Subversive birds...?

So, the same political mindset and many of the same politicians who demanded school accountability and brought us the "wonderful" SOLs more than a decade ago now want charter schools. These charter schools would be public schools, spending taxpayers dollars, but would be freed of many state regulations and standards. All of a sudden they don't give a cluck about accountability?

Matter of fact, the Governor and his Republican cohorts want charter schools so badly they barely have qualms about bypassing the Virginia Constitution that gives local school boards the power to supervise schools within their jurisdictions. No, they don't trust government closest to the people, instead they are pushing an appeals process that could bypass the local (mostly elected) school boards and let the final decision rest with the State Board of Education. Members of that board will be Bob McDonnell's birds-of-a-feather.

Could this all be part of a long term strategy to permanently hamstring K-12 public education, begin shifting public dollars to quasi-public schools, and eventually to funnel tax dollars to private schools - a long time goal of the right wing? The public and common sense politicians of both parties need to wake up and smell the chicken litter.

Collision Course... maybe, maybe not

As Governor Tim Kaine enters his final months in office and Bob McDonnell prepares to take office, the Virginia budget situation continues to deteriorate because of the nationwide economic downturn that started in 2008. The Commonwealth will cut $250 million, or more, from the current budget to balance the books. Bad enough, but the really bad news is the expected $3 billion shortfall in the next two-year budget. The president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond delivered the bad news - this recession, like the last two, will see lagging job creation. Jobs = income taxes + retail sales which are cornerstones of state revenues. A tiny bright spot is NOVA, which generates a big chunk of tax revenues, seems to be rebounding a little quicker. Governor Kaine will have a strong hand in drafting the budget, but the new Governor will influence priorities and ultimately the General Assembly will have to deal with the tough times.

I guess there is a little comfort in comparing ourselves to our neighbors. Although joblessness across Virginia is bad enough, it is far worse in many other states. So while the Virginia budget is hurting, the situation in many other states is horrendous.

Coming at the same time as the budget woes, a coalition of "school choice" groups says Virginians want more nonpublic school options and are willing for tax dollars to go in that direction. Among the poll's findings is that 62% of Virginians see their public schools as good or excellent, 35% want to send their children to private schools, 10% prefer charter schools (a public school freed from most regulations affecting regular public schools), and 9% want to homeschool. The groups that sponsored the poll are pushing tax credit scholarships and/or school vouchers - both schemes where tax dollars go to private schools but not through direct government payments to the schools.

First, it is important to understand - there is school choice in Virginia. Any parent can choose to home school or to send their child to a private school. Oversight by the Commonwealth and local school boards is generally quite lax and there is little or no accountability such as public schools face with the Standards of Learning.

The issue is really about money, tax money to be exact. Should the Commonwealth give tax vouchers to parents or tax credits individuals and corporations who donate to special scholarships for private school tuition. Either way fewer tax dollars are collected and private schools receive support but without much public accountability. School funding in Virginia is complicated and beyond this post, but if less tax money is collected the General Fund is impacted - which will mean less funding not only for public education but perhaps for other core services.

With a state budget gasping for air, now might seem like a bad time for these school choice groups to be asking for a slice of the state tax pie. But, several dynamics have changed and new political leverage may favor this initiative:

• Although he rebranded himself as a moderate, Bob McDonnell owes much of his victory to the religious right. Groups like the Family Foundation, who support these school choice schemes, have an inside line to the Governor-elect and they expect for him to deliver, if not in 2010, certainly over the next four years.
• With the economic downturn, many private schools have experienced enrollment declines. Parents who formerly sent their kids to a private school now see the apple of their eye in an increasingly crowded (because of lack of funding) public school classroom. Hence, both parents and private schools are more motivated to join the fight.
• An anti-union resurgence has emboldened conservative groups who want to destroy all employee groups, including the Virginia Education Association. Can you really be a union without collective bargaining or power to strike? Groups like the Chamber of Commerce which may not join the fray on school choice grounds may chime in simply for the union bashing.

Over the past five years the House of Delegates passed legislation for scholarship funds but the Virginia Senate killed it each time. There will soon be two Senate special elections to replace Republicans Ken Cuccinelli who was elected Attorney General and Ken Stolle who was elected Sheriff of Virginia Beach. Even if the GOP wins both, it is difficult to imagine the head counting on these school choice issues is changed much - unless a few current Senators have a change of heart.

More likely, the advocates of school choice funding schemes see it as something, not to be achieved next year, but rather in the next two to four years. They've had their "preseason" over the past five years in the House of Delegates. Now it is game on - in the first quarter the House will again pass school choice funding legislation where it may well die again in the Senate for both philosophical and budget reasons. Afterwards, the school choice funding advocates will have field position and in the second half they expect complete victory. By 2012 the budget situation will have improved along with the national economy. Governor McDonnell's pen will set priorities and he'll be expected to pay the religious right back for their important role in getting him elected. In 2011, the General Assembly, including all 40 Senators, will be up for election and some Republicans who haven't been on the school choice side will be under extreme pressure to conform or be pushed out. School choice funding folks believe that trio of changes - an improved economy, owning the Governor, controlling the Senate - will converge to carry them to victory.

Craig County bails on controversial Bible class

You may recall that last spring Craig County Public Schools approved a new class, "The Bible in History and Literature" that many believed crossed the line between separation of church and state. When the Craig County School Board approved the course, the ACLU of Virginia began an investigation into the board's motives and the details of the curriculum.

Recently, the Craig County superintendent notified the ACLU of Virginia that the School Board had reversed the decision to offer the controversial course. Instead, the board approved another course, "The Bible and Its Influence," which is promoted by The Bible Literacy Project. Most observers feel like the new course teaches, while the former course crossed the line into preaching. 

“The new course adopted by the Craig County School Board is an improvement over the one chosen earlier this year,” said ACLU of Virginia Executive Director Kent Willis. “But all religion courses in public schools require close monitoring to make certain that they are not used to proselytize students or as a means for the government to promote some religions over others.”

Congratulations to the Craig County School Board for rejecting the religious crazies, for seeing the truth, and for understanding the legal realities. And, kudos to the ACLU of Virginia for investigating and pushing the board to take a more reasonable, and legal, course of action.

For more information, visit the ACLU of Virginia.

Will it catch all the bad eggs?

On July 1 a new Virginia law requires courts to notify local school divisions when a teacher is convicted of a felony drug or sex crime. The law also requires local school divisions and social service agencies to notify the Virginia Board of Education when a licensed employee is dismissed or resigns because of a "founded child abuse or neglect case" or because of a criminal conviction.

This uniform reporting should help to catch some bad eggs, i.e. individuals who should not now, not ever, be in our public schools (or for that matter as a youth coach, a recreation director, or a youth pastor). Hopefully, it will prevent those bad eggs from moving from one school to another because nobody knew of their past.

But, I doubt this new law will accomplish all that its proponents claim. Recently a Staunton bus driver was arrested for having sex with a student. If convicted, the court will report her as required and she'll never work in Virginia schools again. But, because she had no record, nothing in this law would have kept her from being hired in the first place. And a year or so ago in another Valley division, an unlicensed teacher's aide and coach, was dismissed after disclosure he'd been involved sexually with a student.

Hen house gossip being what it is, we've all heard cases of school employees (or a pastor or coach) resigning under suspicion (but not "founded cases"), getting a letter of recommendation, and moving on to another job working with children. No law, no matter how well-intended, can make a principal or supervisor report suspicions to superintendents or the police. Too often the easy way is simply to push the problem out the door and on to others.

Another gap is that this is a state law. To be more effective, national legislation or an interstate compact setting up a nationwide data base is needed. It is all too easy for pedophiles to move across state lines and dodge the paper trail, if one even exists.

The Virginia law is a step in the right direction - but there will still be some bad eggs getting in the wrong places. Cluck.

h/t to The Roanoke Times.