The Optimist meets his union masters
Considering that I am in the middle of discussing the D11 master agreement, it was nice timing to have the Mike Rosen Oped appear in today's Gazette. Rosen writes about Colorado State Senator Chris Romer, a Democrat and a freshman senator. The Oped is copied in below in total.
Labor union mouthpieces always claim that their little old union really just stays out of the way and spends its time shuffling around and helping kids and teachers. Nothing could be further from the truth. People need to understand that the labor union demands unconditional and total allegiance in exchange for purchasing a politician's election. This type of strong-arm politics does not only occur at the state or federal level. The same type of control is exerted at the school board level. John Gudvangen, Tami Hasling, Sandra Mann, Charlie Bobbitt, and Jan Tanner received support and funding from the labor union. Therefore, they have no leeway to do anything other than what they are told to do by the labor union leaders. (Let's be honest, could anyone imagine Gudvangen standing up to the labor union?).
Rosen's oped highlights perfectly the problem with ever improving the state of our schools. The labor unions have a vice grip on the administrators and politicians who are supposed to have the education of kids as their top priority. Instead, any ideas that might benefit children more than the labor union are instantly squashed under the enforcement arm of the labor union.
Rosen's oped is below:
Optimist gets an education from teacher’s union lapdogs
OPINION MIKE ROSEN Syndicated columnist
Chris Romer is a freshman Colorado senator. He’s a bright fellow with a degree from Stanford in economics and more than 20 years of experience in the private sector as a public finance investment banker, specializing in municipal and state budgets. The son of former Gov. Roy Romer, he has a good political pedigree. He describes himself as a “lifelong Democrat,” but I don’t necessarily hold that against him. After all, Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat.
Romer was awarded a seat on the Education Committee. Since Colorado governments — at all levels, combined — spend more money on education than any other governmental activity, this is an important post. Romer’s first legislative effort was to sponsor a perfectly sensible bill, Senate Bill 73, that would require Colorado public schools to “adopt English language competency as a graduation requirement for high school students” starting in 2012. Whatever else students might learn in our public schools, who could disagree that English language proficiency is the single most essential area for opening up opportunities to success in our society? This is especially true today with so many more students entering our schools with a first language other than English. Most of us would imagine that after 13 years of K-12 education, this is an achievable task.
Well, silly us. As a rookie politician, Romer was quickly instructed as to the error of his ways by veteran Democrats in the Senate. More specifically, by a squad of veteran Democrats who were put in the Senate by the teacher’s unions to do their bidding. As the Rocky Mountain news reported, “Democrats, many of them retired teachers, gave freshman Democratic Senator Chris Romer a tongue-lashing.” Former teacher Sen. Sue Windels, chair of the Senate Education Committee, and the unions’ chief enforcer in the Senate, “painted Romer as a wildeyed newbie who lacks understanding of the state’s challenges in funding K-12 education.” Said Windels, “Sen. Romer, I welcome you in the legislature, but you will learn your optimism will be dashed.” (Translation: “This isn’t about ‘optimistic’ reforms. It’s about power politics. The hell with the kids or the taxpayers, no legislation affecting public education gets through this body unless it serves the interests of the educratic establishment and has the blessing of the teacher’s unions.”)
Then Windels reportedly offered up this gem: “What you’re asking of every one of our school districts is to shift (italics mine) money in their budgets.” (Translation: “Good heavens! The audacity of asking a government entity, funded with taxpayer dollars, to shift money within its budget! That smacks of prioritization. This is public education. Educrats can’t be expected to make these kinds of difficult choices. More money, you fool! Give us more money! The union is committed to paying teachers more, not prioritizing among programs. Amendment 23 wasn’t enough. Oh yeah, and ‘it’s for the children!’ ”)
From his background, Romer understands public finance and state budgets. He just hasn’t been co-opted by the teachers’ unions — yet. (Rest assured, they’ll work on him.) His bill might push schools to adopt English immersion, a far better approach than the crutch of bilingual education. But the unions have opposed English immersion. They have a stake in bilingual education since it’s the rice bowl of many of their rank and file who specialize in this area, and, politically, it’s a hot button for Hispanic activists, another Democratic constituency. Windels’ Education Committee dispatched SB-73 to Appropriations, where the majority can quietly bury inconvenient bills. This is how educrats initiate optimistic newbies.
Rosen’s radio show can be heard on 850 KOA from 9 until noon, Monday through Friday. Write to him c/o 4695 S. Monaco St., Denver 80237-3403
Labor union mouthpieces always claim that their little old union really just stays out of the way and spends its time shuffling around and helping kids and teachers. Nothing could be further from the truth. People need to understand that the labor union demands unconditional and total allegiance in exchange for purchasing a politician's election. This type of strong-arm politics does not only occur at the state or federal level. The same type of control is exerted at the school board level. John Gudvangen, Tami Hasling, Sandra Mann, Charlie Bobbitt, and Jan Tanner received support and funding from the labor union. Therefore, they have no leeway to do anything other than what they are told to do by the labor union leaders. (Let's be honest, could anyone imagine Gudvangen standing up to the labor union?).
Rosen's oped highlights perfectly the problem with ever improving the state of our schools. The labor unions have a vice grip on the administrators and politicians who are supposed to have the education of kids as their top priority. Instead, any ideas that might benefit children more than the labor union are instantly squashed under the enforcement arm of the labor union.
Rosen's oped is below:
Optimist gets an education from teacher’s union lapdogs
OPINION MIKE ROSEN Syndicated columnist
Chris Romer is a freshman Colorado senator. He’s a bright fellow with a degree from Stanford in economics and more than 20 years of experience in the private sector as a public finance investment banker, specializing in municipal and state budgets. The son of former Gov. Roy Romer, he has a good political pedigree. He describes himself as a “lifelong Democrat,” but I don’t necessarily hold that against him. After all, Ronald Reagan was once a Democrat.
Romer was awarded a seat on the Education Committee. Since Colorado governments — at all levels, combined — spend more money on education than any other governmental activity, this is an important post. Romer’s first legislative effort was to sponsor a perfectly sensible bill, Senate Bill 73, that would require Colorado public schools to “adopt English language competency as a graduation requirement for high school students” starting in 2012. Whatever else students might learn in our public schools, who could disagree that English language proficiency is the single most essential area for opening up opportunities to success in our society? This is especially true today with so many more students entering our schools with a first language other than English. Most of us would imagine that after 13 years of K-12 education, this is an achievable task.
Well, silly us. As a rookie politician, Romer was quickly instructed as to the error of his ways by veteran Democrats in the Senate. More specifically, by a squad of veteran Democrats who were put in the Senate by the teacher’s unions to do their bidding. As the Rocky Mountain news reported, “Democrats, many of them retired teachers, gave freshman Democratic Senator Chris Romer a tongue-lashing.” Former teacher Sen. Sue Windels, chair of the Senate Education Committee, and the unions’ chief enforcer in the Senate, “painted Romer as a wildeyed newbie who lacks understanding of the state’s challenges in funding K-12 education.” Said Windels, “Sen. Romer, I welcome you in the legislature, but you will learn your optimism will be dashed.” (Translation: “This isn’t about ‘optimistic’ reforms. It’s about power politics. The hell with the kids or the taxpayers, no legislation affecting public education gets through this body unless it serves the interests of the educratic establishment and has the blessing of the teacher’s unions.”)
Then Windels reportedly offered up this gem: “What you’re asking of every one of our school districts is to shift (italics mine) money in their budgets.” (Translation: “Good heavens! The audacity of asking a government entity, funded with taxpayer dollars, to shift money within its budget! That smacks of prioritization. This is public education. Educrats can’t be expected to make these kinds of difficult choices. More money, you fool! Give us more money! The union is committed to paying teachers more, not prioritizing among programs. Amendment 23 wasn’t enough. Oh yeah, and ‘it’s for the children!’ ”)
From his background, Romer understands public finance and state budgets. He just hasn’t been co-opted by the teachers’ unions — yet. (Rest assured, they’ll work on him.) His bill might push schools to adopt English immersion, a far better approach than the crutch of bilingual education. But the unions have opposed English immersion. They have a stake in bilingual education since it’s the rice bowl of many of their rank and file who specialize in this area, and, politically, it’s a hot button for Hispanic activists, another Democratic constituency. Windels’ Education Committee dispatched SB-73 to Appropriations, where the majority can quietly bury inconvenient bills. This is how educrats initiate optimistic newbies.
Rosen’s radio show can be heard on 850 KOA from 9 until noon, Monday through Friday. Write to him c/o 4695 S. Monaco St., Denver 80237-3403
posted by Craig Cox | 2:02 PM
1 Comments:
Well said.
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