Before voting in the August 28 republican run-off election for State Superintendent of Schools - public school advocates and conservatives should read the following books: RACE to the BOTTOM (CORPORATE SCHOOL REFORM AND THE FUTURE OF PUBLIC EDUCATION) by Michael V. McGill, 2015; MYTHS & LIES THAT THREATEN AMERICA'S PUBLIC SCHOOLS (The REAL CRISIS in EDUCATION) by Berliner, Glass, and Associates, 2014; THE FIGHT FOR AMERICA'S SCHOOLS by Barbara Ferman, et al, 2017; LEADING WITH INTEGRITY (Reflections on Legal, Moral, and Ethical Issues in School Administration) by Clarence G. Oliver, Jr., Ed.D., 2015; REIGN OF ERROR (The Hoax of the Privatization Movement and the Danger to America's Public Schools) by Diane Ravitch, 2013; and The Great School Wars by Diane Ravitch, 2000.
I am particularly fond of two - Leading With Integrity and Reign of Error (I have author signed copies of both) and have read them again and again, as I have difficulty retaining material after one reading. Diane Silvers Ravitch is a historian of education, an education policy analyst, and a research professor at New York University's Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development (WIKIPEDIA). She was also a U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education under both George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, has written many books concerning our public schools and now has her own blog, Diane Ravitch's Blog.
My own beliefs concerning our Oklahoma public schools mirrors Dr. Ravitch. She and many public school advocates believe that the privatization and corporatization movements in public education will eventually be the death of our local public schools, just as the corporatization movement in American retail meant the death of many local and small businesses. Small businesses can't compete with corporate giants because of unfair advantages (corporate welfare), just as local public schools can't compete with corporate education giants for the same reason - corporate welfare.
I've analogized and equated corporate education welfare as the destructive agent for our public schools to corporate farming welfare as the destructive agent which caused the American Dust Bowl of the late 1920's and 1930's. For those who have already read the above list by now (LOL), Timothy Egan wrote an American history book - The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl in which he attributes the Dust Bowl tragedy to reckless "corporate" agricultural misuse of the land. The "misuse" of Oklahoma's top soil wasn't by local farmers though, as corporate farms (whose CEO's were called "suitcase farmers" by local residents) swooped in from the east to ultimately destroy our local farmers and ranchers. Those suitcase farmers were armed with "generous federal tax incentives", now known as corporate welfare, in order to destroy many local farmers (some literally). My own grandfather, Virgil Beckham (1888-1933), a local farmer from Clinton, died as a result of the corporate Dust Bowl. It seems Virgil had just purchased a mule at a farm sale north of Clinton and was on his way home, walking and leading the mule - when a dust storm swept in from the northwest. The storm "spooked" the mule causing it to run-away, and Virgil (unable to get his hand untied from the lead rope) was dragged to death. This is only one reason I have a particular aversion to corporate interests.
My personal philosophy toward public schools can be analogized to the poem First They Came... by Martin Niemoller, a German Lutheran pastor who spent 7 years in a Nazi concentration camp. It is about the cowardice of German intellectuals following the Nazis' rise to power and subsequent purging of their chosen targets:
First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me- and there was no one left to speak for me.
Niemoller seemed to regret "not speaking out" when the Nazis came for everyone around him. He only felt relief when the Nazis first overlooked him. He did not realize at the time that they would soon come for him also, and regretted not speaking out against them, as it would have been the "right" thing to do. When Niemoller recited his lamentation, he often changed the groups depending on his audience, supplanting socialists with industrialists - and so on. For me, this poem is very poignant as I try to remember it when advocating for specific causes. My friend, Superintendent Rick Garrison of Elk City and President of the Oklahoma Association of School Administrators, recited the poem for public schools:
First they came for the small schools, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not part of a small school.
Then they came for the rural schools, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not part of a rural school.
Then they came for the teachers, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not a teacher.
Then they came for me- and there was no one left to speak for me.
What Garrison implores all public school advocates to realize is that sooner or later, the corporate reform of our public schools will negatively affect all public schools, teachers, students, and administrators - so the time for action is now. Conservatives, liberals, and all public school advocates must vote these corporate puppets out. Facts concerning identification of national, state, and local corporate reformers, corporate puppets, and corporate office holders can be analyzed in this column/post.
Thursday, June 28, 2018
Tuesday, June 26, 2018
State Primary Analysis
With the state primary elections concluding on Tuesday, the table has been set for the general election in November - so we'll comment on the three state races which should affect our public schools:
Governor of Oklahoma: On the republican side, there will be a run-off between Mick Cornett and Kevin Stitt. The democrats have chosen Drew Edmondson, while the libertarians have picked ???, to challenge the chosen (R).
State House District 42 (Garvin and McClain County): Liz George has won the democratic nomination for the representative seat, and will be taking on the republican nominee, Cynthia Rowe in the November finals.
State Superintendent of Schools: Dr. John Cox, a school superintendent and public school advocate, will face the winner of a run-off between Linda Murphy (a public school advocate and teacher) and Joy Hofmeister (the incumbent and corporate favorite).
Remember the Chicago Daily Tribune headline on November 3, 1948 - Dewey Defeats Truman. Incumbent United States President, Harry S. Truman, actually upset the republican challenger and Governor of New York, Thomas E. Dewey in the November 2, 1948 election. We've also had to re-write this post, as several primary elections didn't turn out for the favorites. For instance, the republican governor primary turned out to be quite an upset as Todd "The Corporate Machine" Lamb did not make the run-off ! to be held on August 28. Although voters didn't hang Todd upside down in the town square (as they did Benito Mussolini, an Italian corporatist, in 1945) - Lamb's corporate campaign machine did go down to defeat.
Another upset was recorded in the state House District 42 republican primary, as Allie Burgin (C) for Corporatist, went down to defeat at the hands of Cynthia Rowe. Liz George (Blanchard school board member and public school advocate) will now be taking on the republican Rowe in the November general election.
Corporatists were also upset in the republican primary for state superintendent, as the conservative Linda Murphy scored a run-off election against the incumbent and corporate Hofmeister. The winner of the run-off on August 28 will take on public school advocate John Cox in the November general election.
Governor of Oklahoma: On the republican side, there will be a run-off between Mick Cornett and Kevin Stitt. The democrats have chosen Drew Edmondson, while the libertarians have picked ???, to challenge the chosen (R).
State House District 42 (Garvin and McClain County): Liz George has won the democratic nomination for the representative seat, and will be taking on the republican nominee, Cynthia Rowe in the November finals.
State Superintendent of Schools: Dr. John Cox, a school superintendent and public school advocate, will face the winner of a run-off between Linda Murphy (a public school advocate and teacher) and Joy Hofmeister (the incumbent and corporate favorite).
Remember the Chicago Daily Tribune headline on November 3, 1948 - Dewey Defeats Truman. Incumbent United States President, Harry S. Truman, actually upset the republican challenger and Governor of New York, Thomas E. Dewey in the November 2, 1948 election. We've also had to re-write this post, as several primary elections didn't turn out for the favorites. For instance, the republican governor primary turned out to be quite an upset as Todd "The Corporate Machine" Lamb did not make the run-off ! to be held on August 28. Although voters didn't hang Todd upside down in the town square (as they did Benito Mussolini, an Italian corporatist, in 1945) - Lamb's corporate campaign machine did go down to defeat.
Another upset was recorded in the state House District 42 republican primary, as Allie Burgin (C) for Corporatist, went down to defeat at the hands of Cynthia Rowe. Liz George (Blanchard school board member and public school advocate) will now be taking on the republican Rowe in the November general election.
Corporatists were also upset in the republican primary for state superintendent, as the conservative Linda Murphy scored a run-off election against the incumbent and corporate Hofmeister. The winner of the run-off on August 28 will take on public school advocate John Cox in the November general election.
Sunday, June 24, 2018
State Superintendent endorsement - Linda Murphy
As a local public school superintendent (Independent Party), I am attuned to the political aspects of our public schools and its effects on our teachers and students. I also have an opinion as to which candidates for state office would be best for our teachers and kids. In the republican primary for state superintendent of schools on Tuesday, it is my belief that Linda Murphy is the most qualified candidate to lead our public schools. I have studied the actions of the incumbent candidate over the past several years, and believe that actions do indeed speak louder than rhetoric for any candidate - and further believe the incumbent's actions warrant removal from office.
Clearly, Linda Murphy is the conservative choice for state superintendent - while the incumbent is a proven corporate candidate. Linda believes in local control of our public schools, while the incumbent clearly believes in state and federal control - as she's voted to replace local school boards' autonomy with the Betsy DeVos standard of public education. Linda Murphy has been a public school teacher, while the incumbent has not.
Many public school teachers and officials were on board for the dethroning of Janet Barresi in 2014, when the incumbent was voted in. However, many more now see that she was not what she campaigned on. She eventually bowed to her corporate cronies and supported several anti-teacher candidates in the 2016 state elections, proving that loyalty is a one-way street for her.
Clearly, Linda Murphy is the conservative choice for state superintendent - while the incumbent is a proven corporate candidate. Linda believes in local control of our public schools, while the incumbent clearly believes in state and federal control - as she's voted to replace local school boards' autonomy with the Betsy DeVos standard of public education. Linda Murphy has been a public school teacher, while the incumbent has not.
Many public school teachers and officials were on board for the dethroning of Janet Barresi in 2014, when the incumbent was voted in. However, many more now see that she was not what she campaigned on. She eventually bowed to her corporate cronies and supported several anti-teacher candidates in the 2016 state elections, proving that loyalty is a one-way street for her.
Thursday, June 14, 2018
District 42 Representative Tim Downing - The Farewell Letter
Many Oklahoma voters know by now that Tim Downing (R), District 42 (Garvin and McClain County) Representative - decided to step down from his seat and not run again this year. After only one year and nine months "on the job" - Mr. Downing announced he had "had enough" of what he called one of the most challenging terms in our state's history. He went on to lament that his term in office was filled with many serious challenges, intense policy battles, and included year-round special sessions and stated "I took more votes on tax proposals in one term than most historic members would have taken in decades of service." Tim goes on: "I will be leaving this term counting each (Senate and House) member a dear friend and colleague. ... as we have watched the fracturing of our state from 'people' choosing to attack instead of befriend those that disagree with them."
While I don't believe Mr. Downing resigned his seat for the same reasons many friends did - felony convictions and/or moral turptitude allegations, he does provide a hint of the reasons in his "farewell letter". At this point, I believe it's fair to say that Mr. Downing had the support of many teachers and even the State Superintendent of Schools, Joy Hofmeister - and was provided a "Golden Apple" by one public school facebook group (as a sign that he truly supports teachers and public school students). He had the support of just about every group imaginable, from (questionable) public school supporters.. to teachers.. to conservatives.. to liberals.. to corporate interests and dark money - so why did he resign after only one term in office?
The job of being a state representative was evidently much more difficult that he thought it would be, and much harder work was involved for the meager pay. (He only received an annual salary of approximately $60,000 for "serving" his constituents.) Mr. Downing also collected almost $150,000 from mostly corporate support for his campaign account, and around $40,000 in "dark money" support - of which he retained around $100,000 after resigning. Some people may question his assertion that the job was just "too difficult" for the money.
Another reason for his early resignation may be because he felt "attacked" by some people, just for doing his job. The "attackers" he referred to are purposely vague and still unknown, but may have forced his resignation - however, they could have been:
1) Teachers - Documents provide evidence that many teachers and public school officials supported Mr. Downing (both financially and verbally) when he campaigned for the seat in 2015 and 2016. These same teachers may have felt betrayed by Downing's multiple "No Votes" for teacher salary increases during his short term. Many attempted to "visit" him at the capitol during the "teacher walk-out" in order to question his motives behind his "no teacher support" votes - but most didn't see him. A few did, however, and Mr. Downing may have felt "attacked" by their questions - so decided to resign.
2) Former Math Teachers - Mr. Downing's former high school math teachers may have reason to attack him - since he wholly embarrassed them during the last session. He, along with many of his corporate conspirators, exhibited virtually no math skills in attempting to balance the state budget this year. It's no small wonder Tim felt that his term was filled with many serious challenges (math homework)... and took more votes (story problems) on tax proposals in one term than most historic members would have taken in decades of service.
2) School Superintendents (bureaucrats) - In 2016, prior to the June elections, Tim Downing was asked "Do you think our public schools are top-heavy?" His answer was "Yes, as an example - the superintendents in McClain and Garvin County all earn $xxx" (indicating excessive expenditures). Mr. Downing may believe his answer rankled some school superintendents, but none called it to his attention - as it was only political rhetoric. The fact is that Mr. Downing knows public schools are not top-heavy, as superintendent expenditures (salaries) only average about 1% of all school expenditures. It is very unlikely that a school bureaucrat attacked Mr. Downing, although he may believe so.
3) Corporate and Dark Money groups - Several corporate and dark money groups may also have reason to attack Tim, as they may believe they didn't get their money's worth for investing in his campaign. Tim Downing, remember, ended his reign early, not spending over $100,000 in corporate support. He may have sent their contributions back, however, averting a possible attack. Then again, no, not likely.
4) County Road officials and County residents - Those County Commissioners and County road residents may have reason to attack Mr. Downing, as he and his predecessor continually voted to transfer $236 million from the county road improvement fund.. to the state. These acts have left our rural county roads and bridges in shambles, and many people are upset.
5) Conservative groups - Several conservative groups have reason to be upset with Mr. Downing, as he campaigned - masquerading as a "conservative", but has proven time and time again to be in favor of corporate welfare and is in reality.. a "corporatist".
6) The Lost Ogle - While Tim Downing knows The Lost Ogle did not attack him, he may want his constituents to believe it did. (The Lost Ogle takes a satirical view of the stupid actions many lawmakers take.) Many legislators resent The Lost Ogle's poking fun at them, but many others believe any publicity is better than no publicity, so Mr. Downing may want his constituents to believe the attacker was The Lost Ogle.
A review of the list of possible attackers and motives reveals that it could have been many that actually attacked Mr. Downing, and provided reason for his early resignation... mybackpagewithjimbeckhamblog.blogspot.com/2018/06/house-district-42-candidate-analysis.html
While I don't believe Mr. Downing resigned his seat for the same reasons many friends did - felony convictions and/or moral turptitude allegations, he does provide a hint of the reasons in his "farewell letter". At this point, I believe it's fair to say that Mr. Downing had the support of many teachers and even the State Superintendent of Schools, Joy Hofmeister - and was provided a "Golden Apple" by one public school facebook group (as a sign that he truly supports teachers and public school students). He had the support of just about every group imaginable, from (questionable) public school supporters.. to teachers.. to conservatives.. to liberals.. to corporate interests and dark money - so why did he resign after only one term in office?
The job of being a state representative was evidently much more difficult that he thought it would be, and much harder work was involved for the meager pay. (He only received an annual salary of approximately $60,000 for "serving" his constituents.) Mr. Downing also collected almost $150,000 from mostly corporate support for his campaign account, and around $40,000 in "dark money" support - of which he retained around $100,000 after resigning. Some people may question his assertion that the job was just "too difficult" for the money.
Another reason for his early resignation may be because he felt "attacked" by some people, just for doing his job. The "attackers" he referred to are purposely vague and still unknown, but may have forced his resignation - however, they could have been:
1) Teachers - Documents provide evidence that many teachers and public school officials supported Mr. Downing (both financially and verbally) when he campaigned for the seat in 2015 and 2016. These same teachers may have felt betrayed by Downing's multiple "No Votes" for teacher salary increases during his short term. Many attempted to "visit" him at the capitol during the "teacher walk-out" in order to question his motives behind his "no teacher support" votes - but most didn't see him. A few did, however, and Mr. Downing may have felt "attacked" by their questions - so decided to resign.
2) Former Math Teachers - Mr. Downing's former high school math teachers may have reason to attack him - since he wholly embarrassed them during the last session. He, along with many of his corporate conspirators, exhibited virtually no math skills in attempting to balance the state budget this year. It's no small wonder Tim felt that his term was filled with many serious challenges (math homework)... and took more votes (story problems) on tax proposals in one term than most historic members would have taken in decades of service.
2) School Superintendents (bureaucrats) - In 2016, prior to the June elections, Tim Downing was asked "Do you think our public schools are top-heavy?" His answer was "Yes, as an example - the superintendents in McClain and Garvin County all earn $xxx" (indicating excessive expenditures). Mr. Downing may believe his answer rankled some school superintendents, but none called it to his attention - as it was only political rhetoric. The fact is that Mr. Downing knows public schools are not top-heavy, as superintendent expenditures (salaries) only average about 1% of all school expenditures. It is very unlikely that a school bureaucrat attacked Mr. Downing, although he may believe so.
3) Corporate and Dark Money groups - Several corporate and dark money groups may also have reason to attack Tim, as they may believe they didn't get their money's worth for investing in his campaign. Tim Downing, remember, ended his reign early, not spending over $100,000 in corporate support. He may have sent their contributions back, however, averting a possible attack. Then again, no, not likely.
4) County Road officials and County residents - Those County Commissioners and County road residents may have reason to attack Mr. Downing, as he and his predecessor continually voted to transfer $236 million from the county road improvement fund.. to the state. These acts have left our rural county roads and bridges in shambles, and many people are upset.
5) Conservative groups - Several conservative groups have reason to be upset with Mr. Downing, as he campaigned - masquerading as a "conservative", but has proven time and time again to be in favor of corporate welfare and is in reality.. a "corporatist".
6) The Lost Ogle - While Tim Downing knows The Lost Ogle did not attack him, he may want his constituents to believe it did. (The Lost Ogle takes a satirical view of the stupid actions many lawmakers take.) Many legislators resent The Lost Ogle's poking fun at them, but many others believe any publicity is better than no publicity, so Mr. Downing may want his constituents to believe the attacker was The Lost Ogle.
A review of the list of possible attackers and motives reveals that it could have been many that actually attacked Mr. Downing, and provided reason for his early resignation... mybackpagewithjimbeckhamblog.blogspot.com/2018/06/house-district-42-candidate-analysis.html
Tuesday, June 12, 2018
House District 42 Candidate Analysis (3rd in a series)
Since I live and work in House District 42 - I'll review the candidates positions for our public schools for that district only.. in the interest of brevity:
Liz George (D) - Liz George currently is a Blanchard Board of Education member, so is the favored candidate for many teachers and public school supporters in District 42 (McClain and Garvin County) - whether democrat, republican, libertarian, or independent. Many conservative voters like her because she believes in local control of our public schools.. not state or federal control, and she is against school consolidation and corporate acquisition of public school funding. Her children attend public school, so Liz George wants the best and brightest teachers in the classroom. Liz "knows" school funding and finance, so will work hard to ensure that every education dollar is spent wisely. She has the background to fully understand school law (An attorney), and has the tools to help schools avoid the "corporate welfare" trap of school privatization.
Tara Jo Thompson (D) - Tara Jo Thompson, concerning our public schools, states ..."We have protesters rallying support at our capitol for public education funding, while we have been funneling education funding from the Lottery and Gaming Commissions into Charter and Private Schools - instead of where it needs to go... I will demand that we give our teachers the tools and resources that they need to educate our children".
Many teachers and public school supporters believe the above candidates will be better for public schools and students, than the following:
Allie Burgin (R) - The only comment Allie has made concerning our public schools is "I am for 'school choice'." Many teachers (R and D) and conservatives believe that the "school choice" (vouchers to private schools) philosophy is all about the "Betsy DeVos" federal corporate plan for spending public tax dollars on private services. It is among the corporate tenets for reforming our public schools, so "school choice" is really about state legislators' choice of spending public funds for the privatization of schools. If any state candidate for the Senate or House agrees to vote for privatization of our local public schools, or help proliferate corporate charter schools - he or she may be the recipient of $thousands in dark money support from our friend - Betsy DeVos (DeVos is the former CEO of the dark money group 'Stand for Children'.
While there is no incumbent running for the District 42 seat (Tim Downing resigned after only one two-year term for reasons unknown), Allie Burgin is the closest candidate to being an incumbent - since Tim Downing "passed him the baton" in his "farewell" letter. Most public school officials and teachers believe Mr. Burgin will attempt to do the same job Tim attempted to do, while in office. We'll examine the votes and support of Tim Downing during his short stay at the capitol to find out what Allie is likely to support.
1) Tim Downing co-sponsored a bill which would have blocked incarceration reform, thereby helping to incarcerate even more Oklahomans. Oklahoma already holds the world record for imprisonment of citizens. Burgin is likely to do the same, as he's received the corporate baton.
2) Tim Downing voted "no" teacher pay raises two times during his term, and verbally expressed no support for the one-cent sales tax for teacher salaries before taking office.(As Superintendent Hofmeister, however, said about Tim - "Tim Downing really does support teachers and students".) Allie Burgin is also not likely to support teachers.
3) Tim Downing, during his short two year term: voted to continue raiding the County Improvement for Roads and Bridges (CIRB) fund, thereby ensuring that our Garvin and McClain County roads will continue deteriorating. His vote helped transfer $236 million from our county roads fund - to state highways and roads. The issue for his District 42 constituents is that most state highways and roads in Garvin and McClain County saw no improvement (the 4-mile dangerous stretch of Highway 76 North of Lindsay, the Bankhead Highway east and west of Elmore City, etc...) as a result of Downing's gift, courtesy of our county roads. Allie Burgin is likely to vote to continue raiding the CIRB fund.
4) Tim Downing campaigned on the premise that he would "fight tax increases" for his constituents in District 42. While he did vote against all tax increases for teacher pay raises, balancing the state budget, and providing funding for state services... he never offered any other viable alternatives for solving one state crisis after another, and providing appropriate funding for education (except to eliminate bureaucracy "superintendents") and transportation (except to raid county road funding for state road funding). Allie Burgin is thought to possess the same "math skills" as Tim Downing, so taxes are likely to increase if Burgin is elected.
To find out more about how Allie Burgin is likely to govern, see more of Tim Downing's "farewell" facts.
Cynthia Roe (R) - Cindy's campaign website espouses only one statement concerning our public schools: Cindy supports our local schools and wants to see more dollars reach the classroom, and not wasted on bureaucracy. To many teachers, public school officials, and conservatives, this statement appears to be the standard corporate line for public education. For instance, "bureaucracy" can be interpreted to mean "superintendents", which is the corporate "code" for corporate education reform. When asked about "support for school vouchers", however, Cindy answered that she opposes public funds for private purposes - which is diametrically opposed to the corporate philosophy for our public schools. Of the two primary (R) candidates for our public schools, Cynthia Roe and Allie Burgin, Cynthia is definitely the public school choice for most republican teachers and school officials.
This District 42 analysis of the primary state elections next Tuesday, June 26, is the last in a three-part (state office) series. Many teachers and public school advocates support candidates from every party - republicans, democrats, libertarians, and independents alike. After the primaries on June 26, we'll take a look at the remaining candidates and analyze their public school positions for further enlightenment.
Update, June 21, 2018 - I'll now make my primary predictions for the three state office elections, to be held on Tuesday, June 26:
State Superintendent of Schools primary - It's really too close to call between the incumbent Joy Hofmeister - and the top challenger Linda Murphy. While many public school employees support Joy to be re-elected, many more have been disenchanted by her apparent non-support of our public schools and support of the "corporate" school reform movement, vouchers, charters, etc... Since public school teachers and officials will make up only about 5% of those voting on Tuesday, it is very doubtful that our public schools will have a big impact on the outcome of this primary.
Governor primary - The republican primary will probably result in a run-off between Todd Lamb and either Mick Cornett or Kevin Stitt. The favorite teacher and public school advocate candidate Gary Jones has only been polling at 5%, which is matched by the likely teacher vote at 5%, so don't look for him to make the run-off. In the Libertarian primary, the winner will likely be Joe Exotic, while Drew Edmondson will win the democratic primary.
House District 42 primary - Liz George will likely be the democratic nominee for House District 42, while Allie Burgin will win the republican primary over Cindy Rowe. While Allie is a "corporate" republican and has the most money to spend for campaigning, Cindy Rowe doesn't have much financial support and only has the support of constituent voters and non-voters. Most people know that money beats good intentions almost every time.
Liz George (D) - Liz George currently is a Blanchard Board of Education member, so is the favored candidate for many teachers and public school supporters in District 42 (McClain and Garvin County) - whether democrat, republican, libertarian, or independent. Many conservative voters like her because she believes in local control of our public schools.. not state or federal control, and she is against school consolidation and corporate acquisition of public school funding. Her children attend public school, so Liz George wants the best and brightest teachers in the classroom. Liz "knows" school funding and finance, so will work hard to ensure that every education dollar is spent wisely. She has the background to fully understand school law (An attorney), and has the tools to help schools avoid the "corporate welfare" trap of school privatization.
Tara Jo Thompson (D) - Tara Jo Thompson, concerning our public schools, states ..."We have protesters rallying support at our capitol for public education funding, while we have been funneling education funding from the Lottery and Gaming Commissions into Charter and Private Schools - instead of where it needs to go... I will demand that we give our teachers the tools and resources that they need to educate our children".
Many teachers and public school supporters believe the above candidates will be better for public schools and students, than the following:
Allie Burgin (R) - The only comment Allie has made concerning our public schools is "I am for 'school choice'." Many teachers (R and D) and conservatives believe that the "school choice" (vouchers to private schools) philosophy is all about the "Betsy DeVos" federal corporate plan for spending public tax dollars on private services. It is among the corporate tenets for reforming our public schools, so "school choice" is really about state legislators' choice of spending public funds for the privatization of schools. If any state candidate for the Senate or House agrees to vote for privatization of our local public schools, or help proliferate corporate charter schools - he or she may be the recipient of $thousands in dark money support from our friend - Betsy DeVos (DeVos is the former CEO of the dark money group 'Stand for Children'.
While there is no incumbent running for the District 42 seat (Tim Downing resigned after only one two-year term for reasons unknown), Allie Burgin is the closest candidate to being an incumbent - since Tim Downing "passed him the baton" in his "farewell" letter. Most public school officials and teachers believe Mr. Burgin will attempt to do the same job Tim attempted to do, while in office. We'll examine the votes and support of Tim Downing during his short stay at the capitol to find out what Allie is likely to support.
1) Tim Downing co-sponsored a bill which would have blocked incarceration reform, thereby helping to incarcerate even more Oklahomans. Oklahoma already holds the world record for imprisonment of citizens. Burgin is likely to do the same, as he's received the corporate baton.
2) Tim Downing voted "no" teacher pay raises two times during his term, and verbally expressed no support for the one-cent sales tax for teacher salaries before taking office.(As Superintendent Hofmeister, however, said about Tim - "Tim Downing really does support teachers and students".) Allie Burgin is also not likely to support teachers.
3) Tim Downing, during his short two year term: voted to continue raiding the County Improvement for Roads and Bridges (CIRB) fund, thereby ensuring that our Garvin and McClain County roads will continue deteriorating. His vote helped transfer $236 million from our county roads fund - to state highways and roads. The issue for his District 42 constituents is that most state highways and roads in Garvin and McClain County saw no improvement (the 4-mile dangerous stretch of Highway 76 North of Lindsay, the Bankhead Highway east and west of Elmore City, etc...) as a result of Downing's gift, courtesy of our county roads. Allie Burgin is likely to vote to continue raiding the CIRB fund.
4) Tim Downing campaigned on the premise that he would "fight tax increases" for his constituents in District 42. While he did vote against all tax increases for teacher pay raises, balancing the state budget, and providing funding for state services... he never offered any other viable alternatives for solving one state crisis after another, and providing appropriate funding for education (except to eliminate bureaucracy "superintendents") and transportation (except to raid county road funding for state road funding). Allie Burgin is thought to possess the same "math skills" as Tim Downing, so taxes are likely to increase if Burgin is elected.
To find out more about how Allie Burgin is likely to govern, see more of Tim Downing's "farewell" facts.
Cynthia Roe (R) - Cindy's campaign website espouses only one statement concerning our public schools: Cindy supports our local schools and wants to see more dollars reach the classroom, and not wasted on bureaucracy. To many teachers, public school officials, and conservatives, this statement appears to be the standard corporate line for public education. For instance, "bureaucracy" can be interpreted to mean "superintendents", which is the corporate "code" for corporate education reform. When asked about "support for school vouchers", however, Cindy answered that she opposes public funds for private purposes - which is diametrically opposed to the corporate philosophy for our public schools. Of the two primary (R) candidates for our public schools, Cynthia Roe and Allie Burgin, Cynthia is definitely the public school choice for most republican teachers and school officials.
This District 42 analysis of the primary state elections next Tuesday, June 26, is the last in a three-part (state office) series. Many teachers and public school advocates support candidates from every party - republicans, democrats, libertarians, and independents alike. After the primaries on June 26, we'll take a look at the remaining candidates and analyze their public school positions for further enlightenment.
Update, June 21, 2018 - I'll now make my primary predictions for the three state office elections, to be held on Tuesday, June 26:
State Superintendent of Schools primary - It's really too close to call between the incumbent Joy Hofmeister - and the top challenger Linda Murphy. While many public school employees support Joy to be re-elected, many more have been disenchanted by her apparent non-support of our public schools and support of the "corporate" school reform movement, vouchers, charters, etc... Since public school teachers and officials will make up only about 5% of those voting on Tuesday, it is very doubtful that our public schools will have a big impact on the outcome of this primary.
Governor primary - The republican primary will probably result in a run-off between Todd Lamb and either Mick Cornett or Kevin Stitt. The favorite teacher and public school advocate candidate Gary Jones has only been polling at 5%, which is matched by the likely teacher vote at 5%, so don't look for him to make the run-off. In the Libertarian primary, the winner will likely be Joe Exotic, while Drew Edmondson will win the democratic primary.
House District 42 primary - Liz George will likely be the democratic nominee for House District 42, while Allie Burgin will win the republican primary over Cindy Rowe. While Allie is a "corporate" republican and has the most money to spend for campaigning, Cindy Rowe doesn't have much financial support and only has the support of constituent voters and non-voters. Most people know that money beats good intentions almost every time.
Monday, June 11, 2018
Todd's Education Plan for Oklahoma
Todd Lamb, republican candidate for governor, has a plan for our public schools: ... reduce administrative costs so we get a minimum of 65% of every education dollar spent directly with teachers in the classroom. Mr. Lamb goes on to say ... currently fewer than ten of Oklahoma's more than 500 school districts are spending at least 65% of their education dollars in the classroom. The low number of districts reaching even that modest threshold potentially understates how inefficiently our schools finances are being spent. One study shows that on a statewide basis, less than 45% of total education expenses went to instruction in 2016... In-classroom expenditures include teacher salaries, textbooks, and smartboards.
Spending so much of our education dollars outside the classroom is simply unacceptable and must stop. Oklahoma must stop growing administrative overhead in our schools and focus on the two most important people in the learning process: the teachers and students... Oklahoma must continually make certain our teachers have a competitive salary. Todd Lamb wants the best and brightest teachers in Oklahoma and knows we can pay our teachers more by dedicating more of our existing education funding to the classroom.
While this education plan sounds great to many Oklahoma voters - many teachers and other public school supporters question its authenticity and even believe Todd Lamb is pandering to his corporate base by lying, cheating, and stealing. The facts speak for themselves when examining the details of Lamb's education plan:
Gary Jones (R) "conservative candidate for governor" said that Lamb's 65% plan for our public schools - has been "co-opted" from national and international corporate interests and "called it his own". Jones says that Lamb Chop "wants to limit administrative costs of others, that doesn't apply to the Lt. Governor" (Lamb's job). Gary Jones is a Certified Public Accountant and the current State Auditor and Inspector, and goes on to say "You don't have to be a CPA to know what being chauffeured around in a state-owned vehicle, driven by a highway patrolman, attending campaign fundraisers, all the while picking up campaign contributions, doesn't pass the smell test. The use of taxpayer funds to campaign for public office is a misuse of state resources regardless of who it is." Jones also says that Lamb's style of travel costs taxpayers upwards of $250,000 annually - which adds up to nearly $2,000,000.00 for his 8-year term as Lt. Governor. (Jones made these comments in response to Lamb running a TV ad saying that "some school administrators receive a "car allowance" while classroom teachers and students struggle with torn textbooks, etc...) Hill folk down on Rush Creek, of which I proudly claim, call Lamb's style of campaign rhetoric - B.S.
Lamb's recycled plan for our public schools has been copied (and pasted) from "The 65% (final) solution" of the corporate reform movement for school consolidation (now led by Betsy DeVos). In Betsy's... (I mean Todd's) plan, since a high percentage of school expenditures is for administrative costs - simply reducing the number of school administrators will "magically" transfer school funding to teacher pay raises, etc..., and the only way to reduce the number of school administrators is through school consolidation. According to Lamb, it's just good 'ole common sense. The only problem with the Betsy/Mary/Todd Consolidation Plan to rid schools of administrative costs - is that public schools in Oklahoma are already limited for administrative expenditures (6% and 8% of total expenditures, depending on the number of students). The Betsy/Mary/Todd 65% Final Solution Plan
(Note: Mary Fallin ordered schools to spend at least 60% in the classroom last September) would have made more sense to read "... reduce administrative costs so we get a minimum of 95% of every education dollar spent directly with teachers in the classroom." It doesn't take a Ph.D. in school funding to realize that Lamb is no math wizard (although he did stay at a Holiday Inn last night). Gary Watts explains Todd's 65% final solution much better than I can in his blog post Lamb Pulls Wool Over His Own Eyes.
Fact: Superintendent salaries make up about 1% of all education expenditures in Oklahoma.
Todd Lamb says "With an appropriated budget of 2.9 billion dollars for the upcoming fiscal year, increasing the amount of spending in the classroom by just 1%, we can increase dollars spent on instruction by 29 million dollars." Todd Lamb, through the use of rhetoric and sometimes outright lies, has been trying to convince conservatives that the education problem can be solved by eliminating school superintendents and consolidating our public schools. Todd is betting that many voters who read his plan for education (or listen to his rhetoric), do not understand the facts concerning school funding and finance. He may be right, as only teachers and a few conservative voters (about 5%) really do see his poor math skills (but high political skills) - so he may still be elected...
Spending so much of our education dollars outside the classroom is simply unacceptable and must stop. Oklahoma must stop growing administrative overhead in our schools and focus on the two most important people in the learning process: the teachers and students... Oklahoma must continually make certain our teachers have a competitive salary. Todd Lamb wants the best and brightest teachers in Oklahoma and knows we can pay our teachers more by dedicating more of our existing education funding to the classroom.
While this education plan sounds great to many Oklahoma voters - many teachers and other public school supporters question its authenticity and even believe Todd Lamb is pandering to his corporate base by lying, cheating, and stealing. The facts speak for themselves when examining the details of Lamb's education plan:
Gary Jones (R) "conservative candidate for governor" said that Lamb's 65% plan for our public schools - has been "co-opted" from national and international corporate interests and "called it his own". Jones says that Lamb Chop "wants to limit administrative costs of others, that doesn't apply to the Lt. Governor" (Lamb's job). Gary Jones is a Certified Public Accountant and the current State Auditor and Inspector, and goes on to say "You don't have to be a CPA to know what being chauffeured around in a state-owned vehicle, driven by a highway patrolman, attending campaign fundraisers, all the while picking up campaign contributions, doesn't pass the smell test. The use of taxpayer funds to campaign for public office is a misuse of state resources regardless of who it is." Jones also says that Lamb's style of travel costs taxpayers upwards of $250,000 annually - which adds up to nearly $2,000,000.00 for his 8-year term as Lt. Governor. (Jones made these comments in response to Lamb running a TV ad saying that "some school administrators receive a "car allowance" while classroom teachers and students struggle with torn textbooks, etc...) Hill folk down on Rush Creek, of which I proudly claim, call Lamb's style of campaign rhetoric - B.S.
Lamb's recycled plan for our public schools has been copied (and pasted) from "The 65% (final) solution" of the corporate reform movement for school consolidation (now led by Betsy DeVos). In Betsy's... (I mean Todd's) plan, since a high percentage of school expenditures is for administrative costs - simply reducing the number of school administrators will "magically" transfer school funding to teacher pay raises, etc..., and the only way to reduce the number of school administrators is through school consolidation. According to Lamb, it's just good 'ole common sense. The only problem with the Betsy/Mary/Todd Consolidation Plan to rid schools of administrative costs - is that public schools in Oklahoma are already limited for administrative expenditures (6% and 8% of total expenditures, depending on the number of students). The Betsy/Mary/Todd 65% Final Solution Plan
(Note: Mary Fallin ordered schools to spend at least 60% in the classroom last September) would have made more sense to read "... reduce administrative costs so we get a minimum of 95% of every education dollar spent directly with teachers in the classroom." It doesn't take a Ph.D. in school funding to realize that Lamb is no math wizard (although he did stay at a Holiday Inn last night). Gary Watts explains Todd's 65% final solution much better than I can in his blog post Lamb Pulls Wool Over His Own Eyes.
Fact: Superintendent salaries make up about 1% of all education expenditures in Oklahoma.
Todd Lamb says "With an appropriated budget of 2.9 billion dollars for the upcoming fiscal year, increasing the amount of spending in the classroom by just 1%, we can increase dollars spent on instruction by 29 million dollars." Todd Lamb, through the use of rhetoric and sometimes outright lies, has been trying to convince conservatives that the education problem can be solved by eliminating school superintendents and consolidating our public schools. Todd is betting that many voters who read his plan for education (or listen to his rhetoric), do not understand the facts concerning school funding and finance. He may be right, as only teachers and a few conservative voters (about 5%) really do see his poor math skills (but high political skills) - so he may still be elected...
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Governor Candidate Analysis - (2nd in a series)
I'm (I) party affiliated so believe I can be unbiased in assessing the candidates for governor. I equally dislike all major parties.The 2018 state primary election pits two democrats, ten republicans, three libertarians, and no independents in the race for the governor's seat. For the sake of brevity, while we have read all 15 candidates' philosophies concerning education and our traditional public schools - we will limit our analysis to only those candidates in the same primary with opposing views. Like the republican primary for the State Superintendent of schools the (R) primary for governor seems to have been divided between conservative candidates and corporate candidates, so we'll start with a conservative with respect to political philosophy...
Gary Jones (R) - Gary Jones is a CPA with math skills and the present State Auditor and Inspector, which is perhaps why the corporate establishment (R) really doesn't like him. It is the reason, however, that many republican conservatives and teachers/public school officials (R) do like him. Mr. Jones illuminated the Oklahoma Attorney General's office several years ago, and helped uncover the waste and misspending going on there. This was well before AG Pruitt left Oklahoma and began wasting taxpayer dollars at the federal level (see recent news releases). Gary Jones is the favorite republican candidate for governor, for teachers (R) and public school administrators (R), because he is a "straight-shooter" and has the ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Corporate republicans (the opposite of conservative republicans) can take heart that republican teachers and conservatives may not make much of an impact on the republican primary for the following reason: Of the registered Oklahoma voters, registered (R) teachers who will vote in the governor election will be about 6,000. This "teacher support" represents about 2.4% of republicans who may vote in the election. While estimates may be too low for (R) teacher turnout, it can't be much higher. There have actually been several "come-from-behind" wins for conservatism over corporatism. For instance, early on in 2015, State Question 777 (the corporate farm bill) had major corporations leading in the polls by a two-to-one margin. Many election experts declared our local farmers and ranchers politically dead. A surge of anti-corporate, conservative adrenaline kicked in during the last two weeks before the election - and produced one of the greatest upsets of corporatism in our states history. The message from (R) teachers and conservatives to Gary Jones is "it just may happen"...
The corporate leader among republicans appears to be...
Todd Lamb (R) - As the current lieutenant governor for Oklahoma, Lamb has had the opportunity to accrue $millions from corporate entities in his campaign war chest... in order to run for and win the governor's seat. This fact alone will make it very difficult for any other candidate to beat him, as he has the corporate resources to run TV commercial after commercial (like a gangster peppering his rivals with a "tommy gun"). Many Oklahomans have seen his multiple TV ads, which decry that the real lack of appropriate public school funding is because of "some administrators getting auto allowances". While this may be true if school administrators received $millions in transportation costs, such as Todd Lamb received (at taxpayer expense) for the last eight years - the grand total of all school administrative transportation costs doesn't equal the money spent by Lamb... to travel the world. While it's doubtful that Mr. Lamb has used his $millions in his campaign account to pay personal expenses, like several other corporate politicians have (see Senator Kyle Loveless) - he has been able to express his disdain for public education (in the opinion of many conservative educators) by "buying" misleading ads. Many Oklahomans now know (thanks to his latest ad) that Mr. Lamb's "plan" for our public schools is that 65% of school funding will be spent in the public school classroom. To those not fully understanding school funding and finance, this sounds like a very good idea... but probably doesn't go far enough. "How about 90%, Mr. Lamb?" Mr. Lamb does know enough about percentages and public school finance - to understand that probably 99% of those outside of public schools (and the majority of those who will receive his message) will believe he has a great plan for our public schools. The lesson that Todd Lamb seems to have learned over the last eight years in office is that campaign rhetoric and misleading ads do work to get elected. Actually, chapter one in the corporate textbook for "winning elections" could be entitled Follow the Money, and chapter two could be Always Avoid Facts and Be Evasive. (See more of Todd's education plan here.)
As many conservatives, teachers, and republicans believe - there is a clear distinction between conservative republican candidates on the right and corporate republican candidates on the far left. As a matter of fact, former Italian dictator and corporatist during World War II - Benito Mussolini, once said "Corporatism is to the left of liberalism for political philosophy". Based on candidate research, conservative republicans have a choice for the office of governor - either conservative Gary Jones or corporate Todd Lamb...
Since the democratic nomination for governor appears to non-competitive according to Sooner Poll, we'll move on to the Libertarian primary, which has three entrants. We'll review only one though, in the interest of brevity...
Joe Exotic (L) - Like most libertarians, Joe Exotic believes in low taxes for everyone (not just corporate) and no government interference in the personal lives of citizens. He is also conservative (which is why he appeals to many conservative educators) and does not belong to any "big corporate club" to pull strings - like several republican candidates do. His philosophy toward our public schools is simply to "get the state and federal government out of our schools", as they have no business in directing public funds to private and corporate entities. This is a philosophy shared by the republican candidate for state superintendent, Linda Murphy, as well, and the reason that many conservatives and teachers believe Joe Exotic would make a good governor..
Note: the state superintendent analysis can be found here,and the analysis of candidates for House District 42 can be read here.
Gary Jones (R) - Gary Jones is a CPA with math skills and the present State Auditor and Inspector, which is perhaps why the corporate establishment (R) really doesn't like him. It is the reason, however, that many republican conservatives and teachers/public school officials (R) do like him. Mr. Jones illuminated the Oklahoma Attorney General's office several years ago, and helped uncover the waste and misspending going on there. This was well before AG Pruitt left Oklahoma and began wasting taxpayer dollars at the federal level (see recent news releases). Gary Jones is the favorite republican candidate for governor, for teachers (R) and public school administrators (R), because he is a "straight-shooter" and has the ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. Corporate republicans (the opposite of conservative republicans) can take heart that republican teachers and conservatives may not make much of an impact on the republican primary for the following reason: Of the registered Oklahoma voters, registered (R) teachers who will vote in the governor election will be about 6,000. This "teacher support" represents about 2.4% of republicans who may vote in the election. While estimates may be too low for (R) teacher turnout, it can't be much higher. There have actually been several "come-from-behind" wins for conservatism over corporatism. For instance, early on in 2015, State Question 777 (the corporate farm bill) had major corporations leading in the polls by a two-to-one margin. Many election experts declared our local farmers and ranchers politically dead. A surge of anti-corporate, conservative adrenaline kicked in during the last two weeks before the election - and produced one of the greatest upsets of corporatism in our states history. The message from (R) teachers and conservatives to Gary Jones is "it just may happen"...
The corporate leader among republicans appears to be...
Todd Lamb (R) - As the current lieutenant governor for Oklahoma, Lamb has had the opportunity to accrue $millions from corporate entities in his campaign war chest... in order to run for and win the governor's seat. This fact alone will make it very difficult for any other candidate to beat him, as he has the corporate resources to run TV commercial after commercial (like a gangster peppering his rivals with a "tommy gun"). Many Oklahomans have seen his multiple TV ads, which decry that the real lack of appropriate public school funding is because of "some administrators getting auto allowances". While this may be true if school administrators received $millions in transportation costs, such as Todd Lamb received (at taxpayer expense) for the last eight years - the grand total of all school administrative transportation costs doesn't equal the money spent by Lamb... to travel the world. While it's doubtful that Mr. Lamb has used his $millions in his campaign account to pay personal expenses, like several other corporate politicians have (see Senator Kyle Loveless) - he has been able to express his disdain for public education (in the opinion of many conservative educators) by "buying" misleading ads. Many Oklahomans now know (thanks to his latest ad) that Mr. Lamb's "plan" for our public schools is that 65% of school funding will be spent in the public school classroom. To those not fully understanding school funding and finance, this sounds like a very good idea... but probably doesn't go far enough. "How about 90%, Mr. Lamb?" Mr. Lamb does know enough about percentages and public school finance - to understand that probably 99% of those outside of public schools (and the majority of those who will receive his message) will believe he has a great plan for our public schools. The lesson that Todd Lamb seems to have learned over the last eight years in office is that campaign rhetoric and misleading ads do work to get elected. Actually, chapter one in the corporate textbook for "winning elections" could be entitled Follow the Money, and chapter two could be Always Avoid Facts and Be Evasive. (See more of Todd's education plan here.)
As many conservatives, teachers, and republicans believe - there is a clear distinction between conservative republican candidates on the right and corporate republican candidates on the far left. As a matter of fact, former Italian dictator and corporatist during World War II - Benito Mussolini, once said "Corporatism is to the left of liberalism for political philosophy". Based on candidate research, conservative republicans have a choice for the office of governor - either conservative Gary Jones or corporate Todd Lamb...
Since the democratic nomination for governor appears to non-competitive according to Sooner Poll, we'll move on to the Libertarian primary, which has three entrants. We'll review only one though, in the interest of brevity...
Joe Exotic (L) - Like most libertarians, Joe Exotic believes in low taxes for everyone (not just corporate) and no government interference in the personal lives of citizens. He is also conservative (which is why he appeals to many conservative educators) and does not belong to any "big corporate club" to pull strings - like several republican candidates do. His philosophy toward our public schools is simply to "get the state and federal government out of our schools", as they have no business in directing public funds to private and corporate entities. This is a philosophy shared by the republican candidate for state superintendent, Linda Murphy, as well, and the reason that many conservatives and teachers believe Joe Exotic would make a good governor..
Note: the state superintendent analysis can be found here,and the analysis of candidates for House District 42 can be read here.
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