California’s uncompromising teachers unions

By Larry Sand
05/22/2018
With a SCOTUS decision imminent in the Janus case, California’s teachers unions are showing no signs of becoming more politically balanced. In last week’s post, I suggested that if the Janus case was successful in the Supreme Court, the political fallout, generally speaking, would be “somewhat to considerable.” The case, which would make union dues-paying...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, conservative, Democrats, Janus v. AFSCME, Josh Pechthalt, Larry Sand, National Education Association, teachers union

Janus reality check

By Larry Sand
05/15/2018
With a SCOTUS decision just weeks away, a little perspective is in order.  As one who has closely followed the Janus v AFSCME case, I am amazed at the hyperbolic ranting about it from certain quarters that bombards us on a daily basis. If successful, the suit would allow government workers in 22 states the...

TAGS: AB 119, American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, Michigan Education Association, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Rob Weil, teachers union

CTA’s ongoing charter school whoppers

By Larry Sand
05/08/2018
Washington Post writer Jay Mathews is “woke” to the fact that the California Teachers Association lies. Jay Mathews has been around the block a few times. He has been with the Washington Post since 1971, and for many of those years he has written about education issues, often arguing for sensible reforms. Which is why...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Charter schools, Jay Mathews, Kids Not Profits, Larry Sand, Marshall Tuck, Patrick Wolf, Steven Greenhut, teachers union, Tony Thurmond

Striking at the wrong target

By Larry Sand
04/24/2018
Teachers should stop listening to union leaders and look at the data before striking. When one looks at the actual dollars-and-cents reality, the emotional photo of the kindly old 1st grade teacher picketing for more money “for the classroom” falls flat. Very, very flat. There are several relevant facts that teachers and all Americans – especially the taxpaying variety – need to know.

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, Benjamin Scafidi, James Agresti, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, pension tsunami, Randi Weingarten, teachers strike, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, Valerie Strauss

Undisrupted Education

By Larry Sand
04/17/2018
The world has progressed in amazing ways since 1983, but for the most part, public education has stagnated. In 1983, the first mobile telephones intended for public use were released, ARPANET became the technical foundation of the internet, and A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform was released. The latter was a report...

TAGS: A Nation at Risk, Center for Education Reform, Charter schools, Clayton Christensen, EdChoice, educational savings accounts, Fordham Institute, Heritage Foundation, Jeanne Allen, Jeb Bush, Larry Sand, Lindsey Burke, Matthew Ladner, Mike Petrilli, NAEP, National Assessment of Educational Progress, tax-credit scholarships, teachers union, vouchers

From zero tolerance to peace circles

By Larry Sand
04/03/2018
  The latest progressive education fad is doing serious damage to kids and teachers. Fads aren’t always harmful things. Hula hoops, goldfish swallowing and pet rocks have really not had a detrimental effect on the nation. But when the education establishment pushes its collective whims on millions of school kids and their teachers, the...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Larry Sand, Max Eden, National Education Association, teachers union, Walter Williams, zero tolerance

Saying bye-bye to nana’s union

By Larry Sand
03/20/2018
Following similar actions in Wisconsin and Iowa, eternal union representation of teachers is a thing of the past in Florida; the new law doesn’t go quite far enough, however. Just imagine that in the 1970s your grandmother hired a lawyer to represent her in a lawsuit, and today, you’re forced to patronize the very same...

TAGS: collective bargaining, F. Vincent Vernuccio, Heritage Foundation, James Sherk, Larry Sand, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Rick Scott, teachers union

Education establishment put kids and taxpayers last

By Larry Sand
03/13/2018
Three hundred “must place” teachers in Los Angeles don’t work, but are still on the payroll. What does a school board do with teachers whom no principal wants to hire? In New York, that problem was “solved” this past fall when Mayor Bill De Blasio and school chief Carmen Fariña, began to unload the so-called...

TAGS: Bill de Blasio, Clayton Christensen, George McKenna, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, LAUSD, Mike Antonucci, Nick Melvoin, Prop. 13, Richard Vladovic, teachers union

“We actually make communities safer and…the right-wing is threatened by that.”

By Larry Sand
03/06/2018
Union rhetoric about the Janus case has gone from hyperbolic to just plain crazy. If successful in the Supreme Court, the Janus v AFSCME case will free public employees from paying a union as a condition of employment in 22 states. Government workers in the other 28 states already have been spared the unions’ forced...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Bob Bowdon, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Choice Media, Friedrichs v CTA, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, Right to Work, teachers union, Trey Kovacs

Mr. Chips needs to pack heat

By Larry Sand
02/20/2018
While finger-pointing continues over the Florida school shooting, it’s time to arm our teachers. Understandably, much has been written about the awful school shooting in Parkland, Florida, where 17 young people were slaughtered at the hands of a sick and evil human being. The tragedy was particularly vexing as there were so many warning signs...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, Parkland, Sandy Hook, teachers union