Noted without comment
by David Safier From Russell Pearce: "We have been very, very good to education," Sen. Russell Pearce R-Mesa, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said earlier in the day. "There'll never be enough money for some of these folks, never, until they just strip the taxpayer of every penny they earn." Advertisement I won't comment … Read more
Supreme Court Planning Mischief With the Voting Rights Act?
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear arguments in a small case from Texas which could have significant consequences if the Roberts Court decides to engage in conservative judicial activism. The case is brought by a small municipal utility district from Austin, Texas and challenges the Section 5 "preclearance" provisions of the … Read more
UPDATE: Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to Become Law
Posted by AzBlueMeanie: Last Friday the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act (HR 12, S 181) passed the Senate on a vote of 61-36, surpassing the obstructionist Republicans' attempt at a filibuster by invoking the cloture rule. Wage-equity bill sails through Senate All 16 female senators — including four Republicans — voted for the bill. Arizona's … Read more
A face-off with the Goldwater Institute in the comments
by David Safier I'm pleased to say that Matthew Ladner of the Goldwater Institute found my first column about some of his assertions (Fool's Gold: Cut teachers, improve schools) provocative enough he was moved to answer me in the Comments section beneath the post. Then I commented on his comment. Then he commented on my comment-on-his-comment. … Read more
Budget update from Rep. Steve Farley
by David Safier Tuesday's Farley Report hit my email. It's all budget, all the time this week. Here are some excerpts. Speaker Adams just confirmed on the floor that we will likely be calling a special session by tomorrow in which all normal committees are cancelled and we will focus on the adoption of the … Read more
Time to join Education Anonymous?
by David Safier The NY Times has an article about $150 billion for education in the stimulus plan. Frederick Hess, a conservative educator with the American Enterprise Institute, doesn't like the idea. School districts have to learn to live with less cash for schools, he says. If property tax revenues are down, schools need to … Read more
More Fool’s Gold: Schools don’t need money. Kids don’t need pre-K
by David Safier Here are more gems from the Goldwater Institute: money doesn't matter much in education, and providing early childhood education doesn't have much lasting educational value. In Dan Lips' words, from a Fool's Gold email blast: · Past experience shows that more K-12 spending does not significantly improve educational performance. · Federal early childhood education programs have not … Read more
