Hey, Look, It's Patty Murray!

I'm in the camp that wanted to see Joe Lieberman thrown off of the Homeland Security Committee. I pretty much knew he wouldn't be, because Harry Reid is a sissy milquetoast homunculus, but the thought that Lieberman could say the things he did and get off free as a bird is pathetic.

Apparently the Senior Senator from Washington didn't agree, though, because in watching this video off of Daily Kos who's right there taking in the Harry and Joe Show? Hey, it's Patty! ZOMG!

She's good on veteran's issues, but boy I'd rather she hadn't played nice on this one.

Read more here, if any.

Well, That's Just Sad

Hate From the Mouths of Babes, from Adam Wilson's blog at The Olympian.

The day after the election one of my reading students came up to me and said, "Mr. Grant--the black guy won!"

"I know, honey."

"My dad and I are going shopping for guns this weekend!"

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Oh...why?"

"Because he wants to take me deer hunting!"

Never was I so happy to have one of my kids do a total non-sequiter.

Read more here, if any.

Late Election Returns from Your Childhood

Ramona, in happier times
The Quimby Household: 3-1 McCain. “You’re Goddamn right I voted for Obama,” spat a visibly agitated Ramona Quimby, age 28, absentmindedly waving around a lit cigarette with her tattoo-covered arm. “That 'Jesus, Beezus' stuff was funny when I was in kindergarten, but this Goofus/Gallant bull*hit that she’s been trying to pass off on Mother and Father for the last decade is bull*hit, that’s what it is—bull*hit.”

“Screw them. I don’t need them. Is Bitch-us still saying that I ran over Ribsy when I was learning to drive? Screw her. I hate that woman.”

Ramona’s older sister, Beatrice Huggins, took a more conciliatory view. “Look, Ramona and I are two different people, for the present,” laughed Mrs. Huggins at a private joke that only she seemed to understand, “but I voted for McCain because he’s right on health care, and that matters a lot to me.”

“It should matter to her, too, when you think about how much money Mother and Father spent when they sent her to that rehab clinic.”


The 100 Acre Wood: 5-3 Obama.

“Oh, bother.”

That was the phrase repeated over and over again as Winnie the Pooh watched the election returns. Pooh was one of McCain’s most ardent supporters from early on in the Republican primaries.

“When I get a rumbly in my tumbley, and the only way to stop it is with some delicious honey, I shouldn’t have to share my honey with other people who are too lazy to go out and get their own,” explained the anthropomorphic bear. “People like Darby—an affirmative action hire if I’ve ever seen one—shouldn’t take from people who have worked hard to get where they are. Bother.”

“The bear said that? Really? God, what a dick,” responded Darby, the new human star of My Friends Tigger and Pooh on the Disney Channel. “I had nothing to do with them ditching Christopher Robin in the new show. Today’s generation can handle a new kid in the 100 Acre Wood, and he needs to grow the hell up and get it. Affirmative action hire? We could have Kung Fu Panda in here in a heartbeat to replace him in the bear role, and don’t think I haven’t suggested that.”

“Jerk. Our days of supersleuthing together are over.”

In addition to Darby, other Obama supporters included Kanga and little Roo, Owl, and an orange tiger who offered that he voted Obama because, “Change is what Tiggers do best!” before bouncing off on his tail. Piglet voted for McCain as a show of support for his good friend Pooh, while Rabbit also threw his vote to the Republican candidate “for agricultural reasons.”

Eeyore, a gray donkey, voted for independent candidate Ralph Nader in order to, “strike a blow against the corporate hegemony, and because we’re a lot alike, me and Ralph.”


Junie B. Jones: Unknown. After Junie B. was abandoned in a Nebraska hospital and made a ward of the state, she promptly ran away and has yet to be found.


Captain Underpants: One of the more fun stories from this campaign, Captain Underpants (real name: Myron Tenenbaum) made a handsome living impersonating John McCain on Saturday Night Live in recent months, but was a vocal Obama supporter when the cameras were off.

“Oh, I’m totally in the tank for Barack,” said the Captain, star of several popular children’s books and a live-action feature film coming out later this year with Christian Bale playing the superhero. “If McCain had won I could have probably made some great money as a body double in the next couple of years, but Tina and I talked about it and decided that the money wouldn’t be enough if we eventually ended up with a President Palin.”

“President Palin. Oy, what an empty head.”


The Berenstain Bears: No votes. The sad, untold story of the campaign. The Bear Family was one of the most visible to support the McCain campaign, with Father Bear even working as a Precinct Committee Officer in Bear Country to organize the caucuses for McCain back in February. Tragedy struck in May when, while working in the family’s garden, Mother Bear was shot and killed by Sarah Palin, who then skinned and field dressed the family matriarch in front of brother and sister. After the funeral Father Bear crawled in a bottle and never came out; Brother and Sister were eventually removed from the home by Child Protective Services and moved into foster care.


Amelia Badelia: Now living in Florida nursing home suffering from the advanced stages of dementia, Ms. Badelia had her ballot marked “Obama” when an unscrupulous caregiver intercepted it from her mail.

Hank the Cowdog: Once thought to be a lock for McCain, because of their common southwestern heritage, Hank actually wrote in Tom Tancredo’s name on his ballot.

“Listen, Tancredo was the only candidate willing to talk about the problem with illegals crossing the border, and I extend that in my own mind to the coyotes that I have to chase off every day,” said the ranch security guard. “Did you read Lou Dobbs’ last book? If we don’t do something about this, we are all *ucked.”


fin

Read more here, if any.

The Races I Care the Most About Tomorrow

1. Chris Gregoire vs. Dino Rossi for Governor of Washington. Big for teachers. Governor Gregoire has been great on making sure teachers get their COLA and working on K-3 class size; both of those are almost certain to go away in a Rossi administration. Frankly, COLA is almost certain to disappear next year anyways, given the economics of the times, but I've more confidence in Gregoire to work hard to restore it than I do Senator Rossi.

It's going to be close, damnably so, but I think Gregoire is declared a winner on November 10th.

2. Barack Obama v. John McCain. Obvious reasons. I wish this was the McCain of 2000. I wish he hadn't chosen Sarah Palin. C'est la vis. Obama wins.

3. Don Barlowe v. Kevin Parker, Washington State House. Purely back-yard interest here, but local Spokane guy like Don Barlowe is the vice-chair of the House Education committee and nice to have around. That said, Don's not the most aggressive campaigner, and Parker is. If Obama has long coat tails, it could benefit Barlowe.

4. Shelly Short v. Sue Lani Madsen, Washington State House. I've written about this race before, where Shelly got her name in the paper in a pretty embarrassing way right before the primary election. The latest can be found in this rather biased piece from the Spokesman-Review, but if that article does indeed reflect the reality of the situation you've got to kind of wonder.

5. Al Franken v. Norm Coleman, US Senate in Minnesota. I like Al. Liked him on TV, liked his books, liked his radio show went I saw it live here in Spokane a couple of years ago. He's said some stupid things, but I see a little Wellstone in him, and that's encouraging.

6. Carol Gregory v. Skip Priest, Washington State House. This is an interesting one to me. Carol Gregory is a former president of the Washington Education Association and would probably be good for teachers, but Skip Priest (the Republican incumbent in the race) isn't that bad. Hell, I was pulling for him to run for OSPI, because he's shown that he's a reasonable guy who is pretty thoroughly versed on the issues. This is the sort of Republican we should treasure.

7. Terry Bergeson v. Randy Dorn, Superintendent of Public Instruction. At one point this looked like it could be white hot, but the intensity of the Governor's race has taken some of the shine off. It's a referendum on the WASL, essentially, and if Dorn has tapped into enough anti-WASL sentiment he could win. On the other hand, Bergeson's got a ton of name recognition.

(This is also low on the list for me because I've come to believe that the legislature makes far more of a difference than OSPI does in setting and carrying out school policy. Having an SPI we can respect is nice, but not essential.)



It'll be a fun day.

Read more here, if any.

Dino Rossi and the Children's Administration

Interesting post by Adam Wilson of The Olympian on a proposal from Dino Rossi to separate out Children's Services from the Department of Social and Human Services (DSHS) and make it its own "cabinet level" department.

Sounds nice enough. But where's the money going to come from?

Wilson also cites Rossi as saying that there were "200 deaths" of children in state care in the past four years, which sounds ridiculous on the face of it and is further proven so by checking the child fatality reports at the DSHS website.

Murder by abuse happens, horribly so. Trying to pin that on Christine Gregoire because she didn't allocate a million dollars for DSHS to be nationally accredited is foolish, even more so when you consider the costs that are involved in getting to that point.

It's nice to talk about protecting our most vulnerable--my daughter is one of them--but beyond a good talking point, what are the specifics on how Senator Rossi intends to make that happen?

Read more here, if any.

This Is Why Political Gamesmanship Sucks

"At the very same time as they're dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars into those less than gracious "Don't Know Dino" ads. Those aren't my values." -- Dino Rossi, from the Yakima Governor's Debate

Heaven forfend. Dino, a gracious man, would never countenance a mailer from the Republican Governor's Association that pretty much links Christine Gregoire to your child getting sexually assaulted by a pervert.

On Her Watch and Don't Know Dino are equivalent. To pretend otherwise is either willfully ignorant or just another campaign tactic.

You're not above the fray, Senator Rossi. You're in the middle of it.

Read more here, if any.

What if.....? Superintendent of Public Instruction Edition

It's an idea that I've been playing with for a bit now, and a conversation I had at lunch today helped to spur it along even farther: what would the possible governor/SPI matchups mean for the future of education in Washington State?

There's a great post up at the News Tribune right now comparing the differences between Terry Bergeson and Randy Dorn based on a debate that happened today. You can get the education platforms for Rossi and Gregoire off of their respective websites.

(An aside: Rossi's is much more fully developed. C'mon, Chris)

So let's dream about the future, shall we?

Scenario 1: The incumbents both win. What changes? Very little. The work of the Basic Education Finance Task Force is finished and promptly ignored, much like Washington Learns. Some version of the WASL remains in place, because there's no way in hell that Terry can back away from that test now. The biggest name in education in Washington State turns out not to be either Gregoire or Bergeson, but rather Rep. Dave Quall and Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, because the legislature has already shown an alarming disregard for our Superintendent and I see no reason why that would change. In that environment your committee heads become that much more important. This isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Results: A WASL, but a different WASL. We keep on keepin' on.

Scenario 2: Same Governor, New OSPI. Fun one to consider. Gregoire has come out in support of the WASL in past years, though that support has become noticably more tepid (especially towards math) as the test becomes a bigger and bigger target for the public. Randy Dorn has come out pretty strongly against the WASL and for ditching the entire system:

For over a decade, OSPI has clung to the test it created—the WASL—which is currently a bureaucratic, exorbitant waste of taxpayer dollars providing no useful information to teachers, students or parents. I will overhaul the assessment system to make it cost effective, less wasteful of precious class time, and capable of providing timely results that aid effective instruction and provide a national comparison of our students' performance. The new system will focus first on improving student learning and the money saved will be put back into the classrooms where it belongs.

Remember that piece about saving money, because it's a Dino plank as well.

A Dorn administration would give Gregoire cover. Don't like the system? Give our new OSPI time to fix it. Hate the WASL? Randy's working on that, too. Randy has some other views (notably merit pay) that would put him at odds with teachers, and it could create an odd dichotomy between the Governor, the WEA, and the OSPI.

In short: the pace of change slows as Dorn tries to shape OSPI in his own image. Governor Gregoire gets more cover. Eventually a new testing system has a chance to grow out of the relationship, but not immediately.

Scenario 3: New Governor, Same OSPI. Pick one to be Felix and the other to be Oscar:

Bergeson: “We’ve changed the culture of learning in our state and we’re on a journey that’s not over,” she said. “It’s well worth the time it’s taken to do it.” (1)

Vs.

The first step in improving our education system is to replace the Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) with a new test that has clear standards and a proven track record of success. (2)

I have a very, very hard time seeing how the two of them could work together. Bergeson has been pounding the podium for more school funding; Dino refuses to raise taxes. Bergeson would accept changing the periphery of the test; Dino proposes throwing the whole thing out entirely. In a Rossi administration you'd suppose that many of the categorical programs that contribute to the bloat of OSPI could be at risk, and that's not change Terry can believe in.

Rossi points out correctly that ditching the WASL could have the potential to save tens of millions of dollars, money which could be re-invested into the system, but he has his own designs on that money that don't match up with Terry's. Further, if you believe that Dino's transportation plan would siphon money out of the general fund and hurt education spending by making the pie smaller, then Terry's slice also gets smaller by default.

Results: dysfunction junction.

Scenario 4: New OSPI, New Governor. The hardest to predict. Randy and Dino seem to be the most compatible when it comes to the nuts-and-bolts of how to change the testing system. Randy's made some noise about merit pay, which dovetails nicely with Dino.

With a $2.7 billion dollar deficit revenue shortfall staring us in the face, though, ideas are going to be hard to fund. Would this dynamic duo be able to get anything accomplished?

Results: Division of Yalta.

--------

It's going to be an interesting November.

Read more here, if any.

The Way Forward for Randy Dorn

As I sit here Sunday morning Randy Dorn trails Terry Bergeson by about 6.2% in their contest for OSPI here in Washington State, which is a pretty dramatic narrowing from the 11% lead Bergeson had on Election Night. A couple of thoughts:

1) About 27% of the votes went to the other candidates (Blomstrom, Blair, Duncan, and Hansler). If this is a "change" election, that could be trouble for the incumbent.

2) On the other hand, if you go back to the 2004 primary Bergeson only garnered 36% of the primary vote to Judith Billings' 35%, but she blitzed Billings in the general election by more than 11%.

3) Comparatively, then, a 6%+ lead now is a better starting point than a 1% lead in 2004. Consider, too, than in the 2004 primary she didn't take Thurston and Snohomish counties, but this time she did, a comparison that might not be valid because of the change to the top 2 primary.

4) Dorn's campaign only really took flight in May, and in a scant three months he was able to get within 6 points. That could bode well for him in the general.

Were I advising Randy Dorn, here's what I'd suggest:

1) He got absolutely blitzed in some of the smaller counties: 23% in Pacific, 25% in Skamania, 18% in Wahkiakum, 23% in Cowlitz, etc. I think he needs to prompt the network he has (the PSE, the WEA, Where's the Math?, etc.) to write letters to some of those small-town newspapers pointing out the deficiencies in the Bergeson administration. In Ferry County they might not bother with the Spokane Spokesman-Review, but everybody takes the Republic News-Miner. Talk to those folks about the cost of the WASL and the rising cost of transportation, and you'll get their attention.

2) Sort of building off of the above point, putting out a stronger position statement on the struggles of small schools and what he would do about it would get attention. Send it in a press release to every small-town paper, or write it as a guest editorial, and see what happens.

3) All of that said, no one has ever ridden into state office on the strength of winning the 1,300 voters of Garfield County. He has to pound Pierce, capture King, and snatch Snohomish to win.

4)....which is why the WASL results this year could be the dealbreaker for Bergeson's campaign. If a large portion of the I-5 districts see more schools falling into AYP, and if the parents start being told that their children are attending failing schools, that could get bloody. Then the status quo becomes the enemy, and Terry Bergeson is the status quo.

I'm not convinced that Dorn is the guy, but it's a conversation that we need to have.

Read more here, if any.

The Most Beautiful Poem I've Read All Week

"Obama, Please Don't Suck" over at Daily Kos.

Read more here, if any.

The Mitch and Shelly Short Story Continues

That headline might be unfair, because Shelly Short hasn't been implicated in the case against her husband, but when the wife is a candidate for elected office and the husband is facing arraignment it's proper to discuss them together.

I've written about this case before; Mitch Short is accused of stealing money from the Northeast Washington Fair, about $3000, while his wife is running to replace Bob Sump as Representative for the 7th Legislative District. Mitch is looking at an arraignment on August 26th, but the story is all over the papers right now, in the weekend before the primary.

The shorts are portraying it as politics at its worst:

"I'm really tired of the one-sided nature of this," Shelly Short said. "This has, frankly, been nothing less than a public lynching, done to derail my campaign."

...but the missing piece there is why people would want to derail her campaign. This can't be partisan--all the other candidates for the office are Republicans, too. It makes you wonder.

Something else from the Spokesman article that also made me a little sad:

Turplesmith noted in charging documents that the Shorts were in debt at the time Mitch Short wrote the allegedly improper checks. Court records show Discover Bank won a $12,328 default judgment against the couple Aug. 17, 2007.

Asked about the judgment, Shelly Short said, "We are checking on those records to determine if that's actually the case.

"At no point has there been any attempt to garnish and, frankly, I was not served with any documentation on any complaint." Was she saying she didn't know about the Discover Bank lawsuit?

"I'm telling you that I had never been served," Short said. "That's the distinction."

She declined to comment further when asked whether her husband was served.

Court records show a process server delivered the complaint to Mitch Short personally on June 12, 2007, at the couple's home at 1591 Swiss Valley Road, near Addy, Wash.

Court documents also show Superior Court Judge Al Nielson issued writs of garnishment on Oct. 23, 2007, and March 6. By the time of the second writ, the couple's Discover credit card debt had grown to $13,323.

That's an awful lot of credit card debt. Was there a family emergency that caused them to fall behind? Are the Shorts just not good with money? What is the story here?

Running for office sucks. When you put yourself out there as a leader you're really putting yourself out there, warts and all. I think that Shelly would be a great Representative for the 7th, and I've got a ton of respect for the knowledge base and energy she'd bring to the job, but stories like this that get people thinking the worst--they're no good.

Read more here, if any.

The Recent WEA Mailing on Gregoire v. Rossi

I'm a little surprised to see the Association putting as much emphasis as they are on the primary; it's a given that Gregoire and Rossi are going to be the two that move on to the general, and I'd expect it to be close all the way to November. Maybe the hope is for a convincingly wide Gregoire margin on Tuesday that gets some headlines and puts Dino on the defensive.

The numbers will tell the tale.

Read more here, if any.

But on the other hand.....

Political Buzz at the News-Tribune has the story of how Terry Bergeson got a big endorsement from the Washington State Labor Council. Two thoughts:

1) For anyone who tells you that labor is a monolith, here's your counter-argument. The Public School Employees endorsed Randy Dorn, for obvious reasons, as did the Washington Education Association.

2) It's highly interesting that the WSLC didn't find their way clear to endorsing Terry at their nominating convention in May; it's only now that the stars have lined up. Her name is an obvious omission from their list of endorsed candidates. What's changed since?

Read more here, if any.

A Positive Sign, That Is Not

I had read this Strange Bedfellows blog post earlier, regarding the most recent polling in our statewide elections, but I didn't notice this piece until Where's the Math pointed it out:

The lowest re-election figure for any statewide incumbent is Superintendent of Public Instruction Terry Bergeson. She is supported by just 12 percent of those polled. A whopping 67 percent are undecided.

The usual adage is that most people are usually OK with the schools most of the time; on that alone I would expect Bergeson's positives to be much, much higher. 12% for someone with her name recognition is shocking.

Read more here, if any.

Did the Spokesman-Review Just Blow the 7th LD Contest Wide Open?

The 7th legislative district is Washington State's largest, stretching from the Canadian border to the Spokane area and encompassing towns from Airway Heights to Colville and beyond. Bob Sump has been our Representative for approximately 102 years, so when he announced his retirement this session it threw open the doors.

Kind of. 5 candidates have announced to run for the seat Rep. Sump is vacating, all Republicans. Shelly Short has spent the last two years as a legislative assistant for Rep. Joel Kretz, also of the 7th, and she was one of the first to announce that she'd run for Rep. Sump's position. Rep. Sump endorsed her, which matters quite a bit to a lot of voters in the district. She's also got a pat on the back from George Nethercutt.

And then, in the August 2nd edition of the Spokesman-Review, this happens:

The husband of 7th Legislative District candidate Shelly Short may face criminal charges in the alleged theft of $3,318 from a volunteer fair organization.

Colville Police Chief Damond Meshishnek said his department is nearing completion of an investigation into financial irregularities reported June 16 by the Northeast Washington Fair Association.

Short's husband, Mitch J. Short, 46, was president of the association at the time.

The case is being investigated as a possible first-degree theft, and a report is expected to go to the Stevens County prosecutor's office soon, Meshishnek said.

There is no indication that Shelly Short, also 46, was involved in the alleged embezzlement.

Mitch Short declined to comment except to call the timing of a newspaper inquiry "a political smear job at its worst."

"Allowing this to happen to anyone in the public eye sends a chilling message to anyone considering public service," he said in e-mail statement.

Mr. Short might have a point about the timing; ballots just showed up in mailboxes, and the Spokesman-Review is scheduled to make their endorsement for the race in Sunday's paper.

It will be really, really interesting to see if this scandal changes the dynamic of the race at all, because there's no disputing that Short would have to be considered an odds-on favorite to win. She has more money than any of the other candidates ($38,750 ; Sue Lani Madsen is in 2nd place with $32,657), and she certainly seems more connected. If you had asked me last week what I expected the result of the primary to be, I would have given you Short and Madsen to the general election by a wide, wide margin.

Now? That could be a good question. My personal favorite of the five has been Kelly White, a former member of the state Fish and Wildlife Commission whose daughter is a school superintendent. He'd be able to speak knowledgeably about the recreation issues that matter so much to the northern part of the district while at the same time understanding education, which is always important. Perhaps this opens the door for him in a way that it wasn't before and he gets through to the general election.

And I thought that politics in August would be rather dry. Thanks, Spokesman!

Update (8/6): Mitch Short has his name on the ballot, too, for precinct committee officer in Addy.

Also see here for more Shelly Short discussion, including a hit piece from "RepublicanStaffer" and a mild defense from some guy named Ryan.

Read more here, if any.

The Joy of Being a Single Issue Voter

My voter's guide came in the mail today, and as has been my habit the past few years I went through and read all the position statements in preparation for the primary next month. Good times.

A race that I don't get to vote on but that has been getting a ton of attention is the 6th LD contest involving Republicans Kevin Parker and Mel Lindauer, currently held by Democrat Don Barlowe. Parker and Lindauer have been going at each other pretty hard (think Obama v. Hillary, but local), and it's a primary to watch.

My biggest issue is always education, so that's the first thing I look for whenever I read on a candidate. I know that politics is a game that lends itself to blurbs, but it is possible to be too general. Take what Parker says in the voter's guide regarding education:

My top priorities are building a first class education system by funding the fundamentals first;

....and that's it. Sounds nice, what with the alliterative "fun" and all, but what does it really mean?

So I went to Parker's website, here, to see if he'd expanded on that idea at all. Here's what his site says in whole:

Education: Every student deserves the opportunity to be successful for the 21st Century job market. We need to fight a real problem with the hope of real results. The legislature should fund education first and fund the basics of education while preparing students for higher education or trade school opportunities.

Sounds like more education funding, then. That's my kind of guy! But wait....

Economy/Government Spending: It is time controlled spending and accountability is emphasized in the legislative budgeting process. The Senate Ways and Means projects a 2.4 billion dollar deficit next session. We need a voice that calls government to live within its means. Spokane cannot only be a great place to live, but it must also be an equally great place to work. This community needs a representative who fosters job growth and economic development.

So we have fund the fundamentals, without identifying what the fundamentals/basics are. We need to fight a real problem, but we never identify what that problem is. I'm sure (?) that he's elaborated on his education viewpoint during town hall meetings and such, but for the people in his district who vote education, like I do, he hasn't given them much to go on.

And I don't think that's a very good strategy in an urban district like the 6th.

Read more here, if any.

Quick Thoughts on John McCain's Education Plan

....which can be found right here.

The Education System Must Provide For Equality Of Choice. Too many of our children are trapped by geography and by economics in failing schools.

Trapped by geography is a funny phrase to use in relation to school choice. If the point is that the neighborhood school is failing then the remedy is a transfer to another school in the district, which doesn't really feel like "trapped." Trapped would be the small-town student with no other school available, which leads into some other parts of his plan (I've combined them into one paragraph for efficiency's sake):

John McCain Supports Expanding Virtual Learning By Reforming The "Enhancing Education Through Technology Program." John McCain will target $500 million in current federal funds to build new virtual schools and support the development of online course offerings for students. John McCain Will Allocate $250 Million Through A Competitive Grant Program To Support States That Commit To Expanding Online Education Opportunities.John McCain Will Offer $250 Million For Digital Passport Scholarships To Help Students Pay For Online Tutors Or Enroll In Virtual Schools.

That's a billion dollars of federal money to expand on-line learning options. For the rural schools that would potentially open up a ton of opportunities for the kids, which is always good; my qualm is that I don't always think distance learning is as rigorous as it should be.

The last bit that jumped out at me:

Provide Funding For Needed Professional Teacher Development. Where federal funds are involved, teacher development money should be used to enhance the ability of teachers to perform in today's technology driven environment. We need to provide teachers with high quality professional development opportunities with a primary focus on instructional strategies that address the academic needs of their students. The first 35 percent of Title II funding would be directed to the school level so principals and teachers could focus these resources on the specific needs of their schools.

I give this a resounding "meh."

Consider two cousins that get married and have a kid. That baby may be a wonderful child of God, or it might be something right out of Deliverance. Professional development is much the same way, and the thought of redirecting any money out of Title towards ProDev rather grates at me.

The folks at Ed in '08 have to be gratified to see education finally getting some play.

Read more here, if any.

Money From Nothing

Alternate Title: Dire Straits to Perform Live in Olympia!

The state released a new budget forecast this week. Thanks to the real estate bust the bean counters are projecting another $100,000,000 plus deficit, on top of the already $2.5 billion dollar hole that the Rossi campaign has been making hay with.

Then consider the cost of gas and dairy products, and it’s looking very much like the Seattle COLA this year could be a killer—more than the 3.4% it was last year.

The irresistible force (I-732) is setting itself up for a run against the immovable object (the state budget), and it’ll be a hell of a fight to watch.

Read more here, if any.

Thoughts on the OSPI Race

Well, that happened.

Many were looking for a Gandolf to coming riding over the horizon and save the day, but that person never materialized. The six declared candidates are Terry Bergeson, Randy Dorn of the Public School Employees, and four perennial also-rans. At this point Bergeson has to be considered a lead-pipe cinch to win, buoyed as she is by positive WASL articles and the lack of any serious competition. The biggest name in the field after her is Randy Dorn, but when you haven’t even managed to get a decent campaign website up with two months to go until the primary, you’re not giving your campaign a fair chance.

What does Terry going back to Olympia mean? The WASL keeps the strongest supporter it has, though the legislature has taken some of the starch out. Interest groups like the WEA and Where’s the Math? take a licking, because they have been outspoken in their distaste for the incumbent. Strong standards remain the order of the day, though with frequent refinements.

Anyway you slice it, my summer just got a lot less busy. I wonder if the OSPI candidates will debate at all?

Read more here, if any.

Next Halloween, I’m Going to Dress Up as a Rich Semler Campaign Ad

I’ve got the bumperstickers.
I’ve got the buttons.
I’ve got the 3 x 4 yard sign.
I've got all the makings of a cheap and easy costume.

What I haven’t got is the candidate any more. I wish Rich and Ginny well as they work through her health issues, though; he’s made the right decision, and I'm hoping that he'll keep his toe in the water and be a leader on education issues here in Washington, even if on a smaller scale.

The deadline to declare for statewide office is this coming Friday. The only name that I’ve heard mentioned is Bill Fromhold, who could probably get enough of the vote in the primary to be able to make it through to a general election in November. I don’t know that he’d want to take on a run for OSPI this late in the game, though, particularly given that he's already said he's not interested in the job.

A part of me wonders why we haven’t seen a conservative candidate for OSPI. From the EFF you could posit Lynn Harsh or Cindy Omlin, the executive director of the Northwest Professional Educators. Dan Grimm, the head of the Basic Ed Finance Committee, comes to mind, though I’m not sure he’s a Washington resident any longer. In the House the ranking minority member is Skip Priest, who has already passed on the chance to run, while the assistant ranking minority member is Glenn Anderson out of eastern King County, who has a decent résumé after having been on every education committee there is during his time in the House.

In the Senate the ranking minority member on the Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee is Curtis King out of Yakima, but a more interesting name might be Janea Holmquist, who signed her name to the opposition statement for 4204, has been exposed to the issues by virtue of being on the aforementioned committee, and could be fairly perceived as a rising star in the state Republican party. Her senate term isn't up until 2011, though; Holmquist for OSPI in 2012?

It seems odd that, in a year where the state GOP claims to be as energized as they’ve ever been, they wouldn’t field a sympathetic candidate for the office that eats up the biggest share of the state’s budget.

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Aren't Committee Meetings a Wonder to Behold?

I've enjoyed watching MSNBC today.

I've not enjoyed watchign my peeps have to spend their time on MSNBC on a Saturday in May tearing at each other instead of focusing on November.

But still, good TV.

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