Waiting on Superman and waiting for Jack Markell’s transparency

New legislation 

To improve public and parental engagement in public education; meetings of the Delaware State Board of Education shall be set at a time and place more convenient to the public and community. This legislation requires the Delaware State Board of Education to hold public board sessions at a nearby public school with adequate parking space and seating such as in a the school’s auditorium. The ”public” meeting time shall be no early then 7:00 p.m. allowing the public and parents a more convenient time to participate .

The purpose of open public school board meetings are meant to give the public an open transparent process to be informed and engage in the processes regarding public education.

Currently Delaware State Board of Education Meetings are held at the Cabinet Room of the Townsend Building Dover Delaware at 1:00 p.m every third Thursday of the month. The majority of school districts in the state of Delaware set their “public” board meeting starting between 7-7:30 p.m

Superman is a fictional character so don’t hold your breath he’ll come and save public education. Jack Markell’s campaign promise of better transparency of Delaware is turning out to be fiction.

Every since Governor Markell invoked mayoral control of Delaware’s public schools he’s turned into another Richard Daley. Nothing worst than organized crime than politicians who work in the dark.

I’ve started the process of requesting another piece of legislation that will help bring the Delaware State Board of Education into step with open government and doing the right thing for kids. Governor Markell wants to oppose moving the state board meetings to a time more convenient for all stakeholders especially parents and taxpayers. Markell seems to feel DEDOE workers work hard enough and asking them to attend state board meetings after 5 pm isn’t fair.

The “public” in public education is just that, the public and it’s time the “public” has better access to state board of education meetings. How about it Jack ! You think you can make this happen without legislation? You do know how to make an executive order don’t you? Or is this something you need Rodel’s.

No more money for USDOE! Roll it back to 2008

I hope the GOP don’t bend-over for Arne Duncan and pump more money into K-12 for his feed the Wall Street Race to The Top crowd.

If NCLB is the problem then reform it and us that money for the carrot on the stick. Strip away the school ratings based on one standardize test and measure them on academic growth. Billions of federal ,state and local education dollars have been wasted on school turnaround required by NCLB. Hold schools accountable to growth and if they fail then start pulling back federal funding. Why add more carrots to the stick with Race to The Top funding?

BUT ! Its all wishful thinking because the Republican legislators are on board because ESEA aka NCLB and Race to The Top helps feeds Jeb Bush, Neil Bush, other Bush family members and many Wall Street profiteers. Newt Gingrich and Al Sharpton got a slice of the $$$ pie for taking part in Arne Duncan’s Race to The Top dream team.

If we took all the money going into testing, testing companies, consultants and over bloated USDOE, local DOE’s and district administrators and applied that more to more teachers to reduce class sizes we could better serve classroom needs. Why do we need 4,200 employees and USDOE and 240 at Delaware DOE?

It’s time to stop looking at education and poverty in education as profit centers!