Intercepts
A listening post monitoring public education and teachers’ unions.

Item #4 in yesterday’s communiqué discussed a lawsuit against the Indiana State Teachers Association’s Financial Services Corporation. It also linked to an article dated February 2007 about a lawsuit against the union. I thought that perhaps the date was wrong, but it was correct. However, it turns out those are not two separate lawsuits, but the same one, just 19 months later.

I guess the wheels of justice do turn slowly.

The Cincinnati Public Schools and the Ohio School Facilities Commission are at odds over differing enrollment projections, which will determine how much the state will pay for new and refurbished school buildings.

The district hired Jeff Rexhausen, an associate director of research at the University of Cincinnati’s Economics Center, to make its enrollment projections. He claims the commission’s projections are too low. The reason? Rexhausen “factors in enrollment bumps when a new school building opens.”

What kind of economics are they teaching at the University of Cincinnati? Who knew you could reverse falling enrollment by building more schools? Does Detroit know about this?

Click here to read:

1) Upholding Union Principles in Oregon
2) California Teachers Association to Spend $5 Million on Ballot Initiatives
3) NEA Drops Big Bucks to Oppose Hawaii ConCon
4) Indiana Teachers Sue Union’s Investment Program
5) Grades Are Half Off in Pittsburgh
6) Last Week’s Intercepts
7) Quote of the Week

I noticed there is very little activity on the major education blogs this morning, and it may be due to the lack of mind-blowing stories out there. In my normal news gathering today, I came across several headlines that caused me to pause because (poetry!) of their utter banality:

“Candidates vie for school board seat”

“Democrat gets teachers’ endorsement”

“Enrollment levels impact school funding”

Heavy.

I must admit I don’t have any clue why the National Education Association doesn’t want Hawaii to hold a constitutional convention, but union officials were worried enough about it last year to spend $20,000 polling the issue, and this year they have dropped $325,000 into a campaign to prevent a Hawaii ConCon from happening.

The only hint is the claim that it could “diminish bargaining rights, access to health care and retirement benefits” if the state Constitution were changed.

Uh, or it could improve bargaining rights, access to health care and retirement benefits if the state Constitution were changed. So who is it that NEA is afraid of?

“NEA Mostly Backing Democrats in Congressional Races,” reports Education Week.

Media columnist Robert Feder accepted a buyout from the Chicago Sun-Times. I’ve never read his column before today, but in a tribute to him fellow columnist Carol Marin tells this story:

Once, while covering a teachers strike for the school paper at Niles East High School in 1973, Feder hid in a closet during a meeting of the teachers union. None of the participants ever knew how Feder was able to report so much of what had gone on at the closed-door meeting.

A man after my own heart. Meanwhile, head over the EIA homepage for more video from the staff picket line in front of Oregon Education Association headquarters.