by David Safier (TASL) I find this encouraging. Freshmen in the Sunnyside School District will get free laptops if they keep a 2.5 or better GPA and have a 95% attendance record. Will this change behavior or just reward the students who are already doing well? Single-period absences for freshmen at Desert View High School … Read more
by David Safier The Star agrees with what I wrote in an earlier post that the state shouldn't take tuition funds to shore up Arizona's budget problems: We understand the financial straits facing the state. But taking students' money from universities demonstrates the backward tendencies of lawmakers who refuse to accept that Arizona can't grow … Read more
by David Safier Looks like Russell Pearce wants to increase state revenues by taxing Arizona college tuition. He doesn't call it a tax, but that's what his proposal amounts to: Lawmakers are eyeing an extra $56.7 million collected in tuition by the three public universities, possibly to help balance the state budget. See, the universities raised tuition … Read more
by David Safier From the first time I heard Sarah Palin speak off script, I was perplexed by the strange way she mangled the language. It didn't sound like Bush-speak, or like any other public official I remembered. A lot of Republican governors have really good ideas for our nation because we’re the ones there … Read more
by David Safier (TASL) Here's what we should do right now, while we're in the midst of a financial meltdown, to improve education over the next decade: Raise teacher salaries significantly. Raise salaries even more in underperforming and rural schools. Offer loan forgiveness programs to new teachers — 10%-20% off their college loans for every … Read more