A conservative response to police-reform protests Intense public protests and riots following George Floyd’s deadly encounter with a Minneapolis police officer in May have caught many conservatives off guard. Because of their overall support for police officers and their respect for public order, conservatives seem generally troubled by the public reaction. They have – at...
***Watch a mini-documentary on the creation of OCCA HERE*** In barely one month, 360 elementary school students will begin attending a new charter school that offers a dramatic departure from the failed public education model in California. The Orange County Classical Academy (OCCA) will open its doors to kindergarten through 5th-grade students, and apart from the...
The Supreme Court finally clears the way for students to use tax-credit scholarships to attend religious schools; the teachers unions and much of the MSM are apoplectic. The oldest daughter of single mom Kendra Espinoza was being bullied and her youngest daughter was struggling academically at their local public school in Montana. Kendra transferred them...
On July 1, 2020, the Placentia, California’s new Fire and Life Safety Department commenced operations, marking a revolution in California firefighting – and in municipal finance. As documented in the two previous installments of this report, Placentia’s new and independent department replaced the more expensive services (part one) that had been provided by the union-dominated Orange County...
We choose where we buy food. Why can’t we do the same for our kids’ education? Those invested in the primacy of traditional public schools – notably the teachers unions, bureaucrats and others who financially benefit from the current set-up – insist that the government is best suited to be in charge of educating our...
On July 1 the City of Placentia will begin to operate a fire department independent of the Orange County Fire Authority. The motivation for the Placentia’s City Council to take this step was to provide equal or greater service at a lower cost. In this report, those cost savings will be summarized. The figures were...
Using Covid-19 as an excuse, the teachers union wants you to “invest” more in education; historical data put things into perspective, however. Last week I reported on the American Federation of Teachers plea for more money to flow into government-run schools because of the Covid-19 crisis. Not to be outdone, the National Education Association has...
In June 2019 the City of Placentia, in a 3-1 council vote, decided to leave the Orange County Fire Authority and build their own fire department. The reasons for this decision, and the means to accomplish it, will be explored in greater detail in a follow-up article. But the decision came down to this: a majority...
Even during a national crisis, the nearsighted (and, very possibly, soon to be blindsided) NEA and AFT are happy to see private schools wither and die. When government-run schools next open, social distancing, masks, obsessive cleaning, etc. will be mandated throughout much of the country. The education establishment is claiming it will need a...
The tragic death of George Floyd has sent the country into yet another misguided frenzy. Following the death of George Floyd at the hands – or more accurately the foot – of a bad cop, much of the U.S. has descended into bonkersville. What talk-show host Michael Medved has labeled the “do something disease” –...
The tortured plan to open schools in the fall should convince parents to homeschool if at all possible. Kids who don’t like going to school in California – and there are plenty of them – are going to be absolutely miserable when schools reopen in 3 or so months. According to Governor Gavin Newsom’s just...
With rare exceptions, most cities in California are run by public-sector unions. There is the appearance of democracy, with public employees accountable to elected officials, who in turn are accountable to voters, but appearances can be deceiving. Because political campaigns to attract voters require money, and public-sector unions have money. Lots of money. In California...
When the Covid-19 craziness subsides, our calcified zip-code education laws will endure. Pundits are continuously speculating about what the post-pandemic “new normal” will look like in education when schools open (hopefully) in a few months. Many say that smaller class size will be necessary to facilitate social distancing. Some think that homeschooling will flourish. While...
The COVID pandemic has closed public schools for over two months, with no end in sight. This represents a seismic disruption to a system that was already strained. Before the pandemic lockdown, public schools in California faced financial insolvency, woeful failures to educate (especially in low income communities), and a parent uprising that was growing...