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EDITORIAL
Union lackeys
Tools
Lawmakers and the governor said they were near a budget deal late Saturday. Whatever the outcome, the latest special legislative has proven beyond any doubt that the Democratic majority is a wholly owned subsidiary of the state's teacher unions.
Gov. Jim Gibbons originally proposed cutting about $170 million from K-12 spending next fiscal year to close an $887 million budget gap. But Assembly Speaker Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, and Senate Majority Leader Steven Horsford, D-Las Vegas, vowed to cut less than half that much from public schools while declaring all options -- including tax increases -- on the table.
One of the options Gov. Gibbons wants them to consider is a change in state law that would make Nevada eligible for up to $175 million in competitive federal "Race to the Top" grants, intended to reward reforms that improve student achievement.
Nevada is not eligible for those grants because state law -- passed in 2003 to curry favor with the teacher unions -- forbids school districts from using student test score data to evaluate the performance of teachers. The Clark County School District has the software to measure student progress through each classroom -- and identify its least-effective instructors -- but can't because of this idiotic statute.
So Gov. Gibbons asked lawmakers to amend that law as part of the budget-balancing solution and allow the state to apply for the grants. The bill draft removed the 15 words that made Nevada ineligible for the federal funding.
But that infuriated the teachers union. So they had 31 new words inserted to mandate that student test scores aren't the "sole criteria" in teacher evaluations and disciplinary actions.
The governor and some Senate Republicans say those 31 new words will leave the state where it is right now: ineligible for the grants. The bill passed the Senate and the Assembly on Wednesday, but Gov. Gibbons has vowed to veto it.
It's telling that Democrats who are so desperate to preserve existing spending levels, and who would never turn down a dime in "free" money from the federal government to bail out their beloved programs, are prepared to do just that to spare Nevada's worst public school teachers from a thorough examination of their own work.
We'd rather not see any federal involvement in public education. Federal money tends to lard up school district budgets, then force state taxpayers to pick up the tab when federal dollars dry up or disappear altogether. The idea that Washington can improve anything -- let alone schools thousands of miles from the nation's capital -- is folly.
But the "Race to the Top" funds hold some promise for Nevada, if only because they might relax organized labor's crushing grip on the kind of innovation and competition our schools so desperately need.
But as long as the Democrats control either house in the Legislature, that's not going to happen. The teacher unions and their lackeys in Carson City will make sure of it.
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And when your house catches fire who is going to put it out Jake? You? Good luck.
firehawk guess what I have worked in law enforcement. I can tell you it is next to impossible to get a day off because they have to pay overtime to cover your shift. It is far cheaper to pay out the vacation then it is to pay overtime to make up for my shifts off. So I would be losing 50% of my vacation pay because I can't get approval for the time off. Because of guess what? Budget constraints.
Here's a little taste of how "well" unionized government workers in brokeback California can do when their managers are willing to bend the rules. Them ol' union dogs ain't gonna hunt much longer. They may not go without a snarling fight, but gone they will be. It's time for a new breed.
http://www.vcstar.com/news/2010/feb/27/state-employees-pile-up-vacation-time-breaking/?partner=RSS
Apparently you all approve of the systematic dumbing down of our children. Fewer teachers means lower outcomes. Lower outcomes mean our children are far less prepared to compete against countries like India, Korea, and China. Students there outperform our students in almost every way measurable. At the rate we are going the only thing our students will be qualified for is to flip burgers at McDonalds or be a greeter at Wal-Mart.
I know y'all don't want to hear it said but here goes anyway:
The best thing that could happen to the U.S.A. now is for the Congress to over-ride Executive Order #10988. That's the EO that John F. Kennedy signed in 1962 that allowed government employees to form unions under the auspices of AFL-CIO and bargain collectively. Executive Order #10988 was JFK's payback to the folks who put him in office. It has been downhill for the whole country ever since. Want a hard look at the results of EO10988? Take a trip to downtown Detroit, Mich.
Unionized government employees are breaking the bank in cities, counties, and states. There is no possible way the private sector can support the ever-increasing salaries, insurance plans and pensions of unionized government employees.
Those are the facts, folks. It's tough to face the hard facts. The politicians have been promising us the moon ever since FDR dreamed up "social security." It was a dream then. Now it's turning into a nightmare.
We are all gonna have to make some hard choices much sooner than much later. Start planning now. Be ready. The '60's are over.
Dang it is consistent at least, consistently dumb that is.
A valid point; I made a valid point which was that people who don't understand that education is a valuable investment are short sighted, self-centered, types who care not for even their own children; like you for example.
And you just keep admitting that I'm right.
Way to go.