lastDEconservative wants to fire Dover and return education to full local control

 I put this question to lastDEconservative;  ”Give us you workable ideas for fixing our schools and how you will achieve it through legislation and who will support you proposed legislation? Not being smart just getting ready for November”.

lastDEconservative, on May 6, 2012 at 9:06 am said:

My legislative solution is simple.

“Be it enacted this day, that as of 15 July in the year of our Lord 2013, the State capital S will have no further involvement in schools or education at any level in Delaware, period.”

Q.E.D.

The market can and will provide schools with unions and diversity training and such for those that prefer such things, and education without for another segment of the population. Even corporate schools skippered by CEOs might be on every other street corner! As would be every other flavor and stripe, imagined already or not yet dreamed of, potentially even one or several created in Markell mode.

OK folks please keep an open-mind to  lastDEconservative. Lets refrain from name call and that means all sides.

Certainly we can’t keep Dover out of public education. HOWEVER, we can limit Dover’s role starting with, not permitting the Delaware Department of Education modifying state education regulations to conform to the federal governments agendas via grants that have no federal legislation aka laws attached. Race to The Top is not a federally mandated legislation and is nothing more than a federal financially unsustainable grant. Delaware laws were manipulated writing the heart and soul of Race to The Top grant into state regulations that will cause default of funding of Race to The Top goals back onto the taxpayers of Delaware and more so on local school taxpayers. Delaware legislators should be prohibited from enacting education legislation unless full funding streams are identified and secure. This mean no more underfunded and unfunded “state” mandates.

I know why this was repealed do you? Title 14, Chapter 2, subchapter I § 207. Legislative educational impact statements.Repealed by 73 Del. Laws, c. 312, § 334, effective June 25, 2002. It was repealed because state legislators failed to follow it’s provisions and actually enacted laws defacing this “law”.

We need to abolish the position of Delaware Secretary of Education which only empowers governors to manipulate the system to full-fill politically inspired education agendas to appease political supporters and donors. We need to return the Delaware Department of Education back to a body that offers technical support not an overreaching authoritarian body it has become. Government existence is to serve the people not the other way around.

Charter schools, through all the debates we have had, I’ve have come to the conclusion that only school districts should be authorized to form charter schools not the Delaware Department of Education. Let that decision be driven within the local school districts. The Delaware Department of Education has lost the capacity to effectively provide proper oversight and has allow itself to be an extension of  the governor and business entities he serves in efforts to secure his political goals and aspirations.

lastDEconservative’s goals may seem extreme but let us not forget the extremes taken during the American Revolution when government demanded the people to serve it! Delaware is an independent state of the union with its own separate powers and when governors like Jack Markell surrenders those powers to the federal government the people has cause for alarm. Bottom-line, we need to get local education out of the hands of state officials such as Jack Markell which equates to social treason against the people of Delaware. The Delaware legislators who look down at their feet when Markell makes his demands are enablers in this state power transfer of local education to the federal government aligned with Wall Street education reformers who capitalizes off of federal education funding.  Those who believe Race to The Top is “the last chance to get it right” should consider LastDEconservative an agent of God. (sorry lastDEconservative no disrespect. Needed to add some humor)

Should we move Delaware School Board Elections to November?

Moving the Delaware School Board Elections question is moving in once again on the front-burner

The debate to move the school election to November has been kicked around for a few years now. I guess the reason the board elections are in May is because we don’t want to politicize them. Well it looks like that ship already sailed with all the special interest power-plays for school board members. However, lets make it clear just like blogger opinions these PACs like Voices 4 Delaware Education Action Fund directed by an Ohio hired gun and call center located in Minnesota are just that, opinions. Well let me take some of that comment back. I support Kenny Rivera for Red Clay School Board based on the information he supplied me and endorses. I like the fact he is a public school teacher, a member of his community civic association, works with the youth at his church and being young with two toddlers his involvement shaping education will impact his children. My point about this rouge PAC is that they are fixated on winning at all cost. Red Clay dodged a bullet and Christina board member Saffer who is running reelection is being treat unfairly by this rouge PAC that those in Delaware financing it Delaware hide in the shadows and don’t dare step up and take ownership. Yes there is the other speical interest call DSEA aka the teacher union. The members of this group are trained ninjas teaching your children everyday in Delaware traditional public schools and one charter school. They spend hours upon hours in the classroom, at home grading students assignments and hours of professional development to better their skills. Some even go back to college to seek advanced degrees. Get this many advance to school and district administrators, go to work for consultants, the Delaware Department of Education and yes, run for public office.  Personally, I put my trust in those working hands on serving my child and those willing to keep an open one-on-one line of communication with “me” aka parent.

A while back during another discussion on moving the board election to November someone made a valid comment (I think was Kim) that the school year starts July 1 and seating a board member in January like other November political candidates may be disruptive. Make sense because legislative session starts in January and ends at the end of June. Also, there will be an issue of placing board member candidates on the ballot as they are not affiliated with a political party. Then you have board nominating districts overlapping other political boundaries  that would cause a logistical mess for the Department of Election. Monies save would only be eaten up to conform with changing school board election dates.

Though I support moving the school board elections, I rather try this; end the voting at large for school board members, only allow individual campaign contributions and if the PACs have a right then require the candidates to state they endorse or don’t endorse PACs flyers.  While we’re at it, change the law when a sitting board member moves he or she must relinquish the board seat at the next board meeting. Can a local state senator or state representative move out of their district and sever out the remainder of their term? These are only my opinions but the fact remains, we need reform on school board elections.