Free Republic

SACRAMENTO — Democratic leaders want to impose union-driven prevailing wage rules on new school construction projects despite a critical state report that says enforcing the rules previously has cost tens of millions in taxpayer funds. State regulators spent about $70 million in taxpayer funds during the past three years to recover just $3 million to $4 million in underpaid private workers' wages, according to state documents released last week. Legislative Analyst Liz Hill said in her recent study on the use of voter-approved bond funds that the Industrial Relations Department's Labor Compliance Program spent $18 to $23 for each $1...

A report released yesterday by the Education Sector revealed that over $8 million had been given by the National Education Association to opponents of the No Child Left Behind Act. The organization has stated before that it would help “directly or indirectly, jointly or independently” other organizations that share their same agenda. The Education Sector, in turn, is largely made of policy analysts who worked in the Clinton Administration. The report found though that “the NEA does not disclose many of the financial relationships with organizations that share its opposition to NCLB in ways that make the relationships clear to...