Somebody is dumping a lot of campaign cash into state and local races.
Michael Petrilli of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute is convinced that the teachers’ unions are the Evil Empire. He says that the unions play Goliath to the poor reformers’ puny David. He says the unions were responsible for the defeat of right-wing Education Idol Tony Bennett in Indiana and the decisive repeal of the Luna Laws in deep-red Idaho.
Wow, who knew the teachers’ unions were so strong in those two red states?
I will wait to hear from readers in those two states about whether their unions are so powerful.
But while we wait to hear from them, let’s consider the race between teacher Marie Corfield and her Republican opponent, Assemblywoman Donna Simon.
Simon raised almost $500,000, much of it from business and industry, you know, the working families’ friends.
Corfield, who had the temerity to disagree with Governor Chris Christie, raised about $175,000. The hedge fund guys called Better Education for NJ Kids (B4K) gave Simon $109,000.
What did the Goliath of New Jersey politics–the New Jersey Education Association– give Corfield?
A whopping $8,200. Oh, yes, some other teacher group gave her $1,000.
At last count, Simon was slightly ahead of Corfield, who wanted a recount.
Some Goliath. Some David.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Really makes you wonder what kind of profit these “reformers” are expecting on their investment. No one spends that kind of money because they’re so concerned that poor and minority kids aren’t getting a good education, least of all the corporatists funding “reform”.
Furthermore, we need to understand that this profit will be coming out of our collective pockets. It’s not like the rheeformers expect poor minority kids to be forking up big bucks to go to their schools or use their edu-products. Their profits are entirely taxpayer funded. Good gig if you can get it. And if you have no soul.
From Indiana. The Glenda Ritz victory was gratifying, but may only turn out to be a symbolic win. She’ll answer to a Board of “reform minded” (Mitch Daniels’ words) individuals. All of them, according to him. Furthermore, Gov-Elect Mike Pence sees no connection with her win and citizens’ disatisfaction with state education policy.
It is believed that the Board will meet Dec. 5 to ratify a proposed de-professionalization of teacher certification. I suppose Teacher’s Unions are aware of these, but many teachers aren’t. I post regularly on Facebook on these issues (and this blog is a godsend) and regularly am thanked by teachers who are too busy teaching to follow the politics of teaching.
Don Wheeler
South Bend
Okay, let’s talk about “powerful unions.”
First, the 2011-2012 salary for the rank and file members of our U.S. House and Senate was $174,000. There’s a built in, guaranteed increase. Plus a benefits and retirement package that would make most of our eyes water with envy.
Our Pennsylvania representatives get a base pay of more than $79,000 per year…again, with that benefits and retirement package most can only dream about.
And, by the way, 73 of those have salaries over $100,000 a year.
And, by the way, the House and Senate budgets themselves an additional almost half billion dollars a year for expenses.
(You probably shouldn’t tell that to those “overpaid” teachers who hang out at Wal-Mart using their own money to buy school supplies for their classes.)
But, after all, the teachers have those (shudder) unions!
Those “powerful” and obviously reprehensible teachers union in Pennsylvania have managed to get the average salary for Pennsylvania teacher to a little over $60,000. With mot of their benefit packages shrinking every year.
You remember teachers, right? The ones responsible for helping our children become productive, responsible adults? The men and women responsible for the education of those future legislatures.
So, you tell me. Using your head as well as your heart of hearts.
When it comes to protecting our greatest national resource, our children, which is the better investment? More and better teachers? Or more legislators?
Correct. You get an “A.”
And that concludes our lesson for today.
PLEASE SUPPORT THE PORTLAND OREGON TEACHERS UNION!!!
The Oregonian has a new poll asking the community if PPS was right to give up the RTTT grant:
http://blog.oregonlive.com/myoregon/2012/11/was_portland_public_schools_ri.html
And no one running for school board ever imagines they have to raise $100,000 plus in such a race.
Yes, the NEA assisted in helping to fund TV campaign ads in Idaho to help defeat the Luna laws, but nothing like the contributions Luna got to promote his “yes” vote for Propositions 1, 2, 3. I was limited to 350 word letters-to-the-editor while Frank Vandersloot of Melaleuca fame took out whole page ads in every Sunday paper in Idaho for two straight months, each of which lambasted the teachers’ union. Michael Bloomberg and Jeb Bush who don’t even live here contributed thousands of dollars to Luna’s props. But in the end it was parents and the public who recognized that these reform laws were bad for children and education in Idaho and they defeated them.
The scary part is what may happen to those teachers who had the temerity to stand up to those laws. Ever since Utah voters voted against a voucher system a few years ago, the State Legislature (and a few senators in particular) have done everything they could to damage teacher’s association, as if they were that strong to begin with. I hope it doesn’t happen to those teachers in Indiana or Idaho, but I wouldn’t be surprised.
Eastern Idaho billionaire Frank VanderSloot, CEO of the direct-marketing company Melaleuca, contributed well over $1 million to the efforts to support State Superintendent Tom Luna’s Propositions 1, 2, and 3. Prop 1 would have eliminated much of the due-process provisions from teacher firings, limited contract negotiations to salary and benefits only, eliminated renewable contracts (so-called “tenure”), eliminated collective bargaining, among other things. Prop 2 would have instituted a pay-for-performance/merit-pay scheme based, in part, on student scores on standardized testing and on parent evaluations of teachers. Prop 3 (defeated by a 2 to 1 margin) would have spent $180 million over 8 years to purchase a laptop computer for every high school student while require each student to take two online courses in order to graduate.
Mr. VanderSloot’s $1 million investment was in addition to the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent over the last two years placing full-page ads in numerous newspapers throughout Idaho. One such ad in Idaho’s largest newspaper, the Idaho Statesman, has been estimated to cost $20,000 per insertion. These ads are archived in a web site maintained by Mr. VanderSloot at http://www.communitypagenews.com/ . Without exception, they are anti-union, casting the opposition to the Luna legislation as out-of-state “union bosses” financed by union interests. In fact, they rarely address any issues related to education, other than the pernicious influence of unions.
A few headlines give the flavor of these lurid ads, but they really have to be seen in full to be believed.
“Unions Declare War On Idaho”
“It’s Time To Put Our Kids First!(Ahead of Union Bosses)”
“Union Against Putting Students First”
“Unions Try To Block Teachers From $38 Million in Bonuses”
“Washington, D.C. Union Tries To Buy Control Of Idaho School”