Deceptive campaign websites point to CUEA front-group leader. The Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) in California’s Orange County has seen more than its share of school board battles in recent years. In 2008, parent activists managed to rid themselves of possibly the most corrupt school board in America. Immortalized in Not As Good As You...
It’s time to “just say no” to the small class-size pushers and eliminate seniority as a staffing mechanism. Small class size means less work for teachers. Parents seem to think that their child will be better educated in a room with fewer classmates. Unions love fewer kids in a class because it equates to a...
On October 10, 2012, leaders of the Contra Costa County Building and Construction Trades Council finally succeeded in getting the Contra Costa Community College District Governing Board to implement a Project Labor Agreement acceptable to union leaders for future district construction. The vote was 3-1. This is perhaps the longest crusade ever in California for...
Promoters of Proposition 30 are losing their cool. Until last week, backers of Jerry Brown’s $50 billion tax increase were content to use their $40 million campaign war chest to broadcast ads describing Proposition 30 as a panacea for California education. However, when the campaign behind a rival tax increase measure, Proposition 38, began airing...
Beware of ideologically driven writers who attempt to “get to the truth.” As one who is constantly trying to set the record straight on education issues, I am drawn to pieces like “5 Biggest Lies About America’s Public Schools – Debunked.” This article, courtesy of the popular leftist ezine AlterNet, reveals its POV in the...
Among the many Californians who only occasionally vote in elections, how many understand what they’re doing when they vote for a “bond measure” for a K-12 school district or community college district? They know it’s “for the kids,” but do they know that when they authorize a school district to sell bonds to fund construction, it...
It is hard for education reformers to be too optimistic about the post-strike prospects for Chicago schools. The resulting contract significantly boosts teacher pay in exchange for some modest changes such as a lengthened school day and improved teacher testing. As school officials figure out how to pay for the new deal and bolster vastly...
Getting the facts to people who have been lied to for decades is essential for change. In my latest City Journal post, I argue in favor of an initiative that will be on the ballot in California in November. Proposition 32, which will appear on the November general-election ballot, would ban unions and most corporations...
Even with a “victory” in Chicago, teachers unions are still under attack, and their buzz words, doublespeak and bunkum are becoming ever so transparent. After striking Chicago teachers went back to work last Wednesday following cialis super active a seven day walk-out, their union declared a victory. While the school district did get some concessions,...
A word that is not in the dictionary but should be, “povertism” aptly describes the philosophy of the “povertists,” aka the “poverty is destiny” crowd. It is claimed by many that poverty leads to a myriad of personal and social ills. The regnant theme of these poverty cultists is that until we eradicate poverty, unemployment,...
Chicago’s public school teachers went on strike last week over a modest plan to extend their work day and subject them to the type of standardized performance testing they typically administer to students. The walkout provided a fresh reminder that teachers unions exist to expand the pay and protections for teachers, not to help “the...
Hell no. It’s time to stop pouring money into a bottomless pit. Not a week goes by without a gloom and doom story on the National Education Association website exhorting us to “invest” more in education lest the children of America be shortchanged. For the educrats and unionistas who are still trying to sell this...
Election results for recent ballot measures in the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, Oceanside, and El Cajon and in the County of San Diego confirm consistent poll results showing that California voters want their local government officials to solicit bids for taxpayer-funded construction contracts under fair and open competition. They don’t want their local governments to require their contractors to sign...
Showing how painful the truth can be, AFT boss Randi Weingarten goes bonkers over a new film in which a teachers union is presented fairly. Won’t Back Down, a movie due to open nationally on September 28th, centers around two determined mothers, one a bartender and the other a teacher, who team up and try...