PRISON INDUSTRIAL NATION?The Corrections Corporation of America (CCA)—the nation’s largest private prison provider—announced some very healthy first quarter profits on Wednesday.
(Second quarter is expected to be higher.)
MEANWHILE…LAUSD TELLS TEACHERS TO TAKE DAY OFF AND PROTEST
GOOD Magazine has the story. Here’s a clip:
Just how bad is California’s education budget crisis? In an unprecedented move, the Los Angeles Unified School District plans to dismiss students early on Friday, May 13 so that teachers and other school staff can protest proposed cuts to education. In fact, the nation’s second largest school district is in such a financial crisis that they’re actually working with the local teacher’s union, UTLA, to make the protest happen—a very rare thing.
Teachers originally planned to hold their anti-cut demonstrations in the morning before school and during the first hour of classes. But Superintendent John Deasy and other district officials suggested shortening the school day and moving the protests to the afternoon so that the administration of state standardized tests won’t be affected. Deasy has also pledged that teachers can protest the state cuts to schools “without loss of pay or other consequences.”
Why is LAUSD being so accommodating? California’s schools have already endured almost $20 billion in cuts over the past three years. If state legislators don’t agree to put a measure on an upcoming election ballot to extend the taxes that fund schools, there will be an additional $2.3 billion in cuts. LAUSD alone is looking at a deficit of almost $408 million this year. This spring more than 5,000 teachers and 2,000 other district staff received layoff notices.
The LA Times’ Jason Song has more.
AND IN A TANGENTIALLY RELATED STORY, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS IN PRISONS ARE FEW EVEN THOUGH BENEFITS ARE MANY
Research has repeatedly shown that prisoners who obtain post-secondary degrees are much less likely to recidivate or to commit crimes on their release—and more likely to get jobs. (Inmates in educational programs are also less violent when on the inside.)
However, a study released Wednesday by the Institute for Higher Education and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, found that only 6 percent of those incarcerated in the US were enrolled in vocational or academic post secondary programs last year.
California is one of the the 13 states that is listed as having such programs, but after talking with the CDCR head, Matthew Cate earlier this week, it became clear that, whatever the state’ may have once had in the way of ed programs, nearly all have now been cut.
The Wall Street Journal has more on the survey.
Interesting that Sure Fire got out of dodge around the same time ch. 5 ran the story on the LA Sheriffs “3000 Boys” scandal.
Surely the fact that the prison industry is making huge profits while education is being dramatically cut is not going unnoticed but aside from this site all I hear is minor whimpering about it. Seems like an issue that deserves much more attention. Afterall, crime and education are directly related.
They key word in the headline of this thread is PRIVATE.
If a state government contracts the running of prisons out to PRIVATE companies, because it’s cheaper for them and doesn’t add to their budget deficits….yet PRIVATE companies operate them at record profits……
What does that say about the efficiency of how the state government runs them?
What it says to me is that the private firms are probably using cheap, poorly trained, non-union labor, providing the inmates with crappy meals and zero programs for rehabilitation.
Which would mean that the state is negligent in it’s oversight of the private org. THE STATE HIRED to run it’s prisons.
When a defendant goes to trial, it’s “The State of CA. vs. John Doe”…..not Corrections Corp. of America vs. John Doe….and when they are sentenced, it’s the state’s responsibilty to incarcerate them, not some private entity. Then, if the state decides to contract out the running of it’s prisons, it’s the STATE’S responsibilty to make sure the prison is run according to the law and all applicable statutes and policies.
The state is the responsible party for how it’s prisons are run. You can try all you want to get around that core issue, but in the end, the state bears the responsibility.
If it’s prisons are a mess, it’s the politicians of the state of CA. that bear the responsibilty.