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Another thing, you say that you home school. Do you really think that Dean is going to break away from the NEA, in a national campaign.

Here's what happened during Dean's reign in Vermont.

MONTPELIER, SEP 7 (ZENIT).- Last September 1, homeschooling mother Karen Maple appeared in the Vermont circuit court without bringing her 15-year-old son Trevor, whom the school district has diagnosed as learning disabled. As a result, she has been placed in jail for contempt of court without bail. The story began very typically. Seventh-grader Trevor was bored at school, displayed a short attention span, and read at a second grade level. Academic problems escalated into social problems. He even went to live with his grandparents to give another school system a try, but to no avail.

Here are some of the things that the Vermont NEA didn't like about him:

"As an elected official in Vermont in the 1980s, Howard Dean worked tirelessly for State funding to improve teacher salaries at a time those salaries were shamefully low, and he was our champion. As Governor in the 1990s, Howard Dean made a name for himself as a fiscal conservative, limiting public spending generally, including for public schools. We opposed him when he did that.

Vermont-NEA had real disagreements with Governor Dean, especially during his early terms, and usually over finances. The most serious difference was over a legislative proposal in 1993-94 for a statewide teachers’ contract. Governor Dean, true to his fiscally conservative nature, supported the concept. Vermont-NEA fought it, successfully. We criticized Governor Dean for his continued underfunding of the Teachers’ Retirement System, and for his failure in 1995 to reappoint the pro-labor chair of the Vermont Labor Relations Board."

As far as Karen Maple - I know all about the case - that had to do with CPS not the governor.

Also, the homeschooling lawa there are pretty lax. Only a letter of intent is required and a test or portfolio evaluation at the end of the year. No other recordkeeping whatsoever....