THE OBSTRUCTIONISTS
Once again, California lost out in its bid to win a share of the $4.35 billion in federal education grants under the competitive Race to the Top program. Several of those involved say that, despite what has been announced in public, it was the state’s biggest teachers’ unions failure to cooperate that ultimately sank California’s chances.
Race to the Top requires states to demonstrate that they are making large strides in instituting aggressive education reform in order to be eligible for the money. Had it been chosen, California stood to get as much as $700 million. LAUSD alone would have gotten around $120 million of that money.
Race to the Top’s admitted strategy has been to use the carrot of federal $$ to break through the logjam of politics that often keep states from reforming their failing educational systems.
California is a prime example of why the ploy is needed. We have bottom-feeding test scores, a lousy drop out rate, yet for several decades we have been hog-tied by special interests, and partisan wrangling, any time real reform is proposed.
On Tuesday morning, when state education officials got the bad news that California was not selected to get the grants, the reason why was portrayed as fairly simple, as someone close to the process explained to me.
“They said, ‘You don’t have the union buy-in, and we don’t feel you’re going to get it.”
In fact, just one-third of the active unions in the state signed on to California’s Race to the Top application. Neither of the state-wide teachers’ unions participated. The most notable and likely the most damaging regional hold out was UTLA—the union that represents the teachers of LAUSD, the nation’s second largest school district.
The issue of Race to the Top was so contentious an issue in the state’s education circles that for a while California wasn’t even going to apply for the second funding round. But Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan reportedly made a special plea to Governor Schwarzenegger to go for it.
And so the state gave it the best shot they could, given the political limitations, as Howard Blume reported for the LA Times:
The California superintendents told evaluators that they thought they could bring local unions on board, and, if they could not, they were prepared to return federal dollars accordingly. L.A. Unified has moved on that front in the last few days, with union officials signaling a willingness to negotiate over the possible inclusion of test scores as part of a reshaped, multifaceted teacher evaluation.
California’s plan focused on strategies favored by the Obama administration, such as placing the most effective educators in struggling schools and improving instruction through the improved use of data.
The state blueprint also embraced the federal endorsement of aggressive remedies, such as replacing the staff at a poorly performing school and converting it to an independently run charter school. Most charters schools are non-union, another arena of discomfort for teacher unions.
But the evaluators simply didn’t believe the state’s hopeful promise that the unions would jump aboard later, if California got the money. The official message was that the union non-participation was not the deal breaker. But in less public communication, said an insider, state officials heard that UTLA and CTA’s refusal to play ball effectively torpedoed the state’s application.
“We heard over and over again, that we had to have union buy-in,” said the insider. “And, at the end of the day, we didn’t have it.”
The fact that right before the selections, UTLA’s A.J. Duffy had such a loud and public fight with the LA Times over the Times’ series on value-added teacher evaluations, likely did not help matters, the insider added. “We keep having all these fights on the national stage. That isn’t exactly lost on the people in D.C.”
“I have always said that this race was not just about the money” said Senate Education Chair, Gloria Romero in her statement following the news. “It was about a vision for public education that is best for our children. The status quo is entrenched in our public school system. We made Herculean strides to even be able to compete and I am proud that we did not abdicate on this responsibility. But the Obama Administration’s decision today demonstrates that we need to demand even bolder changes in order to enter a new era of education renaissance in California.”
That’s a nice way of putting it.
Is it that people don’t know that the whole focus on competition between schools is just an excuse for the right wing to take funds from inner city schools, or is it that they don’t want to talk about it?
Now President Obama is right wing?
Laughable. Another example of Sonny’s paranoia. He sees the right-wing bogeyman everywhere he looks.
Is it that people don’t know that the whole focus on competition between schools is just an excuse for the right wing to take funds from inner city schools,
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Apparently our right-wing President Obama doesn’t know that.
or is it that they don’t want to talk about it?
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Maybe it’s that they are not delusional and don’t want to talk about it with people who are.
In some instances, yes, ATW. Obama is right wing, or at least neo conservative (bailouts). We have a powerful right wing lobby in this country and unfortunately Obama has not been able to stand up to it. In fact, he caves into it and gives them what they want far too often. It if wasn’t for the fact that the Republican party is clearly incapable of producing a sane presidential candidate in 2012, I wouldn’t be voting for Obama’s reelection. As it stands, he’s the best thing going, unfortunately. But he’s proving he’s not the person he ran as. One of the core functions of the public school system is to be a safe haven for even the poorest and slowest learning children. I can see competition playing some role in the system, where recreational awards are given to better performing schools, something of that nature. But to outright yank public education away because some kids are slow learners? It’s child abuse, as far as I’m concerned.
Sonny says in post 1:
competition between schools is just an excuse for the right wing to take funds from inner city schools,
Then Sonny says in post 4:
But to outright yank public education away because some kids are slow learners?
Sonny, who jumped all over Celeste and insinuated that she was racist because of her Roger Clemens post now reveals his latent racism. He labels inner city kids as slow learners. OUTRAGEOUS AND UNCONSCIONABLE. There’s no way around it. He said it.
Not your finest hour Sonny.
Your “gotcha” game gets old. It’s the lowest form of political discussion. It does nothing to refute or rebuke the person you’re targeting, nor does it make you appear to be some sort of ombudsmen for truth. It only reveals to readers that you have a strong political agenda that’s threatened by the opinions of those you’re targeting.
Anyone with an open mind can clearly see what I meant with my point on some children being slow learners.
“Your “gotcha” game gets old.”
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ROFLMAO. This from the guy who plays “gotcha” constantly and is always crying (don’t wanna use bitching) that people are racist, sexist, etc.
“It’s the lowest form of political discussion.”
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EXACTLY. It takes no logical thought or willingness to debate facts. Is that why he always does it when his ass is getting handed to him?
“It does nothing to refute or rebuke the person you’re targeting”
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AGREED. That’s what I’ve been telling him. He won’t listen. He keeps on doing it to others, in spite of seeing the light when it’s done to him.
“nor does it make you appear to be some sort of ombudsmen for truth”
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TRUE. Then why does he put so much effort into doing it?
It only reveals to readers that you have a strong political agenda that’s threatened by the opinions of those you’re targeting.
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SO THAT’S WHY HE DOES IT!!!!!. He’s threatened by other’s opinions.
Anyone with an open mind can clearly see what I meant with my point on some children being slow learners.
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OF COURSE. And anyone with an open mind can see that he has just impeached his own tactics and strategies that he uses when in a “so called debate”. He doesn’t realize that what he does is accuse, not debate. Then when it’s done to him he cries foul. The guy is incredible. Hypocrite doesn’t begin to describe him.
So how long you figure before he starts hurling accusations again when he can’t intelligently debate someone?
Probably his next post. lol.
You guys, you both have things to say, independent of this tit-for-tat bickering, but your squabbling with each other is unbelievably boring and of interest to exactly no one except each other. PLUS it tends to discourage other commenters who would otherwise engage.
I’ve not said anything because it was largely going on with otherwise moribund comment threads. But enough is enough.
Thank you in advance.
Happy Friday.
I agree, Celeste. It is boring. And I promise not to engage in it anymore. I also wanted to say that I’ve really enjoyed your blog entries the past few days. And, the whole Clemens thing…I was just being a pain in the ass. For some reason I think it’s a healthy way to debate but I was implying you were ignorant to race issues and of course that’s not the case. You have have a body of work that demonstrates otherwise. Anyhow, have a nice weekend, Celeste.