Thursday, March 15, 2007

Budget Tightening, or Political Payback? 

Ohio Governor: Stop Voucher Program

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

Ohio has been a leader in school choice, but recent progress is threatened by the state's new governor, who was backed by the state's teachers unions. Gov. Ted Strickland has called for scrapping EdChoice, the state's newest voucher plan.

His stated rationale? Budgetary ... more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 7:18 am
• 0 comment

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

State Budgets Inspired by Myths 

Filed As:  Budget and Tax, Education (k-12), Health Care, Transportation

Budgets are reflections of priorities, and in the world of public finance, a collective statement of how we think the world works. According to the Yankee Institute for Public Policy, the budget proposal of Governor M. Jodi Rell is based on a number of myths.

Here's a summary from the ... more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 8:19 pm
• 0 comment

Monday, March 12, 2007

Teachers on Strike? 

25 pct more than state average is "humiliating"

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

The teachers union in West Virginia may stage a one-day strike Wednesday to protest a raise of 3.5 percent.

Not enough money, the union says. The average teacher salary in the state is $41,388. According to USA Today, one ... more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 12:19 pm
• 0 comment

Wednesday, March 7, 2007

Institutional Care for 3-Year Olds? 

Filed As:  Education (k-12), General

First there was kindergarten. Then came a raft of pre-k programs for four-year olds, including one in Oklahoma. Now the governor of that state (plus a couple others) would like to bring the political society (that is, government) into the business of supervising the daily activity of three-year ... more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 7:14 am
• 0 comment

Friday, March 2, 2007

Ed Establishment to Utah Children: No Vouchers for You! 

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

Well, that didn't take long. Less than a month after Utah enacts a universal school voucher plan, the reactionaries of the status quo interests strike back.

The following note comes from the more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 11:29 pm
• 0 comment

Friday, February 23, 2007

Teachers Underpaid? 

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

Teachers are underpaid? Not quite, say Jay P. Greene and Marcus A. Winters:

"According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, public school teachers earned $34.06 per hour in 2005, 36% more than the hourly wage of the ... more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 5:34 pm
• 0 comment

Friday, February 23, 2007

More Inflation ... in Schools 

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

Monetary inflation destroys a currency. Will academic inflation destroy education?

Two new reports from the U.S. Department of Education suggest that inflation continues to be a problem.

The High School Transcript ... more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 6:07 pm
• 0 comment

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Jobs Busts on Teachers Unions  

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

On February 16, Apple CEO Steve Jobs went after teachers unions at an Austin conference organized by the Texas Public Education Reform Foundation. More business people like Jobs are needed to ... more »»

• posted by Kurt Weber
• 7:19 pm
• 0 comment

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Buying Your Way to Heaven? Not in Education 

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

If only the schools had the money they need ...

I'll admit to being attracated by the subject line of the latest daily issue brief of the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute,  "Stairway to Heaven."

The subject of this more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 12:10 pm
• 0 comment

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Got Enough? The Problems with School Adequacy Lawsuits 

Filed As:  Education (k-12)

Is there an "adequacy" lawsuit in your state's future?

Two articles in Education Next tell why those lawsuits are problematic for education, finance, and democratic governance itself.

In "Courtroom Alchemy," James W. Guthrie and Matthew G. Springer argue that expert ... more »»

• posted by John LaPlante
• 5:41 pm
• 0 comment