Wednesday, May 18, 2005

State Sen. Tom McClintock

California State Senator Tom McClintock has a radical solution for the California School system--spend education money on the schools. If this particular section is accurate, McClintock's suggestion should be implemented immediately.

Across California, children are bringing home notes warning of dire consequences if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's scorched-earth budget is approved -- a budget that slashes Proposition 98 public-school spending from $42.2 billion this year all the way down to $44.7 billion next year.


By my calcualations, the school budget looks like it will increase by $2.5 billion. Sen. McClintock then takes us on a spending trip using commerically available methods to get the most out of a school budget. McClintock's exposition shows a gentlemen confident in his knowledge. But while McClintock is great to read, what troubles me is this section of the quote, "children are bringing home notes warning of dire consequences if Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's scorched-earth budget is approved."

My question is who is sending these notes home? The school administration? The teachers? My guess is that it is the teacher's unions, once again, using their monopoly power over teachers to force them to distribute these notes. As a parent, I would take a note from a teacher on a political subject with a great big grain of salt, more like a boulder of salt. I am further troubled by the use of children as the messengers of the union's position. See, a note from the teacher is more likely to get read if the child is bringing the note home. If the union sent the same letter to the parents through the mail (which costs a lot more money that kiddie-mail) the letter would have to, no doubt, say who is paying for the mailing, because it is a political mailing.

I have sent an email to Senator McClintock. I will keep you posted on any updates I receive.

L.A. Daily News - Their Opinion

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