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

I’ve been following this whole RheeFirst controversy without a whole lot of interest – who else would be behind an anonymous anti-Rhee web site? But leave it to AFT to throw kerosene on the fire with this statement:

It’s revealing that StudentsFirst’s spokesperson calls RheeFirst.com an attack site — yet doesn’t challenge any of the facts on the site. That’s because RheeFirst.com aggregates articles raising fair and legitimate questions about Michelle Rhee’s agenda. Much of this information can’t be found on Michelle Rhee’s official website, such as her work with Republican governors to promote vouchers and to dismantle public education, her failure to acknowledge the seriousness of the cheating that occurred on her watch in Washington, D.C., or countless other examples you can find on RheeFirst.com.

You can imagine how shocked I was to discover that AFT is championing blogs that raise fair and legitimate questions about opponents’ agendas with information that can’t be found on official web sites. My own experience has been quite the contrary.

After 14 years, it’s time for the EIA Operations Center – otherwise known as the Antonucci homestead – to relocate. It won’t be much of a change for you guys since we’re only moving about 11 miles down the road, but it will cause a major upheaval around here for the next six weeks or more.

There will still be blogging and e-mail communication, but I can’t say in advance how much or how often. Bear with me as we make the transition and try to re-establish a routine. Thanks in advance.

Labor Day is coming up next week, but the non-teaching staff at the Jefferson Parish school district headquarters in Louisiana don’t have to look so far ahead for their holidays. They receive 26 paid holidays per year.

An audit revealed staff “began receiving the extra holidays in 1991 in lieu of pay raises. Since then, salaries have gone up to or beyond the Southeast average, yet employees continue to get the 26 paid holidays.”

Reducing the number of holidays to 12 is expected to save more than $1.2 million.

So let’s take a holiday and celebrate the 225th anniversary of Shays’ Rebellion.

When you combine the number of “out of office” replies to my e-mails with the giant stack of personal business I have awaiting me, it looks to be a good time to enter a period of sporadic blogging. I’ll still be around, will keep an eye on things and post, but it just might not be daily for a short while. Enjoy the heat!

Click here to read:

1) Is NEA Following the Path of the Industrial Unions?

2) Last Week’s Intercepts

3) Quote of the Week

Video of Wisconsin Education Association Council President Mary Bell discussing staff layoffs on WISN-TV (no embed).

Only three weeks ago I thought it was hopeless, but thanks to Education Northwest the good people of Idaho Falls are saved from another boondoggle:

A study done for school districts in Idaho Falls found consolidation would cost taxpayers more, a blow to proponents of combining districts in a bid to reduce costs.

The Oregon-based Education Northwest, an education research laboratory, says consolidation of Idaho Falls School District 91 and Bonneville Joint School  District 93 would have upfront costs of up to $2.4 million, while generating between $582,000 and $2.4 million in additional annual costs.

“I thought it would be cost-neutral,” District 93 Superintendent Chuck Shackett told the Idaho Falls Post-Register. “I didn’t realize it would cost more.”

There are certainly areas of school district management in which economies of scale can apply, but the evidence of, oh, the last century or so makes the case that bigger is not cheaper.