Free Republic

“You don’t have to be honest. I mean we can talk in theory.” –Paul Diamond, Executive Vice President, Yonkers Teacher Federation “I don’t’ care if it’s the phys ed teacher you went to high school with, you don’t fucking tell anybody anything…Because old loose lips sink ships.” — Patricia Puleo, President, Yonkers Teacher Federation “You could. Your parents could have been down there, or your cousin could have been down there, or your brother and they were taken by drug dealers and you literally had to go bail them out and you didn’t know what to do and you lost...

The head of one of America’s largest teachers unions said Wednesday that Donald Trump is creating “bullying environments” in schools nationwide that will take decades to repair. Randi Weingarten, president of the 1.6 million member American Federation of Teachers (AFT), made her remarks during a conference call with reporters set up by the Democratic National Committee. “What we’ve seen with Donald Trump is that there is now a new phenomenon in schools called the ‘Trump Effect,'” Weingarten said. “It will take decades to overcome the way Donald Trump speaks and promotes violence, xenophobia and racism. This is creating bullying environments...

A report released this week by the Bureau of Justice Statistics says 6.5 percent of teachers in Minnesota public schools have reported being physically attacked by a student. The report adds that 11.4 percent of Minnesota public school teachers have reported being threatened by a student. This is above the national average of 10 percent. The Bureau of Justice numbers are from the 2011-2012 school year, during a 12-month reporting period. Mary Broderick is the President of the St. Cloud Education Association, she says violence against teachers is creating concern at local school districts and statewide. “We really feel it’s...

If they care more about students than teachers’ unions, every school district in the country needs to pay attention to this: When Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker gave the boot to teachers’ unions, liberals predicted a disaster of apocalyptic proportions: Teachers quitting, slack-jawed, uneducated students meandering down vacant downtowns that closed shop. It turns out, though, that Walker’s “Act 10” may have been the best thing to happen to schools and teachers in decades. That’s because not only is teacher pay up for the best students, but without burdensome union rules, school administrators are empowered to make real changes they need...

The union that represents most teachers in Maryland called on the Worcester County school system to block Donald Trump's campaign from using a high school gym to hold a rally Wednesday evening. "Donald Trump and his divisive, fear-mongering rhetoric have no place in the halls of Maryland's public schools," Maryland State Education Association president Betty Weller said in a statement. "Trump's eagerness to bully minorities would be unacceptable if it came from any of our students." Liberal group Progressive Maryland issued the same call and launched an online petition that had been signed more than 500 times by Tuesday afternoon....

Illinois' public school districts are roughly $20 billion in debt, a staggering figure fueled in part by decades of special deals in Springfield that have given districts exemptions so they can keep borrowing beyond limits set by law. Today, that debt exceeds long-term school borrowing in most other states. It equates to about $10,000 for every Pre-K to 12th-grade public school student in Illinois... All the borrowing is a drain on taxpayers who have to repay the debt, as well as school budgets that must steer billions of dollars annually to principal and interest payments — money that could be...

Illinois' 859 local school districts consume nearly two-thirds of the $27 billion in local property taxes collected across the state each year. Illinois has nearly 7,000 units of local government. That’s the highest count of any state in the nation, and the runner-up is not even close. One of those units of government is the Naperville Township Road District, where seven employees maintain less than 20 miles of road at a cost of $116,000 per mile. City officials have said they could maintain the same distance at half the cost, and have moved to take over the road district’s duties...

Since the revolt by parents against New York State’s reading and math tests last year, education officials at the state level have been bending over backward to try to show that they are listening to parents’ and educators’ concerns. The tests, which are given to third through eighth graders and will begin this year on April 5, were shortened, time limits were removed, and the results will not be a factor in teacher evaluations, among other changes.

CHICAGO — Thousands of Chicago teachers plan to walk off the job for one day on Friday, shutting down schools in the nation's third-largest district in what could be an early glimpse of a more prolonged strike still to come. Some 27,000 Chicago Teachers Union members have been working without a contract since June. They've overwhelmingly authorized an open-ended strike like the one that closed schools for more than a week in 2012, though that would still be weeks away. The union and its allies say Friday's action is an attempt to draw attention to their fight for a new...

BOSTON, March 14, 2016 (LifeSiteNews) - A bill that would allow adult biological males to shower or change alongside young girls has earned the endorsement of two prominent teachers unions in Massachusetts. State legislators are considering a bill that would specifically open all public restrooms, shower facilities, and locker rooms to transgender people. "An Act Relative to Gender Identity and Non-Discrimination" (H.B. 1577) would add "gender identity" to the state's protected classes able to access all public facilities, such as private changing areas. Lawmakers specifically exempted "lawfully sex-segregated facilities" when it passed a 2011 ordinance granting transgender people protected legal...

Chcago Public Schools officials told principals on Wednesday that the district is "short of the necessary cash for the remainder of the school year" partly because of a pension payment of nearly $700 million due this summer. ... Last month, principals had to absorb $26 million in midyear budget cuts to district-operated schools. Principals tapped internal accounts, cut planned technology and textbook purchases and didn't fill vacant positions to avert layoffs. On Wednesday, principals were told to hold off on $45 million budgeted for "non-personnel" expenses. The district said it wants to save another $10 million through a limit on...

Pension holidays, steep increases in teachers' salaries, and lopsided ratios of teacher contributions to pension payouts have caused the Chicago Teachers’ Pension Fund’s unfunded liabilities to shoot up to $9 billion in 2015. The Chicago Teachers Union, or CTU, has threatened to strike as early as April 1 over the issue of teacher pension “pickups,” according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Negotiations over a new contract to replace the 2012 contract that expired in June 2015 stalled after CTU rejected the most recent offer from Chicago Public Schools, or CPS, in February. In exchange for pay increases and a moratorium on...

In a recent story about political polarization, The Washington Post quoted a Michigan teacher who claimed the Mackinac Center for Public Policy is out to destroy public education because it has published the salaries of particular teachers. Erin Mastin, a teacher with Boyne City Public Schools, was portrayed in the article as someone concerned about divisiveness, and who believes the political system is rigged in favor of the rich and powerful. From the article: She could feel the influence of money in politics in her classroom, she said. In recent months, the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a conservative Michigan-based...

The Detroit Public Schools is seeking a temporary injunction against teachers after sick-outs closed 88 schools in Detroit today - the largest in a string of teacher protests. The district is seeking relief in the Michigan Court of Claims, naming among the 28 defendants Steve Conn, the ousted leader of the teacher's union, interim president Ivy Bailey, and several groups including DPS Teachers Fight Back. Teacher absences forced 88 Detroit schools to close today, the largest sick-out meant to call attention to large class sizes, dilapidated buildings and other problems in Michigan's largest school district. The sick-out idled most of...

Michigan recently administered a new series of tests to public school students between grades three and 11, covering the four separate subject areas of English, Math, Science, and Social Studies. With one exception, more than half the students were rated less than “proficient” for their grade level. (That exception was third-grade English, where precisely 50 percent of students scored “proficient” or “advanced.”) This poor performance is reflected in other findings as well, such as a 2013 analysis of state scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress published by the Urban Institute, which ranked Michigan’s public school system 44th in...

On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association. Rebecca Friedrichs and nine other teachers are calling into question the agency fees that public-sector workers are required to pay to unions, which they say violate their First Amendment rights. If the Supreme Court rules in Friedrichs' favor, it would make union dues voluntary for all public-sector workers.

Central Academy, a charter school in Ann Arbor, was rated by The Center for Michigan’s Bridge magazine as the top school in the state. Ashley Community Schools, a district some 40 miles north of Lansing, placed fourth. Yet, in 2014-15, neither Central Academy nor Ashley Community schools rated any of their teachers as “highly effective,” the highest rating available to teachers. In fact, both the public charter school and the school district grouped all their teachers (30 and 26, respectively) in the same category — “effective” — which is only the second-highest rating. “Several of our teachers have received ‘Highly...

On January 1, California residents will have to accustom themselves to a number of new laws that will be implemented in the state. These are some the laws that will likely have the most profound effect: SB 172: High school seniors will receive their diploma whether or not they pass or even take an exit exam; the law also applies retroactively to students who have graduated since 2004; ... SB 707: Bans concealed firearms from college campuses and K-12 school grounds

The backers of the Jeffco recall effort (read: Teachers Union) campaigned on the lie that the Jeffco School Board was lacking in transparency. That is why yesterday's ruling that Jeffco United, the nonprofit engaged in the recall effort, violated campaign finance laws is so, so delicious. The organization made a $90,000 donation to the recall effort without disclosing its donors. According to an administrative law judge, that is verboten. Its punishment is not so simple. The organization must pay $1,000, register as a political committee, and (here is the delightful part) disclose its donors. While nonprofits are not typically required...

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The Chicago Teachers Union has voted to authorize a strike. CTU says 88 percent of its members voted in favor of the action if necessary. State law requires 75 percent approval to authorize a strike. But a strike cannot take place until 105 days after the fact-finding phase begins. The CTU has called for that phase to begin immediately, but CPS does not want to start fact finding until mid-February. The union has filed an unfair labor practice charge with the Illinois Educational Relations Board, which is scheduled dto meet at the end of January. If it...