What was that? Colorado teachers union wants contract negotiations open to the public

By Victor | Published: March 9, 2012

Another impressive innovation from Douglas County educators 
    
By Ben Velderman
EAG Communications
     
     CASTLE ROCK, Colo. – Once again, Colorado’s Douglas County School District is making education news of the “man-bites-dog” variety.
     
     Just last year, the Douglas County school board made national headlines when it established a tuition voucher program for students who wanted to leave the district to attend a private school. The legality of that program is still being sorted out by the courts.
     
     That was a surprise, considering school boards generally fight to keep students and the state dollars that follow them.
     
     Now, the president of the local teachers’ union has come out in support of making collective bargaining contract talks open to the public. That’s a fresh approach, considering most teacher unions typically insist on making their expensive demands behind closed doors, where reporters and taxpayers can’t hear them.
    
     But the union folks in Douglas County see things differently.
     
     “By letting the sunlight shine on our negotiations, parents, taxpayers and employees will benefit by seeing the open dialogue around our district’s priorities,” said Brenda Smith, president of the Douglas County Federation of Teachers, during Tuesday’s school board meeting.
     
     “I hope you consider this,” Smith said, according to EdNewsColorado.org.
     Read More »

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New York teachers harass student regarding her views on education, mother alleges

By Victor | Published: March 8, 2012
By Ben Velderman
EAG Communications
     
     ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Jada Williams is a very perceptive 13-year-old.
       
     After reading the autobiography of former slave Frederick Douglass as part of a district-wide reading initiative, Williams saw parallels between the slaves in the 1800s and students of today who are trapped inside failing, ineffective schools.
        
     Williams, an eighth-grader, noted how slave masters used illiteracy and ignorance to keep slaves oppressed. She argued that illiteracy is a major problem in the Rochester City School District, and blamed chaotic classrooms and indifferent teachers for undermining student learning.
    
     Williams put her thoughts in an essay and submitted it for the school-wide essay contest about Douglass’ autobiography.
     
     “Most white teachers that I have come into contact with, over the last several years of my life, (have) failed to instruct us even today,” Williams wrote in her essay. “The teachers are not as vocal about us not learning … but their actions speak volumes.”
     
     Williams’ observations harken back to former President George W. Bush’s famous admonition against “the soft bigotry of low expectations.”
     
     Williams’ English teacher made copies of the essay, and distributed them among the staff of School #3, according to media reports. 
     
     Carla Williams, Jada’s mother, alleges the essay so angered the teachers, that they began harassing her daughter.
     
     “After the essay came about, I started receiving the phone calls (from teachers), and they all start saying that Jada was angry,” Carla Williams said in a recent interview with Glenn Beck. “Before (the essay), I never received any bad reports about Jada.”
     
     Though she had been an A-student for much of her school career, Jada Williams began receiving low or failing grades, according to her mother, who adds that the teachers have refused to show the assignments or tests Jada supposedly failed.
      Read More »
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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s recall proponents might not have as much support as they claim

By Victor | Published: March 7, 2012
     A non-profit, nonpartisan organization known as “Truth the Vote” is working with volunteer citizens to evaluate and verify signatures submitted to the state in support of a recall election for Gov. Scott Walker.
     
     The result shows that recall proponents may not have garnered as much support as they would like the public to believe.
     
     Over 14,000 volunteers from 49 states entered signature records into a secure database, and analyzed each signature line in accordance with Wisconsin election law.
     
     Over the course of 22 days each signature record was inspected an average of 2.67 times in an effort “to capture consistent information and isolation of aberrant information,” according to TruthTheVote.org.
     
     As of the end of February, the review netted a total of 819,233 unique signature records, down from the 1,382,058 that were submitted. That number was reduced by 55,608 for incomplete, indecipherable, out of date, or otherwise ineligible signatures.
    
     Truth the Vote also tagged 228,940 signatures for closer inspection because they appeared to be “partially marked through, illegible, possibly false, mismatched or otherwise compromised,” according to the website.
     
     Truth the Vote estimates that 534,685 signatures are valid and eligible, just shy of the 540,000 valid signatures needed to force a recall. That may be beside the point, considering that Walker has announced that he won’t challenge the signatures.
      Read More »
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Arbitrator’s ruling to reinstate porn-viewing teacher is asinine

By Victor | Published: March 7, 2012

New state law will stop other teachers who view porn from getting the same deal

By Victor Skinner
EAG Communications
    
     CROSS PLAINS, Wis. – Most people would agree that teachers who view pornography on school computers or during the work day deserve to be fired. 
    
     But residents of the Middleton-Cross Plains School District learned the hard way last week that common sense isn’t a deciding factor in Wisconsin’s teacher termination and arbitration process. 
    
     Andrew Harris, a seventh grade science teacher at Glacier Creek Middle School in Cross Plains, has been on unpaid leave for nearly two years, during which a district investigation revealed that he and several other school employees viewed porn through their school email accounts, on school time.
    
     The investigation led to five unpaid teacher suspensions, a fired substitute and the resignation of one administrator. The school board moved to fire Harris in May 2010, but he’s fighting the decision.
    
     Last Thursday, an arbitrator ruled that Harris should have received a 15-day suspension, and he should be returned to the classroom with back pay and benefits. Two other employees who retired amid the scandal also deserve back pay and benefits, according to arbitrator Karen Mawhinney, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.
    
     “I’m hopeful I can resume my career in the fall,” Harris, a veteran teacher, told the newspaper.
    
     In total, the ordeal is expected to cost the district well over $500,000 in legal costs, arbitrator fees, back pay and benefits. The expense could increase if the district offers Harris a settlement to prevent him from returning to the classroom.
     Read More »

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New Michigan law takes a bite out of teachers union health insurance scam

By Victor | Published: March 7, 2012
By Steve Gunn
EAG Communications
 
     MUSKEGON, Mich.  – One of the Education Action Group’s founding missions was to help uncover and expose the inconvenient truth behind the Michigan Education Special Services Association (MESSA).
 
     MESSA is owned and operated by the Michigan Education Association, the state’s largest teachers union, and for decades has used the union’s strength at the bargaining table to force school boards into purchasing its highly expensive health insurance coverage for employees.
  
     In most Michigan school districts, teachers and other employees paid little to nothing for MESSA’s “Cadillac” insurance plans, but the exorbitant premiums were draining district coffers at an alarming rate. Union officials would typically refuse to consider less expensive insurance carriers, or increases to employee contributions, during contract negotiations.
    
     MESSA, meanwhile, raked in massive profits and transferred millions to the MEA each year in the form of “marketing fees.” Read More »
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California Teachers Association asks: What can Jerry Brown do for us?

By Victor | Published: March 2, 2012
     California Gov. Jerry Brown is promoting a ballot initiative that would raise taxes on the wealthy and “temporarily” increase the state’s sales tax, in order to prop up public education, which also serves as Big Labor’s money tree.
    
     Many public education advocates don’t like Brown’s plan because it would essentially maintain California’s current school funding level – not increase it. Instead, they favor one of the other two other competing tax plans that may appear on the November ballot.
    
     That’s why some find it curious that the California Teachers Association, the state’s largest teachers union, is vigorously backing Brown’s plan.
    
     Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters offers some reasons for the CTA’s decision.
    
     Brown has proven himself to be “the union’s protector,” Walters writes.
    
     During last year’s budget deal – which featured automatic spending cuts should expected revenues fall short – “Brown and lawmakers included a curious proviso: If school support fell, local school districts could not adjust by laying off teachers,” Walters writes. Instead, districts may be required to shorten the school year – though an official decision hasn’t yet been determined.
     Read More »
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Oklahoma teachers union want $100 million for teacher raises

By Victor | Published: March 2, 2012
     Oklahoma’s largest teachers union is pressuring lawmakers to spend $100 million on across-the-board raises for educators, reports CapitolBeatOK.com.  
    
     This is just the latest big-spending plan to be pushed by the Oklahoma Education Association. In November 2010, the union pushed a ballot initiative that would have tied Oklahoma’s per-pupil spending to the per-pupil average of neighboring states.  Estimates put the price tag at $1.7 billion for the first three years.  Voters rejected the measure by a margin of four-to-one.
    
     Now, the OEA wants each of the state’s 51,000 teachers to receive a $2,000 raise, regardless of their job performance.
    
     “Rather than evaluating Oklahoma teachers as individual professionals – giving big raises to rock-star teachers, and getting rid of mediocre and poor teachers – this idea of across-the-board raises treats teachers like interchangeable, unskilled laborers,” said Brandon Dutcher, vice president of policy for the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs.
     Read More »
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Company: Chicago Teachers Union plus G-8 Summit equals mayhem

By Victor | Published: March 2, 2012
     From its full embrace of the Occupy Chicago protests to its cozy relationship with Action Now (the reincarnated ACORN), the Chicago Teachers Union has established itself as one of the nation’s most radical unions.
    
     Now, the CTU is joining forces with other radical groups to protest the simultaneous NATO meeting and G-8 economic summit, scheduled for May in Chicago.
    
     This coalition of malcontents and radicals also includes the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, the Committee Against Political Repression, Campaign to End the Death Penalty, Committee to Stop FBI Repression and the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign.
    
     G-8 protests typically get violent, so it won’t be surprising if CTU’s radical coalition resorts to ugly behavior as well.
    
     That’s why one company, Midwest Solar Control Corp., is urging local businesses to install “window blast film” and “anti-graffiti film” to their buildings before the G-8 summit begins.
     Read More »
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Leaders of Las Vegas teachers union cash in while everyday members await layoffs

By Victor | Published: March 2, 2012
Union acknowledges former top executive was triple dipping, out-earning superintendent
 
By Ben Velderman
EAG Communications
 
     LAS VEGAS – Your raise or your job.
    
     That’s the choice facing members of the Clark County Education Association, the union that represents teachers in Nevada’s Clark County School District.
   
     The district is facing a $78 million deficit for the 2011-13 budget cycle, and needs to freeze teachers’ pay in order to avoid laying off 1,000 teachers by April.
    
     While most people would choose their job over a pay raise – as CCSD support staff and administrators have done – CCEA members have refused. An arbitrator will soon decide whether all teachers will take a pay freeze, or if some members will get pay raises while others get pink slips.
     Read More »
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Kyle Olson, EAG mourn the sudden and tragic death of conservative activist Andrew Breitbart

By Victor | Published: March 1, 2012

Like many others, EAG staff was inspired by Breitbart’s passion, courage

     Kyle Olson, founder and CEO of Education Action Group, issued the following statement this morning regarding the tragic passing of conservative activist Andrew Breitbart:  

     “The fight for freedom lost its chief warrior with the sudden passing of Andrew Breitbart early Thursday morning.  
     
     “Andrew was determined to take the fight directly to the enemies of American exceptionalism.  His resolve to proudly carry the torch of liberty gave thousands of conservatives across the nation courage, a voice and a platform.
     
     “I was looking forward to launching his newest site, BigEducation.com, as its editor in April. One way or another, we will continue his work of exposing the radicals who have overtaken our public education system.
     
     “While a prominent flag bearer of the fight for American freedom has fallen, the battle that he led will continue on.
     
     “I and my colleagues at Education Action Group would like to express our deepest condolences to Andrews’ wife and young children.”
     
     Hail and farewell.
    
     
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