A Thought on the Early Obama Endorsement

I've worked really, really hard to get the Washington Education Association to endorse Republicans. I've worked to steer some of our Politial Action Committee funds to Republicans. I believe completely that there are Republicans in this state who are better on public education than many of the Democrats are, and I could give a shit what political party you stand for--if you're a friend of the schools, you're a friend of mine.

That's why I can't for the life of me understand why the NEA is considering an early endorsement of President Obama. Race to the Top didn't help the schools. When every teacher at Central Falls High School in Rhode Island was fired, Obama pointed to that and called it accountability. The new pre-school version of RttT is going to introduce the testing regime to preschoolers. They need a nap, he's giving them the NAEP. It's pathetic.

What this reeks of is the kind of education politics I truly hate--the reflexive endorsement of the party over the person--and when we're racing ahead of every other union to give Obama a reacharound after being thrashed by his own Department of Education for the past 2.5 years, it's only right to ask what the hell our NEA leadership is thinking.

NEA President Dennis Van Roekel was stupid to bring this to the Representative Assembly, and I sincerely hope the delegates see it that way. This one's not just a no--it's a hell no.

Read more here, if any.

One More PAC Comment

The Public School Employees PAC gets most of their money (all but $20 out of more than $180,000) from the Public School Employees of Washington Union. One wonders if that is from members dues.

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Oh No She Didn't!

WEA members received an email today related to the NEWS Lawsuit, the latest effort (remember Doran?) to get the courts to weigh in on funding schools. It'll be an interesting case to watch; I wish that TVW was showing it.

Inside that email, though, are a couple of shocking paragraphs (emphasis mine):

Each day of the court case, we're highlighting state politicians who are failing the children of their district by refusing to fully fund our schools.

A politician like Laura Grant, who represents the 16th District: Her recent vote for education budget cuts in school districts like Walla Walla, Kennewick, Kiona-Benton City, Pasco and Prosser means $8 million less to help educate our children in the 16th District.

Or John Driscoll in the 6th District, who voted for the huge unfunded education overhaul bill at the same time the Legislature cut $10.6 million in state funding to the Spokane, Cheney, Mead and Nine Mile Falls school districts.

And don't forget Ross Hunter, who figures his votes to cut $17.4 million from schools in Bellevue, Issaquah and Lake Washington will go unnoticed. We have news for him. Educators, parents and, most importantly, children in classrooms who are going without because of his opposition to full funding are noticing.

All three of those members of the House are Democrats, two of them (Grant and Driscoll) from historically Republican districts. Hell, John Driscoll only beat John Ahern by about 100 votes in their contest, and Laura Grant polled below 50% in the primary earlier this month in her bid to win a special election to finish out her father's term.

The WEA calling out Democratic legislators. That's something to think about.

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On Bobby Kennedy

I was born 10 years after RFK was assassinated, in 1968, and 15 years after JFK died, in 1963. For me the Kennedy family has always been more history than present, even with Ted still being on the national scene. Growing up my mom hated, hated Ted with a passion ("*ucking gunmen killed the wrong brothers!" is a direct quote; I think it had something to do with his car crash); this was pretty much the only connection I had to Camelot.

That's why it's interesting for me to read pieces from those who actually lived through the time, and one of the best I've seen in a long while is The Newsboy by Carl Cannon for Reader's Digest. Thoughtful and descriptive, it's a first hand look at reactions to RFK's death, and it's great reading.

Read more here, if any.

The AWSP on Political Action

David Montague, a principal out of Kennewick, wrote a commentary for the Spring 2008 edition of The Principal News talking about the reasons that school administrators should be active in the political process. It’s a good read for teachers as well, and I’m thinking that I might try some of his ideas with candidates from my legislative district.

You can’t find the article on-line, regrettably, but Jerry Bender, director of governmental relations for the AWSP, keeps a blog here that "covers" legislative issues. (memo to Jerry: no posts since January? C'mon, man, there's action out there!)

Given the realities of today, I think that engagement is more important than ever. I'm glad that the professional organizations make Olympia accessible.

Read more here, if any.