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Peter Greene: Uh-Oh, DeVos Went Off-Script on the Illinois Voucher Deal

By dianeravitch
September 15, 2017 //
26

The allegedly bluestate of Illinois, the one with a Republican governor (who hates public schools) and a Democratic legislature (which is supposed to support public schools) passed a school funding deal with a generous voucher package.

According to the script, everyone was supposed to declare the deal a “bipartisan compromise,” not a victory for Betsy Dezvos and privatization.

But Peter Greene points out that DeVos didn’t get the memo. She celebrated her victory.

“Oh, no, Secretary! You forgot to call this a compromise. You forgot to say that these “savings accounts” aren’t really back door vouchers! You forgot to say what a great funding victory this was for public schools! You forgot to pretend that this bill helped ALL schools through its awesome compromisiness. You could have called it a victory on many sides… on many sides.

“Part of the deal in Illinois was supposed to be that voucher fans (of all parties) would refrain from doing a victorious happy dance, that they would avoid saying out loud “We are one step closer to replacing public schools.” But no– there’s DeVos, down in the end zone, doing her victory dance and spiking the ball and hollering, “In your FACE, public schools!!” Next time someone better make sure she gets the memo.”

Categories Betsy DeVos, Illinois, Vouchers

Mike Klonsky: Voucher Deal Shows Democrats Stand for Nothing

By dianeravitch
August 30, 2017 //
68

Mike Klonsky assesses the Illinois funding bill, which set aside for $75 million for vouchers, and declares it is a total sell–out by Democrats.

http://michaelklonsky.blogspot.com/2017/08/il-voucher-vote-reversal-shows-dems.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+mikeklonsky+(SmallTalk)&m=1

“The passage of the IL school funding bill, which included $75M for private school vouchers, is being hailed as a “model of bi-partisanship” and “compromise” by both Gov. Rauner and Speaker Madigan. It was neither. It was instead, an exercise in duplicity on the part of state Democrats and a lifeline for a Republican governor who had become totally isolated and ripe for a 2018 election defeat after his initial veto of the same school funding bill.

“Democrats demonstrated once again that they’re a party that stands for nothing and that their campaign slogan of a “Better Deal” as opposed to resistance, is little more than a call for more opportunism. It’s a recipe for disaster in the upcoming elections where Republicans shouldn’t have a leg to stand on.”

The die was cast, writes Mike, after Rahm met with the local Cardinal and with DeVos.

“There was no “compromise” to be made since the voucher deal between Chicago’s mayor and Cardinal Cupich, had been in the works for months, specifically since Rahm’s closed door meeting with Trump’s education secretary, Betsy DeVos back in April. Monday’s two House votes were mere Madigan-choreographed theater.”

Categories Democrats, Education Reform, Funding, Illinois

Mike Klonsky: Governor Rauner Vetoes Funding for the Kids of Chicago

By dianeravitch
August 1, 2017 //
9

Mike Klonsky describes Governor Rauner’s rationale for vetoing aid to Chicago public schools.

“Gov. Rauner has vetoed SB1, the school funding bill, thereby continuing to deprive the state’s neediest districts of millions of dollars and threatening the opening of schools in the fall.

“Rauner claims that the bill takes money away from wealthier white districts in order to “bail out” needier, mainly black and Latino districts like Chicago. He also claims, the bill, “includes a bailout of Chicago’s broken teacher pension system.”

“Both claims are false, says the BGA.

“In fact, under the new funding formula no school district gets less state money, but many low-income districts get more. With low-income students accounting for 80.2% of its enrollment, CPS is among the latter group.

“The biggest problem with the bill as I see it, is that it fails to identify new sources of revenue, ie. a graduated income tax, making the wealthiest pay their fair share. But nevertheless, the bill, which passed both houses in Springfield needs to be signed, and fast.

“Rauner’s been using the big-lie technique to play off white students against students of color, urban schools against downstate and suburban schools and everyone against teachers, their unions, and retirees.

“But let’s say, for the sake of argument, that his “bail out” claims are correct. What’s wrong with bailing out public schools or other public institutions in distress? If IL paid its fair share of education dollars, a bail out wouldn’t be necessary. IL continues to rank near the bottom when it comes to school funding.

“The state, by constitutional mandate, has the primary responsibility for funding its public schools but has never come close to covering even 50% of the cost. In recent years, the state’s contribution has dipped below 30%, forcing local school districts to raise their property tax levy or cut programs.”

Another example of a state that has decided to starve its public school and evade its state constitutional responsibility.

Categories Funding, Illinois

BREAKING NEWS: Illinois Governor Rauner Vetoes School Funding Plan

By dianeravitch
August 1, 2017 //
16

Governor Bruce Rauner vetoed an education funding bill because there was too much money for Chicago.

Rauner vetoes education funding plan, rewriting Democrats’ proposal
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-bruce-rauner-education-met-0802-20170801-story.html

Rauner, a billionaire hedge fund manager, loves charter schools, hates public schools. He especially hates Chicago public schools because the union fought him and continues to fight him.

Categories Funding, Illinois

Illinois: 17 School Districts Sue the State of Illinois, Governor Rauner, and State Board for Fair Funding

By dianeravitch
April 6, 2017 //
3

Seventeen Illinois school districts have banded together to sue Governor Bruce Rauner, the State of Illinois, and the Illinois State Board of Education for failing to fund public education adequately in accord with the state constitution. The state expects all students to meet its learning standards but not provide the funding to support what is expected. This is not equality of educational opportunity.


Media Contact: Allison Ordman
319-594-4690

Illinois School Districts File Lawsuit to Hold State Accountable to Adequately Fund State Learning Standards
Seventeen districts with low-wealth property tax bases and high number of low-income students unite
to demand state not leave their students behind

SPRINGFIELD – Today 17 Illinois school districts stood up for students when they filed an unprecedented lawsuit to hold accountable the State, Governor Bruce Rauner and the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) to carry out their constitutional duty of adequately funding a “high quality education” for all students. The superintendents of four plaintiff districts discussed the lawsuit today at a press conference at the state’s Capitol building: Dan Cox (Staunton CUSD #6), Jill Griffin (Bethalto CUSD #8), Art Ryan (Cahokia CUSD #187) and Brad Skertich (Southwestern CUSD #9). The lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of St. Clair County.

The plaintiffs argue the State first must use an evidence-based methodology to calculate the per-pupil extra financial aid necessary for low property wealth districts to meet the Illinois Learning Standards, and second must fund each district at that calculated level. The Illinois Constitution provides basis for this case in Article X, Section 1, which requires that Illinois “shall provide for an efficient system of high quality education.”

Under the current model, students are held accountable to meet the Illinois Learning Standards – standards that school districts across Illinois have been forced to fund on their own without additional state funding to cover those mandates.

“The 17 districts that have joined this case so far did so because we are all at a breaking point. We as school administrators and superintendents have been forced to increase class sizes, lay off qualified teachers and eviscerate social services for students, all because the State is not living up to its constitutional obligation to adequately fund the Learning Standards it mandates,” said Dr. David Lett, Superintendent of Pana CUSD #8. “Each district has gone through its budget line by line to re-allocate dollars more efficiently. But we won’t stand to see our students lose out any longer simply because of where they live.”

This lawsuit stands out from previous cases in that the State now has defined the standards of a “high quality” education and has required districts to meet those standards.

Participants in the suit include districts from these counties: St. Clair, Bond, Christian, Clinton, Fayette, Jersey, Macoupin, Madison, Montgomery and Peoria (the full list of districts is available at the end of this release). All 17 plaintiff districts spend under the state average on instructional and operating cost per pupil, primarily because their regions have less property wealth to tax. These districts comprise about 25,000 students, half of whom qualify as low-income.

In 1997, ISBE adopted the Illinois Learning Standards to hold schools (teachers, administrators, students) accountable to achieve key benchmarks. These standards were aligned with the federal Common Core standards in 2010, and after a three-year grace period, each district was “expected to fully implement curricula that meet the new standards during the 2013-14 school year” without any additional State aid.

Over time the standards increased in rigor, and meeting them required new resources such as textbooks, curriculum and professional development, for which the State provides no assistance.

Though all plaintiff districts support the establishment of and accountability for rigorous student standards, their superintendents have learned firsthand that meeting these standards consistently comes at a cost – a cost of eliminating critical teaching positions, counselors and other programs essential to student learning – because the State does not fund these mandates.

ISBE has adopted and held all school districts accountable to meet the Learning Standards, disregarding the districts that lack sufficient local finances to cover the costs of special programs, curriculum and professional development that the Learning Standards inherently require.

If the plaintiffs win in court, the State would be required to fulfill its constitutional obligation to adequately fund each district for the Learning Standards it mandates.

Each year, the General Assembly establishes a “Foundation Level” per-pupil cost (as of now $6,119), and if any district lacks the local resources to meet that level, the State is obligated to make up the difference. Lawmakers have not adjusted this “Foundation Level” in over eight years, and the level does not relate to the Illinois Learning Standards in any measurable way.

In fact, in recent years the General Assembly has failed to fully appropriate the “Foundation Level,” so instead it has prorated the funds. Under proration, the State decreases its aid to each district in a proportional manner. However, proration has a disproportionate impact on districts that have lower property wealth because those districts rely more heavily on state aid.

The State also evaluates districts based on their students’ scores on the Partnership for Assessment for Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam, an exam that must align with the Learning Standards. The 17 plaintiff districts’ PARCC scores remain lower than wealthier school districts. This increasing disparity has made it even harder for students in the lower property wealth districts to compete against students from higher property wealth districts for admission at Illinois public universities and colleges.

Due to this disparity, some families have elected to move to areas with higher-performing schools or to districts that have higher state-assigned grades. This shift has further reduced the pool of local resources available to the already under-funded school districts.

The Board of each plaintiff district voted to join the suit. The 17 plaintiff districts are listed here, as well as the 14 superintendents who attended the press conference.

Bethalto CUSD #8 (Superintendent Dr. Jill Griffin)
Bond County CUSD #2 (Superintendent Wes Olson)
Bunker Hill CUSD #8 (Superintendent Dr. Victor Buehler)
Cahokia CUSD #187 (Superintendent Art Ryan)
Carlinville CUSD #1 (Superintendent Mike Kelly)
Gillespie CUSD #7
Grant CCSD #110
Illinois Valley Central CUSD #321 (Superintendent Chad Allison)
Mt. Olive CUSD #5 (Superintendent Patrick Murphy)
Mulberry Grove CUSD #1 (Superintendent Brad Turner)
Nokomis CUSD #22 (Superintendent Scott Doerr)
Pana CUSD #8 (Superintendent Dr. Dave Lett)
Southwestern CUSD #9 (Superintendent Brad Skertich)
Staunton CUSD #6 (Superintendent Dan Cox)
Taylorville CUSD #3 (Superintendent Gregg Fuerstenau)
Vandalia CUSD #203 (Superintendent Rich Well)
Wood River Hartford #15

The firm representing the plaintiffs is Despres, Schwartz & Geoghegan, Ltd.

###

Categories Equity, Funding, Illinois

Peter Greene: What is “$tand for Children”?

By dianeravitch
August 1, 2016 //
23

Yesterday we learned that billionaires have assembled a fund of $725,000 (so far) to defeat Washington state Supreme Court justice Barbara Madsen. The money is being funneled mostly through a group called “Stand for Children.”

Why are the billionaires eager to oust Judge Madsen? She wrote the 6-3 decision in 2015 that declared that charter schools are not public schools under the Washington state constitution and are not eligible to receive public funding devoted solely to democratically governed public schools. For daring to thwart their insistence on charter schools, the billionaires decided that Judge Madsen had to go.

But what is this group “Stand for Children” that is a willing handmaiden to the whims of billionaires who hate public schools?

Peter Greene explains its origins as a social justice organization some 20 years ago, founded by Jonah Edelman, the son of civil rights icon Marian Wright Edelman and equity advocate Peter Edelman. Josh’s pedigree was impeccable, and Stand for Children started as a new and promising civil rights organization.

But somewhere along the way, SFC took a radical change of course. It began receiving buckets of money from the Gates Foundation and the Walton Foundation. By 2010, Oregon SFC was advocating charters, cybercharters, and a reduction in the capital gains tax. Flush with reformer cash, it became active in many states, opposing unions, supporting charters, removing teacher job security.

Strange.

The apple has fallen very far from the tree.

SFC endorsed the anti-public school, anti-union propaganda film “Waiting for Superman.”

SFC crowed about pushing legislation in Illinois that would cripple the Chicago Teachers Union. It opened a campaign in Massachusetts to reduce teacher tenure and seniority rules, threatening a referendum unless the unions gave concessions. Jonah Edelman boasted at the Aspen Ideas Festival in 2011 about his role in spending millions, hiring the best lobbyists, and defeating the unions.

Be sure to read the 2011 article by Ken Libby and Adam Sanchez called “For or Against Children? The Problematic History of Stand for Children.” They captured the beginning of the transition of the organization to a full-fledged partner of the billionaire reformers.

Old friends, now disillusioned, call Stand for Children “Stand ON Children.”

Greene lists the members of the current board. All corporate reformers and corporatists, not a single educator.

Greed is the root of a lot of evil. It turns good people bad if they can’t resist its lure.

Categories Accountability, Billionaires, Charter Schools, Corporate Reformers, Education Reform, Gates Foundation, Bill Gates, Illinois, Massachusetts, Stand for Children, Teacher Tenure, Unions

Illinois: Governor Rauner Thinks Half of Chicago’s Teachers are Illiterate, and Its Principals are Incompetent

By dianeravitch
July 22, 2016 //
18

Fred Klonsky reports on emails sent from Governor Bruce Rauner, when he was a private citizen, to Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Emanuel fought in court to keep the emails under lock and key, but was eventually forced to release them by court order.

Citizen Rauner expressed his unedited views of educators in Chicago:

Gov. Bruce Rauner once told some of Chicago’s wealthiest and most influential civic leaders that half of the Chicago Public Schools teachers “are virtually illiterate” and half of the city’s principals are “incompetent,” according to emails Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s administration released Thursday under a court order.

Rauner made the assertion five years ago when he was a wealthy private equity executive and an active participant in Chicago school reform. His emails were part of a discussion with affluent education reform activists connected to the Chicago Public Education Fund, including Penny Pritzker, now U.S. commerce secretary; billionaire hedge fund manager Ken Griffin; Chicago investment executive Mellody Hobson; and Helen Zell, the wife of billionaire real estate magnate Sam Zell.

“Teacher evaluation is critically important, but in a massive bureaucracy with a hostile union, where 50% of principals are managerially incompetent and half of teachers are virtually illiterate, a complete multi-dimensional evaluation system with huge subjectivity in it will be attacked, manipulated and marginalized – the status quo will prevail,” Rauner wrote in a December 2011 email arguing for a strong system of teacher and principal evaluations in the district. “It’s much more critical that we develop a consistent, rigorous, objective, understandable measure and reporting system for student growth upon which all further evaluation of performance will depend.”

We know that Governor Rauner loves charter schools, especially those that do not have unions, where the teachers are young college graduates with little or no experience.

Now we have a clue about why he has been unwilling to fund Chicago public schools.

Categories Chicago, Funding, Illinois, Principals, Teachers

SHOCKER: Walton Funds Illinois State Charter Commission, Which Blocks Closure of Failing Charter Schools Funded by Walton

By dianeravitch
June 6, 2016 //
14

The Chicago Sun-Times reported on a startling conflict of interest.

The rightwing, anti-union Walton Family Foundation has been funding the Illinois State Charter School Commission, a state agency, as well as many charter schools in Illinois. When the Chicago Public Schools recommended closing two charter schools because of their poor performance, the Commission blocked the closing. The two failing charters were also funded by the Walton Family Foundation.

Have you ever heard of a public agency that relied for funding on a private foundation with a political agenda of privatization?

Reporters Dan Mihalopoulos and Lauren FitzPatrick write:

A private foundation started by the late Walmart mogul Sam Walton and his wife has contributed heavily to the Illinois State Charter School Commission and to two charter operators whose schools the state agency has blocked the Chicago Board of Education from closing over poor student performance, records obtained by the Chicago Sun-Times show.

Even in the complex history of public education in Chicago, the situation involving the two charters, the Chicago Public Schools, the charter commission and the Arkansas-based Walton Family Foundation is unusual.

Unusual is an understatement.

For years, CPS has faced criticism for allowing the expansion and taxpayer-financed funding of privately run charters even as it shut down traditional public schools over low enrollment and bad test scores.

Aiming to show it expects charters to meet the same standards as CPS schools, the Board of Ed moved last November to cut off funding for three schools — including the Amandla Charter School in Englewood and Lighthouse Academies’ school in Bronzeville — over poor student performance. The charter commission overruled the Board of Ed and, in March, blocked CPS from closing the schools.

Beside Amandla and the Bronzeville Lighthouse Charter School, the commission also saved the Betty Shabazz International Charter School’s Barbara A. Sizemore Campus in Englewood from being closed. The Walton foundation hasn’t donated to Shabazz.

CPS responded later in March by suing the state agency over its ruling, which Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s schools chief, Forrest Claypool, called “ill-advised and destructive.”

Over the past 20 years, the Walton foundation has given more than $45 million to educational groups in Illinois, including charter schools and the state commission that regulates them, records examined by the Sun-Times show.

The biggest recipients were the Chicago-based IFF — which helps charter schools finance construction projects and got more than $9 million — and the Illinois Network of Charter Schools, an advocacy group that’s received about $8 million.

The Illinois charter operator that benefited most from Walton grants was the UNO Charter School Network, which got more than $3.5 million from the foundation. Its last grant was in 2012 — a year before Sun-Times reports exposed a contracting scandal involving the politically connected charter operator.

Though the commission is a government agency, its initial funding came from private organizations and individuals, including the Walton foundation. Current and former commission leaders say they sought grants because state lawmakers didn’t provide funding when they created the agency.

Members of the commission insisted that they were not influenced by the Walton Family Foundation to stop the closure of the two Walton-funded charter schools.

Whether they were or they were not, it is strange to see a state agency underwritten by the sponsor of the organizations that the agency is supposed to regulate. A classic example of regulatory capture.

Categories Accountability, Charter Schools, Chicago, Education Industry, Illinois

Illinois: Parent Protest at 9:30 AM Wednesday to Support Opt Out Bill

By dianeravitch
April 5, 2016 //
69

MEDIA ALERT: Wednesday, April 6, 9:30 AM

Parents to Gather at Senator Cullerton’s Office to Demand Action on Opt Out Bill

Parents demand Senator Cullerton to call standardized testing opt-out bill; stop blocking democracy

Parents from 12 schools in Illinois Senator John Cullerton’s district will come together on Wednesday at 9:30 am at his district office at 1726 W. Belmont Ave, to demand that he remove the brick he’s placed on the state testing opt-out bill, HB306, and allow the bill to be called for a vote.

HB306, which has five Senate sponsors led by Illinois State Senator William Delgado, is currently awaiting assignment to the Illinois Senate Education Committee. This bill would clarify parents’ right to opt their children out of state standardized testing without fear of legal or academic repercussions.

The bill is a response to a massive rise in the number of parents who choose to opt their children out of state testing. Some students who refuse testing face mistreatment—including being forced to sit-and-stare during 8-10 hours of testing without even a book to read. The opt out bill would prohibit mistreatment and punishment of students who opt out.

“Parents deserve a voice in this matter,” said parent Vanessa Caleb Hermann, a mother of two CPS students at Waters and Coonley Elementary Schools. “The burden of opting out should not rest on children as young as or those with special needs.”

HB306 passed the IL House last spring, but has yet to even be assigned to committee. Parents are raising the issue now as bills have until this Friday, April 8th to pass from committees to the Senate floor.

No schools, districts or states have ever lost federal funds due to students opting out of state testing. Six other states already have opt out laws on the books. Last year more than 40,000 Illinois students did not participate in PARCC testing.

“After a massive grassroots effort last year, the voices of regular parents were heard by the Illinois House, and this simple yet critical bill passed,” said Cassie Creswell, organizer with More Than A Score. “It is disappointing that Senator Cullerton is unilaterally blocking this bill from being called for a vote, rather than allowing his colleagues to weigh in on it as their constituents want them to do.”

Categories Illinois, Opt Out, Parents, Resistance

BREAKING: Chicago Students Occupy Symphony Center to Protest Rauner’s Budget Cuts and Inaction

By dianeravitch
April 2, 2016 //
4

Chicago students occupied The Chicago Symphony Center to protest Governor Bruce Rauner’s failure to fund higher education and to raise taxes on his billionaire buddies.

 

 

Categories Budget Cuts, Chicago, Education Reform, Funding, Higher Education, Illinois
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