Since this blog constitutes my opinion of "politics and public schools", I think I'll exercise my right to free speech and espouse my opinion (based on facts) of just a few of the upcoming "public school elections" for the 2018 primaries on June 29 (Disclaimer: My political party affiliation was (R) from 1980 to 1995, (D) from 1996 to 2014, (R) from 2014 to 2017, and presently (I).)
State Superintendent of Public Instruction - There is only one primary for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction as three republicans want the seat: Joy Hofmeister, Linda Murphy, and Will Farrell. The other two candidates, John Cox (D) and Larry Huff (I), will meet the winner of the republican primary in November. The bios for all five can be seen anywhere as to where they stand on education issues, so the purpose of this examination for the three primary (R) candidates is to ascertain from past public school related actions - each one's intent for our public schools and possible support.
Linda Murphy - Linda is a conservative who had been a public school teacher for many years. Like many public school supporters - she became disillusioned with the incumbent Joy Hofmeister, when Joy made decisions which were questionable for our public schools. Linda bills herself as a fiscal conservative who believes in low taxation and low government spending, and says she will find a better way to provide teacher pay raises. She is a constitutional conservative who believes in complying with the major tenets of the U.S. Constitution as well as the Oklahoma Constitution, instead of advocating for constitutional change. She also says she is a social conservative who supports our traditional public schools, instead of corporate reform of our schools. Linda is against rural public school consolidation, against corporate control of our lawmakers, and against the state or federal government controlling our local public schools. She believes that additional and appropriate funding for our public schools can be found in already existent tax dollars, not in tax increases.
Joy Hofmeister - The incumbent for any elected office always has the inside lane for being re-elected. Joy Hofmeister (R) was swept into office in 2014 on a wave of teacher and public school support - following the tumultuous reign of Janet Barresi. Joy was seen as the anti-Janet by many public school teachers and administrators alike. While it is usually difficult to ascertain the true actions of those candidates who are only running for office, it's much easier to judge incumbents - as "actions" always speak louder than mere words. Many teachers and administrators who were formerly supportive of "Joy Hofmeister for State Superintendent" - observed questionable "actions" over the past four years, and decided she wasn't right for our public schools or students. It was not the fact that Joy was charged with a felony (coordinating campaign activities with "dark money") that changed the opinions of many public school supporters, but other "legal" facts which challenged her loyalty to our traditional (conservative) public schools and students.
While it's unclear just what Joy Hofmeister's position is on "school consolidation" (for many teachers and public school supporters), she says she is against forced school consolidation. However, when questioned about whether more of the state's school districts should be consolidated, an OSDE official replied "We have 517 districts...That's 517 superintendents" indicating the number of districts pushes Oklahoma toward the higher end of administrative costs. This reply somewhat contradicts Joy's philosophy of being against forced school consolidation. Some form of forced school consolidation may be acceptable to Joy Hofmeister, but maybe not. In addition, it's still unclear if Joy Hofmeister is against her forcing school consolidation, but OK with the legislature forcing it.
In an article by David Perryman (Feb. 29, 2016) in The Oklahoma Observer, School Consolidation: This Ain't No New Deal - he writes ... State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister and the State Board of Education proposed changes to the administrative rules relating to "mandatory annexation" (forced consolidation). He goes on to say "the (forced consolidation) threats in the new rules appear in Rule 210: 1-3-2 (b) (1) and allow the State Board to bypass local school districts and force the consolidation of school districts when a school is determined to be in need of improvement... is unable to commence a school year... is financially unable to keep school open for entire year...or an audit finding that some person associated with the school mismanaged funds. The deciders for each of these scenarios is the State Superintendent and State Board of Education, leading many teachers and public school officials to believe that Joy Hofmeister actually supports forced consolidation.
For many teachers and school administrators - the litmus test for Joy Hofmeister's demonstrated support of traditional public schools and students was her State Board vote on January 26, 2017, regarding local (democratically elected) school board control of Seminole Public Schools. The Oklahoma State Legislature had previously passed a bill, which the governor signed into law, that provided authority for the unelected State Board of Education to seize control of traditional public schools and away from locally elected school boards. (Conservatives believe that government should be as local as possible, with minimal government control over citizens - and that all government should be democratically elected by the people. But then again, in the opinion of many teachers, Joy Hofmeister has never claimed to be a conservative.) The Joy Hofmeister test for conservatism and traditional public school support for many teachers and school officials arrived in the form of the "Seminole Public Schools Corporate Charter" case...
As mentioned, the law which allowed the state to overrule local public schools - when it comes to corporate charter school approvals - became effective in 2016. In Seminole, Oklahoma, the first test case for the new law was soon apparent, as an out-of-state corporate charter group requested the local Seminole School Board's approval to begin classes for Seminole students. (Locally elected Boards of Education are tasked with making appropriate decisions concerning their public school students.) The Seminole BOE turned down the Texas based charter request not once, but two times over the next several months. According to the new law, when a charter request is not approved by a local board on two different occasions, the request may then be appealed to the State Board of Education. The corporate charter chain group did just that toward the end of 2016 - It appealed its case to "a higher authority" the State BOE. (An important difference between local boards and the SBOE is that local superintendents have no vote in board decisions, while the State Superintendent does vote in all SBOE decisions.) This is the paramount reason that many teachers and school officials believed this case was a revealing test for Joy. She could "vote no" on the corporate charter request, proving in the minds of many that she really does support traditional public schools and local control of our public schools. She could abstain from the vote, reasoning that her loyalty to traditional public schools would prevent her from making an unbiased decision. She could "vote yes" - to take control away from the locally elected Seminole School Board, and provide that "control" to the SBOE. Joy Hofmeister voted "Yes" on the corporate charter request. Her reasoning may have been that when local boards do not act in the best interest of its students, it becomes a "higher authority" responsibility to act. A justification for the SBOE and State Superintendent unanimous vote may have been - Since Seminole Public Schools had two school bond issues fail over the past two years, the citizens of Seminole do not support their traditional public school. However, the justification for taking authority away from the Seminole School Board may have been identical to the reasons provided for forced consolidation of schools - When a traditional public school is determined to be in need of improvement, etc, the State Board shall trump the local board. The only problem for our traditional public schools is that it's the SBOE and the State Superintendent making the arbitrary decisions concerning "needs improvement", etc. and NOT our local boards.
Although many teachers and school officials believe Joy Hofmeister has done a good job of replacing Janet Barresi since 2014, many others cite examples such as her support of 1) corporate reform of traditional public schools, 2) school privatization (vouchers), 3) state and federal control of our local schools, and 4) school consolidation efforts - as proof of her non-support of our traditional public schools. Still others cite anecdotal examples of Joy's "you may stand-up for me, but don't expect me to stand-up for you" philosophy of leadership:
On August 2, 2013, my friend Lloyd Snow - Superintendent of Sand Springs Public Schools and long-time supporter of all Oklahoma public schools, teachers, and students, was inducted into the Oklahoma Education Hall of Fame. (The Education Hall of Fame is located in the hallway leading to the State Superintendent of Schools offices.) During his induction speech, Mr. Snow stated I think Diane Ravitch gets it right in her latest book, Reign of Error: The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools. She says, and I paraphrase, the only crisis in public education is the one ginned up by government bureaucrats, major foundations, odd coalitions of elitists and government hustlers who make inflated claims about the virtues of vouchers, charter schools, virtual schools, standardized testing... They insist... that overhauling our entire (public school) system along business lines is the way to go. Mr. Snow also enumerated his top 10 Reasons to be concerned about the corporate reform fix for our traditional public schools. Among his concerns was Number 5 - Local Boards of Education losing the ability to govern. When did we lose our kids-- our schools-- our community--?; Number 4 - Public education being hijacked by private businesses concerned mostly about profits, not pupils.; Number 3 - Dealing with leadership at the SDE is put kindly-- challenging and frustrating. (At the time of my friend's induction, Janet Barresi was the Oklahoma State Superintendent of Schools and Joy Hofmeister was a member of the State Board of Education.)
Since 2010, many teachers and other public school officials believed that our public schools and students were being short-changed by the Oklahoma State Department of Education and specific legislators. Mr. Snow had been present at many State Board of Education meetings from 2010 thru 2014, and had witnessed what many believed was the beginning of the dismantling of our traditional public schools. He was a continual "thorn in the side" and irritant for Superintendent Barresi and several State Board members during this time, questioning their actions on a number of public school issues - which prompted one board member to say "You (superintendents) should be back at your schools taking care of business there, instead of worrying what we are doing here...". Mr. Snow is a firm believer that actions speak louder than words and that one should stand-up for what he believes in. He refused to leave the meeting that day, and all other meetings after. Needless to say at this point that Lloyd Snow supported Joy Hofmeister in her 2014 State Superintendent race against Janet Barresi. He personally supported Joy Hofmeister - by donating $Thousands to her campaign and publicly endorsing her for State Superintendent (Mr. Snow wholeheartedly supports his friends and traditional public schools, and defends both, no matter the risk). He was overjoyed when Hofmeister won the State Superintendent seat in 2014 along with many teachers and other public school officials. Although a democrat, Snow worked long and hard in helping get Hofmeister (R) elected, because he believed she was right for Oklahoma public schools. He also believed, as many did, that helping getting Joy elected was not enough to stem the corporate reform tide - so retired, and ran for a state senate seat in 2016.
Lloyd Snow was running for office in support of our public schools, teachers, and students, plain and simple. He wasn't looking for a "gravy train", as many of our career politicians and party elitists do today. Prior to 2016, Mr. Snow had appeared at a few Joy Hofmeister fundraisers (in support of her candidacy) and allowed his photo to be taken with her. The photo would be used to help Joy garner public school and teacher support for the State Superintendency, which was OK with Lloyd, since he believed she was best for our schools. When Lloyd Snow began his campaign for the Senate seat in 2016, he sent the same photo to district voters with the caption Republicans working with SNOW (He had already asked Joy Hofmeister for support during his campaign and she said "NO".) Lloyd reasoned that since he and Joy had the same goals for our public schools, and since he had so wholeheartedly sacrificed financially and campaigned for her to become the next state superintendent - she would do the same for him. What he did not count on was that many politicians don't share his philosophy of friendship and loyalty. Loyd did not count Hofmeister as an endorsement, but simply implied that he and Joy had worked together for the betterment of our public schools. While Joy Hofmeister did not publicly comment on the photo (taken by her consultant for her campaign use) sent to voters, her consultant said "The mail piece was sent without Superintendent Hofmeister's knowledge or permission. It's disappointing that someone would attempt to mislead voters with such a tactic."
In addition to perceived and factual non-support of public school candidates in the 2016 state elections, many teachers and public school administrators believe Joy Hofmeister openly supported candidates which were opposed to appropriate teacher pay and public education. They point to examples such as the House District 42 candidate, Tim Downing, who voted "NO" on every single teacher pay raise bill during his only term in office. Mr. Downing also openly supported "school vouchers", as a way for the legislature to spend public tax dollars for private services. Joy Hofmeister endorsed Mr. Downing on his campaign website (2015) in stating Tim Downing supports teachers and students, unlike other candidates... Many public school supporters now believe that with friends like Joy Hofmeister, who needs enemies?
Will Farrell - Will Farrell is much like Linda Murphy in his public school philosophy. The only differences are in school consolidation - Linda says "no school consolidation" while Will stated "I am of the opinion that school consolidation could be implemented effectively in Oklahoma; however..."and the fact that Linda Murphy has been a public school teacher, while Will and Joy have never been public school teachers.
Our three choices for the republican nomination for state superintendent have been examined above. Two claim to be conservative, while one does not. While Hofmeister doesn't claim to be conservative or liberal, it's a safe bet that she's neither. Republicans should vote for the right person for the job (in the primary on June 26), not the most popular...
Oklahoma Governor - For the analysis of the Governor's Race please click here.
District 42 State Representative - Since my home House District is in McClain and Garvin County (42), I'll only review selected candidate positions for our public schools here:
Tuesday, May 29, 2018
Wednesday, May 23, 2018
God's Greatest Athlete
This column was first published one year ago during the Triple Crown of horse racing season:
I regularly take a break from writing about "politics and public schools" every so often, as a way to avert insanity (although some say it hasn't worked very well) - and to reflect on life's occurrences during my "school days" in the late 1960's and 1970's. The impressionable nature of our teen years seem to be what many of us rely on for making philosophical life decisions thereafter. The events and personal happenings which many experienced during their early part of living on earth - impacted the thought processes, ethically and morally, for the rest of our lives.
With "Justify" winning the Triple Crown of thoroughbred racing on Saturday evening, another Triple Crown winner of 1973 came to mind. In my opinion, God created the world's most perfect athlete on March 30, 1970, the year of his birth. He died at the young age of nineteen, but made an impression on millions such that the world had never seen for an athlete. Of course, many know I'm referring to Secretariat, the great American thoroughbred racehorse who won the triple-crown of races (Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes) in 1973. One may only appreciate what God can create sometimes by watching miracle creations in action, and millions (including me) saw all three horse racing events unfold on TV that year. You may also see "God's perfect athlete" on YouTube these days, and please do... but be sure to have plenty of tissues for blotting the tears. I still get teary eyed today when I watch or read recollections of Secretariat, just as I did 45 years ago - when I witnessed history and God's Greatest Athlete.
I was glued to the TV on that Saturday evening so long ago, getting ready to watch the 1973 Belmont Stakes, the third and last jewel of the "Triple Crown". I had just finished getting ready to go visit a "girl-friend" that evening, and was watching the race with my dad - a real cowboy. As the race unfolded - Secretariat and Sham (arguably the second best racehorse of all time in the mind of many) quickly made it a two-horse race, running neck and neck for three quarters of the mile and a half race. Sham had run second to Secretariat in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, which preceded the Belmont Stakes race earlier in the spring. Many horse racing experts predicted that Sham would finally win over Secretariat in the Belmont. At about the three quarters mark of the race - Secretariat began to pull away from Sham (they were both at least 10 lengths ahead of the field by this time), finally winning by at least 31 lengths, a record, and a Belmont Stakes record time. To simply describe the race does a disservice to anyone only reading about it... One must actually see it to feel the emotions it invokes. I think the race announcer Chic Anderson said it best though as he described Secretariat entering the stretch all alone "Secretariat is widening now! He is moving like a tremendous machine!"... Yes, the tremendous machine that God decided to create. He was said to be the perfectly proportioned race horse, standing 16.2 hands with an extremely wide chest, and large, powerful, well-muscled hindquarters. His body conformation and stride biomechanics were also described as "perfect" by horse racing experts. What really set him apart from other thoroughbreds was his "heart" which weighed an estimated 22 lbs. at his autopsy. The average thoroughbred's heart weighs about 9 lbs., so Secretariat had an engine that was almost two and a half times larger. (Sham, who was second to Secretariat in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness, had a heart which weighed 18 lbs.). Seth Hancock of Claiborne Farm once said, You want to know who Secretariat is in human terms? Just imagine the greatest athlete in the world. The greatest. Now make him six-foot-three, the perfect height. Make him real intelligent and kind. And on top of that, make him the best-lookin' guy ever to come down the pike. He was all of those things as a horse. Secretariat invoked the emotions of millions during his short life, and millions more wept when he died in 1989... but rest assured - he now grazes in heaven.
I regularly take a break from writing about "politics and public schools" every so often, as a way to avert insanity (although some say it hasn't worked very well) - and to reflect on life's occurrences during my "school days" in the late 1960's and 1970's. The impressionable nature of our teen years seem to be what many of us rely on for making philosophical life decisions thereafter. The events and personal happenings which many experienced during their early part of living on earth - impacted the thought processes, ethically and morally, for the rest of our lives.
With "Justify" winning the Triple Crown of thoroughbred racing on Saturday evening, another Triple Crown winner of 1973 came to mind. In my opinion, God created the world's most perfect athlete on March 30, 1970, the year of his birth. He died at the young age of nineteen, but made an impression on millions such that the world had never seen for an athlete. Of course, many know I'm referring to Secretariat, the great American thoroughbred racehorse who won the triple-crown of races (Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes) in 1973. One may only appreciate what God can create sometimes by watching miracle creations in action, and millions (including me) saw all three horse racing events unfold on TV that year. You may also see "God's perfect athlete" on YouTube these days, and please do... but be sure to have plenty of tissues for blotting the tears. I still get teary eyed today when I watch or read recollections of Secretariat, just as I did 45 years ago - when I witnessed history and God's Greatest Athlete.
Monday, May 14, 2018
"Class" all the way, all the time
Those who attended the Class 4A state championship series in OKC Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, saw some great high school baseball action. On Saturday evening, Blanchard fans saw our Blanchard Lions take on the Elgin Owls in the title game. Our Lions eventually lost 7 to 6, but displayed the class and character for which Blanchard sports teams are known for. I'm a little bit biased in observations involving our sports teams, but I can honestly say that I believe the "best" team did not win the game. I don't think a "one-game" tournament allows for intangible differences to be overcome by either team... especially in the sport of baseball. In the major leagues, a seven-game series is played to determine the best team, and even college baseball has a type of round-robin best two of three games played to determine the national champion.
I've been on both sides of the "best team did not win" scenarios in the past, so I'm not excusing our loss in any way. As a high school athletic coach for fourteen years, when we faced an opponent which was superior in every aspect of the game, whether football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, etc... - one of the motivational tools we used for our kids was to instill the mindset that we only have to beat them one time. We don't have to beat them ten times in a row, or even twice - only once... and in baseball, anything can happen - and usually does.
Blanchard Public Schools suffered another loss this past week when long-time Elementary Principal Donna Edge retired from service. We will certainly miss her as a part of the Blanchard Schools family, and I will especially miss her - as she made my job easier. We wish her well as she starts the next phase of life, and I know that she will always remember us, as we will always fondly think of her. From the Blanchard Public Schools family - Thank you Donna Edge for a job well done...
I've been on both sides of the "best team did not win" scenarios in the past, so I'm not excusing our loss in any way. As a high school athletic coach for fourteen years, when we faced an opponent which was superior in every aspect of the game, whether football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, etc... - one of the motivational tools we used for our kids was to instill the mindset that we only have to beat them one time. We don't have to beat them ten times in a row, or even twice - only once... and in baseball, anything can happen - and usually does.
Blanchard Public Schools suffered another loss this past week when long-time Elementary Principal Donna Edge retired from service. We will certainly miss her as a part of the Blanchard Schools family, and I will especially miss her - as she made my job easier. We wish her well as she starts the next phase of life, and I know that she will always remember us, as we will always fondly think of her. From the Blanchard Public Schools family - Thank you Donna Edge for a job well done...
Wednesday, May 9, 2018
It would... make a cow quit her calf
Many ranchers and farmers have heard and uttered the phrase "It would make a cow quit her calf" as a way of communicating something which is so distasteful, that it would indeed make a cow quit her calf. This blog is typically about politics and public schools, but not necessarily the positive aspects of the relationship. Several state lawmakers were overheard during this last state session as saying that "teachers" would make a cow quit her calf, so would not run again for state office. As a matter of fact, eleven state representatives (all republican) chose to "throw in the towel" early, and not continue the fight for their constituents. The reasoning provided by several was that they were attacked by constituents (see the farewell letter written by the district 42 Rep), and found it so distasteful - that they quit.
At this point, a disclaimer of my affiliation in politics is in order:
I first registered to vote in the late 1970's as an "R", and voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980 for President of the U.S. I viewed myself as "conservative" as I believed in retaining traditional public schools as the cornerstone for America's success as a nation, and I believed the U.S. Constitution and the Bible were the rule books for living. I still do. I switched my affiliation to "D" during the mid - 1990's, as not many republicans were running for state and local offices in my county - but I still wanted to vote in primary elections. I still voted for many republicans on a national level, but also voted for many democrats, especially in state and local elections. The democratic office holders at the national level, President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, began to wrest control of our local public schools away from our local school boards and to the federal government. Corporate control of the government also began to accelerate under the Obama and Duncan administration. Many conservatives and liberals refer to this form of government as corporativism or fascism, and would truly make a cow quit her calf - so I switched back to "R" in 2014. I was disgusted with the corporate turn the democratic party was taking.
I ran for state office in 2016, as I believed the republican party was conservative, ethical, anti-corporate welfare, and all things good - just the opposite of what many republicans believed democrats were. My second cow quitting her calf moment began as I ran for office, and continues to this day:
During the 2016 campaign, a group calling itself "Stand for Children" sent questionnaires to all candidates seeking state office in Oklahoma. It was understood that if a candidate answered the questions correctly, he or she would receive campaign support from the group. I knew about the group, as it was headed by Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump's soon to be Secretary of Education. DeVos was openly critical of public schools nation-wide and believes that "school vouchers" are the wave of the future for public schools. She further believes that state lawmakers should be willing to spend public tax dollars meant for state services, for private purposes - such as public school funding to private schools and corporate charters. I trashed the questionnaire, because I wanted no part of being indebted to Betsy DeVos, if elected. I clearly understood I would receive no campaign contributions or support from the group, but what I didn't know or plan for - was the attack ads that would be sent to prospective district 42 voters, in opposition to my candidacy. Several of my republican supporters received the ads through the mail, and provided them to me. The mailers were bought and paid for by DeVos's organization "Stand for Children" (Stand for Vouchers), and cost about $3,000 per mailer sent. I received two separate cards from friends, so the total cost was approximately $6,000 for the DeVos group to slam my candidacy. My primary republican opponent for district 42 quickly disavowed any connection to the "dark money" group by claiming he knew nothing of the mailers. In fact, when I saw him a couple days after the mailers were received - he claimed he didn't know anything about them, nor had anything to do with the negative phone calls many voters were receiving at about the same time. My presumption was that he did send the questionnaire back to the "dark money" group with the knowledge that he would receive campaign support, if he answered the questions correctly. As it is illegal to coordinate one's campaign with "dark money" groups, my opponent knew the only answer was to claim ignorance, or he could have faced charges. The "paper trail" (questionaire) belonged to the dark money group, led by Betsy DeVos, and was not to be relinquished to any district attorney for consideration of potential charges.
These facts, plus the fact that several republican state lawmakers (4) were forced to resign from office because of felony charges or convictions, indeed would indeed make a cow quit her calf, so I quit the "R" party in 2017, and became Independent. I was always independent in making decisions about who I voted for in national and state elections, but finally made it official, as I now believe that for me - belonging to any organized political party will make a cow quit her calf. The easiest way to explain my independence from organized political parties is the same way Will Rogers explained it "I don't belong to any organized political party, I'm a democrat". Only I say - I don't belong to any organized political party, I'm Independent...
I never vote straight party ticket... I review the candidates for any elected office I'm eligible to vote which provides an unbiased assessment concerning the positives and negatives of each. As a matter of fact, I'll start today, since we heard from several candidates from House District 20, 27, and 42 (my home district) on Thursday, May 10, at Mid-America Tech. Center in Wayne. Those who answered questions concerning our public schools were Lyz George (D) of Blanchard, District 42; Cindy Roe (R) of Lindsay, District 42; Allie Burgin (R) of Wynnewood, District 42; Sherrie Conley (R) of Newcastle, District 20; and Jason Harris (R) of McCloud, District 27 (note - not all candidates for the three districts represented were able to attend, so we will omit those). The candidates present answered 4 questions, and all were allowed to comment on each question - but in the interest of brevity, we'll only review the responses to the first question. The question: Please state your philosophy for allowing public funding for private purposes? For clarity, the following analogy was provided - A bill which provides state tax dollars to private enterprise lands on your desk for consideration to support. An example is Oklahoma Department of Transportation funding (state tax dollars) being used to pave a private driveway (which is currently illegal), or County Road funding (property tax) being used to improve a private driveway (also illegal). An approved House Bill could legalize both of these scenarios, so the question was asked in order to get the candidates' view of directing state tax dollars (meant for state services) to their favorite private enterprise. Four candidates, both republican and democrat, answered the question identically, and to paraphrase: NO public funds for private purposes. The republican from Wynnewood, however, answered - I am FOR school choice (vouchers). It is important to note at this point that the national republican party platform for public education is pro-voucher, so any state republican candidate who wants "dark money support" from groups such as Betsy DeVos's Stand for Vouchers, will toe the corporate line. The D. 42 candidate from Wynnewood will doubtlessly reap the benefits of stating he believes in public funding for his favorite charity - private enterprise. The bad news for the other four candidates is that Stand for Vouchers is not content with just supporting their chosen candidates, but will sling mud on all others. We'll stay vigilante over the next several weeks and hopefully be able to provide a consensus pick as to which candidate will be best for our public schools and Oklahoma.
At this point, a disclaimer of my affiliation in politics is in order:
I first registered to vote in the late 1970's as an "R", and voted for Ronald Reagan in 1980 for President of the U.S. I viewed myself as "conservative" as I believed in retaining traditional public schools as the cornerstone for America's success as a nation, and I believed the U.S. Constitution and the Bible were the rule books for living. I still do. I switched my affiliation to "D" during the mid - 1990's, as not many republicans were running for state and local offices in my county - but I still wanted to vote in primary elections. I still voted for many republicans on a national level, but also voted for many democrats, especially in state and local elections. The democratic office holders at the national level, President Barack Obama and U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, began to wrest control of our local public schools away from our local school boards and to the federal government. Corporate control of the government also began to accelerate under the Obama and Duncan administration. Many conservatives and liberals refer to this form of government as corporativism or fascism, and would truly make a cow quit her calf - so I switched back to "R" in 2014. I was disgusted with the corporate turn the democratic party was taking.
I ran for state office in 2016, as I believed the republican party was conservative, ethical, anti-corporate welfare, and all things good - just the opposite of what many republicans believed democrats were. My second cow quitting her calf moment began as I ran for office, and continues to this day:
During the 2016 campaign, a group calling itself "Stand for Children" sent questionnaires to all candidates seeking state office in Oklahoma. It was understood that if a candidate answered the questions correctly, he or she would receive campaign support from the group. I knew about the group, as it was headed by Betsy DeVos, Donald Trump's soon to be Secretary of Education. DeVos was openly critical of public schools nation-wide and believes that "school vouchers" are the wave of the future for public schools. She further believes that state lawmakers should be willing to spend public tax dollars meant for state services, for private purposes - such as public school funding to private schools and corporate charters. I trashed the questionnaire, because I wanted no part of being indebted to Betsy DeVos, if elected. I clearly understood I would receive no campaign contributions or support from the group, but what I didn't know or plan for - was the attack ads that would be sent to prospective district 42 voters, in opposition to my candidacy. Several of my republican supporters received the ads through the mail, and provided them to me. The mailers were bought and paid for by DeVos's organization "Stand for Children" (Stand for Vouchers), and cost about $3,000 per mailer sent. I received two separate cards from friends, so the total cost was approximately $6,000 for the DeVos group to slam my candidacy. My primary republican opponent for district 42 quickly disavowed any connection to the "dark money" group by claiming he knew nothing of the mailers. In fact, when I saw him a couple days after the mailers were received - he claimed he didn't know anything about them, nor had anything to do with the negative phone calls many voters were receiving at about the same time. My presumption was that he did send the questionnaire back to the "dark money" group with the knowledge that he would receive campaign support, if he answered the questions correctly. As it is illegal to coordinate one's campaign with "dark money" groups, my opponent knew the only answer was to claim ignorance, or he could have faced charges. The "paper trail" (questionaire) belonged to the dark money group, led by Betsy DeVos, and was not to be relinquished to any district attorney for consideration of potential charges.
These facts, plus the fact that several republican state lawmakers (4) were forced to resign from office because of felony charges or convictions, indeed would indeed make a cow quit her calf, so I quit the "R" party in 2017, and became Independent. I was always independent in making decisions about who I voted for in national and state elections, but finally made it official, as I now believe that for me - belonging to any organized political party will make a cow quit her calf. The easiest way to explain my independence from organized political parties is the same way Will Rogers explained it "I don't belong to any organized political party, I'm a democrat". Only I say - I don't belong to any organized political party, I'm Independent...
I never vote straight party ticket... I review the candidates for any elected office I'm eligible to vote which provides an unbiased assessment concerning the positives and negatives of each. As a matter of fact, I'll start today, since we heard from several candidates from House District 20, 27, and 42 (my home district) on Thursday, May 10, at Mid-America Tech. Center in Wayne. Those who answered questions concerning our public schools were Lyz George (D) of Blanchard, District 42; Cindy Roe (R) of Lindsay, District 42; Allie Burgin (R) of Wynnewood, District 42; Sherrie Conley (R) of Newcastle, District 20; and Jason Harris (R) of McCloud, District 27 (note - not all candidates for the three districts represented were able to attend, so we will omit those). The candidates present answered 4 questions, and all were allowed to comment on each question - but in the interest of brevity, we'll only review the responses to the first question. The question: Please state your philosophy for allowing public funding for private purposes? For clarity, the following analogy was provided - A bill which provides state tax dollars to private enterprise lands on your desk for consideration to support. An example is Oklahoma Department of Transportation funding (state tax dollars) being used to pave a private driveway (which is currently illegal), or County Road funding (property tax) being used to improve a private driveway (also illegal). An approved House Bill could legalize both of these scenarios, so the question was asked in order to get the candidates' view of directing state tax dollars (meant for state services) to their favorite private enterprise. Four candidates, both republican and democrat, answered the question identically, and to paraphrase: NO public funds for private purposes. The republican from Wynnewood, however, answered - I am FOR school choice (vouchers). It is important to note at this point that the national republican party platform for public education is pro-voucher, so any state republican candidate who wants "dark money support" from groups such as Betsy DeVos's Stand for Vouchers, will toe the corporate line. The D. 42 candidate from Wynnewood will doubtlessly reap the benefits of stating he believes in public funding for his favorite charity - private enterprise. The bad news for the other four candidates is that Stand for Vouchers is not content with just supporting their chosen candidates, but will sling mud on all others. We'll stay vigilante over the next several weeks and hopefully be able to provide a consensus pick as to which candidate will be best for our public schools and Oklahoma.
Tradition - Blanchard Baseball
The elite eight Class-4A high school baseball teams have all earned spots in this years state tournament. Only three of the 2017 qualifiers are repeats for a title run this week, including Poteau, Blanchard, and the 2017 defending state champion - Heritage Hall. Our Lions will meet Vinita at 12 noon at 4 PM Thursday, May 10, at Edmond Santa Fe - barring rain delay. Our Lions know not to look past the first game of the tournament against a very good Vinita squad, as many a great team gets upset in the first round. The Blanchard Lions' record speaks for itself, with 32 wins and 3 losses, but there are teams that are just as shiny in the tournament including Tuttle, Grove, and Verdigris.
The "tradition" that embodies Blanchard high school baseball began long ago as early as the 1950's, with sports legends such as Oscar Brooks walking the hallways of Blanchard High School. The "tradition" continued throughout the next several decades as Andrew J. Terrell High School (formerly Blanchard High School) produced dozens of All-State baseball players of which several went on to play in the Major Leagues. Blanchard could have "invented" the term baseball tradition for small towns across Oklahoma, as the high school is always among the top 3 or 4 teams in its classification and continues to cast a giant shadow at the state tournament. Not only are the student athletes following in the footsteps of "legends of the spring", but they are creating their own legacy.. for kids of the future. I have no doubt that "win, lose, or draw" this weekend in the Class 4A state baseball tournament - the tradition that defines high school baseball will continue for Blanchard...
The "tradition" that embodies Blanchard high school baseball began long ago as early as the 1950's, with sports legends such as Oscar Brooks walking the hallways of Blanchard High School. The "tradition" continued throughout the next several decades as Andrew J. Terrell High School (formerly Blanchard High School) produced dozens of All-State baseball players of which several went on to play in the Major Leagues. Blanchard could have "invented" the term baseball tradition for small towns across Oklahoma, as the high school is always among the top 3 or 4 teams in its classification and continues to cast a giant shadow at the state tournament. Not only are the student athletes following in the footsteps of "legends of the spring", but they are creating their own legacy.. for kids of the future. I have no doubt that "win, lose, or draw" this weekend in the Class 4A state baseball tournament - the tradition that defines high school baseball will continue for Blanchard...
Monday, May 7, 2018
Lindsay Broomcorn Sweeps the World
The small town of Lindsay, Oklahoma, is legendary for its high school football teams and girls basketball teams of the 'fifties, 'sixties, and 'seventies. Its Leopard football teams won several class A state titles during the 1950's to the early 1960's, and laid claim to class 2A's winningest team for the decade of the seventies. Its Leopardette basketball teams won state titles in 1954, 1963, and 1969, and made several state tournament appearances during that same time period.
Lindsay is most legendary, though, for something else during the 1950's, 1960's, and into the 1970's - Broomcorn. Broomcorn was a crop grown by almost every farmer along the fertile Washita River and further south along its major tributary, Rush Creek. Many Lindsay and surrounding communities' citizens "worked broomcorn" during the hot summer months at that time, as it was about the only employment most young people could find. Most high school and jr. high kids worked all summer in the broomcorn patch as a way to earn about $10 a day, in order to buy their clothes for the following school year. Most would save around $200 to buy school necessities, shoes, jeans, and shirts or dresses, and would clean up real good for school. I can honestly say it was the hardest job I ever had, and I worked as hard getting out of working broomcorn as I did while cutting, hauling, and thrashing the crop used to make "brooms". As a matter of fact, I was very thankful when two-a-day football practices began in early August, for I was then able to use practice as an excuse for quitting the field work for the year. When I grew old enough and strong enough, I quit the broomcorn patch entirely, as I graduated to the farm executive work of "hay hauling". It was much easier, but paid more, as a high school kid could earn as much as 5 cents a bale - or $50 for a 10 hour day.
This past weekend, memories rushed back to those hot summer days spent cutting broomcorn on Rush Creek as we got to visit the Ryan Taylor Museum in Lindsay. It's usually not open to the public every day, so many Lindsay residents haven't had the opportunity to visit this museum, but I was lucky enough to see it. Carl and Cathy Dutton have put together one of the top museums in Oklahoma, which displays the old farming methods, tools, photos, and machinery of those long gone broomcorn summers around Lindsay. If the opportunity to visit comes up again, don't miss it, even if you're one who doesn't miss those days past... in the broomcorn patch.
Lindsay is most legendary, though, for something else during the 1950's, 1960's, and into the 1970's - Broomcorn. Broomcorn was a crop grown by almost every farmer along the fertile Washita River and further south along its major tributary, Rush Creek. Many Lindsay and surrounding communities' citizens "worked broomcorn" during the hot summer months at that time, as it was about the only employment most young people could find. Most high school and jr. high kids worked all summer in the broomcorn patch as a way to earn about $10 a day, in order to buy their clothes for the following school year. Most would save around $200 to buy school necessities, shoes, jeans, and shirts or dresses, and would clean up real good for school. I can honestly say it was the hardest job I ever had, and I worked as hard getting out of working broomcorn as I did while cutting, hauling, and thrashing the crop used to make "brooms". As a matter of fact, I was very thankful when two-a-day football practices began in early August, for I was then able to use practice as an excuse for quitting the field work for the year. When I grew old enough and strong enough, I quit the broomcorn patch entirely, as I graduated to the farm executive work of "hay hauling". It was much easier, but paid more, as a high school kid could earn as much as 5 cents a bale - or $50 for a 10 hour day.
This past weekend, memories rushed back to those hot summer days spent cutting broomcorn on Rush Creek as we got to visit the Ryan Taylor Museum in Lindsay. It's usually not open to the public every day, so many Lindsay residents haven't had the opportunity to visit this museum, but I was lucky enough to see it. Carl and Cathy Dutton have put together one of the top museums in Oklahoma, which displays the old farming methods, tools, photos, and machinery of those long gone broomcorn summers around Lindsay. If the opportunity to visit comes up again, don't miss it, even if you're one who doesn't miss those days past... in the broomcorn patch.
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Corporate overlords, oil and such
The corporate industry has the game figured out - Obtain enough Oklahoma voter signatures to run a ballot initiative (41,000 in the case for lowering the gross production tax and other taxes), and then convince a majority of voters that the tax reduction is for them to be voted on in November. A group calling itself Oklahoma Taxpayers Unite (OTU) has filed a referendum petition to put the revenue bill legislators approved in March - to a statewide vote. If the voters approve the "vote NO teacher pay raises", the state general fund will suffer a 7% reduction, which will result in an across-the-board reduction of 7% for all agencies. The subsequent reduction in state aid for our public schools would result in a $138 million cut, or 27% of the already approved teacher pay raise.
While this phenomenon (cutting appropriations to schools) is nothing new for Oklahoma, as class sizes will continue to increase from averages of 27 to 30 to 40 or more - this potential reduction will force many schools to close. Just as corporate retail stores have forced local businesses to close, corporate chain schools will force the closure of our local public schools.
This referendum is not about the rollback of cigarette taxes and fuel taxes as the filers of the petition claim, but all about the rollback of corporate and gross production taxes from 5% to 2%, which will cost the state about $170 million. Oklahoma taxpayers have been fooled into voting for tax reductions before, under the guise of cutting taxes for the middle class and low-income wage earners, when it was only about cutting taxes for corporations. One example is the "intangible" property tax which Oklahomans voted to "zero out" several years ago. We were fooled into believing that it was a real property tax cut, which all Oklahomans would see - but it was not. It turned out to be a corporate property tax cut, which once it was implemented, forced real property taxes to increase for the rest of us. (As many know - when one revenue source dries up, it must be replaced with another, the "another" always being the middle and lower class working families.) If Oklahomans believe the real tax reductions will be about them, they'll vote to do away with the established revenue streams - GPT, cigarette taxes, and fuel taxes. In return, most Oklahomans will not realize a tax cut, but the corporate overlords will become exponentially wealthier. That's what it's all about...
While this phenomenon (cutting appropriations to schools) is nothing new for Oklahoma, as class sizes will continue to increase from averages of 27 to 30 to 40 or more - this potential reduction will force many schools to close. Just as corporate retail stores have forced local businesses to close, corporate chain schools will force the closure of our local public schools.
This referendum is not about the rollback of cigarette taxes and fuel taxes as the filers of the petition claim, but all about the rollback of corporate and gross production taxes from 5% to 2%, which will cost the state about $170 million. Oklahoma taxpayers have been fooled into voting for tax reductions before, under the guise of cutting taxes for the middle class and low-income wage earners, when it was only about cutting taxes for corporations. One example is the "intangible" property tax which Oklahomans voted to "zero out" several years ago. We were fooled into believing that it was a real property tax cut, which all Oklahomans would see - but it was not. It turned out to be a corporate property tax cut, which once it was implemented, forced real property taxes to increase for the rest of us. (As many know - when one revenue source dries up, it must be replaced with another, the "another" always being the middle and lower class working families.) If Oklahomans believe the real tax reductions will be about them, they'll vote to do away with the established revenue streams - GPT, cigarette taxes, and fuel taxes. In return, most Oklahomans will not realize a tax cut, but the corporate overlords will become exponentially wealthier. That's what it's all about...
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