Let’s get real about the education budget

By Larry Sand
05/30/2017
Trump’s proposed budget includes some minor cuts; union leaders launch hyperbolic grenades. Did you know that the Trump/DeVos budget is manifestly cruel to children and catastrophic to public schools? Are you aware that Trump/Devos are planning to slash funding for public schools, and use voucher schemes to funnel taxpayer dollars to unaccountable private schools? Well,...

TAGS: Betsy DeVos, Center for Education Reform, Donald Trump, education spending, Jeanne Allen, Larry Sand, PISA, remediation, school choice, teachers union

Let’s Deep-six Prop. 30

By Larry Sand
04/26/2016
The signatures for an initiative that would extend 2012’s “temporary” tax increase in California are due today. Four years ago Californians voted in Prop. 30, a “temporary” tax, to pay back schools “from the years of devastating cuts.” But as I show here, there was hardly any devastation; in fact, our spending had continued to...

TAGS: Andrew Coulson, Ben DeGrow, California Teachers Association, Cato Institute, EdSource, education spending, Eric Heins, Jason Bedrick, John Fensterwald, Larry Sand, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, pension tsunami, Prop. 30, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

$MORE

By Larry Sand
01/12/2016
CTA press release reveals the union’s agenda toward education spending…and its utter disregard of reality. Last week California Teachers Association president Eric Heins issued a press release that shows the union’s ignorance – or avoidance – of facts. It begins with, “Educators are encouraged to see the Governor use his proposed state budget and revenues...

TAGS: Andrew Coulson, California Teachers Association, Cato Institute, education spending, Eric Heins, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, NAEP, Prop. 30, teachers union

Social Justice Warriors at Work

By Larry Sand
08/11/2015
With the election season in full swing, expect a tide of union-led anti-reform, anti-choice and anti-Republican politicking in our kids’ classrooms. “I watched the GOP presidential debate because my students are counting on me” is the title of a piece posted on the National Education Association website by “guest writer” Tom McLaughlin, a high school...

TAGS: Charter schools, Chris Christie, Common Core, education spending, homeschooling, Jeb Bush, John Stocks, Larry Sand, National Education Association, school choice, Scott Walker, social justice, teachers union, Vergara

U.S. – #1 in Education … Spending

By Larry Sand
07/02/2013
But in educational achievement, we are not even close to the top. The National Education Association just came out with a “research” report which should be taken about as seriously as the Tobacco Institute study that denied the link between smoking and lung cancer. The “Rankings of the States 2012 and Estimates of School Statistics...

TAGS: Choice Media, education spending, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Paul Peterson, teachers unions

Don’t Buy NEA Snake Oil

By Larry Sand
07/24/2012
The teachers union uses bogus numbers to con the public into believing that education needs more funding. The National Education Association is relentless in its quest to raise taxes. In its latest gambit — “Massive Budget Cuts Threaten America’s Children” — the union claims that “…America’s schools have added 5.4 million students since 2003.” The...

TAGS: Andrew Coulson, education spending, Eric Hanushek, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, teachers union

NEA Agenda: More Money, Minimal Reform

By Larry Sand
05/15/2012
The teachers union not only plays the poverty card, but by battling reforms, ensures that the impoverished will remain that way. “No Education Reform Without Tackling Poverty, Experts Say,” is the title of an article on the National Education Association website. Experts? A trip into the weeds leads to something called the Center on Poverty,...

TAGS: Charter schools, education spending, Eva Moskowitz, George Soros, Head Start, Jay Greene, Lindsey Burke, Lisa Snell, National Education Association, teachers unions, vouchers

Taking Randi Weingarten’s Words with a Grain of Salt… and Some Maalox

By Larry Sand
03/27/2012
The American Federation of Teachers President’s half truths and hypocrisy can’t hide an obvious agenda. In a slam against those of us who believe that part of a teacher’s evaluation should be based on how well their students perform on standardized tests, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten wrote an article for the Huffington...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, education spending, Mike Antonucci, Randi Weingarten, teachers unions