A solution to the free rider problem

By Larry Sand

01/14/2020

Union leaders grumble when non-members get union perks; here’s a way out. As a result of the Janus decision in June 2018, workers are no longer forced to pay any money whatsoever to a public employee union as a condition of employment. While teachers and other government workers were freed from paying union dues or...

TAGS: Alexander Willen, Andrew Coulson, collective bargaining, Greg Forster, Janus decision, Larry Sand, Michael Lovenheim, Mike Petrilli, National Education Association, teachers union, Terry Moe, wage compression

More Red than Ed

By Larry Sand

01/07/2020

Radical teacher’s movement picks up some steam in 2019 and national unions join in. #RedforED began as a grassroots teachers’ movement that was organized on Facebook in early 2018. Cooked up by Noah Karvelis, a 24-year-old music teacher and socialist from Arizona, its raison-d’etre is ultimately class warfare. Karvelis’ own words are ripped from The...

TAGS: #RedforED, American Federation of Teachers, Bernie Sanders, California Federation of Teachers, Indoctrination, Larry Sand, Prop. 13, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

Taxing Californians’ patience

By Larry Sand

12/31/2019

The new Prop. 13, very much unlike the iconic original, hurts taxpayers. There is yet another potential tax grab coming to California in the form of a school bond, which will be on the March 3rd ballot. The ironically named Prop. 13, a “School and College Facilities Bond,” would authorize $15 billion in general obligation...

TAGS: California State Teachers Retirement System, Dan Walters, Jon Coupal, Katy Grimes, Larry Sand, Measure EE, Prop. 13, Richard Rider, Transparent California

The faux nonprofit prophets

By Larry Sand

12/24/2019

The clamor over for-profit charters has no substance whatsoever. Among the many vapid rallying cries in the 2019 presidential follies is the one that stresses the importance of eliminating for-profit charter schools. In October, Elizabeth Warren released her education plan that proposed eliminating them, and using the IRS to investigate existing schools that may “actually...

TAGS: Bernie Sanders, California Teachers Association, Elizabeth Warren, James Tooley, Kids Not Profits, Larry Sand, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, National Assessment of Educational Progress, teachers union, The Beautiful Tree

Montana, SCOTUS, and your kids

By Larry Sand

12/17/2019

Americans are losing confidence that public schools will improve, but a Supreme Court case could pave the way to greater parental choice. A recent in-depth survey by RealClearPolitics concludes that a majority of registered voters are dissatisfied with the performance of America’s education system and “have little confidence that public schools will improve any time...

TAGS: Blaine Amendment, education spending, Larry Sand, National Assessment of Educational Progress, PISA, school choice, tax-credit scholarships, teachers union, Trinity Lutheran Church v. Pauley, Zelman v. Simmons-Harris

Is Elitist Elizabeth’s campaign collapsing?

By Larry Sand

12/10/2019

The NEA grills POTUS candidates on the issues, and Elizabeth Warren is outed as a world-class hypocrite. In an attempt to be transparent about its endorsing process, the National Education Association is recording interviews with all the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates. And Elizabeth Warren’s effort is right in line with her talk in Atlanta, in...

TAGS: Charter schools, Elizabeth Warren, Greg Forster, Larry Sand, National Education Association, school choice, teachers union, vouchers

Democratic POTUS candidates must choose between parents and unions

By Larry Sand

12/03/2019

Sanders stands firm on the issues; Warren and Booker are chameleon-like; Biden is meh. As I wrote in May, several of the Democratic presidential hopefuls were tripping over each other in an effort to secure the endorsement of the teachers unions. These candidates were most pointed in criticizing any form of school choice. Bernie Sanders...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Andrew Gillum, Bernie Sanders, Charter schools, Corey DeAngelis, Cory Booker, Democrats for Education Reform, Education Next, Elizabeth Warren, Howard Fuller, Joe Biden, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, Ron DeSantis, school choice, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, vouchers

Bargaining for Socialism

By Larry Sand

11/26/2019

“Bargaining for the common good” is really an attempt by teacher union elites to turn America socialist. In June, 2016, unions across the country were expanding their focus to the broader community, an effort which they call “bargaining for the common good.” The new strategy originated when public employee union leaders and community organizations gathered...

TAGS: #RedforED, Alex Caputo-Pearl, Arlene Inouye, bargaining for the common good, California Federation of Teachers, International Socialist Organization, Jesse Sharkey, Larry Sand, socialism, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

The profligacy of legacy costs

By Larry Sand

11/19/2019

Better pay and working conditions for teachers can be achieved, if only the unions would get out of the way. We live in striking times. In 2018 there were state-wide teacher work stoppages in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona, et al. And this year, we have seen strikes in Denver, Los Angeles and Chicago. Not surprisingly,...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Daniel DiSalvo, Larry Sand, teacher pay, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Carrying for the kids

By Larry Sand

11/12/2019

An analysis of school shootings by the U.S. Secret Service doesn’t really tell us anything new. A report released last week by the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center on “targeted school violence” doesn’t add much to what we already knew. Nearly every attacker “experienced negative home life factors.” Most were victims of bullying...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Larry Sand, NRA, Parkland, Randi Weingarten, Sandy Hook, teachers union

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