Ohio's Porker-of-the-Week
I've received an email I would like share with you. Maybe a few phone calls of both encouragement and discouragement would go a far way. Carlo LoParo's number is (614) 224-4422, and he is the one to call for more information.
“By placing a premium on choice and competition at the expense of academic excellence, these programs are contrary to the interest of the state, parents and students,” Ms. Clark told the Senate committee.
Ms. Clark did not promise increased efficiency by education bureaucrats in exchange for the reduction or elimination of these programs. She also neglected to mention Ohio’s charter school and EdChoice voucher programs were developed because many public schools underperformed. In fact, over 115,550 students in Ohio’s eight largest cities are attending 251 schools that do not meet the state’s minimal education standards.
Further, charter schools and EdChoice vouchers are only available in school districts on academic watch or academic emergency. An increasing number of parents with children in underperforming public schools have opted for these education choice programs. The Ohio Department of Education recently reported applications to the EdChoice voucher program increased by 117 percent from last year.
The OEA’s principal concern is the pay and benefits of its members. Educating kids comes at a distant second. Ms. Clark presented herself as an advocate of children’s education. However, she is simply a union lobbyist seeking more benefits and less accountability for her members. Ms. Clark is the Porker of the Week.
The full text of the Porker of the Week is available at eyeonthestatehouse.org.
PORKER OF THE WEEK: OEA LOBBYIST MELISSA CLARK
COLUMBUS - Eye on the Statehouse has named Ohio Education Association (OEA) lobbyist Melissa Clark as its Porker of the Week. Last week, Ms. Clark asked the Senate Finance and Financial Institutions Committee to severely reduce charter schools and eliminate the popular EdChoice voucher program.“By placing a premium on choice and competition at the expense of academic excellence, these programs are contrary to the interest of the state, parents and students,” Ms. Clark told the Senate committee.
Ms. Clark did not promise increased efficiency by education bureaucrats in exchange for the reduction or elimination of these programs. She also neglected to mention Ohio’s charter school and EdChoice voucher programs were developed because many public schools underperformed. In fact, over 115,550 students in Ohio’s eight largest cities are attending 251 schools that do not meet the state’s minimal education standards.
Further, charter schools and EdChoice vouchers are only available in school districts on academic watch or academic emergency. An increasing number of parents with children in underperforming public schools have opted for these education choice programs. The Ohio Department of Education recently reported applications to the EdChoice voucher program increased by 117 percent from last year.
The OEA’s principal concern is the pay and benefits of its members. Educating kids comes at a distant second. Ms. Clark presented herself as an advocate of children’s education. However, she is simply a union lobbyist seeking more benefits and less accountability for her members. Ms. Clark is the Porker of the Week.
The full text of the Porker of the Week is available at eyeonthestatehouse.org.
Labels: education, Government Pork, unions
posted by Rosemary Welch at
6/04/2007 02:47:00 PM
2 Comments:
It seems to me that someone who wants to "reduce" and/or "eliminate" is the exact opposite of a "porker".
By
Anonymous, at 6/04/2007 4:31 PM
I can understand what seems to be a contradiction, but it is actually not.
To eliminate a facility that has improved education in order to remain at the status quo--ineffecient, inaduquate, unproductive--is more costly at the end of the day.
If I teach you how to fish, so you are able to feed yourself and then your family, then I am saving money by not having to pay for the children you had and I had no part in the creation of them. lol. See?
By
Rosemary Welch, at 6/04/2007 6:03 PM
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