Oct 22, 2008
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Thanks to the Observer-Dispatch, we’ve got the local candidates’ views on education - grades and analysis below.
The 47th District of the New York State Senate covers Oneida, Lewis and St. Lawrence Counties. Incumbent Joseph Griffo [R] is being challenged by Michael Boncella [WF].
The O-D asked candidates in some state and federal races about their proposals for education funding. Here are their answers:
Joseph Griffo, R-Rome
Education is an essential investment in developing the citizens of the future and the work force of tomorrow. New York must continue to invest in schools.
Not all investments produce results. The millions spent in the education bureaucracy to test, assess tests, interpret tests and design tests are millions that should go into the classroom. At the local level, districts must accept that difficult times will mean an end to annual increases above inflation.
Consolidation of administrative and support functions is necessary to maximize the funding that goes into teaching students. The state aid formula must be simplified. We need to work with the School Consortium to develop the right formula.
Giving districts a set amount per student, with added revenue for districts with high needs, while eliminating categorical items, could help give schools greater freedom to manage their budgets. During this time of limited revenue, state capital project funding, which can run into hundreds of millions across the state, must be focused on critical needs only.
Grade: A-. Griffo starts strong by stating clearly that education is a priority for New York State. His honesty about the lack of return on some education “investments” is both refreshing and practical.
Though his position on the wasteful education bureaucracy is correct, Senator Griffo’s opposition to testing is slightly misguided. Tests and assessments aren’t the biggest problems; it’s the shoddy, ineffecient, ineffective implentation. I suspect that Senator Griffo would agree with that delineation.
And finally, someone has said that school districts must face the same financial realities that we face.
The consolidation of services has been touted by several candidates, and I hope that Griffo and others will pursue those solutions if elected. Simplifying the state aid formula can only help. Giving districts a “set amount per student” in base expenditure could help ground and solidifying spiraling, chaotic budgets and encourage school boards/districts to re-assess their fiscal plan.
Griffo’s fiscal sense, capped by a needs-only attitude toward costly capital projects, is sound, forward-looking and responsible.
Michael Boncella, Working Families
Boncella did not submit a response.
Grade: F. No response constitutes failure. If Boncella or his associates would like to submit a paragraph or two on education funding, I’ll post it here.
On the question of education funding, the advantage goes to Joseph Griffo.
Oct 22, 2008
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Thanks to the Observer-Dispatch, we’ve got the local candidates’ views on education - grades and analysis below.
The 117th District of the New York State Assembly covers Otsego, Herkimer and Fulton Counties. Incumbent Marc Butler [R] is being challenged by Dan Carter [D].
The O-D asked candidates in some state and federal races about their proposals for education funding. Here are their answers:
Marc Butler, R-Newport
As the depth and serious nature of the current economic downturn unfolds, it is very difficult to make financial commitments – even in the key area of education.
I would, however, say that I oppose any mid-term cuts to education aid for elementary and secondary schools. Budgets were set and predicated on state aid figures in the budget and any adjustments will create chaos in our schools.
Grade: C. Butler’s answer is so short and vague as to border on a cop-out, but there may be some sense in that. Committing to specific courses of action in the middle of such uncertainty may prove useless. Honoring current budgets is a solid, if not obvious, first step.
The fear of mid-term cuts is likely unwarranted. We understand that budget shakeups will further exacerbate an already complex problem. Butler would do well to propose some course of action on school funding as we begin to make sense of our state’s finances.
Dan Carter, Democrat
Carter did not submit a response.
Grade: F. No response constitutes failure. If Carter or his associates would like to submit a paragraph or two on education funding, I’ll post it here.
On the question of education funding, the advantage goes to Marc Butler.
Oct 22, 2008
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Thanks to the Observer-Dispatch, we’ve got the local candidates’ views on education - grades and analysis below.
The 116th District of the New York State Assembly covers Oneida County. Incumbent RoAnn Destito [D] is being challenged by Kevin McDonald [R].
The O-D asked candidates in some state and federal races about their proposals for education funding. Here are their answers:
RoAnn Destito, D-Rome
I am a sponsor of the legislation to implement the Statewide School Finance Consortium’s proposal to reform the state’s school aid formula. They have a sensible approach that takes into consideration the needs and circumstances of rural, suburban, small city and urban communities so that the state crafts a comprehensive education policy equitable to all regions of the state.
The federal “No Child Left Behind” program has largely failed our children and the school districts by being another federally unfunded mandate. We need to adopt standards in this state that continue to be equitable and predictable, providing for a sound basic education for all students without regard for socio-economic status and wealth in the district.
We need to review all state and federal mandates, and determine if they are duplicative and how more services can be provided in a shared, cost-efficient manner through BOCES.
Grade: C-. Destito’s approach to school funding uncritically throws money at the problem with little real policy analysis. Though equity sounds good - who wouldn’t want fairness and equality? - Destito’s plan is heavy on taxes and rhetoric, light on substance.
Resource equity between all schools in New York State is unachievable without massive increases in local property taxes - or state/federal taxes that are redistributed to poorer areas. Consider the inequity of an urban school district that spends ~$20k per pupil with a rural district achieving slightly above average [i.e., Cooperstown] spending ~$7k per pupil. If we were to achieve funding equity, Cooperstown’s students would see their resources triple - unless, of course, Destito is willing to argue that students in Rochester schools should see their funds cut by 2/3 and redistributed. The impossibility of that, both politically and pragmatically, necessitates a massive increase for rural/poor schools at the expense of other districts.
Instructional quality and the effective use of existing resources, Assemblywoman Destito - not just boatloads of money. Your answer shows a near-total misunderstanding of education policy, and that ignorance will continue to be expensive for Oneida County.
Sharing services through BOCES and potentially developing new solutions keeps Destito from a failing grade, though Oneida County voters should have little confidence in her ability to move the idea forward.
Kevin McDonald Sr., Republican
McDonald did not submit a response.
Grade: F. No response constitutes failure. If McDonald or his associates would like to submit a paragraph or two on education funding, I’ll post it here.
On the question of education funding, the advantage goes to RoAnn Destito - only because her opponent failed to submit a response.
Oct 21, 2008
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Thanks to the Observer-Dispatch, we’ve got the local candidates’ views on education - grades and analysis below.
The 115th District of the New York State Assembly covers Oneida and Oswego counties. Incumbent David Townsend [R] is being challenged by Daniel LeClair [Con].
The O-D asked candidates in some state and federal races about their proposals for education funding. Here are their answers:
David Townsend, R-Sylvan Beach
State education funding is always a top priority of mine. In the past, I have been able to provide additional funding to our schools.
This has been done through restoring cuts and creating and expanding aid categories. It is my intention to continue to support the education system in New York and to fight to make sure our school districts receive the highest level of state aid possible.
In the current economic climate, cutting state aid to education should be a last resort. It is important that the state continue its commitment to education, not only to make sure students are receiving the best education possible, but also to make sure that property taxes do not skyrocket.
Further, I will continue to support and advocate for eliminating unfunded mandates by the state on school districts, which result in higher operating costs and property taxes.
Grade: C. It is regrettable that Townsend takes such an uncritical attitude toward funding education, though we should appreciate his honesty. School districts shouldn’t “receive the the highest level of state aid possible” - they should receive aid used sensibly and productively. The truth is that there’s too much waste, and we should be wary of a candidate willing to contribute to that waste without first examining the efficacy of current funding.
If Townsend is concerned about property taxes, he would do well to analyze further how dollars are being used. He seems committed to increasing funding without an increase in property taxes; that necessarily means more funding will come from other parts of the state. Where will those funds come from, Assemblyman Townsend? Explain that part and I’ll raise your grade.
Daniel LeClair, Conservative Party
The first thing I would fight for is to end and eliminate the unfunded mandates of Albany upon our school districts, forcing them to carry out policies that they cannot afford to implement without raising the tax burden.
Secondly, I would like to see more consolidation and cooperation between schools in regards to purchasing of items used in their everyday operation.
Thirdly, I would like to know where all the Lotto money is going. Is it true that only 33 percent of the Lotto money, which was designated for education, is being used for education? If so, where is the other 67 percent going?
Next, I would like to see more control of our education and the decisions on what to spend money on (like curriculum, etc.) be given back to the local school boards and parents. I think the state-aid formula is too complicated and needs to be simplified.
Grade: B+. The unfunded mandates saw is an old, reliable one for all parties. It’s a popular, noble goal, but it fails to differentiate LeClair from Townsend - or anyone else, for that matter.
But the rest of his proposals are both more original and more specific than his opponent’s. Working with existing structures like BOCES - and developing new sharing/consolidation agreements - could relieve schools and taxpayers alike. It’s worth considering, and I applaud LeClair for the suggestion.
LeClair could and should FOIL the books on the Lotto. Though he should have done it months ago, thinking about it now still puts him miles ahead of his peers.
His final point - that increased local control by school boards and parents [you know, those people theoretically responsible for kids] is a good thing - is welcome. It could, however, be increased to maximize the human resources in our communities. There are plenty of experienced, talented professionals in our communities who may not be on the Board of Education or may not have children. They shouldn’t be overlooked.
On the question of education funding, the advantage goes to Daniel LeClair.
Oct 17, 2008
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[ Photo: William Ayers, Distinguished Professor of Education and Senior University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago, compares tattoos with a developing revolutionary. When asked the location of Ayers' tattoo[s], our young comrade replied, “lemmie [sic] just tell you this, we both wear red underwear.” ]
Sol Stern has a typically-clear piece on Bill Ayers and education reform. Ayers is a man with a simple past and simple present [deep and high-volume, but simple] made unnecessarily complex by media, misunderstanding and intellectual dishonesty. Stern has been one a tireless critic of Ayers, and his opposition is independent of this election cycle - as is mine.
The tendentious, ill-informed dolts at Education Week refuse to recognize this, but I’ll tackle that another time.
Stern says:
“I’ve studied Mr. Ayers’s work for years and read most of his books. His hatred of America is as virulent as when he planted a bomb at the Pentagon. And this hatred informs his educational “reform” efforts. Of course, Mr. Obama isn’t going to appoint him to run the education department. But the media mainstreaming of a figure like Mr. Ayers could have terrible consequences for the country’s politics and public schools.
The education career of William Ayers began when he enrolled at Columbia University’s Teachers College at the age of 40. He planned to stay long enough to get a teaching credential. But he experienced an epiphany in a course offered by Maxine Greene, who urged future teachers to tell children about the evils of the existing, oppressive capitalist social order. In her essay “In Search of a Critical Pedagogy,” for example, Ms. Greene wrote of an education that would portray “homelessness as a consequence of the private dealings of landlords, an arms buildup as a consequence of corporate decisions, racial exclusion as a consequence of a private property-holder’s choice.”
That was music to the ears of the ex-Weatherman. Mr. Ayers acquired a doctorate in education and landed an Ed school appointment at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).”
Few - very few - know of Maxine Greene. For her Foundation’s own take on Maxine, pop over and read “Philosopher. Imaginer. Inquirer…” Good spin, kids.
I’m stunned at how much has been made of Ayers in recent months relative to how little his scholarship has been examined. If this excerpt is any indication, Stern’s book will explain it all quite clearly:
“He [Ayers] still hopes for a revolutionary upheaval that will finally bring down American capitalism and imperialism, but this time around Mr. Ayers sows the seeds of resistance and rebellion in America’s future teachers. Thus, education students signing up for a course Mr. Ayers teaches at UIC, “On Urban Education,” can read these exhortations from the course description: “Homelessness, crime, racism, oppression — we have the resources and knowledge to fight and overcome these things. We need to look beyond our isolated situations, to define our problems globally. We cannot be child advocates . . . in Chicago or New York and ignore the web that links us with the children of India or Palestine.”
The readings Mr. Ayers assigns to his university students are as intellectually diverse as a political commissar’s indoctrination session in one of his favorite communist tyrannies. The list for his urban education course includes the bible of the critical pedagogy movement, Brazilian Marxist Paolo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed”; two books by Mr. Ayers himself; and “Teaching to Transgress” by bell hooks (lower case), the radical black feminist writer.”
It isn’t exaggeration, it isn’t hyperbole, it isn’t fiction.
Stern’s closing is sober and realistic:
“If Barack Obama wins on Nov. 4, the “guy in the neighborhood” is not likely to get an invitation to the Lincoln bedroom. But with the Democrats controlling all three branches of government, there’s a real danger that Mr. Ayers’s social-justice movement in the schools will get even more room to maneuver and grow.”
Sen. Obama said the other night that Bill Ayers would have no place in an Obama government if that’s our fate. Oddly enough, Ayers is more destructive under the radar than being a central blip.
I’d like to see Fordham be a bit more aggressive on Ayers. Fewer highfalutin denunciations, a bit more honest populism. Maybe a little more like this - you’ve heard of this guy, yes?
UPDATE: Just heard Stern interviewed by Dennis Prager. It’s worth a listen - go to iTunes Store, search for Dennis Prager and download the 10.16.2008 episode called “Prager H2: Round Three, Two.” It’s free.
