Charter Schools Are Mired in Fraud and Failure | Alternet

Charter Schools Are Mired in Fraud and Failure | Alternet:

Charter Schools Are Mired in Fraud and Failure

It's time all parents learned the truth about charter schools.

The inadequacies of charter schools have been confirmed by many recent studies. Even CREDO, which is part of a conservative think tank funded by the pro-privatization Walton Foundation, recently found that in comparison to traditional public schools "students in Ohio charter schools perform worse in both reading and mathematics." Another recent CREDO study of California schools reached mixed results, with charters showing higher scores in reading but lower scores in math. 

In a study of Chicago's public schools, the University of Minnesota Law School determined that "Sadly the charter schools, which on average score lower that the Chicago public schools, have not improved the Chicago school system, but perhaps made it even weaker."

In general, as concluded by the nonpartisan Spencer Foundation and Public Agenda, "There is very little evidence that charter and traditional public schools differ meaningfully in their average impact on students' standardized test performance." Another report from Data First, part of the Center for Public Education, stated that "the majority of charter schools do no better or worse than traditional public schools."

But there's a lot of data that leans toward "worse" rather than "better." A Brookings report showed underperformance in Arizona's charter schools. An In the Public Interest group found that an analyst for the District of Columbia "could not provide a single instance in which its strategy of transferring a low-performing school to a charter management organization had resulted in academic gains for the students." The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that "Students in most Minnesota charter schools are failing to hit learning targets and are not achieving adequate academic growth." Over 85 percent of Ohio's charter students were in schools graded D or F in 2012–2013. In the much-heralded New Orleans charter experiment, the Investigative Fund found that "eight years after Hurricane Katrina...seventy-nine percent of RSD charters are still rated D or F by the Louisiana Department of Education."

Charters Won't Tell Us What They're Doing 

Performance aside, charters have other serious issues. The Nation called them "stunningly opaque...black boxes." Indeed, the federal government has spent billions on charter development without basic forms of accountability, even for the causes and details of school closings. The charter system is so unregulated that oversight often comes from whistleblowers who feel disturbed enough, and courageous enough, to report abuses.

The report Cashing in on Kids notes that the Walton Foundation, one of the biggest charter school supporters, has "supported the unregulated growth of a privatized education industry." The Walton-funded New York Charter School Association, which takes considerable public money and advertises itself as "independently-run public schools," refused state audits, arguing that they were run by boards outside the public domain. Charter operators want the best of both worlds. As Diane Ravitch explains, "When it is time for funds to be distributed, they want to be considered public schools. But when they are involved in litigation, charter operators insist they are private organizations."

Many Charter Systems Are Mired in Fraud 

According to Integrity in Education, $100 million (ballooning in the past year to $200 million) in taxpayer money was lost, misused, or wasted in just 15 of the 42 states that have charter schools. The abuses are well documented. The report states: "Charter operators have used school funds illegally to buy Charter Schools Are Mired in Fraud and Failure | Alternet:

Book Offers Look at How Charter Schools Divide Communities - NJ Spotlight

Opinion: Book Offers Look at How Charter Schools Divide Communities - NJ Spotlight:

OPINION: BOOK OFFERS LOOK AT HOW CHARTER SCHOOLS DIVIDE COMMUNITIES

Founders and operators of charters mean well, author believes, but charter system leads to further segregation of education

Mark Weber

It’s a sunny summer day in Hoboken, and everywhere I turn on Washington Street, I see the same thing:

Strollers.

Hoboken has become a mecca for young, affluent families looking to enjoy the trappings of urban living. And yet the city retains a significant population of economically disadvantaged families, many living in public housing separated from the rest of the city.

This interplay between segregation and gentrification is the subject of a fascinatingnew book by Molly Vollman Makris: “Public Housing and School Choice in a Gentrified City: Youth Experiences of Uneven Opportunity.”

Makris, a professor of Urban Studies at CUNY – as well as a Hoboken resident with a preschool daughter – looks carefully at her community to determine how segregation occurs when affluent families move in, and what can be done to ameliorate its effects in the schools and throughout the community.

I met Makris in her city to discuss her findings, which deal with the role of charter schools and intra-district school choice in Hoboken.

The city’s three charters serve a significantly different population than the district schools: fewer students who are Limited English Proficient, fewer students of color, and far fewer students eligible for free lunch, a measure of economic disadvantage. There is also a significant difference in the student demographics of the district’s elementary schools.

Despite this, New Jersey Education Commissioner David Hespe recently ruled that one of the charters could expand because, in his view, that school did not have a segregative effect.

Hespe’s ruling has created a political firestorm in Hoboken, leading to a privately funded appeal on behalf of the local school district, which fears the financial implications of the expansion.

What follows is an edited version of a much longer conversation between Makris and me. I have posted the entire interview on my blog; however, I also encourage everyone to read Makris’s book, a comprehensive, honest, and engaging exploration of how school policies shape our communities.

Weber: One thing that struck me right away is that your book isn’t at all a takedown of charter schools.

Makris: It’s not. It’s a larger analysis of the direction of education policy. The book does take a critical look at school choice and what’s happening in Hoboken, but it’s not about the individual actors. There aren’t heroes or villains per se; it’s about these larger systems of inequality that are happening in many places.

Weber: You take the charter school people at their word when they say they are genuinely interested in the inequality of their student populations and they want to do something about it.

Makris: I do. I think their intention was to create some level of socio-economic and racial diversity. But, given the demographic makeup of the founders, that was going to be a challenge. And part of that is charter school policies. It takes a lot of work to start a charter school. Many of these were stay-at-home parents and parents with flexible careers where they can spend hours and hours starting a charter school. So when you have them at the helm, it’s going to be harder to create a school that represents the entire community. There also are no policies in place that allow charter schools to easily “manipulate” their lotteries to create socio-economic and racial diversity.

Weber: Is it fair to say that starting and sustaining a charter school, by the nature of its structure, is going to attract a different sort of family than a traditional public school?

Makris: Yes; we see that everywhere. We see that in Newark and Harlem and other neighborhoods that don’t look anything like Hoboken. I think your research has shown this, in the difference between free and reduced-price lunch students, this level of creaming.

I call it charter confusion, which is something we found in Hoboken and when I was working with the Newark Schools Research Collaborative. People are just confused about what a charter school is and who can attend a charter school, whether they were in Newark or Hoboken, whether they’re low-income or advantaged.

Weber: So you’re saying there is some global misunderstanding about charter schools.

Makris: I think it’s a bit of a global misunderstanding, but when it comes time to figure it out for your own children, you tap into your own networks. And if your network all goes to the local neighborhood school, and you went to the local neighborhood school, and you don’t really have the resources to do a thorough investigation of all your school options, you’re going to go to the local neighborhood school.

Weber: But if you cleared up that confusion, do you believe public housing residents would see the so-called “advantages” of a charter school trumping what they see as the advantages of their neighborhood school?

Makris: That’s a great question. It’s hard to predict; I do think there are enough families in public housing who would be interested in the opportunity – if they see Opinion: Book Offers Look at How Charter Schools Divide Communities - NJ Spotlight:

Suicide prevention program launched for K-12:

Suicide prevention program launched for K-12

As suicides continue to increase in New Jersey, a new nationwide suicide prevention program provides training for all school employees to help them spot at-risk students earlier.

Stefano Lunardi, ThinkStock

“Signs Matter: Early Detection,” teaches school personnel not only how to recognize the signs, but also the actions to take. The two-hour online course can be applied to all schools, including elementary, middle and high schools.

The program was created by Legal One, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care (UBHC) and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

“I think the message from ‘Signs Matter’ is that you can make a difference,” said Maureen Brogan, the statewide traumatic loss coalition coordinator at UBHC.

The program is not just for teaches and guidance counselors, but also for support staff and administrators. Brogan said coaches, lunch aides and school bus drivers can all pick up on suicide danger signals.

Brogan said the program is gleaned from feedback that they received through all 21 New Jersey counties, and there’s a New Jersey specific version of “Signs Matter,” something that can be done for other states as well to match their individual needs.

Through the development of the course, researchers realized that most existing suicide prevention programs focused on adolescents, and that nothing existed for younger kids.

“We decided to address the entire K-12 community because elementary school personnel can recognize trouble signs in younger students and mitigate later problems,” Brogan said.

The training examines common mental health problems and how they could present themselves through three vignettes set in elementary, middle and high schools. The course includes expert analysis, resources for understanding a school’s role in suicide prevention and a review of a school’s legal obligations.

The course also includes a bullying scenario.

“We are very careful that people understand that bullying is not a cause and effect. This video and training also tells people that this is what we need to recognize with bullying, however, if you are bullied it does not mean that you are going to become suicidal. It is a risk factor and things that we want to pay attention to, but it is not a cause and effect relationship,” Brogan said.

The online course is not telling school staff to treat the child directly, but connects them with services that children can benefit from.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death for youth age 10 to 24 in New Jersey, according to the 2014 Youth Suicide Report by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families. There were 232 suicides in the Garden State by people age 10 to 24 between 2011 and 2013.

Despite those numbers, New Jersey has the lowest suicide rate in the nation.

“The good news for New Jersey is that New Jersey is the 50th state. I do not want anyone to think for a minute that in the state that this (suicide) is an epidemic. It is nowhere near epidemic proportions,” Brogan said. “Any loss of life is one too many.”

Read More: Suicide prevention program launched for K-12 | http://nj1015.com/suicide-prevention-program-launched-for-k-12/?trackback=tsmclip

Finally, Congress to start debate on No Child Left Behind rewrite - The Washington Post

Finally, Congress to start debate on No Child Left Behind rewrite - The Washington Post:

Finally, Congress to start debate on No Child Left Behind rewrite

Congress is finally supposed to be turning its attention to the No Child Left Behind law, the education law that passed in the administration of president George W. Bush, and was supposed to be rewritten in 2007. There are bills in both the House and Senate, both of which would make significant changes to education policy today, as explained in this post. It was written by Monty Neill, executive director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, known as  FairTest, a nonprofit organization that works to end the misuses of standardized testing and to ensure that evaluation of students, educators and schools is fair, open, valid and educationally sound.

By Monty Neill

This week Congress takes up overhaul of “No Child Left Behind,” the widely despised federal law that brought a tsunami of testing down on public schools. Beginning Tuesday, July 7, the U.S. Senate is scheduled to debate reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA, now named No Child Left Behind, NCLB). The House is expected to take up its own proposal (H.R. 5) later this month.

Overall, the Senate’s “Every Child Achieves Act” (ECAA, S. 1117) makes significant assessment reform progress. It largely returns control over accountability to the states. It allows states to choose whether to use student test scores to judge teachers. It provides some flexibility in assessment. However, the Senate proposal fails to scale back mandated testing – pending a vote on an amendment that would allow states to test once each in elementary, middle and high school.

Here are some specifics:

The Senate bill and the House bill remove the destructive NCLB mandate that every school make “adequate yearly progress” (AYP) on student test scores or face escalating sanctions, such as replacing staff or being closed down. The Senate bill requires states to intervene in an unspecified number of schools that are “low performing.” Each state would design its own accountability system, which would include student test scores, graduation rates, and at least one other indicator selected by the state. States would decide how much weight to assign each component and the balance between assistance and sanctions.

[No Child Left Behind’s test-based policies failed. Will Congress keep them anyway?]

Unfortunately, ECAA and the House bill continue the harmful NCLB mandate requiring states to test every year in grades 3-8 and once in 10-12 in reading Finally, Congress to start debate on No Child Left Behind rewrite - The Washington Post:

This week: No Child Left Behind reform | TheHill

This week: No Child Left Behind reform | TheHill:

This week: No Child Left Behind reform

Both the House and Senate this week will be tackling reauthorizations of the No Child Left Behind education law.

House Republicans are reviving legislation that leadership yanked from the floor in February due to a lack of support. Conservatives balked at the initial version because they thought it preserved too much federal influence in education policy and didn’t offer enough flexibility for school districts.

Amendments regarding school choice and eliminating testing requirements were denied votes on the floor last time, which further frustrated conservative interest groups and lawmakers. The House Rules Committee will decide Tuesday evening which amendments will get votes this week.

Across the Capitol, senators are expected to start debate Tuesday on the legislation, which passed out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee earlier this year after three days of debate and markups. 

The legislation was able to get unanimous support, bringing together lawmakers from across the political spectrum including Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.). 

But senators withdrew dozens of amendments during the committee process and are expecting to try again once the bill reaches the Senate floor. 

Warren said in April that she voted "yes" in the committee "in deference to... ongoing efforts" by Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the committee, and Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the ranking member, to move away from the legacy of No Child Left Behind. 

Meanwhile, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said earlier this year that he would also push to include his proposal to give parents greater choice in selecting schools in the reform bill once it reaches the Senate floor. 

The 2002 law expired eight years ago, but Congress has not sent legislation to the president's desk since then to renew it. 

Appropriations

The House will complete consideration of the $30.2 billion fiscal 2016 spending bill for the Department of Interior, likely on Wednesday.

Lawmakers debated three hours’ worth of amendments before leaving town for the July 4 recess last week, but more amendments remain. 

The measure cuts the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) budget by nine percent from the current enacted spending level. It also includes provisions to limit EPA rulemaking on climate change and navigable waters.

It will be the seventh out of the 12 annual appropriations bills to pass the House this year. The House appears unlikely to finish them all before the August recess, given time constraints and Senate Democrats’ decision to block all spending bills that adhere to budget caps known as This week: No Child Left Behind reform | TheHill:

California Educator Honored with Social Justice Activist Award - 2015 NEA Annual Meeting

California Educator Honored with Social Justice Activist Award - 2015 NEA Annual Meeting:

California Educator Honored with Social Justice Activist Award

California Educator Jose Lara Honored with Social Justice Activist Award

NEA awarded the Social Justice Activist Award to Jose Lara, a social studies teacher at Santee Education Complex High School in Los Angeles, for his work in educational justice. The award was presented on Sun., July 5 at NEA’s Representative Assembly in Orlando.

The award is given to an NEA member who demonstrates the ability to lead, organize and engage educators, parents, and the community to advocate on social justice issues that impact the lives of students, fellow educators, and the communities they serve.

In his remarks to the delegate assembly, Lara said, “Social Justice is a verb. It is a sense of community and responsibility that goes beyond the classroom. It is fighting for the most vulnerable in our society. And today, it is precisely those students, the most vulnerable and historically oppressed, who are left out of our curriculum.”

Lara has a long history of social justice activism, from helping to organize a bus caravan of students and educators to protesting an Arizona law that legalized racial profiling to speaking against local school closings and the distribution of pink slips. But even as a boy, he knew there was something amiss with the world.

“I remember learning from my teachers: ‘This is America. If you want to make it, you must work hard.’ But we weren’t making it,” says Lara, who remembers seeing his mother work hard everyday, yet struggled, as a single parent, to raise her family.

To help make a difference, Lara pursued a profession in education. “I came into teaching to change the world,” he says. “I thought I could do that within my classroom, but I saw that I had to go outside of it.”

He’s gone far since that realization, too, becoming vice president of the El Rancho Unified School Board in the city of Pico Rivera, where his children attend school; dean of students, where he teaches; and a board member of his local Association, the United Teachers Los Angeles.

His most recent efforts led to make ethnic studies a graduation requirement in the Los Angeles Unified School District.

It started in 2013. As a school board member in El Rancho, he quickly worked to get a resolution passed to make ethnic studies a graduation requirement. The district is thought to be the first school system in the state to have made such a requisite. Now, the class of 2016 must take and pass an ethnic-studies course before graduating.

With much success and support from the community, Lara formed the Ethnic Studies Now Coalition, which set out to make ethnic studies a graduation requirement in Los Angeles, which it did in 2014.

Data from the California Department of Education shows that ethnic studies courses are offered at 19 out of 94 of its senior high schools. This means that only 691 out of a total of nearly 153,000 high school students are taking ethnic studies courses.

“In this past year alone we have changed education policy and over 200,000 students will now have ethnic California Educator Honored with Social Justice Activist Award - 2015 NEA Annual Meeting:

NEA RA: It is frequently an out-of-body experience. | Fred Klonsky

NEA RA: It is frequently an out-of-body experience. | Fred Klonsky:

NEA RA: It is frequently an out-of-body experience.

Teacher activist Jose Lara and NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia.

Sitting in the giant meeting hall that holds the NEA Representative Assembly, it often has an out-of-body experience feel about it.

One day we can pass a major initiative against institutional racism unanimously and with no debate.

The next day we can debate for two hours whether the Confederate flag and statues of Jefferson Davis are symbols of racism that should be removed from the public square.

Then today the NEA RA awarded my friend Jose Lara for his social justice activism.

NEA awarded the Social Justice Activist Award to Jose Lara, a social studies teacher at Santee Education Complex High School in Los Angeles, for his work in educational justice. The award was presented on Sunday, July 5 at NEA’s Representative Assembly in Orlando.

The award is given to an NEA member who demonstrates the ability to lead, organize and engage educators, parents, and the community to advocate on social justice issues that impact the lives of students, fellow educators, and the NEA RA: It is frequently an out-of-body experience. | Fred Klonsky:

I will be talking about Confederate flags direct from the NEA RA on WBAI radio Monday morning. | Fred Klonsky

I will be talking about Confederate flags direct from the NEA RA on WBAI radio Monday morning. | Fred Klonsky:

I will be talking about Confederate flags direct from the NEA RA on WBAI radio Monday morning.

JULY 5, 2015

I’m not sure who expected that race and racism, the Confederate flag and Confederate war memorials would take center stage at the annual Representative Assembly of the National Education Association in Orlando.

But it has.

Following Friday’s vote to adopt New Business Item B on the fight against institutional racism, Saturday featured a two hour debate over the display of the Confederate flag and Confederate symbols.

The debate produced the largest number of “requests for information,” a parliamentary maneuver that allows argument and debate by other means, in the history of 153 years of Representative Assemblies.

It was in response to my New Business Item 11 on Confederate flags and symbols.

I will be interviewed on WBAI’s Morning Show hosted by Michael G. Haskins and Jed Brandt on Monday, July 6th at 7AM EDT.

The show is live-streamed on the internet.

I will be talking about Confederate flags direct from the NEA RA on WBAI radio Monday morning. | Fred Klonsky:

ESEA Reauthorization Leaves Parents with Less Power » Missouri Education Watchdog

ESEA Reauthorization Leaves Parents with Less Power » Missouri Education Watchdog:

ESEA Reauthorization Leaves Parents with Less Power

Time to make your phone calls tomorrow and send to all your social media contacts.  The vote for reauthorization is scheduled in the Senate is Tuesday, July 7, 2015.  Here is information on why this 800 page bill (with no co-sponsors) must be defeated:

********************************

Dr. Sandra Stotsky gives an overview on how the reauthorization places the power into the hands of state educational agencies, not parents.  She also talks about how the bill received no input from the parents whose children will be subjected to the mandates.

********************************

The American Principles Project listed fatal problems with the bill in The Every Child Achieves Act–A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing.  It masquerades as giving states more control in their educational development/delivery but it solidifies not only mandatory approval of state reforms, it also cements a common core requirement into the act:

Forget parental rights of ‘opting out’ and stopping personal data mining of your child:ESEA Reauthorization Leaves Parents with Less Power » Missouri Education Watchdog:

The Washington Teacher: Allegations Surface: DC Principal Receives Monthly Wine Shipment at NW Elementary School

The Washington Teacher: Allegations Surface: DC Principal Receives Monthly Wine Shipment at NW Elementary School:

Allegations Surface: DC Principal Receives Monthly Wine Shipment at NW Elementary School

Tubman Elem. School wine delivery

By Candi Peterson, WTU General Vice President

There aren’t many employers that would allow you to have your "wine of the month" shipment delivered to your job. Surely having a wine shipment sent to your elementary school likely will earn you a reprimand, even your walking papers.

When a local school principal (allegedly) received a monthly wine shipment from Last Bottle of Napa, California at her NW elementary school, here in DC– it caught the attention of a Fed-X employee who informed school staff. A picture of one of the wine deliveries sent May 15, 2015 was provided to The Washington Teacher.

Pay attention to the shipping label on the box (pictured left)  which reveals the shipment was delivered to Amanda Delabar at 3101 13th Street NW, District of Columbia 20010, which is the address of Tubman Elementary school where Delabar is the principal. The label is stamped home pre-paid ALCOHOL and requires an adult signature.

One might ask what’s wrong with having wine delivered to you at your place of employment, which just so happens to be an elementary school? As an educational leader, principals are models of leadership for teachers and students and should maintain standards of exemplary professional conduct.

“If a principal would reprimand one of his/her staff for a similar type of offense then they too should refrain from engaging in such behavior”, stated a DC principal who wished to remain anonymous.

The Child, Youth, Safety and Omnibus Amendment Act of 2004  requires criminal background checks for certain DCPS employees who work with students prior to the commencement of employment, and reasonable suspicion drug/alcohol testing. This act led to the creation of the DCPS 2013 Employee Mandatory Drug and Alcohol Testing Policy which has certain provisions that also prohibit intoxicants at work.

Given that DCPS is committed to protecting the safety, health and welfare of young people in its charge, as well as that of its employees, a  safety sensitive employee (i.e. principal, teacher, school staff,) are prohibited from The Washington Teacher: Allegations Surface: DC Principal Receives Monthly Wine Shipment at NW Elementary School:

La.’s BESE races will be heated, expensive and shadowed by Common Core | News | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, Louisiana

BESE races will be heated, expensive and shadowed by Common Core | News | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, Louisiana:

BESE races will be heated, expensive and shadowed by Common Core

7 on La.’s top school board face re-election

Please visit the Flip BESE website often to keep yourself and other voters informed about the efforts to restore BESE to the citizens and students of Louisiana!Louisiana Educator: Great Facebook Page on how to "flip BESE":

Click Here to Follow Flip BESE on Facebook 

LEE P.BARRIOS FOR BESE 1 Web Site

Click Here to Follow Flip BESE on Facebook 

MIKE KREAMER FOR BESE 7 Web Site

Click Here to Follow Flip BESE on Facebook 

JASON FRANCE FOR BESE 6 Web Site

Click Here to Follow Flip BESE on Facebook 

With Common Core and other issues hanging in the balance, as many as seven of the eight elected members of Louisiana’s top school board will be on the Oct. 24 primary ballot.

The biggest question mark is Chas Roemer, who is president of the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and is a leading backer of the controversial Common Core standards in reading, writing and math.

“I have just not decided yet,” said Roemer, who lives in Baton Rouge and holds the District 6 seat on BESE.

Two other hopefuls say they plan to run for Roemer’s spot.

Jay Guillot, who lives in Ruston, is the lone elected board member who has said he is not running again. He represents District 5.

MORE ON THIS TOPIC

• BESE races will be heated, expensive and shadowed by Common Core
• After months of controversy, schools chief White says he hopes to keep his job
• Bobby Jindal signs Common Core accord, says next step is electing leaders to scrap standards
• Despite months of controversy, John White can't imagine walking away from school chief job
• Bobby Jindal unveils plan to rid Louisiana of Common Core with specific goals in mind

Qualifying for the eight seats is Sept. 8-10. Runoffs, if needed, will be Nov. 21.

BESE has 11 members, with three named by the governor and eight chosen by voters. It sets policies for about 720,000 public school students statewide.

Those expected to run are:

Carolyn Hill, of Baton Rouge, who holds the District 8 slot and is expected to get opposition.

Lottie Beebe, who lives in Breaux Bridge and holds the District 3 seat.

Holly Boffy, a Youngsville resident who already has an opponent for the District 7 post.

Jim Garvey, a Metairie lawyer who will be opposed in District 1 by Lee Barrios, who has run before and lost.

Kira Orange Jones, who lives in New Orleans and holds the District 2 post.

Mary Harris, principal of a top-rated elementary school in Shreveport, who is seeking her first full term in the District 4 slot. At least two others are expected to challenge her.

BESE has endorsed Common Core twice, but that sentiment may change depending on how the eight races come out.

The new academic benchmarks could be a defining issue in at least four of eight contests — for the seats now held by Roemer, Hill, Boffy and Garvey.

“Over the past two years, the whole issue of standards has exploded,” said Barry Erwin, president of the pro-Common Core group Council for a Better Louisiana.

“Now you have people who are definitely recruiting candidates to get into the race on that issue, on both sides of it,” Erwin said.

The new board will take office in January, barely two months before BESE has to finish revisions to Common Core.

Like four years ago, the contests are expected to be expensive and heated, with business interests on one side and teachers unions and other traditional public school groups on the other.

Baton Rouge contractor Lane Grigsby said his 2011 Alliance for Better Classrooms political action committee will be back as well as a new one — Empower Louisiana.

“If we don’t improve the system, we have no future,” said Grigsby, who has pushed for tax credits, school choice and other BESE races will be heated, expensive and shadowed by Common Core | News | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, Louisiana:

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson seemingly has something he wishes to hide. - Breitbart

Kevin Johnson Wants Restraining Order to Prevent E-mail Release - Breitbart:

Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson seemingly has something he wishes to hide.

Johnson filed a restraining order request against the city of Sacramento to prevent theSacramento News and Review from gaining access to e-mails he sent as mayor. Johnson claims that the release would harm him and the National Conference of Black Mayors (NCBM), of which he was once vice president and president. He named the NCBM as a co-plaintiff.

Yet Vanessa Williams, executive director of NCBM, said angrily, “We want nothing to do with Kevin Johnson. He’s not even a member. He tried to ruin this organization. I dare Kevin Johnson to find one person with this organization who supports him. Just one! Everybody with this organization hates Kevin Johnson. Nobody gave him permission to sue for us.”

Mayor Asks For Restraining Order Against City To Stop Email Release

KTXL - Sacramento

James Sanchez, the attorney for the city of Sacramento, agreed with the June 12 request from the Sacramento News and Review that the e-mails are a matter of public record. As a result, the city plans to release the e-mails to the media on July 6, prompting Johnson’s request.

Johnson and his lawyers argue that the e-mails are a matter of “attorney client privilege,” adding that their release would NCBM “irreparable harm.”

Jeff vonKaenel, publisher of the SN&R, was shocked that Johnson would try to pull an end-run, telling KCRA, “I don’t get it. I think the Mayor thinks he’s intimidating, but I think he’s a slow learner … This one is so ridiculous, it didn’t take much backbone for us, actually, for us to stand up. I’m just stunned the Mayor would do this.”

Asked by KCRA why Johnson is attempting to suppress the e-mails, Johnson’s spokesman, Ben Sosenko, protested, ”“We don’t feel the mayor is going through great lengths to protect them. This is just a regular, necessary, legal step…I don’t think there’s anything in those emails that would be disparaging to the mayor. But that’s not the issue. The issue is that he has a relationship that’s protected with his attorney as he was going through these legal proceedings with the National Conference of Black Mayors.”

Accusations against Johnson for requiring staffers to perform work unrelated to their employment have been made in the past.

Johnson’s attorney, Peter Haviland, wrote:

The writ petition filed today by the National Conference of Black Mayors, the Chapter 7 Trustee for the Estate of the National Conference of Black Mayors, and Mayor Kevin Johnson in his capacity as former President of the National Conference of Black Mayors, is not a lawsuit against anyone for damages nor is it an action to prevent the release of public records. It is only a “writ”—a common and simple procedure designed to protect attorney-client privileged documents.

 All of the parties who filed this writ, including Mayor Kevin Johnson, are committed to transparency and disclosure of all appropriate public records. They are equally committed to the bedrock principle of attorney-client privilege, which is recognized in the public records request statute.

The restraining order request will be examined Kevin Johnson Wants Restraining Order to Prevent E-mail Release - Breitbart:

For More On KJ: 

KJ and The Art of Deal Making in Sacramento

After his wife's successful book RHEE THE ART OF THE DEAL KJ has tried his hand at writing.