I haven't posted much the last few days over this whole virtual school spat mainly because things are moving so fast as this farce they call a legislative session winds down. Here is the timeline in a nutshell:
*Tuesday, you'll remember, SB 767 with 32 or 34 amendments on it passed the House. You saw the passionate testimony of Matt Wingard and Kim Thatcher in attempts to kill it there. What you missed was the carrier of the bill, Democrat Sara Gelser. You can hear her on the archived audio, and I recommend if you want to follow this, that you do. On the House floor, she stuck her neck out numerous times saying "the intent is not to shut down schools."
Well, okay, as written with the amendments, Ms. Gelser, it will. Here is what is so bass ackwards about that House ruling. She promised up and down that this bill, if passed, would go to a Senate subcommittee where the current verbage would be amended to assure that no current students would be disenfranchised. So essentially, the House voted on what one representative called a "virtual bill" and "please excuse us if we don't believe you". Yep, a lot of corruption and ill intentions have been revealed with this bill, they need to know we don't take "trust me" at face value. Anyway, it passed. And the clock is ticking on the legislative session.
*It goes to the subcommittee, which took until Friday to finally convene. Lots of wrangling going on. And once they all got seated, count 'em 52 amendments! Even as I write this, there are 56! Yowsa!
*Today is Saturday, it just passed the Senate.
Here is what all that amending did. It protected us. It amends the wording so much it now truly does what the Oregon Education Association (OEA) says it does, although it really isn't needed. It governs online virtual schools. Personally?? I think that is the Board of Education's job, but hey, we set out to protect our school, and whether it passes or not at this point, our school's enrollments, charters, etc. are protected.
You want to know what is at issue right now being wrangled over? The OEA targeted ORCA so much with this bill, that the way the silly bill is written, it seriously disenfranchises Oregon Virtual Academy (ORVA), the online virtual school started by the Board of Education itself in response to ORCA. Good gravy! They want to shut us down so much they forget there are several other virtual schools in this state! Bureaucrats. So, get ready, we'll be up to 60 amendments when we're done, I am not kidding.
Here is something else that is interesting. Because several of us stuck our neck out and filed that complaint revealing the true intention of the OEA with this bill. You have to understand, up until that press conference 10 days ago where it was shown that OEA representative, Laurie Wimmer, wanted the schools shut down by this date or date--up until then it really was a battle that looked like this:
US: "You're trying to shut us down!"
OEA: "No, we're not!"
US: "Yes, you are!"
OEA: "No, we're not!"
etc.......
That email showed the true intentions of this bill, and a lot of Democrats took a second notice. In their defense, on this issue only (there have been a few other votes on other issues that have me steamed right now.....), they spent hours and hours last week hammering out these umpteen amendments to purposely not shut down schools. Although the moratorium is still there and a task force still has to govern this issue, right now the schools are protected. The task force is a battle for another day, specifically, next February.
That press conference and complaint also caused another thing to happen. Many many state representatives and state senators are thinking twice about taking Laurie Wimmer at her word when she bounces into their offices. She lied to them in conference and she lied to them on recorded testimony. They should think twice before taking her word for it.
As parents, in all of this, as a group, we are now considered a force to be reckoned with in our state's capital. I hope so, we'll be watching them day one on that task force.
In the meantime, we are planning a party. I am so proud of our group of parents, kids, and lobbyists. They worked hard. They can be proud they acted above board, with honesty, tenacity and won a hard battle that was truly David and Goliath. It is an honor to know these great people.
And we are planning a party. We deserve it! More on that later.
Let the governor decide if he is going to pass this thing or not. First, he's got to read the thing! Fifty plus amendments and all! Have a great weekend Ted! I know I am!
Jun 27, 2009
Jun 24, 2009
Ummm...What She Said, I Am With Her.....
I have no idea who Glenn Beck is. (Collective gasp heard nationally) I don't. But he got this letter from one of his followers, and I just got it off of a forwarded email. Yep, what she says.....I am with her.....
I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?
Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.
Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.
Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.
Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.
Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!
Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.
Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.
Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why -- what do you have against shareholders making a profit?
Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.
Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.
Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try -- please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.
I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.
From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.
We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when he will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.
Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.
I'm a home grown American citizen, 53, registered Democrat all my life. Before the last presidential election I registered as a Republican because I no longer felt the Democratic Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. Now I no longer feel the Republican Party represents my views or works to pursue issues important to me. The fact is I no longer feel any political party or representative in Washington represents my views or works to pursue the issues important to me. There must be someone. Please tell me who you are. Please stand up and tell me that you are there and that you're willing to fight for our Constitution as it was written. Please stand up now. You might ask yourself what my views and issues are that I would horribly feel so disenfranchised by both major political parties. What kind of nut job am I? Will you please tell me?
Well, these are briefly my views and issues for which I seek representation:
One, illegal immigration. I want you to stop coddling illegal immigrants and secure our borders. Close the underground tunnels. Stop the violence and the trafficking in drugs and people. No amnesty, not again. Been there, done that, no resolution. P.S., I'm not a racist. This isn't to be confused with legal immigration.
Two, the TARP bill, I want it repealed and I want no further funding supplied to it. We told you no, but you did it anyway. I want the remaining unfunded 95% repealed. Freeze, repeal.
Three: Czars, I want the circumvention of our checks and balances stopped immediately. Fire the czars. No more czars. Government officials answer to the process, not to the president. Stop trampling on our Constitution and honor it.
Four, cap and trade. The debate on global warming is not over. There is more to say.
Five, universal healthcare. I will not be rushed into another expensive decision. Don't you dare try to pass this in the middle of the night and then go on break. Slow down!
Six, growing government control. I want states rights and sovereignty fully restored. I want less government in my life, not more. Shrink it down. Mind your own business. You have enough to take care of with your real obligations. Why don't you start there.
Seven, ACORN. I do not want ACORN and its affiliates in charge of our 2010 census. I want them investigated. I also do not want mandatory escrow fees contributed to them every time on every real estate deal that closes. Stop the funding to ACORN and its affiliates pending impartial audits and investigations. I do not trust them with taking the census over with our taxpayer money. I don't trust them with our taxpayer money. Face up to the allegations against them and get it resolved before taxpayers get any more involved with them. If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, hello. Stop protecting your political buddies. You work for us, the people. Investigate.
Eight, redistribution of wealth. No, no, no. I work for my money. It is mine. I have always worked for people with more money than I have because they gave me jobs. That is the only redistribution of wealth that I will support. I never got a job from a poor person. Why do you want me to hate my employers? Why -- what do you have against shareholders making a profit?
Nine, charitable contributions. Although I never got a job from a poor person, I have helped many in need. Charity belongs in our local communities, where we know our needs best and can use our local talent and our local resources. Butt out, please. We want to do it ourselves.
Ten, corporate bailouts. Knock it off. Sink or swim like the rest of us. If there are hard times ahead, we'll be better off just getting into it and letting the strong survive. Quick and painful. Have you ever ripped off a Band-Aid? We will pull together. Great things happen in America under great hardship. Give us the chance to innovate. We cannot disappoint you more than you have disappointed us.
Eleven, transparency and accountability. How about it? No, really, how about it? Let's have it. Let's say we give the buzzwords a rest and have some straight honest talk. Please try -- please stop manipulating and trying to appease me with clever wording. I am not the idiot you obviously take me for. Stop sneaking around and meeting in back rooms making deals with your friends. It will only be a prelude to your criminal investigation. Stop hiding things from me.
Twelve, unprecedented quick spending. Stop it now.
Take a breath. Listen to the people. Let's just slow down and get some input from some nonpoliticians on the subject. Stop making everything an emergency. Stop speed reading our bills into law. I am not an activist. I am not a community organizer. Nor am I a terrorist, a militant or a violent person. I am a parent and a grandparent. I work. I'm busy. I'm busy. I am busy, and I am tired. I thought we elected competent people to take care of the business of government so that we could work, raise our families, pay our bills, have a little recreation, complain about taxes, endure our hardships, pursue our personal goals, cut our lawn, wash our cars on the weekends and be responsible contributing members of society and teach our children to be the same all while living in the home of the free and land of the brave.
I entrusted you with upholding the Constitution. I believed in the checks and balances to keep from getting far off course. What happened? You are very far off course. Do you really think I find humor in the hiring of a speed reader to unintelligently ramble all through a bill that you signed into law without knowing what it contained? I do not. It is a mockery of the responsibility I have entrusted to you. It is a slap in the face. I am not laughing at your arrogance. Why is it that I feel as if you would not trust me to make a single decision about my own life and how I would live it but you should expect that I should trust you with the debt that you have laid on all of us and our children. We did not want the TARP bill. We said no. We would repeal it if we could. I am sure that we still cannot. There is such urgency and recklessness in all of the recent spending.
From my perspective, it seems that all of you have gone insane. I also know that I am far from alone in these feelings. Do you honestly feel that your current pursuits have merit to patriotic Americans? We want it to stop. We want to put the brakes on everything that is being rushed by us and forced upon us. We want our voice back. You have forced us to put our lives on hold to straighten out the mess that you are making. We will have to give up our vacations, our time spent with our children, any relaxation time we may have had and money we cannot afford to spend on you to bring our concerns to Washington. Our president often knows all the right buzzword is unsustainable. Well, no kidding. How many tens of thousands of dollars did the focus group cost to come up with that word? We don't want your overpriced words. Stop treating us like we're morons.
We want all of you to stop focusing on your reelection and do the job we want done, not the job you want done or the job your party wants done. You work for us and at this rate I guarantee you not for long because we are coming. We will be heard and we will be represented. You think we're so busy with our lives that we will never come for you? We are the formerly silent majority, all of us who quietly work , pay taxes, obey the law, vote, save money, keep our noses to the grindstone and we are now looking up at you. You have awakened us, the patriotic spirit so strong and so powerful that it had been sleeping too long. You have pushed us too far. Our numbers are great. They may surprise you. For every one of us who will be there, there will be hundreds more that could not come. Unlike you, we have their trust. We will represent them honestly, rest assured. They will be at the polls on voting day to usher you out of office. We have cancelled vacations. We will use our last few dollars saved. We will find the representation among us and a grassroots campaign will flourish. We didn't ask for this fight. But the gloves are coming off. We do not come in violence, but we are angry. You will represent us or you will be replaced with someone who will. There are candidates among us when he will rise like a Phoenix from the ashes that you have made of our constitution.
Democrat, Republican, independent, libertarian. Understand this. We don't care. Political parties are meaningless to us. Patriotic Americans are willing to do right by us and our Constitution and that is all that matters to us now. We are going to fire all of you who abuse power and seek more. It is not your power. It is ours and we want it back. We entrusted you with it and you abused it. You are dishonorable. You are dishonest. As Americans we are ashamed of you. You have brought shame to us. If you are not representing the wants and needs of your constituency loudly and consistently, in spite of the objections of your party, you will be fired. Did you hear? We no longer care about your political parties. You need to be loyal to us, not to them. Because we will get you fired and they will not save you. If you do or can represent me, my issues, my views, please stand up. Make your identity known. You need to make some noise about it. Speak up. I need to know who you are. If you do not speak up, you will be herded out with the rest of the sheep and we will replace the whole damn congress if need be one by one. We are coming. Are we coming for you? Who do you represent? What do you represent? Listen. Because we are coming. We the people are coming.
Tuesday Debacle
Okay, I don't know how to describe the events of today.
My best advice, grab a cup of coffee and click here. Be sure to click on 6/23/2009 at 12:59 pm. Get ready to commit to 30-45 minutes of the smackdown on the House floor over this bill. It got tense, especially when the one representative specifically mentioned the teacher's union, only to be objected to for "impuning testimony". Listen to him take issue with that, "they are listed at the top of the bill!"
Highlights as I listened:
Sara Gelser carried this bill, and has done nothing but canoodled and politicked for this bill. Yes, the bill she presented on the floor today is drastically watered down and we can be happy for that. BUT! And all of us say this, but! Will she make good on her promise that the bill will go back to the Senate committee with the changes? She promised up and down. Turns out not.
Check out this blog. This is Rob Kremer's blog, who is one of our lobbyists. Turns out the bill which she vehemently promised on record in the House of Representatives of our fine state, is NOT the bill handed over to the Senate.
Are you barfing yet?
So the concessions while it didn't kill the bill, certainly put into place things that we could live with. Things like my youngest son could attend ORCA while this two year "time out" takes place. Not so, as promised
Now, after listening to this, do you feel as I have felt all along?
You can hear well articulated, thought out, proven facts about online virtual schooling. Every argument (about 6-8 of them) presented well.
The three or so in the pro position (one of them my idiotic representative, Michael Dembrow) can easily have holes poked in them. His whole argument that he represents and teaches at our local community college, which is a cutting edge college in online education. I do agree, it is. Yet he is having problems getting materials to his online students. We are comparing apples to chicken wings! ORCA's, as well as the other virtual schools already have a tested infrastructure. We have a tech support number to call to help us. If he would pick up his phone at his desk and call his community college's tech support, he might be in business. More than anything, his ineptness showed how he is in that generation that isn't electronic. So why should we all have to pay for his inability to post his syllabus?
Same for the two other folks who posted "pro" arguments. So it was 6-8 well positioned and argued statements against three. They were compelling. It would make anyone listening think, "Well of course, this is a silly bill. Vote no."
And yet, it passed.
My husband watched it at work, and barged through the door with shards flying out of his eyes. There is no other tactful way to say it.....he is now officially pissed off.
I have been saying it all along, how can you listen to that much reason and pass this bill?
Hmmm....must be something fishy going on.
I have huge hope in that Rob Kremer's promise to force Sara (the anti-christ) Gelser to keep her promise on the enrollment conditions. That distinction makes a huge difference for families for the next two years.
A long drawn out two years, wondering if this legislation stacked task force will have a majority of votes that have had their campaigns bankrolled by unions. It's a concern.
And this legislation session ends Friday. We can hope for a long shot that it just lingers in these dumb committees and we all go home. Ha! I know a lot of Dems are looking for a way for this bill to die without having the union cut their campaign funding.
Yucky!
Here is one of our best advocates, Representative Matt Wingard, who is a Republican for the House. These are his closing arguments, and he sums up the whole charade very well.
As things arrive on youtube, I can add more. This is Kim Thatcher's testimony several minutes before Matt's conclusion show above, from the House floor smackdown this last Tuesday. You are also seeing Sara Gelser, she is the one with the dark hair and incredibly busy dress, that Kim addresses at the beginning. Sara is in the pockets of the unions and cahoots with the Dems.
My best advice, grab a cup of coffee and click here. Be sure to click on 6/23/2009 at 12:59 pm. Get ready to commit to 30-45 minutes of the smackdown on the House floor over this bill. It got tense, especially when the one representative specifically mentioned the teacher's union, only to be objected to for "impuning testimony". Listen to him take issue with that, "they are listed at the top of the bill!"
Highlights as I listened:
Sara Gelser carried this bill, and has done nothing but canoodled and politicked for this bill. Yes, the bill she presented on the floor today is drastically watered down and we can be happy for that. BUT! And all of us say this, but! Will she make good on her promise that the bill will go back to the Senate committee with the changes? She promised up and down. Turns out not.
Check out this blog. This is Rob Kremer's blog, who is one of our lobbyists. Turns out the bill which she vehemently promised on record in the House of Representatives of our fine state, is NOT the bill handed over to the Senate.
Are you barfing yet?
So the concessions while it didn't kill the bill, certainly put into place things that we could live with. Things like my youngest son could attend ORCA while this two year "time out" takes place. Not so, as promised
Now, after listening to this, do you feel as I have felt all along?
You can hear well articulated, thought out, proven facts about online virtual schooling. Every argument (about 6-8 of them) presented well.
The three or so in the pro position (one of them my idiotic representative, Michael Dembrow) can easily have holes poked in them. His whole argument that he represents and teaches at our local community college, which is a cutting edge college in online education. I do agree, it is. Yet he is having problems getting materials to his online students. We are comparing apples to chicken wings! ORCA's, as well as the other virtual schools already have a tested infrastructure. We have a tech support number to call to help us. If he would pick up his phone at his desk and call his community college's tech support, he might be in business. More than anything, his ineptness showed how he is in that generation that isn't electronic. So why should we all have to pay for his inability to post his syllabus?
Same for the two other folks who posted "pro" arguments. So it was 6-8 well positioned and argued statements against three. They were compelling. It would make anyone listening think, "Well of course, this is a silly bill. Vote no."
And yet, it passed.
My husband watched it at work, and barged through the door with shards flying out of his eyes. There is no other tactful way to say it.....he is now officially pissed off.
I have been saying it all along, how can you listen to that much reason and pass this bill?
Hmmm....must be something fishy going on.
I have huge hope in that Rob Kremer's promise to force Sara (the anti-christ) Gelser to keep her promise on the enrollment conditions. That distinction makes a huge difference for families for the next two years.
A long drawn out two years, wondering if this legislation stacked task force will have a majority of votes that have had their campaigns bankrolled by unions. It's a concern.
And this legislation session ends Friday. We can hope for a long shot that it just lingers in these dumb committees and we all go home. Ha! I know a lot of Dems are looking for a way for this bill to die without having the union cut their campaign funding.
Yucky!
Here is one of our best advocates, Representative Matt Wingard, who is a Republican for the House. These are his closing arguments, and he sums up the whole charade very well.
As things arrive on youtube, I can add more. This is Kim Thatcher's testimony several minutes before Matt's conclusion show above, from the House floor smackdown this last Tuesday. You are also seeing Sara Gelser, she is the one with the dark hair and incredibly busy dress, that Kim addresses at the beginning. Sara is in the pockets of the unions and cahoots with the Dems.
Jun 21, 2009
Monday Morning Showdown in the House of Representatives
Here is the basic skuttle butt of this bill.
No one, and I mean no one (okay, except for maybe the Oregon Education Association [OEA] and the governor) wants Senate Bill 767 passed. Last I heard that organization and the governor were not the majority in this state.
No citizen, Democrat, Republican, Green Party, Independent, or whatever else, wants this bill signed into law. The average citizen who you talk to wants choices in public education.
The Republicans in the House don't want this into law because they are anti union.
The Democrats in the House don't want this into law because they don't want their political careers to be attached to a lousy bill that stinks to high heavens. I am curious to see if this becomes a campaign issue in the next election, "Bob Democrat voted against school choice (pic of a pathetic young child)." Polls show time and time again, average Joe's do not want this legislation.
Yet, because the union is the powerhouse it is, and because most of the Democrats in the House have had their campaigns bankrolled by public employee unions, it will most likely be approved. I am not being sarcastic there, it is a matter of public record, and it's true.
And yet there are glimmers of hope. The other parent I did the press conference with went to a town hall meeting Saturday morning of one of her local Democrat reps and asked him what he would vote. He had no idea how far and extensive the ramifications of this bill are. He promised he would vote against. Trust me, we have heard that before, but he seemed genuine. Let's hope the governor or his cronies didn't get to him since then. Trust me, the governor has made it very clear his intentions for this bill, and he is working it.
We are hoping six Democrats (and I am sorry to my Democrat friends, this has become a party issue, and I am not slamming you at all) have a moment of conscience and vote it down. Unfortunately, this has become a bipartisan issue in the capital. On the public streets of this state, it isn't.
I'll let you know 24 hours from now.
No one, and I mean no one (okay, except for maybe the Oregon Education Association [OEA] and the governor) wants Senate Bill 767 passed. Last I heard that organization and the governor were not the majority in this state.
No citizen, Democrat, Republican, Green Party, Independent, or whatever else, wants this bill signed into law. The average citizen who you talk to wants choices in public education.
The Republicans in the House don't want this into law because they are anti union.
The Democrats in the House don't want this into law because they don't want their political careers to be attached to a lousy bill that stinks to high heavens. I am curious to see if this becomes a campaign issue in the next election, "Bob Democrat voted against school choice (pic of a pathetic young child)." Polls show time and time again, average Joe's do not want this legislation.
Yet, because the union is the powerhouse it is, and because most of the Democrats in the House have had their campaigns bankrolled by public employee unions, it will most likely be approved. I am not being sarcastic there, it is a matter of public record, and it's true.
And yet there are glimmers of hope. The other parent I did the press conference with went to a town hall meeting Saturday morning of one of her local Democrat reps and asked him what he would vote. He had no idea how far and extensive the ramifications of this bill are. He promised he would vote against. Trust me, we have heard that before, but he seemed genuine. Let's hope the governor or his cronies didn't get to him since then. Trust me, the governor has made it very clear his intentions for this bill, and he is working it.
We are hoping six Democrats (and I am sorry to my Democrat friends, this has become a party issue, and I am not slamming you at all) have a moment of conscience and vote it down. Unfortunately, this has become a bipartisan issue in the capital. On the public streets of this state, it isn't.
I'll let you know 24 hours from now.
Jun 19, 2009
Jun 18, 2009
I Don't Know Where to Start......
photo courtesy of Willamette WeekI am just going to give you bulleted points of my day. I am exhausted. I am feeling very helpless while this state sits on a train wreck about to happen called the Legislative Session of 2009.
Here goes:
10 am, Myself and another virtual school parent gave a press conference announcing that I am (and did) file an ethics complaint against Cindy Hunt based upon the Willamette Week article. Bottom line, she wrote amendments to Senate Bill 767 opposing online charter schools in support of the Oregon Education Association (OEA). Considering she works for the Department of Education (ODE), which supports online education, she is in a very clear conflict of interest to do this.
Two media outlets were there, but it was fed through the entire capital via closed circuit. I walked all around the capital today with people saying hello to me, based upon that live feed.
After stating my outtrage over her collusion I closed with "I am incensed that the value of my children's education, which I hold very near and dear to my heart, has been reduced to the value of a poker chip to be used in backroom political deals." My "people" could be heard cheering two floors away. They didn't know I was going to say that.
12:30 pm I am interviewed on the local Lars Larson show. Yes the same Lars Larson that does a national syndicated radio program. It went very well.
Lars: What can we do now?
Me: Well, since this bill is about to go to the House floor on Monday, we need the very close vote to swing our way.
Lars: Who needs to be talked to, AM?
Me: Democrats. Unfortunately, this bill is split down party lines. We have had two Dems swing our way, and we want to thank them for taking that stand. We need people to let their Dems know, this isn't a party issue. No one wants this bill.
Nice! Thank you Lars!
Aside here: As I am walking around with a friend, I am seeing the kibbitzing and canoodling of politics. I am asked several times, in the lobby of the capital out in the open, to keep my voice down, there is someone nearby. I see several union lobbyists strategically place themselves near us to listen to us. We do the same to them as well, tee hee! In our travels around, we do find that the bill will most likely hit the House floor Monday, and the desire is to get it done and pass it, but no one wants it. The tension is kind of thick. It's weird! And yet, there are tourists taking pictures at the entrance, while I am whispering with someone over "strategy". It felt like I was in a John Grisham novel! One of our "people" keeps me in the know on things, and yet never showed his face until the afternoon long after the press conference. Interesting!
3:15 pm Department of Education meeting to discuss whether Oregon Connections Academy (ORCA) will receive the much fought for "50/50" waiver. The 50/50 rule says that a charter school must have 50% of it's enrollment from the district the charter is in. That is almost impossible with an online school. So we have to ask for a waiver. We shouldn't have to because of earlier battles, but that discussion is for another day.
My impression? The department chair of this parade is Duncan Wyse. He is a pansy. He starts out by asking about the current enrollments, and how many students there are currently in ORCA. Then he says, "Okay guys, we know there is legislation going on that could completely nullify if we give this waiver. So what should we do? Rule on this and send a message that we are pro online schools? Or should we wait? What do you think?" There isn't a ton of discussion mainly because this body has spent months and long hours in a subcommittee coming to a consensus of what they think as a policy of online education. That consensus was, they are pro.
I am sitting there thinking, someone make a motion, and let's do it! You have hard fought consensus, send a message to the legislature that you can handle education decisions here, not on the floor of the legislature! Go team go!
Right? You with me?? Nope, more discussion. Made a motion with contingents taking into account they may need to come back depending on SB 767. Okay, great, pound the gavel! Nope, more discussion, and amendment on the motion, and then another amendment on the motion. Then a discussion on how convoluted this is now because Robert's Rules of Order (I am NOT KIDDING!) says that once there is this, then that can't happen....good LORD!
Then it's 4:55 and the gavel pounds with the consensus being to table the decision until tomorrow. Almost two hours of pansy waffling.
Now this whole time, Cindy Hunt is in attendance, and she is definitely an integral part of this meeting. She is giving advice left and right about the verbage of bills, the legality of whatevers, etc. She knows who I am and won't look at me.
The gavel pounds. Duncan Wyse, who is old enough to be my father, says something like, "Now I want all of you to know (looking at the audience of about 10) we think what is being said about Cindy today is mean. We love her and she works hard for us. She works hard for everyone. We love her and she works hard."
*&%^$#!!!! Are we going to sing "You Are My Sunshine" and have a hug fest too? This isn't a popularity contest! This is a lawyer who has a serious ethics violation!
As that was being said, my peeps started walking out and I followed them. My main peep was flaming red. He informed me that while all the conversating was going on with the whole "should we do this or that because of this legislation" one of the governor's cronies came in the room, sat for 10 minutes, then left. That is when Duncan's spine went to jelly.
My peep asked my opinion of this, and mine was, "No wonder the education system is what it is in this state. We have this man, who has no brass running it. Grow some confidence and show some leadership! This body's ability to grant waivers hasn't been stripped yet, so do it while you can and send a message!"
No waiver. And the bill will very likely pass on Monday.
In the words of another state representative tonight, "Get ready on Monday morning to watch the sheer power of the teacher's unions. No Democrat or Republican wants to vote this bill in. But it will pass by the sheer power of the union."
Sad. But not done yet. There is canoodling and kibbitzing that needs to happen this weekend.
Back room politics and poker chips, remember.
Jun 17, 2009
Flying So Hard It's Blinding
I can't say much. Not only is fur flying but there may even be some poo in there too.
Tomorrow my entire day is booked at the state capital because of the Willamette Week article. It has breathed new life into this whole debate. I am so incredibly thankful for it. If it hadn't been for the article, the bill would have passed the Senate with the amendment and immediately passed the House in a blink. With where things are right now, and the revelations of the article, the hope is that the political stink from it is so bad no self preserving representative will say "aye" to it if only to save their own political careers.
Here is what I can tell you. I will be on the local Lars Larson show. For those of you from out of state, you might know Lars Larson's national syndicated radio program. You may not know he is based out of Oregon and does a local program as well. Tune in tomorrow at 12:30 Pacific time, and I am going to be interviewed by him. Click here to listen on the web.
I wish I could give you details about the issues that have come about. You can surely guess based upon the article. Right now I feel like all I am doing is saying "watch me" which is not my intent.
My hope is that you hear me say "follow me, there is a huge political roller coaster ride I get to ride tomorrow and I want you to join me." The fallout from this is kind of exciting to follow.
Tomorrow my entire day is booked at the state capital because of the Willamette Week article. It has breathed new life into this whole debate. I am so incredibly thankful for it. If it hadn't been for the article, the bill would have passed the Senate with the amendment and immediately passed the House in a blink. With where things are right now, and the revelations of the article, the hope is that the political stink from it is so bad no self preserving representative will say "aye" to it if only to save their own political careers.
Here is what I can tell you. I will be on the local Lars Larson show. For those of you from out of state, you might know Lars Larson's national syndicated radio program. You may not know he is based out of Oregon and does a local program as well. Tune in tomorrow at 12:30 Pacific time, and I am going to be interviewed by him. Click here to listen on the web.
I wish I could give you details about the issues that have come about. You can surely guess based upon the article. Right now I feel like all I am doing is saying "watch me" which is not my intent.
My hope is that you hear me say "follow me, there is a huge political roller coaster ride I get to ride tomorrow and I want you to join me." The fallout from this is kind of exciting to follow.
Let the Fur Fly
Here it is. Let's see what the shake down is from this. It will be interesting. Click here for the Willamette Weekly article I was interviewed for on Monday.
UPDATE:
Here is the link to the actual email the Willamette Week article refers to. I don't know about you but I am impressed with the reporter, Nigel Jaquiss. This is investigative reporting at it's best. Keep in mind, I watched Laurie Wimmer all day at the House hearing saying more than once "our desire is not to shut down online charter schools". Really......
UPDATE:
Here is the link to the actual email the Willamette Week article refers to. I don't know about you but I am impressed with the reporter, Nigel Jaquiss. This is investigative reporting at it's best. Keep in mind, I watched Laurie Wimmer all day at the House hearing saying more than once "our desire is not to shut down online charter schools". Really......
Jun 15, 2009
Mrs. G. Goes to the Capital....Again
BH poaching political analyst,Rob Kremer's, IPhone.
Our trip home.Well how did it go? It was a hearing so it wasn't on the floor of the House. It started with my illustrious representative, Michael Dembrow, testifying first about the wonderful accolades of this bill. *barf*
Surprisingly, there was several hours of testimony from us, the people. I mean several hours. I expected this hearing to last a max of two hours. Nope. Started at 8 am. Broke for a break at 10:30 am. Resumed at 1:30 pm and ended at 3 pm. As much as I realized my kids were dying, I appreciate the representatives listening. Committees haven't always listened to testimony in the past, and have shut out testimony.
And guess what? I signed in as an audience member and inadvertently got called to testify. I gave the typical why my kid is in ORCA, the lousy public school choices I have available to me, etc. Then I started. I referenced that my representative is Michael Dembrow, who we heard from earlier, and he and I agree to disagree. And I said it. I question his ethics and a potential conflict of interest since when he is not a representative, he is employed the the very union who is listed with him on the bill. And guess what? Another idiot liberal representative (Jules Bailey) chastised me saying "We representatives do have lives outside of our offices, and we are capable of separating the two."
And then the gavel fell and we broke for lunch. Durn, because my response would have been something like this:
"Several members today have brought up potential conflict of interests because they have a family member who is employed by someone testifying or they are on a city council together. I don't think it is unreasonable for me to mention that it is public record that Michael Dembrow has a potential conflict of interest. As his constituent I have that right to point it out. As a representative, Michael Dembrow has an obligation to mention it, and he didn't this morning. I do question his integrity, as we all should."
The bill passed this hearing with an amendment. It is bittersweet. The amendment is a pile of hooey, but it did buy us time to have it go before the Senate floor again. Hopefully, we can get three Dems to switch their vote. Hopefully.
However, here are two anciliary things that happened. During the lunch break, Rob Kremer, who is a great advocate for us, goes off and does a bunch of calls on his cell phone and comes back to me and says, "I have an assignment for you." At the time he said this, I was asking everyone, "Was that wrong of me to bring up Dembrow's ethics." The answer was a staunch, "No, you got it in the public record. Shame on Bailey for being a dork". Rob Kremer in in huge agreement with all of us, this is all about how the unions have bought the House and Senate in this state. Without boring you to tears, there have been several other bills passed hugely sponsored by unions during this legislative session, and it sickening.
So I say to Rob, "Uh oh....what?" Well, remember all my jokings about the mayor of Portland this spring? How this openly gay mayor is in a huge soap opera sex scandal? And I have been joking like crazy about it? For those of you who are Oregonians, go back in your history and think about the Neil Goldschmidt scandal, where this huge politician was sexually abusing an underage girl during his hey day. Remember that? The reporter that broke those stories is Nigel Jaquiss. He is a Pulitzer prize winning reporter. He doesn't go to stories, they come to him and he picks and chooses what he covers. He loves to uncover scandal, in appropriate ways, not in National Enquirer ways. Okay, I didn't know any of this when Rob was giving me my next assignment. I was still at "was what I said over the line?"
Rob says, "Nigel Jaquiss wants to interview you right now on union corruption on this issue and you need to call him right now."
*&%$!!
"Rob can you watch my kids for a sec?"
I called him and I was very honest with him about my feelings on Dembrow, my belief that this issue has nothing to do with education, has everything to do with union corruption, etc. He was very kind and nice. He asked me tons of questions and I did not hold back like I did in the hearing. I also let him know I am very serious about filing a complaint against Dembrow for misconduct on this issue.
Okay, the Willamette Weekly coming out Wednesday, look for it.
But wait there is more!
I get home with two kids who endured way too many hours of a hearing and deserved the moon for being so good. I tell my husband about our day. He has always said and said it again, "Call Victoria Taft (local conservative talk show host) . I was just listening to her on the radio." Well, okay, so I sent a quick email and told her about the day's events. Guess what? Five minutes later I get a one sentence email from her, "You available to talk at 7:05?" Ummmmm.....yes!
So at 7:05 pm last night I gave a five minute phone interview summarizing the day's events, explaining virtual schooling, and hearing more about our union controlled state capital.
And then I had a libation, two in fact, and went to bed.
Surprisingly, there was several hours of testimony from us, the people. I mean several hours. I expected this hearing to last a max of two hours. Nope. Started at 8 am. Broke for a break at 10:30 am. Resumed at 1:30 pm and ended at 3 pm. As much as I realized my kids were dying, I appreciate the representatives listening. Committees haven't always listened to testimony in the past, and have shut out testimony.
And guess what? I signed in as an audience member and inadvertently got called to testify. I gave the typical why my kid is in ORCA, the lousy public school choices I have available to me, etc. Then I started. I referenced that my representative is Michael Dembrow, who we heard from earlier, and he and I agree to disagree. And I said it. I question his ethics and a potential conflict of interest since when he is not a representative, he is employed the the very union who is listed with him on the bill. And guess what? Another idiot liberal representative (Jules Bailey) chastised me saying "We representatives do have lives outside of our offices, and we are capable of separating the two."
And then the gavel fell and we broke for lunch. Durn, because my response would have been something like this:
"Several members today have brought up potential conflict of interests because they have a family member who is employed by someone testifying or they are on a city council together. I don't think it is unreasonable for me to mention that it is public record that Michael Dembrow has a potential conflict of interest. As his constituent I have that right to point it out. As a representative, Michael Dembrow has an obligation to mention it, and he didn't this morning. I do question his integrity, as we all should."
The bill passed this hearing with an amendment. It is bittersweet. The amendment is a pile of hooey, but it did buy us time to have it go before the Senate floor again. Hopefully, we can get three Dems to switch their vote. Hopefully.
However, here are two anciliary things that happened. During the lunch break, Rob Kremer, who is a great advocate for us, goes off and does a bunch of calls on his cell phone and comes back to me and says, "I have an assignment for you." At the time he said this, I was asking everyone, "Was that wrong of me to bring up Dembrow's ethics." The answer was a staunch, "No, you got it in the public record. Shame on Bailey for being a dork". Rob Kremer in in huge agreement with all of us, this is all about how the unions have bought the House and Senate in this state. Without boring you to tears, there have been several other bills passed hugely sponsored by unions during this legislative session, and it sickening.
So I say to Rob, "Uh oh....what?" Well, remember all my jokings about the mayor of Portland this spring? How this openly gay mayor is in a huge soap opera sex scandal? And I have been joking like crazy about it? For those of you who are Oregonians, go back in your history and think about the Neil Goldschmidt scandal, where this huge politician was sexually abusing an underage girl during his hey day. Remember that? The reporter that broke those stories is Nigel Jaquiss. He is a Pulitzer prize winning reporter. He doesn't go to stories, they come to him and he picks and chooses what he covers. He loves to uncover scandal, in appropriate ways, not in National Enquirer ways. Okay, I didn't know any of this when Rob was giving me my next assignment. I was still at "was what I said over the line?"
Rob says, "Nigel Jaquiss wants to interview you right now on union corruption on this issue and you need to call him right now."
*&%$!!
"Rob can you watch my kids for a sec?"
I called him and I was very honest with him about my feelings on Dembrow, my belief that this issue has nothing to do with education, has everything to do with union corruption, etc. He was very kind and nice. He asked me tons of questions and I did not hold back like I did in the hearing. I also let him know I am very serious about filing a complaint against Dembrow for misconduct on this issue.
Okay, the Willamette Weekly coming out Wednesday, look for it.
But wait there is more!
I get home with two kids who endured way too many hours of a hearing and deserved the moon for being so good. I tell my husband about our day. He has always said and said it again, "Call Victoria Taft (local conservative talk show host) . I was just listening to her on the radio." Well, okay, so I sent a quick email and told her about the day's events. Guess what? Five minutes later I get a one sentence email from her, "You available to talk at 7:05?" Ummmmm.....yes!
So at 7:05 pm last night I gave a five minute phone interview summarizing the day's events, explaining virtual schooling, and hearing more about our union controlled state capital.
And then I had a libation, two in fact, and went to bed.
Jun 14, 2009
Down to the Wire
And tomorrow morning we are hoping to end this pile of junk. Tomorrow (Monday) morning there is the first House hearing for SB 767 in our state. If this thing passes the House, I don't have much hope that our governor will veto it. If it passes the House, the battle is over So, we need this thing to die in the House hearings, which it can. If it gets to the House floor, forget it. In the state of Oregon, the known adage is "the House was bought by unions."
I am so jaded and bitter by this pile of hooey we call the legislative process. Why? The epiphany hit me this week does not have one ioda to do with schools. It has nothing to do with the quality of public education in our state or the financial savings our state can enjoy in financial hard times. So all the posts I have put up regarding this are really nothing.
Why? All of us galvanized parents for this cause have thrust all those numbers and more in front of all of our representatives, especially when it was before the Senate. Common sense says it should have died there. Nope. Common sense doesn't matter one bit.
Why? Because this has nothing to do with any of that. I have said that it has to do with unions, funneling of money, etc, as a side note. Well, it's the whole reason for this dumb bill--I stress, this has nothing to do with education, at all.
If you take a close look at this bill, all five representatives who sponsored the bill had their campaigns bank rolled by the same unions listed on the bill. I am not exaggerating, I checked myself. It is public information. And lookie! We are suddenly way off the discussion of quality of education, and onto dirty politics. Every conversation I have with people about this topic very very quickly goes this direction.
The unions have bought their vote and sponsorship of this dumb bill. It's even sicker than that....my representative I have mentioned before, Michael Dembrow, is in their pockets deeply. When he is not a state representative, he is employed by a teacher's union and has been for years. The same union that bank rolled his campaign.
Is that legal? Isn't that a conflict of interest? Not in the state of Oregon, apparently.
I know, I want to barf too. If anyone sticks a mic in front of me tomorrow for our little hearing meeting, I will state exactly this. This isn't about schools, it's about unions, and shame on those who sold their vote. Shame on those who took an oath of office to represent the citizen of their districts, and had no intention of doing it. Shame on those who can be bought without scruples. Shame on those who are continuing to take this state's level of education down to one of the lowest in the nation for a buck.
Those of you who know me, know that I have the huevos to say it too. I'll let you know if I get the opportunity.
I am so jaded and bitter by this pile of hooey we call the legislative process. Why? The epiphany hit me this week does not have one ioda to do with schools. It has nothing to do with the quality of public education in our state or the financial savings our state can enjoy in financial hard times. So all the posts I have put up regarding this are really nothing.
Why? All of us galvanized parents for this cause have thrust all those numbers and more in front of all of our representatives, especially when it was before the Senate. Common sense says it should have died there. Nope. Common sense doesn't matter one bit.
Why? Because this has nothing to do with any of that. I have said that it has to do with unions, funneling of money, etc, as a side note. Well, it's the whole reason for this dumb bill--I stress, this has nothing to do with education, at all.
If you take a close look at this bill, all five representatives who sponsored the bill had their campaigns bank rolled by the same unions listed on the bill. I am not exaggerating, I checked myself. It is public information. And lookie! We are suddenly way off the discussion of quality of education, and onto dirty politics. Every conversation I have with people about this topic very very quickly goes this direction.
The unions have bought their vote and sponsorship of this dumb bill. It's even sicker than that....my representative I have mentioned before, Michael Dembrow, is in their pockets deeply. When he is not a state representative, he is employed by a teacher's union and has been for years. The same union that bank rolled his campaign.
Is that legal? Isn't that a conflict of interest? Not in the state of Oregon, apparently.
I know, I want to barf too. If anyone sticks a mic in front of me tomorrow for our little hearing meeting, I will state exactly this. This isn't about schools, it's about unions, and shame on those who sold their vote. Shame on those who took an oath of office to represent the citizen of their districts, and had no intention of doing it. Shame on those who can be bought without scruples. Shame on those who are continuing to take this state's level of education down to one of the lowest in the nation for a buck.
Those of you who know me, know that I have the huevos to say it too. I'll let you know if I get the opportunity.
Jun 12, 2009
Here is What ORCA's Board Just Published
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Jun 11, 2009
Monday Morning
Can you join me to be a presence for the Senate hearing? I would love to carpool!
If you can't, can you take this list of representative, even if they are not your own, and send them all a letter?
Here is the latest from our peeps:
Since things are moving a little quicker, getting those emails and phone calls out tonight or early tomorrow would be helpful. Attached are all the names of Revenue members with contact information for the Democrats.
If you can't, can you take this list of representative, even if they are not your own, and send them all a letter?
Here is the latest from our peeps:
Since things are moving a little quicker, getting those emails and phone calls out tonight or early tomorrow would be helpful. Attached are all the names of Revenue members with contact information for the Democrats.
Monday morning, 8 AM is the hearing and we want to fill the room. Please email me if you can join us: orcapa@sterling. net.
Rep.Phil Barnhart, Chair
Party: D
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1411
District Phone: 541-607-9207
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., H-383, Salem, OR, 97301
Interim Address: PO Box 71188, Eugene, OR, 97401
Email: rep.philbarnhart@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/barnhart
District: 11 map: http://www.leg. state.or. us/barnhart/ hd11_large. jpg
Rep. Jules Bailey, Vice-Chair
Party: D District: 42
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1442
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-488, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: rep.juleskopelbaile y@state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/bailey
Rep. Cliff Bentz, Vice-Chair
Rep. Vicki Berger
Rep. Scott Bruun
Rep. Sara Gelser
Party: D District: 16
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1416
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE H-285, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: rep.saragelser@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/gelser
Rep. Nick Kahl
Party: D District: 49
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1449
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-378, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: rep.nickkahl@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/kahl
Rep. Tobias Read
Party: D District: 27
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1427
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, H-490, Salem, OR, 97301
Interim Address: PO Box 2101, Beaverton, OR, 97075
Email: rep.tobiasread@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/read
Rep. Chuck Riley
Party: D District: 29
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1429
Interim Phone: 503-579-8302
Capitol Address: 900 Court St NE, H-274, Salem, OR, 97301
Interim Address: 250 NE Hillwood Dr. , Hillsboro, OR, 97124
Email: rep.chuckriley@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/riley
Jun 10, 2009
Oregonian Friends
It is coming down to some key decisions to be made on State Bill 767. It goes on the Senate floor this Thursday.
If you are from Oregon, here is the latest email we have:
The Senate vote on SB767 has been held over until Thursday. We have an extra day to contact the following senators!
Happy Valley families, please email Sen Monroe and ask him to vote no on SB767:
Senator Rod Monroe
Party: D District: 24
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1724
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-409, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: sen.rodmonroe@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/monroe
Other key senators:
Senator Betsy Johnson
Party: D
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1716
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-215, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: sen.betsyjohnson@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/johnson
District 16 map: http://www.leg. state.or. us/johnson/ s16.jpg
Senator Rick Metsger
Party: D
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1726
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-315, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: sen.rickmetsger@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/metsger
District 26 map: http://www.leg. state.or. us/metsger/ s26.jpg
Senator Bill Morrisette
Party: D
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1706
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-207, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: sen.billmorrisette@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/morrisette
District 6 map: http://www.leg. state.or. us/morrisette/ s06.jpg
Senator Joanne Verger
Party: D
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1705
Interim Phone: 541-756-4140
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-401, Salem, OR, 97301
Interim Address: 3696 Broadway PMB 344, North Bend, OR, 97459
Email: sen.joanneverger@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/verger
District 5 map: http://www.leg. state.or. us/verger/ s05.jpg
Senator Vicki L Walker
Party: D
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1707
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-309, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: sen.vickiwalker@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/walker
District 7 map: http://www.leg. state.or. us/walker/ s07.jpg
An interesting twist has occurred in all of this in recent weeks. Stimulus money from the feds. The Department of Education on the federal level has made it crystal clear it will not give stimulus money to state's who 1) Limit charter schools, specifically in enrollment 2) States that put moratoriums on charter schools. Guess what Oregon has done specifically with State Bill 767 and the "50/50" enrollment rule (at least 50% of students must be from a charter's district)? Oregon has done exactly what the feds has said would not give them meeeelllions of stimulus tax dollars. And that bodes well for us in terms of having a trump card. Why would Oregon want to say no to that kind of funding? So union fat cats can get their union money from regular schools who have union contracts.
I am asking any of you who would like to help in speaking out to any of these people to simply email them today. I put together a letter, and sent it to each senator. I didn't recreate it each time, and I know that seems silly, but I have reconstituted my position on this issue so many times, I am not going to do it for them.
Here is my letter if you want to cut/paste/edit:
If you are from Oregon, here is the latest email we have:
The Senate vote on SB767 has been held over until Thursday. We have an extra day to contact the following senators!
Happy Valley families, please email Sen Monroe and ask him to vote no on SB767:
Senator Rod Monroe
Party: D District: 24
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1724
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-409, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: sen.rodmonroe@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/monroe
Other key senators:
Senator Betsy Johnson
Party: D
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1716
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-215, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: sen.betsyjohnson@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/johnson
District 16 map: http://www.leg. state.or. us/johnson/ s16.jpg
Senator Rick Metsger
Party: D
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1726
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-315, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: sen.rickmetsger@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/metsger
District 26 map: http://www.leg. state.or. us/metsger/ s26.jpg
Senator Bill Morrisette
Party: D
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1706
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-207, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: sen.billmorrisette@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/morrisette
District 6 map: http://www.leg. state.or. us/morrisette/ s06.jpg
Senator Joanne Verger
Party: D
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1705
Interim Phone: 541-756-4140
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-401, Salem, OR, 97301
Interim Address: 3696 Broadway PMB 344, North Bend, OR, 97459
Email: sen.joanneverger@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/verger
District 5 map: http://www.leg. state.or. us/verger/ s05.jpg
Senator Vicki L Walker
Party: D
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1707
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE., S-309, Salem, OR, 97301
Email: sen.vickiwalker@ state.or. us
Website: http://www.leg. state.or. us/walker
District 7 map: http://www.leg. state.or. us/walker/ s07.jpg
An interesting twist has occurred in all of this in recent weeks. Stimulus money from the feds. The Department of Education on the federal level has made it crystal clear it will not give stimulus money to state's who 1) Limit charter schools, specifically in enrollment 2) States that put moratoriums on charter schools. Guess what Oregon has done specifically with State Bill 767 and the "50/50" enrollment rule (at least 50% of students must be from a charter's district)? Oregon has done exactly what the feds has said would not give them meeeelllions of stimulus tax dollars. And that bodes well for us in terms of having a trump card. Why would Oregon want to say no to that kind of funding? So union fat cats can get their union money from regular schools who have union contracts.
I am asking any of you who would like to help in speaking out to any of these people to simply email them today. I put together a letter, and sent it to each senator. I didn't recreate it each time, and I know that seems silly, but I have reconstituted my position on this issue so many times, I am not going to do it for them.
Here is my letter if you want to cut/paste/edit:
Dear Senator:
I am an Oregon Connections Academy (ORCA) parent, and I understand you will be presiding over this bill on the Senator floor very soon. I also understand that you would cross party lines if you were to vote against SB 767, and for that I would be most appreciative. I would like to give you my plea about ORCA as well as the other virtual schools in Oregon who will be effected if SB 767 is passed.
I live in a district in Portland where I do have school choices around me, unlike other ORCA families who will tell you about their hardship living in rural areas. However, in terms of school choice, the results are almost the same. The elementary school we would have is, from what I can discern, a reconstituted middle school that is now a K-8 school. Before that happened this last year, it was a middle school that was failing in basic test scoring for basic academics. The high school we have for our kids is “red listed” (does not meet basic academic criteria and are at risk of closure, although no red listed school in Oregon has ever been closed down although it is mandated). So while we do have the choice of filing for a waiver and would probably get one, the other choices around us are not much better. They are on the verge of being “red listed”. Those are my public school choices in my area. I don't like them at all. My husband and I both want good education for our kids, and we recognize we only have one chance to do that. We want our kids to be able to graduate from high school and be able to get a job and engage in that job or to go to college and be able to join that level of academia and engage academically. Not struggle. The choices that Portland Public Schools offers me for that kind of learning is not there at all
When we found ORCA, we thought we had found the mother lode. We just completed our first year of second grade with our oldest child and he finished on the honor roll with a final over all grade of 94%. A year ago, he had finished first grade at a private school with no math skills. He hit a wall in math and we were concerned for all kinds of reasons. He began second grade behind in math. We realized his teacher was using a very “outside the norm” new curriculum that he didn't understand, and we couldn't see because no math work came home. As we have worked through ORCA's math this year, as his parent, it was great to take that extra time to work on math, help him gain those basics he had missed, work with his teacher to help him get the basics, gain his confidence that he can do math, and finish with a 90% at the end of this school year. I have yet to find this kind of help with public schools. Unless he is a special needs child or completely failing miserably, his kind of struggling would have been lost in the crowd. As his parent, I have that extra interest in helping him that gets lost in a class size of 30+ students. I am so glad he and I got to work together this year to help him. I can say with much confidence if he had gone to a regular public school, I would have seen him continue to struggle in math, and would not have known how bad the consequences were until getting his grades at the end of the semester.
ORCA and ORVA have the “now” factor in place. They are in place right now doing a great job educating kids. They have shown, under much scrutiny, that this kind of education has a level of excellence unmatched by any regular public school classroom for a fraction of the tax dollar price. I know that legislator's and Oregon Department of Education (ODE) members want to rethink this whole thing, and redo online learning to be a statewide system, etc. In talking to a sponsor of this bill, Michael Dembrow, he acknowledged that sort of reworking of the system would take eight to ten years. Senator, in eight to ten years, I will have a high school graduate who needs to be able to walk into the job market or college environment and be able to engage in those environments.That is not an acceptable answer to me, and I let Mr. Dembrow know that. Why has this state approved charter schools and has done nothing since except made it hard for them to exist historically? Why?
That begs the question of common sense. Why in the world would the state of Oregon want to get rid of a public school education choice that is excelling academically and for a fraction of the cost.
And the cost could be higher. News from the federal government is very clear. States that push moratoriums on charter schools, states that do not embrace charter schools, and states that accept the status quo in educational mediocrity will not be given stimulus funding for schools that could mean millions for Oregon's schools. That is precisely what SB 767 does. It puts a moratorium on ORCA and ORVA. The 50/50 law that severely limits student enrollment in these schools, and SB 767 enforces, will limit online charter schools so much it will limit them right out of existence. Oregon will be passed over for much needed public school funding because this state and the sponsors of SB 767 seem to think charter schools and online charter schools need to be overregulated.
In speaking to one of the sponsors of this bill, Michael Dembrow who is my representative, he made it clear that he believes that online learning is not a viable form of education. How come he gets to sponsor a bill that imposes that view on an entire state of students? He may have that view, but why does he get to make that choice for me and my family? I also pointed out to him that the ODE hires teacher's who have an online accredited degree, so why does the ODE recognize an online teacher's degree but he won't accept that my child can learn online. He didn't have an answer for me. He did acknowledge that is an inconsistent view.
Please take a moment to seek the truth of what this bill is. It's simple to find. The legislator's of this bill, in the first few lines of this bill, followed by the organizations who have sponsored this bill. You have a list of legislator's who have alliances, deep financial alliances, with teacher's unions or lobbyist groups. Then you have the list of those groups. Those unions recognize that if education tax dollars go to charter schools, and those charter schools succeed which they are, then those unions get a smaller piece of the financial pie. That is the truth of this bill.
To quote union representative, Chuck Bennett, in a recent Portland Tribune article (http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/oregon_senate_would_take_virtu.html) he says, “"We're not going to wait until it (online charter schools) is out of control." Mr. Bennett's words can be translated to say, “We are not going to let anymore education tax dollars get out of our reach into non unionized schools.” My challenge to Mr. Bennett would be, give me a unionized school that has passes the academic and finance rigors ORCA and ORVA have.
My opinion, the unions should get a smaller piece of the pie. The state education budget has to increase annually by 6% to keep up with the contracts procured by unions. Even in a growing economy, Oregon struggled to keep up with that pace. Now, it's buckling. The unions have Oregon's schools by the budgetary throat, and charter schools are a fabulous way to disarm them and get economic federal funds into our buckling system.
I would ask you keep these things I have mentioned in mind as you listen to this bill on the Senator floor. The state of Oregon is sitting at a crossroads for it's future in education. Are we going to embrace change and have a forward thinking strategy? Or are we going to accept the status quo and hope that improves by wasting more money on it while kids continue to fall behind.
Sincerely,
AMG
Jun 9, 2009
Goodbye, Pablo
It's hard to imagine, but this little guy is gone. We are all upset and miss him terribly. In the last 24 hours, he has refused to eat, lost a huge amount of weight, and hasn't moved much. He was wasting away. He also had an "episode" last night that I will spare you the details on. It was time, and he went to the vet for the last time this morning. It's hard to imagine that such a furry little critter could have such an effect on our lives but he did.
Good bye.
Jun 8, 2009
Piano and Sunday School
Oh my gosh, I didn't think yesterday would kill me, but it just about did. However, I did fall to sleep an extremely proud mom.
First, to wrap up formal Sunday School at church, the kids conduct the church service and receive their awards for hard work they have done over this past school year in Sunday School. Do you remember my post I did last Christmas about our Christmas pageant and the Burmese kids who just make me cry? That's the next post. I need to stay focused....just know, more heartwarming stories about them are to come.
Here are some of the fun pics from church yesterday:
The whole bunch of them singing. BH in the front got a case of nerves right after this picture and came to sit with me. He also had a good case of ants in the pants, and gave me bruises on my legs. Do you see the black haired tall girls in the back? Those are members of our Burmese family and they are singing! They are participating! They have ever since Christmas. I am dropping hints here. I will post about them later.
However, I can't wait. I just have to toot their horn. If you don't remember the story, before pushing "play" please go back and read my blog post here. Since our Christmas pageant, it has been nothing but growing together with this family. Yes, language is still a barrier, but as the kids have become more fluent it has been easier to talk to them, plus they desire to participate which is great. Keep in mind they lived in a very depressed, oppressed, scary refugee camp for most of their lives. As we have come to realize, they don't easily trust anyone. Okay, now in this video, which is hard to hear but try. You have our boys on the right who will say the books of the Bible in English, although you only hear the boy with the mic. Then the Burmese girls on the left were supposed to say the books of the Bible in their native language. Both renditions were supposed to be sung. Well, boys....they were concentrating on the words. However, this one young Burmese girl grabbed the mic and made it her "American Idol" moment and sung with a beautiful voice the books of the Bible in her native Burmese language. It was awesome!
BH and our pastor's daughter. I approve.
It was a children's conducted service, including handing out the programs,
which BH did with style and poise.
After church JM had his piano recital at a different location. We took a breather in between by flying through a fast food drive through for lunch, hoping JM didn't spill ketchup on his shirt.
Do you see JM? He is about in the middle row to the left. The teacher is the cute red head in the middle more toward the right. She totally reminds me of Molly Ringwald. Very talented teacher and all of these kids are her current students. We heard from beginner songs all the way to professional sounding renditions. Two students in particular stood out. One played a flawless version of "Linus and Lucy" by Vince Guaraldi we all recognize. Then a perfect performance of the classic ragtime song "The Entertainer". It was a good day.
And here is JM. Considering he began this year with no knowledge of music, notes, time, beat, etc. I am pretty proud of him for learning a simple rag time song and memorizing it for this recital and not letting his nerves completely take him apart. You'll hear a few times they do, but he recovers well. This is his first public performance.
First, to wrap up formal Sunday School at church, the kids conduct the church service and receive their awards for hard work they have done over this past school year in Sunday School. Do you remember my post I did last Christmas about our Christmas pageant and the Burmese kids who just make me cry? That's the next post. I need to stay focused....just know, more heartwarming stories about them are to come.
Here are some of the fun pics from church yesterday:
The whole bunch of them singing. BH in the front got a case of nerves right after this picture and came to sit with me. He also had a good case of ants in the pants, and gave me bruises on my legs. Do you see the black haired tall girls in the back? Those are members of our Burmese family and they are singing! They are participating! They have ever since Christmas. I am dropping hints here. I will post about them later.However, I can't wait. I just have to toot their horn. If you don't remember the story, before pushing "play" please go back and read my blog post here. Since our Christmas pageant, it has been nothing but growing together with this family. Yes, language is still a barrier, but as the kids have become more fluent it has been easier to talk to them, plus they desire to participate which is great. Keep in mind they lived in a very depressed, oppressed, scary refugee camp for most of their lives. As we have come to realize, they don't easily trust anyone. Okay, now in this video, which is hard to hear but try. You have our boys on the right who will say the books of the Bible in English, although you only hear the boy with the mic. Then the Burmese girls on the left were supposed to say the books of the Bible in their native language. Both renditions were supposed to be sung. Well, boys....they were concentrating on the words. However, this one young Burmese girl grabbed the mic and made it her "American Idol" moment and sung with a beautiful voice the books of the Bible in her native Burmese language. It was awesome!
BH and our pastor's daughter. I approve.
It was a children's conducted service, including handing out the programs,which BH did with style and poise.
After church JM had his piano recital at a different location. We took a breather in between by flying through a fast food drive through for lunch, hoping JM didn't spill ketchup on his shirt.Do you see JM? He is about in the middle row to the left. The teacher is the cute red head in the middle more toward the right. She totally reminds me of Molly Ringwald. Very talented teacher and all of these kids are her current students. We heard from beginner songs all the way to professional sounding renditions. Two students in particular stood out. One played a flawless version of "Linus and Lucy" by Vince Guaraldi we all recognize. Then a perfect performance of the classic ragtime song "The Entertainer". It was a good day.
And here is JM. Considering he began this year with no knowledge of music, notes, time, beat, etc. I am pretty proud of him for learning a simple rag time song and memorizing it for this recital and not letting his nerves completely take him apart. You'll hear a few times they do, but he recovers well. This is his first public performance.
Jun 6, 2009
Jun 5, 2009
The Two Extremes of Our Little Piece of Life.
Pablo got to come home late this afternoon. We have not gotten the test results back but we were told we could bring him home. He has been given good fluids and has had a lot of R and R. Here is BH showing Pablo a toy and Tasha checking out the other end. So much for rest!
You can barely see Pablo's orange bandage from the IV. BH doesn't care, he must show Pablo the toy! Pablo and BH are serious buddies. If all four of us are sleeping in a room (won't happen but let's pretend) and Pablo has to choose who to crash with, it will always be BH. They are buddies and it will be especially hard on BH if we have to say goodbye to Pablo. So while we are happy to be able to have him home we are very very concerned and sad at what might be approaching.
And on a happier note, school is done today! After talking about what serious decisions we may have to make regarding Pablo we celebrated a good school year. For a cake mix leftover from Easter that required three eggs and bundt pan, not too bad! We banged out a lot of Spanish today plus the final Spanish exam. It was a lot to do but JM was motivated to have it done before next week.
Jun 4, 2009
And If That Isn't Bad Enough....
Suddenly in the last 24-36 hours, our new kitten Pablo starts looking not so good. I suddenly notice yesterday, he is skinny. You can feel every bone down his spine and his back hip bones are sticking out. His fur is not soft and silky. He also isn't moving fast anywhere. In fact, if he does move, he moves from one sleeping spot to another. Something is wrong.
And it is. I rushed him first thing this morning to the vet where he is now. He is getting hydrated with fluids while the vet has run blood work.
It isn't good at all. Simple infection? I wish, and I had pictured that in my head. We need one final confirmation on his blood work but all indicators at this point is that he has feline FIPV. Click here if you want to know the details.
It is fatal.
And it is. I rushed him first thing this morning to the vet where he is now. He is getting hydrated with fluids while the vet has run blood work.
It isn't good at all. Simple infection? I wish, and I had pictured that in my head. We need one final confirmation on his blood work but all indicators at this point is that he has feline FIPV. Click here if you want to know the details.
It is fatal.
From the Director's of Oregon's "Stand for Children"
I can tell the politicians in our group are doing their work. They are getting some pretty influential groups to make some pretty firm and well articulated statements and stands regarding online public education. Here is yet another one that came out yesterday evening:
"DATE: June 1, 2009
TO: Oregon Legislators
FROM: Holly Pruett, Stand for Children, Oregon Director
Dana Hepper, Stand for Children, Advocacy Director
RE: Concerns about SB 767Stand for Children sees the need for Oregon to define & clarify the role online learning plays for students and schools. Oregon needs to ensure academic and financial accountability for these and all schools. However, we're concerned that SB 767, as written, jeopardizes competitive federal funds.
So far, the Obama administration has made $5 billion available to states in the form of competitive grants to states, mostly in the "Race to the Top" funds. The USDOE has been incredibly clear – they will provide significant funding to states who embrace school improvement and innovation. States rejecting innovation, including shutting down and placing caps on charter schools (virtual or other), will be at the bottom of the list for competitive federal grants. These are just a few examples of USDOE representatives expressly stating their position:
Steve Robinson, Special Assistant to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at the Department of Education, said,
"if Oregon passes a moratorium on charters of any kind it makes it MUCH less likely Oregon will receive any of the $4.35 billion in Race to the Top funds." (Personal communication, 5/7/09)
ARRA's cover letter to Governors laid out the policy assurances they are looking for from states, including:
Intensive support, effective interventions, and improved achievement in schools that need it the most – A state would identify schools most in need of academic intervention, and report on the progress of those schools in implementing reforms to improve student academic achievement. More specifically, a state would report:
on whether the state allows charter schools and whether there is a cap restricting the number of such schools, the number of charter schools currently operating in the state, and the number of charter schools closed within the last three years for academic purposes. www.ed.gov/programs /statestabilizat ion/2009- 394-cover. pdf
The Chicago Tribune reported Arne Duncan pushing his home state of Illinois to challenge the status quo:
"Duncan said funding inequity, a limit on the number of charter schools, marginal efforts to police teacher quality and other old-school ways put the state at risk of disqualification from future innovation funding." www.chicagotribune. com/news/ local/chi- arne-duncan- 15apr15,0, 3060737.story
The AP reported Duncan making similar comments in response to Tennessee's legislative action:
States will hurt their chance to compete for millions of federal stimulus dollars if they fail to embrace innovations like charter schools, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Thursday… responding to a question about Tennessee, where Democratic state lawmakers have blocked an effort to let more kids into charter schools. "States like that would not be helping their chances, I can say that," [said] Duncan. http://www.google. com/hostednews/ ap/article/ ALeqM5iQ72cmvb28 46meWCIAJArK1w2H mAD98FJOV00
By prohibiting the State Board of Education from renewing existing waivers, we risk closing schools currently serving 3000 Oregon students – before we've even decided how to deal with on-line learning in Oregon. This combined with a moratorium on charter schools indicates to the federal government that Oregon is not interested in innovative ways to improve schools and jeopardizes hundreds of millions in federal funds."
"DATE: June 1, 2009
TO: Oregon Legislators
FROM: Holly Pruett, Stand for Children, Oregon Director
Dana Hepper, Stand for Children, Advocacy Director
RE: Concerns about SB 767Stand for Children sees the need for Oregon to define & clarify the role online learning plays for students and schools. Oregon needs to ensure academic and financial accountability for these and all schools. However, we're concerned that SB 767, as written, jeopardizes competitive federal funds.
So far, the Obama administration has made $5 billion available to states in the form of competitive grants to states, mostly in the "Race to the Top" funds. The USDOE has been incredibly clear – they will provide significant funding to states who embrace school improvement and innovation. States rejecting innovation, including shutting down and placing caps on charter schools (virtual or other), will be at the bottom of the list for competitive federal grants. These are just a few examples of USDOE representatives expressly stating their position:
Steve Robinson, Special Assistant to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at the Department of Education, said,
"if Oregon passes a moratorium on charters of any kind it makes it MUCH less likely Oregon will receive any of the $4.35 billion in Race to the Top funds." (Personal communication, 5/7/09)
ARRA's cover letter to Governors laid out the policy assurances they are looking for from states, including:
Intensive support, effective interventions, and improved achievement in schools that need it the most – A state would identify schools most in need of academic intervention, and report on the progress of those schools in implementing reforms to improve student academic achievement. More specifically, a state would report:
on whether the state allows charter schools and whether there is a cap restricting the number of such schools, the number of charter schools currently operating in the state, and the number of charter schools closed within the last three years for academic purposes. www.ed.gov/programs /statestabilizat ion/2009- 394-cover. pdf
The Chicago Tribune reported Arne Duncan pushing his home state of Illinois to challenge the status quo:
"Duncan said funding inequity, a limit on the number of charter schools, marginal efforts to police teacher quality and other old-school ways put the state at risk of disqualification from future innovation funding." www.chicagotribune. com/news/ local/chi- arne-duncan- 15apr15,0, 3060737.story
The AP reported Duncan making similar comments in response to Tennessee's legislative action:
States will hurt their chance to compete for millions of federal stimulus dollars if they fail to embrace innovations like charter schools, Education Secretary Arne Duncan said Thursday… responding to a question about Tennessee, where Democratic state lawmakers have blocked an effort to let more kids into charter schools. "States like that would not be helping their chances, I can say that," [said] Duncan. http://www.google. com/hostednews/ ap/article/ ALeqM5iQ72cmvb28 46meWCIAJArK1w2H mAD98FJOV00
By prohibiting the State Board of Education from renewing existing waivers, we risk closing schools currently serving 3000 Oregon students – before we've even decided how to deal with on-line learning in Oregon. This combined with a moratorium on charter schools indicates to the federal government that Oregon is not interested in innovative ways to improve schools and jeopardizes hundreds of millions in federal funds."
Jun 3, 2009
Oregon Business Association Makes a Stand
Here is the formal statement from the Oregon Business Association (OBA) regarding the current fight in the legislature to keep online learning in Oregon. The OBA has some serious influence in this regards. Why? It's hard for the state to ask for support from local and statewide businesses to support public schools if the state ignores the opinion of the OBA. I honestly hope the Oregon Department of Education understands this responsibility, and the reps who are making this decision, if nothing else, read the final sentence.
"OBA Education Committee
Position Statement
ONLINE LEARNING IN OREGON
Background:
Online learning is available currently in Oregon. Both the Legislature and the
State Board of Education have studied the issue. Because of the constantly
evolving nature of the issue, it has been difficult for either to recommend the
best path to sound policy that is in the best interest of students and the
state.
OBA recommendations:
The OBA Education Committee recommends a policy that preserves the flexibility
that the State Board of Education currently has to set policy for charter
schools and online learning in Oregon. We recommend opposing legislative efforts
to restrict the current ability of the State Board to set policy in this area
and to consider waivers. It is also the recommendation of the committee that we
should advise the Legislature to form a work group to study this issue and to
make recommendations for action in the 2010 session.
Based on our position statement, OBA cannot support SB 767 in its current form.
Rationale:
1. SB 767 restricts the ability of the State Board of Education to set policy in
this area and consider waivers. What then is the role of the State Board in this
discussion?
2. SB 767 forms a work group with the primary focus of studying virtual charter
schools. There is limited consideration given to the future of online learning
in general. Online learning encompasses many different variables with a
continuum of possibilities. Any work group should study the entire spectrum of
online possibilities. The issues of charter schools, virtual charter schools and
online learning are being lumped together when in fact, there are very different
challenges and opportunities related to these educational options.
3. SB 767 forms a work group composed primarily of traditional education
stakeholders who have already voiced their opposition to virtual charter
schools. This does not set the appropriate open tone that will be needed in the
work group if the interests of all stakeholders are to be considered.
OBA supports studying all options available for students to reach their
potential. We urge you to study online learning in a broad rather than a narrow
sense and to honor the role of the State Board of Education in developing policy
that is in the best interest of students and the state."
"OBA Education Committee
Position Statement
ONLINE LEARNING IN OREGON
Background:
Online learning is available currently in Oregon. Both the Legislature and the
State Board of Education have studied the issue. Because of the constantly
evolving nature of the issue, it has been difficult for either to recommend the
best path to sound policy that is in the best interest of students and the
state.
OBA recommendations:
The OBA Education Committee recommends a policy that preserves the flexibility
that the State Board of Education currently has to set policy for charter
schools and online learning in Oregon. We recommend opposing legislative efforts
to restrict the current ability of the State Board to set policy in this area
and to consider waivers. It is also the recommendation of the committee that we
should advise the Legislature to form a work group to study this issue and to
make recommendations for action in the 2010 session.
Based on our position statement, OBA cannot support SB 767 in its current form.
Rationale:
1. SB 767 restricts the ability of the State Board of Education to set policy in
this area and consider waivers. What then is the role of the State Board in this
discussion?
2. SB 767 forms a work group with the primary focus of studying virtual charter
schools. There is limited consideration given to the future of online learning
in general. Online learning encompasses many different variables with a
continuum of possibilities. Any work group should study the entire spectrum of
online possibilities. The issues of charter schools, virtual charter schools and
online learning are being lumped together when in fact, there are very different
challenges and opportunities related to these educational options.
3. SB 767 forms a work group composed primarily of traditional education
stakeholders who have already voiced their opposition to virtual charter
schools. This does not set the appropriate open tone that will be needed in the
work group if the interests of all stakeholders are to be considered.
OBA supports studying all options available for students to reach their
potential. We urge you to study online learning in a broad rather than a narrow
sense and to honor the role of the State Board of Education in developing policy
that is in the best interest of students and the state."
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