The Learning Community and Education

I have three questions for you and probably too much ‘opinion’ tossed in.

I. http://www.buffalonews.com/cityregion/story/318885.html Teachers' union delays state budget with tenure scuffle

The union kept NY state aid to education from passing until tenure could in no way be based on input from principals or student achievement gains. Does our newly passed state aid package have a similar provision? Once the bill was passed, the lawsuit over state aid was dropped. Having taxing authorities coerce lawmakers with lawsuits – is it legal?

II. Is the geographical increase Raikes has put forth for the Learning Community (LC) taxing authority signed and sealed or just up for discussion? If taxation begins at 1.05 mill, it will only add $20 next year, but that’s only where it starts.

Innovation requires thinking outside of the box and the fuel of competition coming from alternatives. If we don’t learn from history, we will repeat it: 1) these districts were not innovative in the past and 2) ESUs have not brought their promised balance, either. In 1965, ESUs were created ‘to achieve a better balance of educational opportunities for students regardless of the population, financial differences, or geographic limitations of school districts.’ http://www.esu10.org/general.html At one time Raikes was going to expand ESU 19 into the LC but I think special interests ended that idea.

The goals of the Learning community to develop solutions out of the box using innovation begins as a noble goal, but the existing districts were not constrained from these options when graduation rates began to fall. The fact that even more money, including Building Bright Futures funds, will go to existing bureaucracies is not logical. Preschool has shown to help only up to approximately 3^rd grade. All day kindergarten has not produced desired results. Reading First money did add benefit to the reading scores but the testing portion of NCLB will be removed when the Democrat House is finished.

Sometimes I just want to say to the Senators, ‘What are you thinking?’ Many children are not succeeding in the existing school district schools (see graduation rates), including magnets. Districts had their opportunity. Why do they think the home school population is growing? Working parents, especially single parents without means don’t have other options. Private schools are not an option and neither is home schooling. But charters, vouchers and tuitioning would be. The establishment, including your newspaper, has pretended that the LC will provide new options and improve scores and graduation rates. I’m not convinced.

Interestingly, Ben Gray on Kaleidoscope had two of them panel attend the same Catholic grade school. Bill Clinton’s grandmother said no child in the Arkansas public schools gets into Yale and she put Bill in a catholic school. Yet, there is a mistque that things will improve if we just get the right laws in place.

The Learning Community is not giving parents school choice but merges the existing bureaucracies who already control Lincoln’s Education committee. With even minor competition for OPS, districts will be forced to really innovate to compete for the tax dollars which now go directly to bureaucrats. Imagine if your grocery dollars went directly to Bakers or HyVee for 100 years.