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It is Time to PUNCH

Posted on December 6, 2016February 7, 2019 by Sue Legg

We can continue to feed information to the public about the destructive impact of ill thought out school choice policies. There is a danger, however, that we are simply preaching to the choir. Those who should be aware may not be tuned in.

Our strategies to increase awareness must be more diverse. What would prompt your neighbor, colleague, fellow parent to tune in?

It is logical that busy people preoccupied with families and jobs will respond to calls for action if they recognize the urgency and the possibility for a positive impact.

I am working on a set of ‘headlines’ and slogans that communicate the immediacy of the need to preserve our public schools. What do we value about our public schools? What are the threats to public education? Which solutions do we propose?

Can we come up with short, single sentences that encapsulate a need or something you value. Then we can refer people to more in depth analyses and ways to respond.

Let’s see:

Vouchers segregate, not integrate schools.
Vouchers for the poor pay for poor quality schools.
Vouchers help the rich get richer.
Private schools get public money with no strings attached.

Public schools innovate, charters stagnate.
Charters choose, parents lose.
Public schools invite students in; charters counsel them out.
Charters profit from students; public schools invest in them.
When housing patterns limit access to quality education, fix it!

School choice means all schools are under funded.
Teaching, not testing helps students learn.
We need more time, not more testing.
School choice is a distraction not an option to improve learning.

You get the idea. Send me your captions and communication strategies. We will hone them and use them to target issues. We will discuss these at the League’s Orlando leadership conference in January.

North Carolina Gutting Public Education

Posted on December 5, 2016December 5, 2016 by Sue Legg

North Carolina has just elected a new governor; will it mean a better direction for public schools? In this article, Jeff Bryant from Alter Net takes on the scramble for cash to fund public schools. A shortage of funding is only part of the puzzle. The impact of charters on the efficiency of funding for schools is looming large. The open enrollment policies states are enacting cause a financial planning crisis for public schools. Not only is it difficult to estimate how many students may shift from one school to another within a district, students now are moving across district lines to charters. Districts have to send tax dollars to charters whose students may come from somewhere else.

The issue gets more complicated as charters managed by out of state private companies grows. Many of these are for-profit companies seeking to expand into lucrative markets. Making money is important to these folks. Bryant cites work done by Pat Hall and Sue Legg of the Florida League of Women Voters to explain were the profits come from. Think real estate. Then Bryant goes on to summarize work by University of North Carolina law professor Tom Kelley who questions the legal and tax implications of these practices.

It is time that we the people take notice. As my colleague Pat Drago says, ‘School Choice is a diversion, not a solution.’

Monroe County: Secret Roadmap to Resegregation

Posted on December 3, 2016December 3, 2016 by Sue Legg

Is it a plot or just unintended consequences of an ill thought out education system? In this article, the ways in which Monroe County–Key West — schools are segregated are spelled out.

It is worth reading to see how an insidious resegregation of schools has evolved. Of course, charter schools are part of the problem. Things came to a head when a proposal for a new charter was presented to the school board. Board member Andy Griffith erupted and asked: How do we know this is not just another white flight school?

Charters are not the only way to resegregate schools. Read about the:

School bus route trick
Charter school trick
Student tracking trick
No black teachers trick

The journalists ask if there is not a better way. What is happening to schools in this community is not good.

Florida Senate Education Leaders Provide a Balance?

Posted on November 30, 2016November 30, 2016 by Sue Legg

Senate President Joe Negron has announced his Education Committee members. They appear to share a broader spectrum of interests than those in the Florida House. The Senate Education Committee Chair will be Sen. Dorothy Hukill, a Republican from Volusia County. Volusia supports public schools and has relatively few charter schools.