There is a charter school in CA called Green Dot that continues to use union labor but has a unique provision in the contract.  Living in the private sector, we take these things as a given.  It is truly sad that every public school employee doesn’t already live by these standards. 

(emphasis added)

Article XVIII – Discipline

18.1

No unit member shall be disciplined, non-renewed, dismissed, reduced in rank or compensation without just cause.  Just cause includes but is not limited to:

• Causing harm to students, parents and/or staff members
• Engaging in behavior that may pose a safety risk to students, parents and/or staff members
• Engaging in unprofessional behavior with students, parents and /or  staff members (i.e. sexual harassment and discrimination)
• Teaching performance by a unit member that is below expectations and does not improve materially in spite of the fact that an action plan and a development plan has been put in place by the respective Principal for that unit member
• Poor student academic performance within a unit member’s subject area.  Poor academic performance is defined as student performance on multiple student outcome measures for that subject area that is substantially below that of comparable schools
• Representing the school or the entire Green Dot organization in an unprofessional manner to people outside of the school or organization
• Consistent violations of Green Dot / school policies and procedures where progressive discipline has already occurred

ProJo Reports on how the recent out-of-the-box Medicaid proposal be governor Carcieri is already being billed — nationally — as another doom-and-gloom scenario for the state that could start a national trend.

So what is the supposedly-harmful proposal?

“The governor will agree to limit all spending on Medicaid programs for the next five years. In exchange, the Bush administration will grant Carcieri broad authority to change health-care programs that consume roughly $1.8 billion in state and federal spending this year, or 25 percent of the total state budget.

The governor has outlined dramatic changes to the state’s long-term care system for the elderly and disabled, but changes may also affect subsidized transportation programs for the disabled and elderly, health insurance for low-income children and their parents, and prescription drug coverage for seniors. “

Instead of the media, Washington regulars, and the RI public-at-large slamming a proposal before it receives an evaluation, perhaps they should look at the root cause of what brought Medicaid to its broken state - runaway increases in the populations served and the services covered.  And let us not forget that RITEcare is actually a better coverage than Blue Cross and United Healthcare that you and I (working stiffs) can purchase.

This piece In the Journal confirms what many unemployed Rhode Islanders, small business owners, and entrepreneurs have known for a long time: Our state in a recession!

Rhode Island remained mired in a deep, unabated recession in July, according to the Current Conditions Index created by University of Rhode Island economics Prof. Leonard Lardaro to measure the strength of the present situation.

“I have now become very worried about Rhode Island’s economy,” Lardaro wrote. “As both the national and global economies slow, it is readily apparent that Rhode Island has no margin for error in dealing with this heightened awareness, as we have now been in a recession for almost a year. The only bright spot is that we will now be comparing to recession levels for the remainder of this year.”

The index rose from its all-time low of zero in June to 17 in July. A value of 50 is neutral. Anything above 50 signifies expansion while anything below that signifies retraction.

Instead of taxing the state to death, spending our resources into the ground, and allowing the unemployment to get worse (in no small part by not being more business friendly) Rhode Island will continue this recession until new economic out-of-the-box ideas are brought into the fold.

You can sign up to received Dr. Lardaro’s CCI index at his website.

On the heals of Bishop Tom Tobin’s statement on immigration, ProJo reports on the RI Interfaith Coalition’s big government plan to “fight poverty”

Leaders of a broad-based interfaith coalition of clergy and other groups, alarmed at what they see as the tendency by some politicians to place the needs of the poor on the back burner, are poised to issue a call to area churches, synagogues and temples today, urging those seeking public office to outline what they will do during their first 100 days to create more economic opportunity…

…Although today’s move is partly in response to a call from a number of other groups, including Catholic Charities USA and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, for a new national campaign to reduce poverty, some of the leaders here said the local effort is also motivated by their concerns about Rhode Island’s high unemployment rate, 7.5 percent, and the effect of the housing crisis on the poor.

But perhaps the soundest quote comes from Rev. Don Anderson, executive minister of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches, who suggests an appropriate role government should play in poverty reduction…

Although Mr. Anderson sees the recommendations of a “Poverty, Work and Opportunity Task Force,” which was created last year by Mayor David N. Cicilline as a starting point of some of the things that elected officials can do, he said the clergy leaders are by no means limiting themselves to government solutions to the problem of poverty, and are asking business and labor leaders and other social-service agencies to lend their ideas as to the best way to pull people out of poverty.

One lesson that has always stood the tests of time; Give a man a fish, you have fed him for a day.  Teach a man to fish, and you have fed him for a lifetime. And, of course, you learn to fish by fishing - not by taking taxpayer funded training programs.

Once those is both the faith and government communities recognize this simple truth, fighting poverty won’t become such an uphill battle…

On the eve of the new school year going into full-swing, a number of Ocean State school districts are making headlines regarding how they spend your tax dollars and who is reaping the rewards…

The first article concerns the wage increase details of the first-ever 3-year teacher contract in Smithfield:

Under the terms of the pact, already approved by the union, members in steps 1-9 in the first year would get a raise of 1.5 percent. Those on the tenth step, the most experienced, would receive 2.8 percent.

In the second year, teachers in steps 1-9 would receive a hike of 1.75 percent, with a raise of 2.7 percent for the top step.

In the third year, all would get a 2.6-percent raise.

The NEA response was, to put it mildly, a bit surprising…

It’s pleasant to have a contract,” Michael J. Twohey, president of NEA/Smithfield, said after the vote. He said he would have liked to see a better financial deal for the union members, but added, “We have an agreement and we have to live with it.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the state, some East Bay schools are getting privileged with a makeover

According to this article, Colt-Andrews school has an interesting way of prioritizing school expenditures..

The first day of school in the Bristol Warren Regional School District came and went last Wednesday without any hitches.

The biggest worry for administrators was the reopening of Colt Andrews School, which had been closed for two years so it could be expanded and renovated, but a team of faculty members, parents and contractors spent the days leading up to the event working around the clock to make sure everything was in place. Though parts of the $14-million project still need to be finished, construction crews will work after school hours and won’t interfere with classes.

Furthermore, sources indicate the Bristol school district favors cream-of-the-crop renovations…

“None of the other schools in the district had the radical makeover that Colt Andrews went through, but there were other, more subtle changes.”

With examples like these of what kind of pet projects are done with education spending, it’s no shock that the 2008 RI Department of Educations Regents’ Commended list only includes one Smithfield school and one Bristol-Warren school — as opposed to six Barrington.

And before you feel too good about the modest raises reported (1.75% to 2.7%) - check out the real salary increase by looking at the contract evaluation over at the Transparency Train website.  What you will find is that when you include “Steps” the real increase reaches over 10 percent.

Providence Journal reports on a new effort by the board of Regents to convince parents that what is taught in the classroom is properly retained by students…

The Regents decided students must score at least “partially proficient” on the tests in order to comply with the graduation requirement. Students who score substantially below proficient are therefore at risk for not graduating unless they re-take the test and score partially proficient; submit another kind of test score, like SATs; or pass a test developed by the district. There will also be an appeal process for students, giving them an opportunity to prove they are prepared to graduate.

The other two-thirds of graduation requirements will consist of the student’s four years of coursework and demonstrating proficiency through senior projects and portfolios.

Although positive to see more accountability with public educators, instead of simply handing the diplomas without any oversight, these new requirements still miss the point: by a majority (two-thirds) of the requirements consisting of showing prior course work, students can still receive a diploma without proof of knowledge retention —essentially leaving without knowing what you learned only months before graduation.

Instead of circumventing the problem, the Board of Regents should look at even more aggressive measures which require less proof of what you have learned (via portfolio busy-work) instead of more proof of demonstating the knowlege students still retain.

Projo reports on a disturbing trend relating to various road and bridge construction projects, a new panel has assessed.

According to the panel, questions have been raised regarding how hundreds of millions of state dollars are spent, and yet still poor infrastructure sites are untouched…

“At a May meeting, a panel member asked why the Pawtucket River Bridge, which carries Route 95, became an emergency in November, with heavy trucks banned and detours in place, when the DOT had known for a decade that it was deteriorating.

He was told that the DOT employs only 13 people to maintain more than 600 bridges. Lewis said yesterday that the state spends about $40 million per year on operations and maintenance and that it should be spending nearly three times that.”

According to the Reason Foundation, the annual Highway Study shows that Rhode Island has the 3rd Least Cost-Effective Infrastructure Spending in Entire Nation!

That means we’re one of the top three states that spends the most money on our roads Per Mile AND 53.3% of our bridges are deficient - the absolute highest rate in the nation.

Certainly will make you think next time you see a traffic jam on the i-95…

Once again, the journal writes up another one-sided take on one of RI’s hottest issues.

This piece uses every word to work up a guilt-driven frenzy at the prospect of immigration enforcement and obeying the rule-of-law…

“He and his wife, who is a legal permanent resident, raised four children, whose honors certificates and sports trophies crowd their apartment shelves. Cabrera and his wife are proud that they put their children on the straight and narrow. He tells them, “Education is the key.”  

But on July 15, Cabrera was 1of 31 janitors swept up in an immigration raid of state courthouses and charged with civil violations of being in the country illegally. And now, the electronic monitor clamped to his ankle reminds Cabrera that he may well be deported to Guatemala, a country he left for political, economic and personal reasons. He and his wife, who declined to be interviewed, waited until the morning after the raid to tell his two youngest daughters, 13 and 17. “

No surprises in this piece, as you can see. Maybe the real story is how our unemployment is rising and wages are being depressed by people like Cabrera, and not the anecdotal feature subjects of this piece.

Public schools, at their worst, tend to encourage a reactionary brand of liberalism.  BIG GOVERNMENT is the medicine for what ails society in the minds of most teachers.  Many public school curriculum do not do enough to cultivate entrepreneurship and self-reliance. 

This being said, increasing numbers of students are interested in entrepreneurship, business and investments.  Such encouraging curiosity runs contrary to the status quo at public schools; but students are not developing these habits at school, but maybe from fantasy football and other games. 

Owning a fantasy football team teaches children ownership.  They alone are saddled with the success or failure of their team.  It is comparable to owning a small business.  While real schools cultivate self-esteem driven fantasy worlds for children, fantasy football is a zero-sum game of winners and losers.   

Students who play fantasy football develop expertise in rating the value of individual players.  This requires statistical analysis.  Numbers are crunched and team needs are addressed.  The search for undervalued players becomes essential to success. 

These same students often develop an interest in business.  The transition from rating players to rating stocks is not a huge one.  Many students who play fantasy football are interested in business.  They are not ready to run hedge funds yet, but they have watched Mad Money on CNBC.  It should also be noted that the copy of Rich Dad, Poor Dad that I keep in my classroom is worn out from being read by student after student.  And now it is missing! 

Fantasy sports are the inadvertent gateway to creating a new investor class in

Marxists would be well served by avoiding this battle field, since not everyone can be a winner.   Marxist economists, whose theories failed in reality, now cannot even succeed in a fantasy world.  Perhaps American Universities should take notice. 

Let us engage in an economic version or Friday Night Lights.  I would bet Ladainian Tomlinson, the highly touted fantasy player who is on my team, that an on-line investment account managed by an astute group of high school students can outperform the returns generated by the Social Security System and most Defined Benefit Pension Plans. 

Today they play football.  Tomorrow they will clamor to privatize social security.