written on paper rather than voiced aloud where they can be open to public discussion and debate. It's called crowd control.
At a meeting, have two or three people who know the Delphi Technique dispersed through the crowd so that, when the facilitator digresses from a question, they can stand up and politely say: "But you didn't answer that lady/gentleman's question." Even if the facilitator suspects certain group members are working together, he will not want to alienate the crowd by making accusations. Occasionally, it takes only one incident of this type for the crowd to figure out what's going on.
Establish a plan of action before a meeting. Everyone on your team should know his part. Later, analyze what went right, what went wrong and why, and what needs to happen the next time. Never strategize during a meeting.
A popular tactic of facilitators, if a session is meeting with resistance, is to call a recess. During the recess, the facilitator and his spotters (people who observe the crowd during the course of a meeting) watch the crowd to see who congregates where, especially those who have offered resistance. If the resistors congregate in one place, a spotter will gravitate to that group and join in the conversation, reporting what was said to the facilitator. When the meeting resumes, the facilitator will steer clear of the resistors. Do not congregate. Instead gravitate to where the facilitators or spotters are. Stay away from your team members.
This strategy also works in a face-to-face, one-on-one meeting with anyone trained to use the Delphi Technique."
Be sure to visit the Eagle Forum.org website to learn more about the Delphi Technique.
Lynn Stuter is an education researcher in Washington state and wrote the above piece for the Eagle Forum. Her web site address is www.learn-usa.com/.
Quote of the Day
How we take back our children's education -- one person, one question, one school at a time.
Copyright 1999-2006 Peyton Wolcott
The Delphi techinque is used at pro-referendum meetings and schools at pro-referendum group meetings to persuade voters and parents to take the stance of the referendum pushers.
"In group settings, the Delphi Technique is an unethical method of achieving consensus on controversial topics. It requires well-trained professionals, known as "facilitators" or "change agents," who deliberately escalate tension among group members, pitting one faction against another to make a preordained viewpoint appear "sensible," while making opposing views appear ridiculous.
In her book Educating for the New World Order, author and educator Beverly Eakman makes numerous references to the need of those in power to preserve the illusion that there is "community participation in decision-making processes, while in fact lay citizens are being squeezed out."
"How to Diffuse the Delphi Technique
Three steps can diffuse the Delphi Technique as facilitators attempt to steer a meeting in a specific direction.
Always be charming, courteous, and pleasant. Smile. Moderate your voice so as not to come across as belligerent or aggressive.
Stay focused. If possible, jot down your thoughts or questions. When facilitators are asked questions they don't want to answer, they often digress from the issue that was raised and try instead to put the questioner on the defensive. Do not fall for this tactic. Courteously bring the facilitator back to your original question. If he rephrases it so that it becomes an accusatory statement (a popular tactic), simply say, "That is not what I asked. What I asked was . . ." and repeat your question.
Be persistent. If putting you on the defensive doesn't work, facilitators often resort to long monologues that drag on for several minutes. During that time, the group usually forgets the question that was asked, which is the intent. Let the facilitator finish. Then with polite persistence state: "But you didn't answer my question. My question was . . ." and repeat your question.
Never become angry under any circumstances. Anger directed at the facilitator will immediately make the facilitator the victim. This defeats the purpose. The goal of facilitators is to make the majority of the group members like them, and to alienate anyone who might pose a threat to the realization of their agenda. People with firm, fixed beliefs, who are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in, are obvious threats. If a participant becomes a victim, the facilitator loses face and favor with the crowd. This is why crowds are broken up into groups of seven or eight, and why objections are written on paper rather than voiced aloud where they can be open to public discussion and debate. It's called crowd control.
At a meeting, have two or three people who know the Delphi Technique dispersed through the crowd so that, when the facilitator digresses from a question, they can stand up and politely say: "But you didn't answer that lady/gentleman's question." Even if the facilitator suspects certain group members are working together, he will not want to alienate the crowd by making accusations. Occasionally, it takes only one incident of this type for the crowd to figure out what's going on.
Establish a plan of action before a meeting. Everyone on your team should know his part. Later, analyze what went right, what went wrong and why, and what needs to happen the next time. Never strategize during a meeting.
A popular tactic of facilitators, if a session is meeting with resistance, is to call a recess. During the recess, the facilitator and his spotters (people who observe the crowd during the course of a meeting) watch the crowd to see who congregates where, especially those who have offered resistance. If the resistors congregate in one place, a spotter will gravitate to that group and join in the conversation, reporting what was said to the facilitator. When the meeting resumes, the facilitator will steer clear of the resistors. Do not congregate. Instead gravitate to where the facilitators or spotters are. Stay away from your team members.
This strategy also works in a face-to-face, one-on-one meeting with anyone trained to use the Delphi Technique."
Be sure to visit the Eagle Forum.org website to learn more about the Delphi Technique.
Lynn Stuter is an education researcher in Washington state and wrote the above piece for the Eagle Forum. Her web site address is www.learn-usa.com/.
Quote of the Day
How we take back our children's education -- one person, one question, one school at a time.
Copyright 1999-2006 Peyton Wolcott
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Editorial: Disappointing direction taken by District 300 board
The following editorial appeared in the Daily Herald.
These same tactics, lies and half-truths are used by school districts across the county, state and country. When will parents and taxpayers learn it is not "for the kids"? It is for the the teachers, administrators, support staff, bus drivers, contractors with the schools, developers, architects, builders, union leaders, text book providers, legislators who receive contributions from these groups and anyone else feeding off the taxpayer trough. It was really for the kids education dollars would follow the student (school choice or a voucher system) and not the institution. The tactics and request will not stop until parents and taxpayers across the board get mad at the insane greed of those feeding off the system.
Editorial: Disappointing direction taken by District 300 board
1/30/2007
Daily Herald
When voters elect school board members, most hope to find careful stewards of public money, visionaries of thoughtful planning and cautious guardians of the trust placed in them. They also expect board members to protect tax dollars as if they were their own and to be honest and upfront about how that money is spent.
It would seem Community Unit School District 300 leaders have let residents down on all fronts.
At minimum, district officials misled residents during their campaign for a 55-cent education fund tax hike and $185 million bond issue last spring. Although school officials say vastly reduced enrollment projections are due to a changing housing market, it now seems that they may have used the most dramatic enrollment projections to hype their contention that classroom overcrowding would dramatically worsen. It also appears - now that we know their revenue projections are elusive and changing numbers - that they were creating a worst-case scenario to help sell the referendum.
It is, of course, hard to be certain what District 300 officials were thinking, for we're learning daily that they're not very open about their discussion of public business. In fact, it appears they regularly flout the Open Meetings Act, often meeting behind closed doors to discuss topics that rightfully belong in the public spotlight.
As reporter Jeff Gaunt revealed after careful perusal of six months of executive session board minutes, District 300's board and administrators often say one thing and do another. We have had to persistently push to get them to notify us when and where basic committee meetings are being held.
Less than six months after voters, facing the threatened loss of extracurricular activities, approved substantial tax hikes, the school board gave Superintendent Ken Arndt a $5,000 bonus and a substantial retroactive raise, effectively muting the salary freeze oft touted as evidence of financial distress in the referendum campaign.
They then quickly awarded other administrators substantial increases, including Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Crates, who also got a hefty bonus. The board also approved a nice salary hike for teachers and awarded employees new health savings plans to which the district is contributing at least $250 per plan.
It would seem the referendum campaign slogan of "It's for the kids" was only part of the incentive district employees had to push for referendum approvals.
That campaign was filled with promises - including one clearly made to the public and voiced to this editorial board to refrain from using capital appreciation bonds, which ultimately cost taxpayers far more than they approve at the ballot box. School officials also vowed not to use a loophole that would permit them to collect more than the 55-cent increase in the tax rate. Officials now say they not only might use those high-cost bonds but also would consider that loophole - which state lawmakers fortunately closed for all future tax requests.
It turns out that the district's dire enrollment projections were way off. Instead of an additional 7,200 students in five years, the district may be welcoming fewer than 3,000. It turns out that those classrooms won't be so crowded after all. School officials attribute the change to a declining housing market, and that certainly could account for some of the difference. But the district's penchant for closed meetings, changing numbers and retroactive pay hikes gives pause.
We're disappointed in District 300 and, like many taxpayers, feeling betrayed. We recommended taxpayers say "no" to the education fund hike because of shifting numbers even before the vote and the fact that no teacher pact was in place. We did back the bond sale, but only because school officials looked us - and by extension, the public - in the eye and vowed they wouldn't use the high-cost bonds.
It takes a long time to build up trust and a short time to shred it. District 300 officials may have just set a record.
Quote of the day.
"Greed is a fat demon with a small mouth and whatever you feed it is never enough." Janwillem van de Wetering
Our interpretation.
The public education system is a fat demon with a small mouth and no matter how much money you give the system it is never enough
These same tactics, lies and half-truths are used by school districts across the county, state and country. When will parents and taxpayers learn it is not "for the kids"? It is for the the teachers, administrators, support staff, bus drivers, contractors with the schools, developers, architects, builders, union leaders, text book providers, legislators who receive contributions from these groups and anyone else feeding off the taxpayer trough. It was really for the kids education dollars would follow the student (school choice or a voucher system) and not the institution. The tactics and request will not stop until parents and taxpayers across the board get mad at the insane greed of those feeding off the system.
Editorial: Disappointing direction taken by District 300 board
1/30/2007
Daily Herald
When voters elect school board members, most hope to find careful stewards of public money, visionaries of thoughtful planning and cautious guardians of the trust placed in them. They also expect board members to protect tax dollars as if they were their own and to be honest and upfront about how that money is spent.
It would seem Community Unit School District 300 leaders have let residents down on all fronts.
At minimum, district officials misled residents during their campaign for a 55-cent education fund tax hike and $185 million bond issue last spring. Although school officials say vastly reduced enrollment projections are due to a changing housing market, it now seems that they may have used the most dramatic enrollment projections to hype their contention that classroom overcrowding would dramatically worsen. It also appears - now that we know their revenue projections are elusive and changing numbers - that they were creating a worst-case scenario to help sell the referendum.
It is, of course, hard to be certain what District 300 officials were thinking, for we're learning daily that they're not very open about their discussion of public business. In fact, it appears they regularly flout the Open Meetings Act, often meeting behind closed doors to discuss topics that rightfully belong in the public spotlight.
As reporter Jeff Gaunt revealed after careful perusal of six months of executive session board minutes, District 300's board and administrators often say one thing and do another. We have had to persistently push to get them to notify us when and where basic committee meetings are being held.
Less than six months after voters, facing the threatened loss of extracurricular activities, approved substantial tax hikes, the school board gave Superintendent Ken Arndt a $5,000 bonus and a substantial retroactive raise, effectively muting the salary freeze oft touted as evidence of financial distress in the referendum campaign.
They then quickly awarded other administrators substantial increases, including Chief Financial Officer Cheryl Crates, who also got a hefty bonus. The board also approved a nice salary hike for teachers and awarded employees new health savings plans to which the district is contributing at least $250 per plan.
It would seem the referendum campaign slogan of "It's for the kids" was only part of the incentive district employees had to push for referendum approvals.
That campaign was filled with promises - including one clearly made to the public and voiced to this editorial board to refrain from using capital appreciation bonds, which ultimately cost taxpayers far more than they approve at the ballot box. School officials also vowed not to use a loophole that would permit them to collect more than the 55-cent increase in the tax rate. Officials now say they not only might use those high-cost bonds but also would consider that loophole - which state lawmakers fortunately closed for all future tax requests.
It turns out that the district's dire enrollment projections were way off. Instead of an additional 7,200 students in five years, the district may be welcoming fewer than 3,000. It turns out that those classrooms won't be so crowded after all. School officials attribute the change to a declining housing market, and that certainly could account for some of the difference. But the district's penchant for closed meetings, changing numbers and retroactive pay hikes gives pause.
We're disappointed in District 300 and, like many taxpayers, feeling betrayed. We recommended taxpayers say "no" to the education fund hike because of shifting numbers even before the vote and the fact that no teacher pact was in place. We did back the bond sale, but only because school officials looked us - and by extension, the public - in the eye and vowed they wouldn't use the high-cost bonds.
It takes a long time to build up trust and a short time to shred it. District 300 officials may have just set a record.
Quote of the day.
"Greed is a fat demon with a small mouth and whatever you feed it is never enough." Janwillem van de Wetering
Our interpretation.
The public education system is a fat demon with a small mouth and no matter how much money you give the system it is never enough
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Wall Street Journal -- on Abolishing State Income Taxes
The Wall Street Journal article below was sent to us by our friend Marilyn Rickert of Fair Tax Now.
She reported the following background information on the report.
The research on which the Wall Street Journal article was based was funded by Americans For Fair Taxation (FairTax). The goal was to compare the states that had income taxes and those with no income taxes to see which ones did better. As Flat Tax supporters, the team of Arduin, Laffer, & Moore was chosen to carry out this research because we felt their bias would be against the FairTax and in favor of an income tax -- yet as honest researchers they would accurately report their findings no matter the result.
Our research in IL shows that using the FairTax base, we can eliminate the state income tax and property tax at about the same sales tax rate as we have now while raising the same amount of money as our current tax system. Remember under the FairTax bill, everyone is protected up to the poverty level. Also how much you pay in taxes is always your choice.
To view the A Macroeconomic Analysis of the FairTax Proposal click here.
Incentives drive all economic behavior. Taxes are a negative incentive. From an economic efficiency perspective, the appropriate goal for tax policy is to establish a tax system that minimizes the tax disincentives on economic activities, given the revenue needs of the government.
The article below appeared in the Wall Street Journal.
Rich States, Poor States
January 25, 2007
Wall Street Journal, Page A18
If you're searching for the next big thing in American politics, it's wise to keep an eye on the states. Here's one possibility: the abolition of state income taxes.
In Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina, Governors and state legislatures are drafting serious proposals to repeal their income taxes to promote economic development. St. Louis, one of America's most distressed cities, may overturn its wage/income tax as a way to spur urban revival. And in Michigan, the legislature is in the last stages of phasing out its hated business income tax -- the most onerous in the land. "States are now in a ferocious competition to attract jobs and businesses," says economist Arthur Laffer, who is advising several Governors and legislators on the issue, "and one of the best ways to win this race is to abolish the state income tax."
The timing for fixing state tax codes could hardly be more ideal because states are swimming in budget surpluses thanks to the booming national economy. This should be a big year for state tax cuts. Governors in Arkansas, Florida and West Virginia have already announced major tax relief plans for 2007. Even New York City has a $1 billion surplus and Mayor Michael Bloomberg is promising a property tax cut.
But the biggest target is the income tax. Newly re-elected South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is talking of reviving his plan to phase out the income tax over 18 years. Mr. Sanford ran into opposition from the legislature in his first term, but he tells us that "I still consider this one of my top priorities and if the legislature wants to do it, I would be ecstatic."
Georgia may beat Mr. Sanford to the punch. House Republicans in Atlanta have announced that one of their top priorities is to use the half-billion-dollar budget surplus as a downpayment to "dismantle the current tax code." House Republican Majority Leader Jerry Keen tells us the debate in Atlanta is between a flat-rate income tax and a plan that would "do away with the personal income tax but broaden the sales tax by eliminating 107 exemptions. We're committed to a pro-growth tax plan that announces to the country that Georgia is open for business."
In Missouri the legislature is reviewing a plan by the state think tank, the Show Me Institute, that would increase the rate of the sales tax to 7.5% and limit spending growth to population plus inflation, in return for eliminating the state's income tax over 10 years. House Speaker Carl Bearden says "I would like to see a phasing out of our current tax structure in Missouri. . . . Eliminating the income tax can have a huge positive impact on a state's economy."
The idea of financing state services without an income tax is hardly radical. Nine states today -- Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming -- manage well without one. With a few exceptions, the non-income tax states are America's most prosperous. Meanwhile, the high income tax states, which tend to be congregated in the Northeast, keep surrendering jobs, people, and voters to the South and West.
State lawmakers also seem to have learned from two of the most recent states to adopt an income tax: New Jersey and Connecticut. As recently as 1965 New Jersey had neither an income nor sales tax, but managed to balance its budget every year. Now it has both taxes -- its income tax is the 5th highest in the nation -- but the state is facing what Stateline.org calls a "staggering budget deficit." Allied Van Lines reports that the Garden State is now one of the leading places for people to flee.
The latest state to adopt an income tax was Connecticut in 1991, but a new report by the Yankee Institute reveals that the tax has been a calamity. The state has ranked last in employment growth since 1991, losing 240,000 of its native born citizens between 1991-2002. No other state has since enacted an income tax, and lawmakers in Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina say Connecticut is now the model for how not to run a state economy.
Whether these states will be able to eliminate their income taxes in the next few years is an open question. But what's undeniable is that the debate in state capitals has swung decisively in the direction of chopping income tax rates, not raising them.
Quote of the day.
"A taxpayer is someone who works for the federal government but who doesn't have to take a civil service examination."
Ronald Reagan
She reported the following background information on the report.
The research on which the Wall Street Journal article was based was funded by Americans For Fair Taxation (FairTax). The goal was to compare the states that had income taxes and those with no income taxes to see which ones did better. As Flat Tax supporters, the team of Arduin, Laffer, & Moore was chosen to carry out this research because we felt their bias would be against the FairTax and in favor of an income tax -- yet as honest researchers they would accurately report their findings no matter the result.
Our research in IL shows that using the FairTax base, we can eliminate the state income tax and property tax at about the same sales tax rate as we have now while raising the same amount of money as our current tax system. Remember under the FairTax bill, everyone is protected up to the poverty level. Also how much you pay in taxes is always your choice.
To view the A Macroeconomic Analysis of the FairTax Proposal click here.
Incentives drive all economic behavior. Taxes are a negative incentive. From an economic efficiency perspective, the appropriate goal for tax policy is to establish a tax system that minimizes the tax disincentives on economic activities, given the revenue needs of the government.
The article below appeared in the Wall Street Journal.
Rich States, Poor States
January 25, 2007
Wall Street Journal, Page A18
If you're searching for the next big thing in American politics, it's wise to keep an eye on the states. Here's one possibility: the abolition of state income taxes.
In Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina, Governors and state legislatures are drafting serious proposals to repeal their income taxes to promote economic development. St. Louis, one of America's most distressed cities, may overturn its wage/income tax as a way to spur urban revival. And in Michigan, the legislature is in the last stages of phasing out its hated business income tax -- the most onerous in the land. "States are now in a ferocious competition to attract jobs and businesses," says economist Arthur Laffer, who is advising several Governors and legislators on the issue, "and one of the best ways to win this race is to abolish the state income tax."
The timing for fixing state tax codes could hardly be more ideal because states are swimming in budget surpluses thanks to the booming national economy. This should be a big year for state tax cuts. Governors in Arkansas, Florida and West Virginia have already announced major tax relief plans for 2007. Even New York City has a $1 billion surplus and Mayor Michael Bloomberg is promising a property tax cut.
But the biggest target is the income tax. Newly re-elected South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford is talking of reviving his plan to phase out the income tax over 18 years. Mr. Sanford ran into opposition from the legislature in his first term, but he tells us that "I still consider this one of my top priorities and if the legislature wants to do it, I would be ecstatic."
Georgia may beat Mr. Sanford to the punch. House Republicans in Atlanta have announced that one of their top priorities is to use the half-billion-dollar budget surplus as a downpayment to "dismantle the current tax code." House Republican Majority Leader Jerry Keen tells us the debate in Atlanta is between a flat-rate income tax and a plan that would "do away with the personal income tax but broaden the sales tax by eliminating 107 exemptions. We're committed to a pro-growth tax plan that announces to the country that Georgia is open for business."
In Missouri the legislature is reviewing a plan by the state think tank, the Show Me Institute, that would increase the rate of the sales tax to 7.5% and limit spending growth to population plus inflation, in return for eliminating the state's income tax over 10 years. House Speaker Carl Bearden says "I would like to see a phasing out of our current tax structure in Missouri. . . . Eliminating the income tax can have a huge positive impact on a state's economy."
The idea of financing state services without an income tax is hardly radical. Nine states today -- Alaska, Florida, Nevada, New Hampshire, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wyoming -- manage well without one. With a few exceptions, the non-income tax states are America's most prosperous. Meanwhile, the high income tax states, which tend to be congregated in the Northeast, keep surrendering jobs, people, and voters to the South and West.
State lawmakers also seem to have learned from two of the most recent states to adopt an income tax: New Jersey and Connecticut. As recently as 1965 New Jersey had neither an income nor sales tax, but managed to balance its budget every year. Now it has both taxes -- its income tax is the 5th highest in the nation -- but the state is facing what Stateline.org calls a "staggering budget deficit." Allied Van Lines reports that the Garden State is now one of the leading places for people to flee.
The latest state to adopt an income tax was Connecticut in 1991, but a new report by the Yankee Institute reveals that the tax has been a calamity. The state has ranked last in employment growth since 1991, losing 240,000 of its native born citizens between 1991-2002. No other state has since enacted an income tax, and lawmakers in Georgia, Missouri and South Carolina say Connecticut is now the model for how not to run a state economy.
Whether these states will be able to eliminate their income taxes in the next few years is an open question. But what's undeniable is that the debate in state capitals has swung decisively in the direction of chopping income tax rates, not raising them.
Quote of the day.
"A taxpayer is someone who works for the federal government but who doesn't have to take a civil service examination."
Ronald Reagan
Monday, January 29, 2007
The Read Naturally Program
We recently heard about the Read Naturally Program and wanted to share the following.
Research into the program revealed that the "Read Naturally" program focuses on "fluency", it makes use of "repeated reading" of the same material to develop a steady relaxed pace in reading.
To learn to read children and people need to learn the mechanics of reading.
With some help of a friend with much experience in the subject we learned.
"The constructivist view of reading is that it is "natural" and should be therefore taught as though it were as natural as speaking. But it's not. Reading requires instruction and learning of a specific skill: decoding."
"I checked the "What Works Clearinghouse" of the USDOE to see what they had."
"Read Naturally" was reported having only a single study that could be said to be research-based. And that study had kind of a screwy design, had very few kids involved, and was limited to Spanish-speaking English language learners. Worse, in that one study, WWC reports:
" Read Naturally was found to have no discernible effects on elementary school ELL students' reading achievement."
"Reading achievement. Denton and colleagues (2004) reported, and the WWC confirmed, no statistically significant differences between the intervention and comparison groups on students' reading achievement. In addition, the average effect size was small and deemed not substantively important. Therefore, the one study reviewed showed no discernible effects."
Sounds like a loser!
Thanks to our friend Kevin Killion of the IllinoisLoop.org
for helping us with research into the "Read Naturally Program.
As our friend stated this program sounds like a loser school districts should only consider proven curricula that is well tested and not fade learning programs for the critical years of learning. A good source for them would be "What Works Clearinghouse" of the USDOE.
Many teachers and others have made millions of dollars off of taxpayers and on the backs of our children's education by introducing fade programs such as the read naturally program. Parents and taxpayers need to be attuned to this, our children's education and futures are too important to be wasted on fade programs.
Quote of the Day
"IT IS, IN FACT, NOTHING short of a miracle that the modern methods of education have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty. To the contrary, I believe that it would be possible to rob even a healthy beast of prey of its voraciousness, if it were possible, with the aid of a whip, to force the beast to devour continuously, even when not hungry, especially if the food, handed out under such coercion, were to be selected accordingly. "--Albert Einstein
Research into the program revealed that the "Read Naturally" program focuses on "fluency", it makes use of "repeated reading" of the same material to develop a steady relaxed pace in reading.
To learn to read children and people need to learn the mechanics of reading.
With some help of a friend with much experience in the subject we learned.
"The constructivist view of reading is that it is "natural" and should be therefore taught as though it were as natural as speaking. But it's not. Reading requires instruction and learning of a specific skill: decoding."
"I checked the "What Works Clearinghouse" of the USDOE to see what they had."
"Read Naturally" was reported having only a single study that could be said to be research-based. And that study had kind of a screwy design, had very few kids involved, and was limited to Spanish-speaking English language learners. Worse, in that one study, WWC reports:
" Read Naturally was found to have no discernible effects on elementary school ELL students' reading achievement."
"Reading achievement. Denton and colleagues (2004) reported, and the WWC confirmed, no statistically significant differences between the intervention and comparison groups on students' reading achievement. In addition, the average effect size was small and deemed not substantively important. Therefore, the one study reviewed showed no discernible effects."
Sounds like a loser!
Thanks to our friend Kevin Killion of the IllinoisLoop.org
for helping us with research into the "Read Naturally Program.
As our friend stated this program sounds like a loser school districts should only consider proven curricula that is well tested and not fade learning programs for the critical years of learning. A good source for them would be "What Works Clearinghouse" of the USDOE.
Many teachers and others have made millions of dollars off of taxpayers and on the backs of our children's education by introducing fade programs such as the read naturally program. Parents and taxpayers need to be attuned to this, our children's education and futures are too important to be wasted on fade programs.
Quote of the Day
"IT IS, IN FACT, NOTHING short of a miracle that the modern methods of education have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of inquiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimulation, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wrack and ruin without fail. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty. To the contrary, I believe that it would be possible to rob even a healthy beast of prey of its voraciousness, if it were possible, with the aid of a whip, to force the beast to devour continuously, even when not hungry, especially if the food, handed out under such coercion, were to be selected accordingly. "--Albert Einstein
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Milton Friedman Day
The following story appeared onTownhall.com
We also recommend the book Capitalism and Freedom: Fortieth Anniversary Edition by Milton Friedman for all students, parents and taxpayers.
Milton Friedman Day
By John Stossel
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Monday is Milton Friedman Day.
At 2 p.m. a memorial service will be held at the University of Chicago, where Friedman taught for so many years.
In New York City I'll join a Manhattan Institute seminar to celebrate the man The Economist called "the most influential economist of the second half of the 20th Century ... possibly of all of it."
That magazine will host a web discussion on Friedman's contributions to economics beginning tomorrow and going through Monday.
A "Day of National Debate" about Friedman's work will be held at universities, and free-market think tanks throughout America will hold events.
There will even be a "Challenge the Status Quo" video contest in honor of Friedman on YouTube.
Finally, on Monday evening, PBS will premier a documentary about Friedman titled "The Power of Choice," produced by Free to Choose Media.
It's a fitting tribute to a man who did more than anyone to remind the world that individual freedom matters.
Friedman won the Nobel Prize in 1976 for his technical work in consumption analysis and monetary theory. But his real impact came through his popular writings in books and magazines. The consummate public intellectual -- clear, concise, and congenial -- Friedman taught millions worldwide about the virtues of the free market and individual liberty. When communism fell in the Soviet bloc, a new generation of Friedman-inspired activists and intellectuals were ready to implement his message of less government and more freedom.
As you'll see in the documentary, Friedman was the furthest thing from a stuffy academic. With his impish smile and sparking eyes, he lucidly debunked the once-reigning idea that government regulators know best.
His interests were not narrowly focused on economics. He pointed out the folly of the government's so-called "war on drugs." His ideas helped create the school-voucher movement. And when the Vietnam war raged in the 1960s and early 1970s, no one argued more eloquently for ending the draft, and he helped bring about the all-volunteer army.
But you probably know all that. You may be less aware of how brilliantly Milton Friedman made the case for freedom in plain English. Here are samples from Reason magazine:
"The case for free enterprise, for competition, is that it's the only system that will keep the capitalists from having too much power. ... The virtue of free enterprise capitalism is that it sets one businessman against another, and it's a most effective device for control."
"[S]tate laws requiring people who ride motorcycles to wear helmets ... is the best litmus paper to distinguish true believers in individualism ... because the person riding the motorcycle is risking only his own life. He may be a fool to drive that motorcycle without a helmet, but part of freedom ... is the freedom to be a fool."
"Many people complain about government waste, but I welcome it. ... [W]aste brings home to the public at large the fact that government is not an efficient and effective instrument for achieving its objectives. One of the great causes for hope is a growing disillusionment with the idea that government is the all-wise, all-powerful big brother who can solve every problem that comes along."
"I want [education] vouchers to be ... available to everyone. They should contain few or no restrictions on how they can be used. We need a system in which the government says to every parent: 'Here is a piece of paper you can use for the education purposes of your child. It will cover the full cost per student at a government school. It is worth X dollars toward the cost of educational services that you purchase from parochial schools, private for-profit schools, private nonprofit schools, or other purveyors of educational services. You may add from your own funds to the voucher if you wish and can afford to.'
"Empowering parents would generate a competitive education market, which would lead to a burst of innovation and improvement, as competition has done in so many other areas. There's nothing that would do so much to avoid the danger of a two-tiered society, of a class-based society ... "
The cause of liberty will miss Milton Friedman.
John Stossel is an award-winning news correspondent and author of Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel--Why Everything You Know is Wrong.
We also recommend the book Capitalism and Freedom: Fortieth Anniversary Edition by Milton Friedman for all students, parents and taxpayers.
Milton Friedman Day
By John Stossel
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Monday is Milton Friedman Day.
At 2 p.m. a memorial service will be held at the University of Chicago, where Friedman taught for so many years.
In New York City I'll join a Manhattan Institute seminar to celebrate the man The Economist called "the most influential economist of the second half of the 20th Century ... possibly of all of it."
That magazine will host a web discussion on Friedman's contributions to economics beginning tomorrow and going through Monday.
A "Day of National Debate" about Friedman's work will be held at universities, and free-market think tanks throughout America will hold events.
There will even be a "Challenge the Status Quo" video contest in honor of Friedman on YouTube.
Finally, on Monday evening, PBS will premier a documentary about Friedman titled "The Power of Choice," produced by Free to Choose Media.
It's a fitting tribute to a man who did more than anyone to remind the world that individual freedom matters.
Friedman won the Nobel Prize in 1976 for his technical work in consumption analysis and monetary theory. But his real impact came through his popular writings in books and magazines. The consummate public intellectual -- clear, concise, and congenial -- Friedman taught millions worldwide about the virtues of the free market and individual liberty. When communism fell in the Soviet bloc, a new generation of Friedman-inspired activists and intellectuals were ready to implement his message of less government and more freedom.
As you'll see in the documentary, Friedman was the furthest thing from a stuffy academic. With his impish smile and sparking eyes, he lucidly debunked the once-reigning idea that government regulators know best.
His interests were not narrowly focused on economics. He pointed out the folly of the government's so-called "war on drugs." His ideas helped create the school-voucher movement. And when the Vietnam war raged in the 1960s and early 1970s, no one argued more eloquently for ending the draft, and he helped bring about the all-volunteer army.
But you probably know all that. You may be less aware of how brilliantly Milton Friedman made the case for freedom in plain English. Here are samples from Reason magazine:
"The case for free enterprise, for competition, is that it's the only system that will keep the capitalists from having too much power. ... The virtue of free enterprise capitalism is that it sets one businessman against another, and it's a most effective device for control."
"[S]tate laws requiring people who ride motorcycles to wear helmets ... is the best litmus paper to distinguish true believers in individualism ... because the person riding the motorcycle is risking only his own life. He may be a fool to drive that motorcycle without a helmet, but part of freedom ... is the freedom to be a fool."
"Many people complain about government waste, but I welcome it. ... [W]aste brings home to the public at large the fact that government is not an efficient and effective instrument for achieving its objectives. One of the great causes for hope is a growing disillusionment with the idea that government is the all-wise, all-powerful big brother who can solve every problem that comes along."
"I want [education] vouchers to be ... available to everyone. They should contain few or no restrictions on how they can be used. We need a system in which the government says to every parent: 'Here is a piece of paper you can use for the education purposes of your child. It will cover the full cost per student at a government school. It is worth X dollars toward the cost of educational services that you purchase from parochial schools, private for-profit schools, private nonprofit schools, or other purveyors of educational services. You may add from your own funds to the voucher if you wish and can afford to.'
"Empowering parents would generate a competitive education market, which would lead to a burst of innovation and improvement, as competition has done in so many other areas. There's nothing that would do so much to avoid the danger of a two-tiered society, of a class-based society ... "
The cause of liberty will miss Milton Friedman.
John Stossel is an award-winning news correspondent and author of Myths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity: Get Out the Shovel--Why Everything You Know is Wrong.
Friday, January 26, 2007
U-46 board should dump too generous offer to Neale
The following editorial appeared in the January 26th, 2007 edition of the Daily Herald. The editorial staff is correct and school boards across the state should take to heart the message in this editorial. It times for boards to tell both administrators and staff to stuff it.
U-46 board should dump too generous offer to Neale
The definitions and details may be in dispute, but there’s absolutely no doubt the Elgin Area District U-46 Board of Education has tentatively approved a 2006-07 superintendent compensation package for Connie Neale that will exceed $400,000.
The board, which has firsthand experience with financial trouble, appears to have developed a sad case of fiscal responsibility amnesia and forgotten the sacrifices made by many along the way.
Consternation over his own acquiescence last Saturday in the large pay-out drove school board member Daniel Rich of Elgin to resign Monday night, saying he felt it was excessive and the result of a “shakedown” of the board by Neale. Rich said Neale said she might leave if she didn’t get what she wanted.
Neale said Tuesday she never made such a threat. But board members acknowledged they spent part of their Saturday discussing a possible superintendent succession plan, something they wouldn’t have done without the possibility of a Neale departure on the table, especially given their glowing review of her performance.
Neale also contended in public statements that she doesn’t negotiate with the board about her pay package, but only provides context.
“I didn’t say I deserved anything,” she told a Daily Herald reporter. But her own words, as found in the submission she gave board members, argue differently.
“I believe those are remarkable feats and more than justify this special recognition,” said her statement to the board regarding an “Immediate Performance Bonus” of 10 percent to 20 percent.
“I believe that doesn’t fairly represent my work or the challenge of U-46,” Neale said of her salary in the “Immediate Salary Realignment” portion of her submission, where she noted she was significantly underpaid compared to other superintendents. If those aren’t arguments that she deserves more, what exactly are they?
And what were those “remarkable feats” Neale identified as deserving of a bonus? Elimination of the deficit and all elementary schools making annual yearly progress in 2006.
Yes, those are laudable accomplishments, and we’ve said so in this space. But they also are the duties for which she was already being paid handsomely. The school board fell victim to Neale’s “this is the market for superintendents” sales pitch and failed to ask the far more pertinent question: Can we afford this market and the financial expectations it will raise across the district?
Though the answer to that question clearly is “no,” the board agreed to a $20,000 raise from a salary of $242,000 to a salary of $262,000, backdated to last July. It OK’d a 10 percent tax-free bonus on top of that, another $26,200 or so plus the tax bill. That $46,200 increase would represent about a 19 percent hike for the year. That’s not likely to sit well with district employees who believe they’re the ones doing the real work. Nor will it sit well with Elgin taxpayers whose 2005 median annual household income of $51,232 would barely exceed Neale’s increase alone.
And those numbers don’t include the additional $133,000 or so tax dollars that will fund Neale’s time-in-service step increase, multiple pension plans, a retirement bonus, multiple insurance plans and automobile expenses.
Neale is, of course, free to ask for anything she likes in terms of compensation. But she ought not be offended if the public responds to her request by noting her greed and her lack of interest in its ability to pay. For bowing to those demands without a whimper, though, the school board is wholly responsible.
Board members also seem to have forgotten it was Neale who led them into the morass of a multimillion-dollar discrimination lawsuit, not because of overt discrimination during boundary discussions so much as disregard for residents of all colors. That behavior hasn’t been forgotten, and apparently hasn’t changed.
Still, the board is ultimately responsible for contract terms. It must reverse course before this deal is finalized and make a deal with which the public can live, even if it means Neale’s departure.
Quote of the day.
"Greed is a fat demon with a small mouth and whatever you feed it is never enough." Janwillem van de Wetering
U-46 board should dump too generous offer to Neale
The definitions and details may be in dispute, but there’s absolutely no doubt the Elgin Area District U-46 Board of Education has tentatively approved a 2006-07 superintendent compensation package for Connie Neale that will exceed $400,000.
The board, which has firsthand experience with financial trouble, appears to have developed a sad case of fiscal responsibility amnesia and forgotten the sacrifices made by many along the way.
Consternation over his own acquiescence last Saturday in the large pay-out drove school board member Daniel Rich of Elgin to resign Monday night, saying he felt it was excessive and the result of a “shakedown” of the board by Neale. Rich said Neale said she might leave if she didn’t get what she wanted.
Neale said Tuesday she never made such a threat. But board members acknowledged they spent part of their Saturday discussing a possible superintendent succession plan, something they wouldn’t have done without the possibility of a Neale departure on the table, especially given their glowing review of her performance.
Neale also contended in public statements that she doesn’t negotiate with the board about her pay package, but only provides context.
“I didn’t say I deserved anything,” she told a Daily Herald reporter. But her own words, as found in the submission she gave board members, argue differently.
“I believe those are remarkable feats and more than justify this special recognition,” said her statement to the board regarding an “Immediate Performance Bonus” of 10 percent to 20 percent.
“I believe that doesn’t fairly represent my work or the challenge of U-46,” Neale said of her salary in the “Immediate Salary Realignment” portion of her submission, where she noted she was significantly underpaid compared to other superintendents. If those aren’t arguments that she deserves more, what exactly are they?
And what were those “remarkable feats” Neale identified as deserving of a bonus? Elimination of the deficit and all elementary schools making annual yearly progress in 2006.
Yes, those are laudable accomplishments, and we’ve said so in this space. But they also are the duties for which she was already being paid handsomely. The school board fell victim to Neale’s “this is the market for superintendents” sales pitch and failed to ask the far more pertinent question: Can we afford this market and the financial expectations it will raise across the district?
Though the answer to that question clearly is “no,” the board agreed to a $20,000 raise from a salary of $242,000 to a salary of $262,000, backdated to last July. It OK’d a 10 percent tax-free bonus on top of that, another $26,200 or so plus the tax bill. That $46,200 increase would represent about a 19 percent hike for the year. That’s not likely to sit well with district employees who believe they’re the ones doing the real work. Nor will it sit well with Elgin taxpayers whose 2005 median annual household income of $51,232 would barely exceed Neale’s increase alone.
And those numbers don’t include the additional $133,000 or so tax dollars that will fund Neale’s time-in-service step increase, multiple pension plans, a retirement bonus, multiple insurance plans and automobile expenses.
Neale is, of course, free to ask for anything she likes in terms of compensation. But she ought not be offended if the public responds to her request by noting her greed and her lack of interest in its ability to pay. For bowing to those demands without a whimper, though, the school board is wholly responsible.
Board members also seem to have forgotten it was Neale who led them into the morass of a multimillion-dollar discrimination lawsuit, not because of overt discrimination during boundary discussions so much as disregard for residents of all colors. That behavior hasn’t been forgotten, and apparently hasn’t changed.
Still, the board is ultimately responsible for contract terms. It must reverse course before this deal is finalized and make a deal with which the public can live, even if it means Neale’s departure.
Quote of the day.
"Greed is a fat demon with a small mouth and whatever you feed it is never enough." Janwillem van de Wetering
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Squelching your right to speak out. Coming to a school district near you?
The following editorial appeared in the Daily Southtown and was posted on the Students First website.
Editorial: Residents have a right to speak
1/22/2007
Daily Southtown
The issue: West Harvey-Dixmoor school officials warn residents not to speak "harshly" about the school district and its employees.
We say: Considering the cloud the district is under over questionable spending practices, citizens have a right to speak up about district operations and demand answers.
A true sign that a public official does not have a handle on what democracy is all about is when that official tries to stifle free speech.
The president of the board of embattled West Harvey-Dixmoor School District 147 read a statement at a recent board meeting that indicated he and his cohorts did not want to hear any discouraging words about the job they and other district officials are doing.
"At this point, we would like to caution everyone not to speak harshly or inadvisably about the board of education or the administrators in the public," board president J.C. Smith said. "Remarks made that are unsubstantiated, inappropriate or slanderous will be dealt with, and you might have to substantiate your statement."
Residents within the district have spoken up in the past, but after Smith's statement at the meeting, only one person spoke -- and that was to gush praise on the board.
But if people wanted to speak "harshly" about District 147 these days, they certainly would be justified. Last summer, a state audit uncovered questionable spending of grant money within the district. And last month, Cook County investigators raided district offices and the home of Supt. Alex Boyd and confiscated financial documents. They also arrested Boyd and charged him with not having a firearm registration card after a gun was found in his house.
If you were a taxpayer in District 147, wouldn't you like to know what the heck was going on? Of course you would. And one of the ways to get information is to speak up at public meetings and request it. Yet, when citizens are met with intimidating statements like Smith's, they might be reluctant to speak up, lest they be "dealt with." That's not how democracy should work.
If Smith and his fellow board members don't want to be criticized by the constituents they are supposed to serve, maybe they could do a better job overseeing business being conducted by employees on the public payroll in the first place. For example, where were they when the district was spending $2.2 million in state grant money -- money that was supposed to be spent in the classrooms -- on such things as expensive meals, limousine rides, Lake Michigan cruises and "clown service"?
Folks, we're talking about a school district that is one of the poorer ones in the area. A total of 97 percent of the students are classified as low-income. But state grant money, according to the audit, went for such things as "a large alcohol bill," meals at the swank Ruth's Chris Steak House, candy, televisions, cameras and fruit snacks.
And what does the board know about why prosecutors thought it important enough to take district documents back to their office for close examination?
Time will tell if those documents lead to further action by prosecutors. As for the audit, Smith claims a hearing later this year will clear the district of any perception of misspending.
Until then, though, the district remains under a microscope, and the people who live there deserve answers and should not be denied their right to speak up. Keep that in mind, Mr. Smith.
Public officials long have tried to silence the public and the press -- including this paper -- when they have had the temerity to question how they operated. We always refuse to back down, and we urge the citizens of District 147 not to back down because it's your right to demand answers, and you'll never know what you'll learn.
There was one Southland superintendent who a few years ago did everything he could to thwart the press and the public from learning about his fiefdom. In the end, courage and persistence paid off. And if you want to hear more of the story, feel free to contact that superintendent. His name is Thomas Ryan. He ran the school district in Sauk Village. Nowadays you can reach him through the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Quote of the day.
"There is, in fact, only one solution: the state, the government, the laws must not in any way concern themselves with schooling or education. Public funds must not be used for such purposes. The rearing and instruction of youth must be left entirely to parents and to private associations and institutions." Ludwig von Mises
Editorial: Residents have a right to speak
1/22/2007
Daily Southtown
The issue: West Harvey-Dixmoor school officials warn residents not to speak "harshly" about the school district and its employees.
We say: Considering the cloud the district is under over questionable spending practices, citizens have a right to speak up about district operations and demand answers.
A true sign that a public official does not have a handle on what democracy is all about is when that official tries to stifle free speech.
The president of the board of embattled West Harvey-Dixmoor School District 147 read a statement at a recent board meeting that indicated he and his cohorts did not want to hear any discouraging words about the job they and other district officials are doing.
"At this point, we would like to caution everyone not to speak harshly or inadvisably about the board of education or the administrators in the public," board president J.C. Smith said. "Remarks made that are unsubstantiated, inappropriate or slanderous will be dealt with, and you might have to substantiate your statement."
Residents within the district have spoken up in the past, but after Smith's statement at the meeting, only one person spoke -- and that was to gush praise on the board.
But if people wanted to speak "harshly" about District 147 these days, they certainly would be justified. Last summer, a state audit uncovered questionable spending of grant money within the district. And last month, Cook County investigators raided district offices and the home of Supt. Alex Boyd and confiscated financial documents. They also arrested Boyd and charged him with not having a firearm registration card after a gun was found in his house.
If you were a taxpayer in District 147, wouldn't you like to know what the heck was going on? Of course you would. And one of the ways to get information is to speak up at public meetings and request it. Yet, when citizens are met with intimidating statements like Smith's, they might be reluctant to speak up, lest they be "dealt with." That's not how democracy should work.
If Smith and his fellow board members don't want to be criticized by the constituents they are supposed to serve, maybe they could do a better job overseeing business being conducted by employees on the public payroll in the first place. For example, where were they when the district was spending $2.2 million in state grant money -- money that was supposed to be spent in the classrooms -- on such things as expensive meals, limousine rides, Lake Michigan cruises and "clown service"?
Folks, we're talking about a school district that is one of the poorer ones in the area. A total of 97 percent of the students are classified as low-income. But state grant money, according to the audit, went for such things as "a large alcohol bill," meals at the swank Ruth's Chris Steak House, candy, televisions, cameras and fruit snacks.
And what does the board know about why prosecutors thought it important enough to take district documents back to their office for close examination?
Time will tell if those documents lead to further action by prosecutors. As for the audit, Smith claims a hearing later this year will clear the district of any perception of misspending.
Until then, though, the district remains under a microscope, and the people who live there deserve answers and should not be denied their right to speak up. Keep that in mind, Mr. Smith.
Public officials long have tried to silence the public and the press -- including this paper -- when they have had the temerity to question how they operated. We always refuse to back down, and we urge the citizens of District 147 not to back down because it's your right to demand answers, and you'll never know what you'll learn.
There was one Southland superintendent who a few years ago did everything he could to thwart the press and the public from learning about his fiefdom. In the end, courage and persistence paid off. And if you want to hear more of the story, feel free to contact that superintendent. His name is Thomas Ryan. He ran the school district in Sauk Village. Nowadays you can reach him through the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Quote of the day.
"There is, in fact, only one solution: the state, the government, the laws must not in any way concern themselves with schooling or education. Public funds must not be used for such purposes. The rearing and instruction of youth must be left entirely to parents and to private associations and institutions." Ludwig von Mises
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