Citizens gathered to lobby their representatives for school funding reform on April 25th at the Capital.
Robert Godfrey
Author Archives: Thomas J. Mertz
Lobbying at the Capital
Filed under AMPS, School Finance, Take Action
Contract Time
As MMSD and MTI exchange initial offers, a timely correction to some of the local and national anti teacher’s union talk flying around (note: I often don’t agree with the choices MTI has made, but I think they should be their choices to make).
From Sherman Dorn:
April 25, 2007
Bad teacher union history award of the weekThis week’s historical illiteracy award goes to the Education Partnership for a phrase in its report Teacher Contracts: Restoring the Balance. I’ll let others address the merits, because this one is a mild whopper:
Today’s teacher contracts reflect an earlier era in America: the age of the rise of industrial unions, during the 19th and 20th centuries, when a factory system rigidly governed work outputs. (p. 6)
There’s a substantial error in chronology: anyone know when the Loeb Rule was created in Illinois that destroyed the Chicago Federation of Teachers for decades? The first teacher strike? The huge wave of strikes and collective bargaining agreements? Hint: “the rise of industrial unions” was centered around the Loeb Rule, not the rise of teachers unions in the late 1960s and the 1970s.
There are also significant slippages in conceptual understanding: First, teachers unions represent largely public employees, not the private employees whose collective-bargaining rights are protected by the Wagner Act. While much of labor law is in common (state agencies overseeing public-employee collective bargaining frequently follow NLRB rulings), both the politics and the details of organizing are different with public employees [in Wisconsin this would include the Qualified Economic Offer law].
In addition to that subtler point, it is either ignorance or deliberate misreading to claim that collective bargaining agreements are the detritus of industrial organizing. They’re legal documents, and the nature of labor law means that the history of those agreements contain the practical solutions to a number of problems over the years, including the history of arbitration decisions that determine interpretation. That fact doesn’t mean that contracts can’t change: they can. But any union leader knows to be wary of a four-word phrase: “Let’s simplify the contract.”
Finally, the proposal to allow a state agency to wipe out contract language whether that contract language is demonstrated to be related to educational failure or not is a sideways attack on collective bargaining (and some fellow unionists would claim it’s pretty direct). Would the Education Partnership want to eliminate clauses that allow teachers to take a lunch? That’s implied in the proposal. In reality, the teaching conditions in the early 20th century, during “the age of the rise of industrial unions,” were sexist, humiliating, underpaid (and unpaid too often in the Depression), and unsupported. What balance is the partnership trying to restore?
Also worth reading (and deserving a post of its own) is Diane Ravitich’s recent Why Teacher Unions Are Good for Teachers and the Public. Ravitch , like Dorn trained as a historian, but her career has lead into center and right wing associations ranging from Progesive Policy Institute to the Hoover Institution. Ravitch can hardly be considered a knee jerk apologist for teacher unions.
More on countering anti union think tank polemics here and here.
Thomas J. Mertz
Filed under AMPS, Gimme Some Truth
Finding the Money for Schools
Mike Ivey in today’s Cap Times on Wal-mart’s Wisconsin operations:
The next time you make the not-so-scenic drive on U.S. 151 past the giant new Wal-Mart warehouse near Beaver Dam, keep this in mind: Wisconsin’s largest employer draws more in corporate welfare than it pays in state taxes.
But according to a report from the Milwaukee-based Institute for Wisconsin’s Future that somehow fell through the cracks on Tax Day, Wal-Mart has used a variety of completely legal tax avoidance schemes to cut millions from its state tax bill.
Using public records, the group determined that Wal-Mart pocketed $852 million in net profits in Wisconsin off value-hungry consumers between 2000 and 2003.
Over that same period, Wal-Mart paid only $3 million in corporate income tax here. That’s a tax rate of 0.35 percent, a fraction of the 7.9 percent rate corporations doing business in our fair state are supposed to pay.
Pardon my West High math, but if Wal-Mart paid the going tax rate here it would have owed closer to $67 million.
At the same time, Wal-Mart has been feeding at the public trough like nobody else in state history. The Arkansas-based retailer has benefited from more than $20 million in public economic benefits in Wisconsin, according to one national study. Good Jobs First reported in 2004 that Wal-Mart stores and distribution centers in Baraboo, Beaver Dam, Menomonie, Milwaukee and Tomah received at least $21.75 million in local tax subsidies, the report says.
And in a related story:
The death of Helen Walton, a major Wal-Mart stockholder and widow of its founder, may well trigger one of history’s biggest charitable donations, with a potentially dramatic impact on U.S. public education reform.
Helen Walton’s stake in Wal-Mart is worth about $16.4 billion, which ranked her No. 29 on the most recent Forbes list of the world’s richest. She had long planned to shift her Wal-Mart stock to the Walton Family Foundation upon her death, the family has said. That foundation is overseen by her children and advisers. It has become a major backer of public education reform, including charter schools and private-school vouchers. A donation that big would significantly expand the foundation’s reach.
Charters and vouchers. $16,400,000,000. It makes the mind reel. This isn’t money for “public education reform,” it is money for public education destruction. It is bad enough to avoid paying a fair share and to exploit corporate welfare, but to turn around and then use those ill gotten gains to destroy our public schools is unconscionable. Better if she had left all to her cat.
Thomas J. Mertz
Filed under AMPS, Local News, National News, School Finance
We Are Not Alone #10
The referendum in Horicon failed by a vote of 873 to 683. Now they face the familiar choices:
“We are going to have to make a determination if we are going to fund the program or cut programs,” David Westimayer said.
They are also looking to continue leveraging municipal finances. As Madison moves in this direction, we may face similar problems:
The district-wide recreation program with the YMCA of Dodge County will be on the agenda of the May 21 board meeting.
“It is the same contract at the same cost,” McCartney said, noting that money previously received from the city has dried up.
He noted that city sponsorship would benefit only Horicon residents, while the district funding the program benefits everyone living within the district.
Thomas J. Mertz
Filed under AMPS, Elections, Local News, Referenda, School Finance, We Are Not Alone
New & Improved
The AMPS blog is getting better. Both the Press Room and the Resources page have been revamped. Take a look.
Thomas J. Mertz
Filed under AMPS
Quote of the Day
A PESSIMIST SEES THE DIFFICULTY IN EVERY OPPORTUNITY;
AN OPTIMIST SEES THE OPPORTUNITY IN EVERY DIFFICULTY.
-Winston Churchill
posted by Janet Morrow
Filed under AMPS, Quote of the Day
Taking Action (Local)
A couple of local actions in the works, mostly on the consolidation plans.
Thomas J. Mertz
1. Kennedy Heights Community Center with the support of many other individuals and groups is organizing a walk from Kennedy Heights Community Center to Gompers Elementary School to raise awareness about the potential closings of Lindbergh Elementary School and Black Hawk middle school. Neighborhood Schools are a community resource for the children and families in Kennedy Heights and the northside; closing the schools would negatively impact our neighborhood, our community center, and the families that live here. Please come and walk with us to keep northside schools open.
The walk will start at the Kennedy Heights Community Center at 4:00 PM on Monday April 23rd – we will walk together from Kennedy Heights to Gompers Elementary school about 1.3 miles. At Gompers their will be a brief discussion and Popsicles for kids. All are welcome please distribute widely.
PS I know that school board members have a meeting at 5:00 PM, but I hope you can join us
for the beginning of our walk.
2. Join a grassoots rally: “An Hour For Marquette” – On Friday, April 27, from 1:30 – 2:30 come to Marquette and pull your Marquette student from class to protest the proposed consolidation (All concerned parents, students, and other community members are welcome to join in). We will rally at the school. Bring a sign that expresses your feeling about Marquette. We will be working to get press coverage and a visit from the Mayor. If you are interested in attending the rally e-mail Dea Larsen Converse at dealarsen@yahoo.com or Maria Moreno at mcmoreno@tds.net so we can give a head count to the papers.
(Note that this is not a PTG sponsored event)
It’s not over yet! Let’s keep the pressure on!
Filed under AMPS, Budget, Local News, Take Action
Operation Loud & Proud
Lots of grassroots action on school funding issues happening locally. One I particularly like is from my son’s Language Arts and Life Skills teacher, Jon Hawkins. Jon has set up two letter writing workshops to help “anyone who is involved in the lives of our children and concerned about the future of their education…[to] speak out” more effectively. The workshops will be held at JC Wright Middle School Thursday April 26th (6:00 to 7:30 PM) and Saturday April 28th (12:00 Noon to 1:00 PM). More details here, including an offer to try to secure childcare and translation services.
My understanding is that students are encouraged to attend and write letters. Those of us who were at the Sondy Pope Roberts press conference know how effective the voices of students can be.
I don’t know if this is officially part of the “social action” component of the Wright charter, but I do think it is appropiate that a Language Arts and Life Skills teacher help others use language to participate in the legislative process. This is civic education of the best sort.
Thomas J. Mertz
Filed under AMPS, Best Practices, Budget, Local News, School Finance, Take Action
What You Can Do to Support MMSD School Finance Advocacy Group: An Update from Arlene Silveira
The Board meeting on the evening of Wednesday, April 25 will be at 6:30pm at Wright Middle School. The purpose of the meeting is to outline a long-term advocacy strategy, empower community members to move this forward, discuss best ways of communicating. This will be an interactive meeting with the community. The agenda is below:
1. Update of legislative activities since the March 29 meeting (come and share any info you have on your advocacy efforts and responses from legislators or other community members)
2. Planning for long-term legislative advocacy to change the revenue limit law for K-12 public schools (break into small groups to talk about different strategies and prioritize our top issues)
3. Identification of people who would continue to lead the process of advocating to change the revenue limit law (does anyone ant to take a role in leading the different strategies we outline)
4. Next steps and action items
WHAT YOU CAN DO BEFORE THE MEETING?
In your advocacy efforts, if you have encountered questions that you could not answer, please let us know in advance of the meeting. We will prepare answers to these questions if possible.
If there is information you need to better advocate, please let us know. If it is something we should prepare in advance of the meeting, please let us know ASAP.
Start thinking about advocacy strategies that you can share at the meeting.
If you have any information you want to share with the group beforehand, please do so.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Thanks to all who attended the Sondy Pope-Roberts press conference on Thursday. MMSD had a great turn-out!!!! People are starting to listen.
VISIT THE CAPITOL on APRIL 25th
The Lowell parent group is organizing a trip to the capitol on April 25th at 3:30pm. Visit legislators and show support. If you need more information, please contact Lynn at 242-9355, Jill at 249-4377 or email Jack @ mjtrudell@charter.net
Thanks.
Arlene Silveira
Filed under AMPS, Pope-Roberts/Breske Resolution, School Finance, Take Action
Quote of the Day
“There is no fat in our budget. Educational liposuction is no longer an option in Glidden. The option now is educational amputations.”
Mark Luoma, superintendent, principal and technology director within the Glidden School District
Full story on Joint Finance hearing here and also on our new and under construction and design (re)consideration Press Room page (thanks reader, Karen Bassler).
Thomas J. Mertz
Filed under AMPS, Quote of the Day, School Finance, We Are Not Alone
AMPS 