Intercepts

United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA) announced last night its support of Proposition 89, an initiative on the November ballot that would establish public financing of political campaigns in California, and limit contributions to candidates who don't qualify. It would also hike the corporate income tax to pay for it.

The measure was crafted by the California Nurses Association, and is backed by the League of Women Voters, Common Cause, NOW, the Teamsters, Greenpeace, SEIU and the Sierra Club.

The opposition to Prop 89 includes the California Taxpayers Association, California Chamber of Commerce, California Retailers Association, Small Business Action Committee, the Reason Foundation, and the California Republican Party.

Oh, and the California Teachers Association, UTLA's parent union.

UTLA’s press release contains a quote from Paul Huebner, vice chair of the union's Political Action Council of Educators:

"We can never outspend the big corporate donors and millionaires and political
action committees. But we can get our members more involved in politics for the
benefit of our democracy. That includes enabling more teachers and more working
people to be able to run for office and win."

But CTA’s press release from last month contains a quote from CTA President Barbara Kerr:

"Prop. 89 is poorly written and full of unintended consequences. It does nothing
to enforce current campaign contribution limits or to limit how much the
wealthiest citizens can spend on their own campaigns, while limiting the
participation of small businesses, labor unions and non-profit organizations in
the political process. This is not real reform."

This should be entertaining.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 06:55 | Permalink | Comments

John J. Miller has an excellent article in the October 9 National Review about the decline of military history in the higher education curriculum. Titled "Sounding Taps," the article also has the subheads of "A Dying Breed" and "Taking Cover," all of which speak to the pessimistic tone Miller takes regarding the study of war in our nation's universities.

As someone who once made a (pretty poor) living writing military history, I don't subscribe to Miller's pessimism. As he describes, military history is popular with students when it's offered, the bookstores overflow with military histories, and we have a large supply of cable television channels that do a fine job with the subject. And the expertise of "armchair scholars" - Civil War buffs and their equivalents - is vast and lively. There are otherwise normal people out there who can show you how to build a trebuchet. You won't get that kind of knowledge at Dartmouth.

In short, the market more than compensates for the lack of formal instruction in the halls of academe.

In this, military history actually has a great advantage over other aspects of history (not to mention other academic subjects). If college doesn't teach about Napoleon, a student has a large menu of alternate avenues of knowledge. He or she doesn't have the same options when it comes to the Congress of Vienna, or iconoclasm, or the caste system, or the invention of the clock.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 12:00 | Permalink | Comments

Despite the unceasing efforts of the National Education Association and the state of Connecticut to find something unconstitutional about the No Child Left Behind Act, and to back up those efforts with member dues and taxpayer dollars, respectively, their track record is getting worse and worse.

U.S. District Judge Mark R. Kravitz dismissed three of the four counts brought by Connecticut, allowing the court to review only allegations that the U.S. Department of Education arbitrarily rejected some testing amendments sought by Connecticut. NEA supported the Connecticut lawsuit.

Connecticut, as NEA before it, will appeal the dismissals. Why not? It's not their money.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:31 | Permalink | Comments

Probably the most popular product turned out by both NEA and AFT is the average teacher salary rankings. Both unions use the figures to argue for higher teacher pay, and they receive a great deal of press coverage each and every time they are released.

So it's absolutely fascinating to see the reaction in Louisiana to a report by the Education Estimating Conference that the average K-12 teacher salary in the state is $42,100. The EEC computed the statistic using figures supplied by the NEA and AFT salary rankings, then added recent increases ($1,500 per teacher across-the-board this year).

The Shreveport Times went to the state unions for a response, and got this:

Louisiana Federation of Teachers President Steve Monaghan said the problem with averages is "if you have $2 and I have none, we average $1 each, but I can't still buy a candy bar."

Monaghan added that the average teacher salary is higher because there are fewer young teachers, and that averages only cause problems because they present a "theoretical situation."

Tom Tate, government relations director of the Louisiana Association of Educators, said "setting an average is somewhat misleading," because the state's larger parishes, where a majority of teachers are employed, pay better than the many smaller parishes that have fewer teachers.

What's next, an explanation of how a 5 percent increase is a smaller raise for a new teacher than it is for a veteran teacher?

Hey, union dudes, what do you think averages are? It can get a little tedious to publish the actual salaries earned by each of the 4 million individual teachers in the U.S. So your parent unions use averages to ease comparisons. Here is a little refresher.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:27 | Permalink | Comments

Tomorrow is Count Day in Michigan. If you want to know what this means in practical terms, read this, but make sure you take your antacid first.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 11:47 | Permalink | Comments

This morning the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would hear the case of Washington v. Washington Education Association, which concerns the use of agency fees for political purposes without consent. This isn't good news for NEA.

In other, completely unrelated news…

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:54 | Permalink | Comments

Click here to read:

1) NEA/AFL-CIO Partnership Still Under Construction
2) NEA Executive Committee Member Pleads No Contest to Ethics Violation
3) Union Ties Trump Political Correctness
4) Don't Blink or You'll Miss the Paradigm Shift
5) Maine NEA Affiliate Donates to Idaho Initiative Campaign
6) Man Bites Dog Story in Indiana
7) Last Week's Intercepts
8) Quotes of the Week

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 14:16 | Permalink | Comments

Detroit school officials are in a panic because next Wednesday is the day the state counts the number of students enrolled to determine the amount of state funding each district gets. And, due to the illegal 16-day teachers' strike, enrollment is roughly 25,000 students below projections.

It's a measure of just how much of a mess Detroit is in that people can't decide whether this is actually true, or a manipulation of the numbers by various players in order to apply political pressure.

Daniel Howes of the Detroit News nails it with his assessment. After noting that since 1994, Detroit's enrollment dropped 23 percent, but its per-pupil revenue increased 94 percent, Howes spells it out for everyone involved:

"No work means fewer students. Fewer students beget less money. Less money
promises fewer jobs. Those are pretty powerful economics, which overwhelm all
the picket signs, finger-pointing and administrative begging now under way, just
days from the dreaded 'count day' that determines state funding."

UPDATE: Something is rotten in the state of Michigan. Where did the 25,000 students go?

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:35 | Permalink | Comments

Tim Smart is an Oregon public school teacher. He's also a major in the Army National Guard. He's not a bad reporter, either. Read how he has applied his classroom experience to his work in Afghanistan.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 11:47 | Permalink | Comments

Teachers in Saginaw, Michigan, are learning something new today about their contract. Whether or not they keep their jobs will not depend on test scores, evaluations, satisfaction surveys, peer review, or even general likability.

It will depend on the last four digits of their Social Security numbers.

The district will lay off 10 teachers, but there are 26 new teachers tied for last on the seniority list. So, in accordance with the contract, the tie must be broken through the use of the teachers' Social Security numbers. The employees with higher numbers are let go. Teachers with lower numbers keep their jobs.

This is not an aberration. EIA has highlighted similar provisions in contracts all across the country, from San Diego to Anchorage to Christina, Delaware. Using Social Security numbers may be unique to Saginaw, as most other places draw lots, hold a lottery, or use a teacher's birth date (born in January, you stay; born in August, you're out of a job).

We can argue all day about teacher training and quality, but some parents in Saginaw will be forced to deal with the fact that their children's teacher was chosen arbitrarily years ago by the Social Security Administration. If we're going to select by chance, put all the low-seniority teachers in a game of Texas Hold 'Em for the job.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:14 | Permalink | Comments

I'm willing to be proven wrong, but let's just say I’m very, very skeptical.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 10:53 | Permalink | Comments

School Me!, the education blog of the Los Angeles Times, has a partly serious, partly tongue-in-cheek chart to map out the chances of various candidates for the job of superintendent of the nation's second-largest school district.

The blog sets the odds for former President Bill Clinton at 1000-1, Bill Gates at 1001-1, and ManBearPig at 1400-1.

But one of the serious candidates listed is Adam Urbanski, president of the Rochester Teachers Association, well known for being a maverick in the world of teacher union/management relations. According to School Me!, Urbanski was a finalist last time the LA supe job was open (which was news to me, I admit).

This isn't quite as odd as it seems upon first glance, because Urbanski is the director of the Teacher Union Reform Network, a group with close ties (financial and otherwise) to Eli Broad, who is deeply involved in the Los Angeles education establishment.

I doubt if Urbanski will get the job this time either, but the district could charge admission for contract negotiations with Urbanski on one side of the table and United Teachers Los Angeles President A.J. Duffy on the other. They could discuss the proper role of unionism.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:31 | Permalink | Comments

The Repository of Canton, Ohio, reports that Michael Billirakis, member of the NEA Executive Committee, resigned his seat on the board of the Ohio State Teachers Retirement System, effective immediately.

Billirakis was charged last month with two counts of conflict of interest and two counts of filing a false disclosure statement by the Ohio Ethics Commission. He is accused of accepting gifts from firms who had business with the retirement system board.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:22 | Permalink | Comments

Click here to read:

EIA Exclusive: Affiliation Dispute Lifts Curtain on Wisconsin Teacher Union Politics

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 12:29 | Permalink | Comments

It isn't often that you wake up in the morning, check the news, and find the top international story involves a controversy surrounding the Pope quoting a Byzantine emperor.

The Pope can take care of himself. I'd simply like to shed a little light on why Byzantine Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus (1391-1425) would say, "Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached."

Manuel spent much of his youth as a hostage of the Ottoman Turks - such a practice was common to ensure good behavior after treaties were signed. He accompanied the Sultan and watched while Turkish armies conquered Byzantine territory. Upon becoming emperor, he spent much of his reign traveling throughout Europe in a futile attempt to gain military aid against the Turks.

In his speech, Pope Benedict XVI mentioned that Manuel probably recorded his dialogue (and the offending quote) sometime during the eight-year siege of Constantinople (1394-1402) by the Turks. The city was saved only by the crushing defeat inflicted on the Turks by the Mongol Timur at the battle of Ankara.

Manuel survived long enough to withstand yet another siege of Constantinople by the Turks, in 1422. The Sultan agreed to lift the siege upon payment of a hefty tribute. Manuel soon after stepped down from the throne and retired to a monastery, dying in 1425. The Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottomans on May 29, 1453.

Pope Benedict used more of Manuel's words than what has appeared in the press. After the offending quote, the Pope said:

"The emperor, after having expressed himself so forcefully, goes on to explain in detail the reasons why spreading the faith through violence is something unreasonable. Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul. 'God,' he says, 'is not pleased by blood - and not acting reasonably is contrary to God's nature. Faith is born of the soul, not the body. Whoever would lead someone to faith needs the ability to speak well and to reason properly, without violence and threats... To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death....'"

It seems to me that Manuel's view of Mohammed may have been medieval, but his condemnation of the use of violence to spread religion was far ahead of its time.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:44 | Permalink | Comments

Opening statements were delivered yesterday in the trial of Beverly Coon, the former Pennsylvania school board member accused of drugging her lover, former school superintendent Ronald Grimm, with sedative-laced pastries and then setting his apartment on fire.

"School Board Soap Opera" will give you the bare facts of the case. "Superintendent Baked at 375 Degrees for 20 Minutes" provides the pastry angle. "Sooooo cooool" has the student newspaper perspective. "Mad Baker Defeated in Pennsylvania" reports the unsurprising result of Coon's reelection campaign.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 11:02 | Permalink | Comments

The Trotskyites don't like the new Detroit teachers contract. You won't find a more entertaining read this morning than this.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:14 | Permalink | Comments

Kristen Prevedel, the treasurer of the Falcon Teachers Education Association in Colorado, was arrested and charged with stealing more than $90,000 in union dues.

Thieves are thieves, and local unions are no more susceptible to such theft than any other small business. But the union's PR strategy -- well, let's just say it leaves something to be desired.

According to the Colorado Springs Gazette, FTEA members were informed of the theft by state and local union officers in a letter that used "vague terms." It also contained this wonderful pair of paragraphs:

"We ask that you keep this matter in confidence and that you not discuss it
with nonmembers, representatives of the school district, or others outside the
district. While it may become public, we would prefer that it not be because of
public statements made by our members.

"There will be a time when we can disclose the full details of this
situation. Until that time, please be patient with our silence."

The letter was signed by Colorado Education Association President Beverly Ingle and three local union officers.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:31 | Permalink | Comments

The black helicopters, FBI SWAT teams and other law enforcement types abruptly departed their trenches outside the EIA Operations Center, leaving no trace behind. Evidently the investigation of the Audio X-Files has been disbanded. Rumor has it the whole armada headed over to the Phil Angelides for Governor headquarters, where a similar threat to life and liberty took place. Yes, it involves Gov. Schwarzenegger's "hot-blooded" audio files!

The Democrats are declaring their innocence, and I believe them, but they're hurting themselves by issuing multiple explanations. The invaluable Bill Bradley ties it all together.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 11:21 | Permalink | Comments

Detroit Public Schools reached a tentative contract agreement with the Detroit Federation of Teachers, which could end the two-week strike. But if initial reports are accurate, it could be a tough sell to the rank-and-file.

"It's a concessionary contract, there's no doubt about it," DFT executive board member Vince Consiglio told the Detroit News.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:14 | Permalink | Comments

September 11 was caused by an intelligence error of monumental proportions. But it wasn't made by the United States.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 09:22 | Permalink | Comments

Let's see. We have an audio tape of people speaking candidly and critically about their colleagues in a private meeting. The tape ends up in the hands of a reporter. He reveals the contents in a major story.

I speak, of course, of today's piece by Robert Salladay in the Los Angeles Times about California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and a six-minute recording of a meeting he had with members of his staff last spring.

Salladay is welcome to join me in the EIA bunker, where all exposers of secret audio tapes can hunker down while the FBI circles outside, lawyers threaten suits, and mole hunts proceed apace.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 10:33 | Permalink | Comments

First it was sleep deprivation (Item #4), now it's starvation. Apparently the only thing missing to complete the analogy is interrogation. "Mr. Haaaart?"

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 11:16 | Permalink | Comments

Because she was standing on stage for an hour in a hot auditorium waiting for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides to arrive for a political rally. Welcome to California’s public schools!

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:52 | Permalink | Comments

Buffalo Teachers Federation President Phil Rumore informed his members today that the local union has reached an affiliation agreement with the newly merged New York State United Teachers (NYSUT).

Rumore has long threatened to take his union independent rather than join a merged NEA/AFT state affiliate, but concessions from NYSUT, as well as the active intervention of NEA President Reg Weaver and General Counsel Bob Chanin, persuaded Rumore to test the waters.

"We are recommending affiliating for a year and then an evaluation of that affiliation after one year," Rumore wrote. "This gives us all the opportunity to see how this works out."

Evidently BTF members will get an up-or-down vote on the agreement during an all-member meeting on September 20th.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 15:50 | Permalink | Comments

Click here to read:

1) California Teachers Association Locals to Join AFL-CIO
2) Ohio Staff Settle, South Carolina Staff Act Up
3) California Redoubles Its Efforts
4) The Heart Bleeds
5) Last Week's Intercepts
6) Quotes of the Week

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 14:58 | Permalink | Comments

Excellent column in USA Today by Patricia Pearson on how we're raising an entire generation of nervous Nellies.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:16 | Permalink | Comments

The Ohio Education Association and its professional staffers took negotiations to the deadline again, but hammered out a tentative agreement on a new contract last night. Details of the three-year deal are not yet available.

Posted by Mike Antonucci at 07:50 | Permalink | Comments