Levi Cavener, a teacher in Idaho, describes a money laundering scheme meant to undermine and subvert the plain language of the State Constitution.
The goal, as usual, is vouchers for religious schools, which the State Constitution explicitly prohibits.
Demand a referendum. Find out if the people of Idaho want to amend the Constitution.
No, the privatizers won’t risk that. They fear democracy. They know only a tiny minority want religious school vouchers.
Demand a statewide vote.
Vouchers benefit no one while undercutting the public schools which enroll 90% of children.
Use democracy to protect democracy.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
“But, but we’re doing it for our lord and god.” That overrides all other considerations. Doing it for god! That’s what he said.
Was the title of this post based on knowledge that the University of Idaho sports teams are called the Vandals? Whether it was or not, impressive!
posted the original at https://www.opednews.com/Quicklink/El-Chapo-s-Gem-State-Money-in-General_News-Fraud_Legislation_Money-Bundling_Money-Laundering-180312-797.html#comment692823
wit this comment:
and he ain’t alone: Illinois: Now The Public Pays for Religious Schools, and One Group Wins Control of $33 Million https://dianeravitch.net/2018/03/08/illinois-now-the-public-pays-for-religios-schools-and-one-group-wins-control-of-33-million/
and here is the future:http://www.uft.org/news-briefs/koch-network-spending-big-erode-public-education#
Billionaire Charles Koch and his allies are pouring money into a massive campaign to transform education in the United States from a fundamental right to a commodity. The Charles Koch Network plans to spend about $400 million to advance a far-right education agenda in ballots across the country this election cycle and is spending big on alternatives to traditional public schools, including vouchers and charter schools. The group distributed roughly $100 million to 350 colleges and universities in 2017 — a sevenfold increase over the past five years — and intends to double the amount it spends on K–12 schools to promote its conservative agenda.
The group’s priorities include breaking teachers unions, draining public school funding into educational saving accounts and developing technologies for parents to use to shop for private classes and tutors online instead of sending their children to schools with trained and accredited public school teachers.
The legislature of Idaho reflects the will of the people, who want charters. Cavener doesn’t want them.
But since when do the pages of Diane Ravitch dot net support the idea of a “Constitution?” When Trump won, the owner of this blog showed her ignorance of American government and history by hysterically yelling, “Democracy! Democracy! Democracy! all the while rejecting the founding fathers checks and balances by creating a republic and a thing called the Electoral College.
But that is just for starters…
“A republic, madame, if you can keep it.”
Veritas (?),
I reprinted in full the essay that Hamilton wrote in The Federalist Papers, where he said that the Electoral College would be composed of the “wisest” men, who would make sure that no charlatan or fool or tool of a foreign power could ever be elected president.
The legislature of Idaho is acting in direct contradiction of the language of the State Constitution, which states clearly that no public money should be sent to religious schools.
Here is Alexander Hamilton’s essay on the purpose of the Electoral College:
https://dianeravitch.net/2018/01/27/alexander-hamilton-the-purpose-of-the-electoral-college-was-to-screen-out-men-of-low-character-and-foreign-intrigue/
Unfortunately Trump is a man of low character and foreign intrigue.
Referenda are a clumsy and inefficient way to make policy. The people sign over their limited “power of attorney” to their elected representatives, to make public policy. This way, the majority of the people can exercise their will, and the rights of the minority receive protection. Referenda are “mob rule”, and a perversion of the concept of a representative republic.
No, referenda are part of democracy. They are a check on the legislators, especially those bought and paid for by special interests like the Koch brothers and the DeVos family.
When a state legislature violates the State Constitution and refuses to call a referenda, something is fishy. I smell green, greed, corruption.
Referenda may seem democratic and fair. In fact, they are not. If our nation relied on referenda, we would never have gay rights, women’s rights, the right for women to vote, rights for African-Americans, etc. see
https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2015/may/22/a-referendum-is-not-the-way-to-go-when-it-comes-to-gay-rights-or-minority-issues
You cannot protect the rights of minorities, when 51% of the people get their way!
Charles,
If we followed your logic, every legislature could simply ignore their State Constitutions and the Supreme Court could rule without regard to the US Constitution. If we ignore both public votes (referenda) and the State Constitution, this would be total anarchy.