TN Repugs intro legislation to strip local school boards of power, put all power in hands of state

[HiPointDem]

So much for local control, eh? So if your community doesn't want charter schools, or doesn't want a particular charter school, so the hell what.

******

The Republican super-majority in the Tennessee legislature introduced legislation to strip away the the power of the school boards in Memphis (Shelby County) and Nashville to authorize charter schools. The power would be moved to a state authority.

This move is retaliation against the Metro Nashville school board, which rejected an application from the Great Hearts charter school academy of Arizona. The school board rejected Great Hearts four times! The problem was that Great Hearts wanted to open in a mostly white, affluent neighborhood and had inadequate plans for student diversity.

In an exposé in the Arizona Republic a few months ago, Great Hearts was singled out for dubious financial self-dealing. See here and here. Arizona blogger David Safier reported last fall that Great Hearts expects each family to make a contribution of at least $1500 to defray costs.

Nashville’s insistence on turning down this particular application infuriated State Commissioner Kevin Huffman (whose prior experience is limited solely to TFA). Huffman withheld $3.4 million that the state owed to Nashville. The governor and legislators were angry too that Nashville acted to exercise local control. They are now talking about vouchers.

Huffman and the state’s far-right Governor and legislature are determined to privatize as many schools as possible as quickly as possible in Memphis and Nashville. Local control be damned!

Question: why are the Republicans in Tennessee so determined to destroy public education in their state? Has anyone in the state read the research on charters and vouchers? Or are they taking marching orders from ALEC?

http://dianeravitch.net/2013/02/13/tennessee-republicans-seek-to-gut-local-control/

[msongs]

1. elections have consequences eh? nt

[HiPointDem]

2. democrats are doing more or less the same thing in other states. it's really difficult to know just

*who* to vote for since both parties are on board with this plan.

one could move to another country, but it seems the same people have plans for the world as well.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022372315

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. Local boards were rubber stamps in MD, well before all the charters got going.

[HiPointDem]

4. a local board can be overturned by local initiative and is subject to local input. the meetings &

offices of a local board are local. the officers of a local board live locally and are subject to community pressure.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

6. In MD their scope is limited at the state level

When we were having difficulties with a local school I went to a friend on the local board who showed me just how much our local SB could not do.

[HiPointDem]

7. school boards are elected in maryland.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/howard/ellicott-city/ph-school-elections-20121106,0,7317043.story

http://www.google.com/#hl=en&tbo=d&sclient=psy-ab&q=maryland+elected+school+board&oq=maryland+elected+school+board&gs_l=hp.3..0i8i30.221.7393.0.7783.33.23.1.1.1.4.1307.15898.2-3j5j1j3j5j6.23.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.3.psy-ab.J_1SVz-EWFA&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.42553238,d.cGE&fp=650e83a55f34ea61&biw=1024&bih=607


other than trying to justify and rationalize centralization of power and power grabs, not sure what your purpose is in this thread.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

8. My point was that centralization of real authority at the state level

is far from new and not just about charters.

[Uncle Joe]

5. The Tennessee Republicans in power are disgraceful sellouts to corporate interests over the people.

They support "Big Brother" government if it furthers the goal of funneling money from the middle class and poor to the wealthy and powerful.

They're corrupt and that's all they're about.

Thanks for the thread, HiPointDem.