Is Rich Crandall a liar or an ignoramus?

by David Safier

Rich Crandall is a very active member of ALEC, and he tried to pass a bill that would allow schools to say No to the Fed's free and reduced lunches. But I don't think people who I disagree with are necessarily idiots, and that would include Rich Crandall. Crandall is not an idiot or an ignoramus. When it suits his purposes, he's a liar.

Here's today's jaw-dropping pronouncement from Crandall. When Howie Fischer outlines the Republican state budget, he mentions $40 million is targeted to improve reading skills in grades K-3. It's a good idea, especially since we plan to hold third graders back if their reading scores are low — probably not enough in the face of our last-in-the-nation per student spending, but a good idea nonetheless.

Crandall says he wants to divide the $40 million evenly among schools. Yes, he wants the Catalina Foothills District to get as much reading money as districts with the poorest students in the state. Why?

"To say it should only go to those schools who have done a poor job of educating kids in reading, that they're the only ones who should get it, punishes those great administrators, principals, teachers who have done a very good job of teaching kids to read," [Crandall] said.

No one with the slightest understanding of education could say, honestly, socioeconomic status has nothing to do with children's reading levels, and it should be attributed to the quality of the teachers and administrators. Since I don't think Crandall is totally ignorant about education, the only conclusion I can reach is, he's a lying scoundrel when he implies Catalina Foothills students read better because their staffs are head and shoulders above staffs at, say, TUSD or Flowing Wells — and he knows it.

DR. WORD NOTE: The Doctor notes, when Crandall lists the people doing a good job teaching kids to read, he lists teachers last of three — "administrators, principals, teachers" — even creating a redundancy by listing principals separately from administrators to move teachers further down the line.

PISA NOTE: PISA, which administers and analyzes the international tests used to compare achievements in various countries, says the U.S. is the only western country that spends less on schools with low performing students. Other countries pour extra funds into schools where there is the greatest need.