Update on The 10/28/14 School Board Study Session on Charter Schools

This is a very interesting meeting.  Anyone interested in education reform and the roll of charter schools should watch this meeting.

The School Board produces good agendas. To view the agenda, follow this link. The board has a very abbreviated regular meeting and  almost immediately jump into the work study session. Under discussion are two reports commissioned by the school board concerning charter schools and school reform. One is a recent study conducted by MGT of America to study the fiscal impact of charter school. To view that study follow this link: Charter School Financial Impact Model.

The other report is a two-year old study performed by the Tribal Group. I have been unable to find that report but only devoted limited time to the search. I am not sure it was ever made available to the public. At the time it was completed the press and council members could not get copies.  The Tribal Group is a foreign-owned company that was paid $6.3 million to advise the board on how to turn around Metro's failing schools. One thing the Tribal Group study concluded was that MNPS are top heavy, that there should be staff reductions and that more authority for managing schools should be given to school principals. To read more about the Tribal Group study, see this report that appeared in the Nashville Scene.

The work session starts at time stamp 0:3:38 with a discussion of the MGT report. The discussion of the Tribal Group report starts at 1:38:00. 

One thing to take away from this meeting is that the MGT consultant and some members of the board are opposed to charters competing with regular pubic schools in areas of the county where there is adequate capacity for the regular public schools to adsorb the students. They look at charters as a way to handle the overall capacity needs of school system rather than a tool to advance education improvement. They also continue to think of overhead and "fixed" cost as being fixed and see charters as a financial drain on the system. If they took to heart the recommendations of the Tribal group they would be cutting bureaucracy. I assume there is real fear of direct competition with charters because they know that if parents had a choice of a charter school or a regular public school in their community, parents would choose the better school. 

The data is clear that charter schools are succeeding where regular public schools are failing, but to many on the board that is not a persuasive enough factor to cause them to embrace charters. They are married to the status quo. Elissa Kim asks the right question, "what is the return on the investment?" She says all schools cost money.  The real cost to society, she says is when we don't educate children.  (see 0:24:47)  In addition to the point offer by Ms Kim about the general cost to society of failing schools, I also think any discussion of the impact of charter schools should look at the particular economic impact to the city for having bad schools.  Nashville shines and excels in many areas but many families avoid living in Davidson County because of our poor school system.  People who are deciding to either live in Davidson County or a surrounding county may be able to send their child to a public school in Williamson County but must consider the cost of private school if they choose to live in Nashville.  There is also a measurable cost associated with students who graduate unprepared for gainful employment or college. 

One interesting thing I learned from this work session is that while state and local dollars follow the student, federal dollars, such as title I money,  do not. This weakens what I think is a false argument anyway, and that is that when a child goes to a charter, the dollars that fund overhead are lost to the regular public schools and thus put regular public schools at a disadvantage. There is in the works the development of proposed state legislation that would change the funding formula so that charters will have to pay an administrative fee to the local school system or an amount less than a 100% of state and local dollars follow the student to a charter school.

I am so impressed by Elissa Kim. She is articulate and vivacious and passionate and rational in her arguments. She says "charters are only growing because people go to them." No one makes people go to charters she says.  She points out that charters are overrepresented in the top schools in Nashville.  She says we should not be trying to figure out how to tamp them down, but how to expand them. (See 1:19:00)

The Nashville Scene offers a good report on this meeting:

Five Things to Know From Last Night’s School Board Meeting, What’s Next

by Andrea Zelinski, The Nashville Scene,Wed, Oct 29, 2014 - School board members spent two and one-half hours diving deep into an outside report rekindling a years-long debate about the role of charter schools in Nashville and discerning what advice the district took from a two-year-old Tribal report. Here’s a breakdown of the major takeaways, and then some. 

1) Gentry favors a narrowed charter school policy.(link)

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Obamacare sends health premiums skyrocketing by as much as 78 percent

Lamar Alexander posted this to Facebook:

ICYMI, check out the Washington Times’ article, “Obamacare sends health premiums skyrocketing by as much as 78 percent,” on a new study by State Farm that compares health insurance policies before and after Obamacare, showing how premiums have drastically increased since its implementation. 

Sen. Alexander says Republicans are ready to take the health care debate in a new direction with “proposals that move our country step by step toward more freedom, more choices, and lower costs—repairing the damage Obamacare has done and preventing future damage.”

Read the full article here: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/oct/28/obamacare-sends-health-premiums-skyrocketing-by-as/?page=all#pagebreak

If you are not as hip and Facebook code-word savvy as Senator Alexander, "ICYMI" is "in case you missed it."  I had to think about it before it came to me. I know LOL and LMAO but I had to think about ICYMI. Anyway, ICYMI this is an informative article.

The people who were hit hardest by rate increases are young adults. I doubt enough young healthy adults are going to enroll to make Obamacare work. It seem clear to me, that Obamacare is simply not sustainable. My fear is that as the failures become clear, instead of moving toward a free market model there will be pressure to move toward a more universal healthcare model. 

Instead of focusing on "repeal" maybe it is time Republicans start focusing on the "replace."  And, maybe not even use the term "replace." Maybe we should talk about "working with Democrats" to "fix" what is "wrong" with the Affordable Care Act.  That would let Democrats save face while they tacitly admit Obamacare was a mistake. Maybe the strategy should be to "amend" the Affordable Care Act until it is in fact replaced. I know it would be satisfying to "rip it out by the root," as I heard Louisiana Republican Senate candidate Rob Maness say in a debate I watched last night.  It may be satisfying but I am not sure that will attract votes or is a winning strategy.

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Why I am not voting for Bill Haslam

I think Bill Haslam has made an excellent governor. He has governed with common sense conservative values. He and the Republican-controlled legislature have advanced education reform and cut taxes and increased government efficiency. I could hardly be more pleased with a governor that I am Governor Haslam.  So why am I not voting for Haslam in the upcoming election?  Because I am in favor of all four proposed constitutional amendments.

It is designed to be difficult to amend our State constitution. In order for an amendment to pass, it does not just have to have more people vote for it than vote against it. A proposed amendment must get one more vote than 50% of the number of people who vote in the Governor's race.

For sake of simplicity assume 100,000 people vote in the governor's race. Assume not everyone who votes will vote on the amendments.  There are some people who feel duty-bound to vote in every election but who may feel too uninformed about the amendments to cast a vote. Assume that 50,000 people vote for Amendment one and 45,000 vote against it. Does it pass? No. It would have required 50,001 votes to pass.

Now assume some people vote for Amendment one and do not vote in the governor's race. Assume only 95,000 vote in the governor's race and 50,000 vote for amendment one and 45,000 vote against it. Does it pass? Yes. One more than 50% of those voting for governor in this example is 47501. By not voting in the governor's race, you are lowering the threshold of the number required for an amendment to pass.

What is the risk of doing this?  Mark Rogers a local Republican Party activist whose opinion I value said there is considerable risk.  He spoke on this subject at a meeting of Caffeinated Conservatives yesterday. He said many of the vote-no-on-amendment-1 people will be driven to the polls by this issue alone. Despite that Charlie Brown is a clown and no one knows hardly anything about him and he has no credentials and experience, the no-on-one voters will vote for the Democratic nominee for Governor. Rogers says by failing to vote for Haslam, we could end up with Charlie Brown being our governor.

Is this likely? I seriously doubt it.  I just do not think that many people will vote for Charlie Brown.  If Haslam had a serious challenger I would not be advocating this strategy. While I respect Mark Roger's opinion, I think he is wrong.  Not that many people will understand the value of abstaining from voting in the governors race. So, I am going to risk it and vote for the amendments and vote in races down-ballot and abstain from voting for governor. To lower the threshold of the required number necessary for an amendment to pass, will not require that many people to abstain from voting in the governors race. A few people abstaining from voting in the governor's race could make the difference in the vote on the constitutional amendments.

If you understand what I have been explaining there no need to read further.  Some people cannot grasp that if more people vote for an amendment than vote against it, that is does not pass. Talking to them one-on-one and seeing their comments on Facebook, some people are just not convinced that that is correct. It is.

Here is the Wikipedia explanation:

Under the legislative method (which is a quite lengthy process), the Tennessee General Assembly must pass a resolution calling for an amendment and stating its wording, and must do so in three separate readings on three separate days, with an absolute majority on all readings. The resolution does not require the governor's approval.

The amendment must then be published at least six months before the next legislative election, but is not placed on the ballot at that time. Instead, once the legislative election is held, the proposed amendment must go another three readings, three day voting process. At this stage the amendment now requires approval of 2/3 of the legislature on each vote.

Finally, the amendment is placed on the ballot as a referendum coinciding with the next gubernatorial election. For the amendment to pass, the number of yes votes must be greater than one-half the number of votes cast for governor.

Here is the wording from the State constitution:

Article XI, Section 3 of the Tennessee State Constitution

Any amendment or amendments to this Constitution may be proposed in the Senate or House of Representatives, and if the same shall be agreed to by a majority of all the members elected to each of the two houses, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be entered on their journals with the yeas and nays thereon, and referred to the General Assembly then next to be chosen; and shall be published six months previous to the time of making such choice; and if in the General Assembly then next chosen as afore-said, such proposed amendment or amendments shall be agreed to by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, then it shall be the duty of the General Assembly to submit such proposed amendment or amendments to the people at the next general election in which a governor is to be chosen. And if the people shall approve and ratify such amendment or amendments by a majority of all the citizens of the state voting for governor, voting in their favor, such amendment or amendments shall become a part of this Constitution. When any amendment or amendments to the Constitution shall be proposed in pursuance of the foregoing provisions the same shall at each of said sessions be read three times on three several days in each house.

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The Last Meeting of the AMP Citizens Advisory Committee: Mayor Dean pulls the plug on the AMP.

The highlight of the meeting is the address to the Committee by Mayor Karl Dean. He makes a push for mass transit and says now is not the time to put on the brakes, but he does. He says the project needs to move forward with the design phrase and meeting TDOT standards and Federal environmental impact studies need to move forward. He says, however, he will not be seeking state or local funding for the project for the upcoming year. (To see his remarks see timestamps 2:02:03-2:10:44.)

With this being Dean's last year in office, I think this kills the project. Only one of the announced candidates for Mayor has said he favors the AMP. I would be very surprised if this project moves forward. With little likelihood this project will be build, I hope the Council stops the project now instead of wasting a few more million dollars on design of a project that will not be build. The Council has already appropriated $7.5 million for this project and some of that has been spend, but I would assume not most of it. Unless the Council acts to stop action of the project, money will be spend to advance a project that is going nowhere. I hope someone in the Council is paying attention and can reclaim any unspent money. If the Council does nothing the whole $7.5 million will be wasted.

Most of this meeting is boring with charts and explanations of intersection wait times and number of turns and such as that. It is much more information than the average person would want to know. Here are the other highlights:

Richard Fulton, son of the former Mayor Richard Fulton, and a member of the AMP Advisory Committee gives a fast-passed description of the route and all of the lane changes from center lane to curbside and the turns a bus on the proposed route would have to make.  After his route description he says, "Woe! And this is BRT"? "There has got to be a better way."  He says he thinks that if the AMP is built, it will be such a disaster that it will set mass transit back decades.  (See 1:39:26- 1:43:02)

Dianne Neal says the plan has the best of intentions but is a "cut and paste" and is not a comprehensive plan. We do not know that this is the best alternative. She points out that two key issues, ridership and finances, were not before the committee. She also says we now know the AMP will do nothing to ease traffic congestion. She says the AMP is an example of the Federal government dictating transit solutions to local government without concern that the plan is affordable and sustainable.  (see 1:54:02- 1:57:55)


Here is The Nashville Business Journal report on the meeting:

With Citizens Advisory Committee, Dean's Amp lost the room

 In the end, however, concerns about the $174 million project came from more than just the loudest opponents on the 25-member advisory group, which Dean formed in April to provide regular feedback on the project. As members of the CAC issued final statements during the group's last meeting Tuesday, one thing became apparent: Dean's bus rapid-transit project had lost the room. (link)

Here is The Tennessean's report:

Dean punts Amp decision to next mayor 

Mayor Karl Dean says he won't pursue local or state funding for his Amp project during his final year in office, putting the fate of the controversial bus rapid transit project in the hands of a successor who might not be as enthusiastic about the idea.

Dean, entering his final 11 months in office, announced his new course at the final meeting of a citizens advisory committee he appointed in April to offer input on the 7.1-mile, $175 million transit project that would stretch from East Nashville, downtown through Broadway and onto West End Avenue. (link)

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Rep. Diane Black op/ed: Yes on 1 the compassionate choice

Rep. Diane Black op/ed: Yes on 1 the compassionate choice

Amendment 1 will not ban abortion in our state. It will instead give all Tennesseans a say by empowering our elected representatives to enact protections for women and unborn children that were wrongly struck down by unelected justices at the state Supreme Court. This includes informed-consent laws so that women know of any health risks associated with their abortion — a requirement that already exists for most other major surgeries — and regular inspections of abortion facilities to ensure compliance with health regulations.

Right now, the lack of proper safety regulations for abortion procedures has made Tennessee the state with the third-highest percentage of out-of-state abortions. Amendment 1 is not radical or extreme — this absurd status quo is. That is why this amendment puts our laws back in step with our principles and those of our neighboring states, and trusts that when it comes to decisions regarding life and abortion, Tennesseans know best.

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Five Things to Know From Last Night’s School Board Meeting, What’s Next

by Andrea Zelinski, The Nashville Scene,Wed, Oct 29, 2014 - School board members spent two and one-half hours diving deep into an outside report rekindling a years-long debate about the role of charter schools in Nashville and discerning what advice the district took from a two-year-old Tribal report. Here’s a breakdown of the major takeaways, and then some. 

1) Gentry favors a narrowed charter school policy.(link)

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The AMP is done! Put a fork in it.

Dean slams brakes on the Amp

Scott Harrison Staff Reporter, Nashville Business Journal, Oct. 28, 2014- Nashville Mayor Karl Dean is passing the baton on the Amp, his controversial $174 million bus rapid-transit project.

In the final meeting of his Citizens Advisory Committee, Dean announced today that he will not seek state or local funding for the project in 2015. Given that next year is his last in office, doing so effectively means getting the Amp off the ground will be dependent on the next administration — should that administration choose to pick up the mantle. (link)

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Friendly reminder for my Democrat Friends.

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Former Rep. Ben West urges voters to Vote for Jim Gotto

From former state representative Ben West:

"I'm speaking to you all to remind you how very important tomorrow is, it's Election Day! We get to exercise our most basic American right by going to the ballot box. Today I am asking you to vote for my friend, Jim Gotto, who is running for my former seat in the state house of representatives, district 60 which includes Donelson, Hermitage, and Old Hickory.

“It was truly my honor to serve you for 26 years. It has been my pleasure to have known Jim and his wife Carol for a very long time. I know the countless contributions they have made to our community over the years in this district. Even though you have known me as a conservative Democrat, in this election I am choosing to cross party lines as so many of you did for me and vote for Republican Jim Gotto. I believe he is the right man for the job.

“Jim is the man we can trust. He is accessible. He brings people together and listens to his constituents. Most importantly, he moves past partisan gridlock when voting for laws which will impact our families' lives. The state house is called the people's house for a reason. This is where your voice matters most in this complicated thing called government. This is why Democrats, Independents, and Republicans alike are sticking up and supporting Jim Gotto. He will be your voice in the people's house. Please, don't miss this opportunity to make a difference. Join me tomorrow and vote for Jim Gotto. And if you want to speak directly to Jim, please call 615-482-3815.

Thank you for your time.”

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Amendment One Riddled with Ironies

by Lei Ann Ulep
Amendment 1, on the ballot tomorrow, is riddled with one irony after another.  Roe vs. Wade became law because women were either doing their own homemade abortions or resorting to “back alley” procedures. Needless to say it was unsafe and downright inhumane.

Lei Ann Ulep

Irony #1

The sole reason Amendment 1 is on this Tuesday’s ballot is because abortion clinics in Tennessee are being run under zero guidelines.   They don’t need the health department’s approval to perform procedures like other medical facilities.  Hence there are abortion clinics that are unclean and unsafe.  Amendment 1, if passed, will cause no immediate effect on abortion in Tennessee. However, it will enable Tennesseans, through their state legislators, to pass legislation that requires abortion clinics to be regulated, like all other medical facilities, making them safe for women to have a proper and informed procedure.  
The irony is that the same groups who backed Roe vs. Wade are the same group blocking Amendment 1, even though both have the same goal of making abortions cleaner and safer.

Irony #2
The Tennessean recently reported that the campaign No on 1 is 87% funded by Planned Parenthood, nearly $1.7 million. Yes on 1 is funded by the National Right to Life PAC, donating $15,000, and businessman John Gregory with $150,000, but 83% of funding is coming from individuals. (http://www.tennessean.com/story/opinion/2014/11/01/follow-money-amendment/18198625/)  It has rarely been pointed out that Planned Parenthood is profiting from these procedures. The organization says they are fighting the proposed amendment because they are doing this out of the principal, craftily labeled as “pro-choice”.  This legislation is not taking any choice away but in fact, modernizing the choice to have a clean and safe abortion.
I am pro-business on all levels, but if you are going to profit you must have and follow regulations especially if that business is medical in nature.  What’s ironic is liberals have always LOVED regulations but now we know that they are only for regulations if it does not include the corporations that fund their political candidates.  This is not to be mean or hateful but simply being truthful.
The irony is that for a change the left/progressives are the capitalist here, as well as standing against government regulation of health facilities. 

Irony #3
The No on 1 campaign is funded by progressive type groups like American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood but out of either ignorance or greed, they are actually keeping abortions from being more modernized because of fear that the Pro-Life groups will use this legislation to move things backwards i.e. introduce state legislation that will infringe upon women’s privacy.  Arguments against the amendment paints, the perception that it would take away a women’s choice when in fact, it just gives women better and informed choices.  That thinking of not doing something because it “might” lead to something backwards, is irrational and ironic because progressive means “favoring or advocating progress, change, improvement, or reform, as opposed to wishing to maintain things as they are, especially in political matters” – dictionary.com   
 
In short, Progressive groups are getting in the way of progress.  Progress is progress, it doesn’t matter who or what is funding it or what their ulterior motives are behind the funds.

We recognize that both campaigns, No on 1 and Yes on 1, have their own messages.  This opinion piece/letter is to communicate to our fellow Tennesseans to forget what both campaigns are saying and cut through the clutter.  Vote Yes on Amendment 1 to ensure abortions are done safely, cleanly and most of all humanely.  

Lei Ann is a Political veteran with experience working on six campaigns spanning from 1994 to 2014.  She served in different capacities on statewide campaigns in three states. She Served as Campaign Manager in a Congressional race and as the Regional Field Director in the battleground area of one of the biggest surprise victories of 2002.

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Register Hasn’t Ruled Out Giving Inglewood Elementary to KIPP

Register Flips, Hasn’t Ruled Out Giving Inglewood Elementary to KIPP

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Yes on 1 Turns Focus To Unlicensed Abortion Facility

911 Emergency Call Released at Press Conference 

 

Supporters of Amendment 1 held a press conference on Monday outside a Nashville abortion facility which is neither licensed nor inspected by the Tennessee Department of Health. 

 

In 2002, owner-operator of The Women's Center, Gary Boyle, successfully won his lawsuit against the state in which he claimed that the state law requiring licensure and inspection of his abortion facilities violates the Tennessee Constitution.  As a result, facilities owned and operated by Boyle in Bristol and Nashville continue to operate without Health Department licensure. 

 

The case is TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, ET AL. v. GARY C. BOYLE, M.D., ET AL., 2002

https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/OPINIONS/TCA/PDF/024/BoyleGC.pdf

TN Department of Health website to document licensed facilities:

http://health.state.tn.us/HCF/Facilities_Listings/facilities.htm
 

Yes on 1 provided reporters with copies of a June 21, 2014 audio recording of a 911 call retrieved from Nashville's Emergency Communications Center.  During the unedited recording, abortion facility staff can be heard struggling to provide aid to a patient who, according to The Women's Center, was undergoing an abortion.

 

During the call a Women's Center staffer directs other unidentified personnel where to find medication, and provides the following details to the 911 dispatcher.

 

911:  "Tell me exactly what happened..."

WC Staff: "She started coughing and she quit breathing...."

911:  "Is she breathing?"

WC Staff: "Uh, some"

WC Staff: "She just started having a coughing fit and maybe had quit breathing at one point." 

911: "Is her breathing completely normal?

WC Staff: "Now? No."

911: "And is she completely alert?"

WC Staff: "No."

911: "Is she changing color?" 

WC Staff: "Yes....She just looks ashen, she's a  black woman..."

911: "Does she have any abdominal pain?"

WC Staff: "Uh, I'm sure she does, she's in the middle of getting an abortion."

 

Speaking in support of Amendment 1 and urging that all TN abortion facilities be required to submit to licensure and inspection were Franklin attorney Deana Hood and Murfreesboro physician Brent Boles, M.D.

 

"The fact that this facility can continue to perform thousands of abortions each year without being licensed by the state Health Department shows just how extreme our state's abortion policies have become," said Hood.  "Abortion is now considered a fundamental right in Tennessee and even the most modest efforts to regulate the practice are now at risk of being struck down.  If we cannot ensure the health and safety of women entering this building, we are abdicating our most basic responsibility as citizens and public officials."

 

Dr. Boles agreed.

 

"Tennesseans who care about women who choose to have abortions should pay close attention to this issue," said Boles.  "The recent 911 call dramatically illustrates that things can and do go wrong during abortions. Half of the facilities which advertise abortion in Tennessee aren't inspected or licensed, what would we find here if an inspection were required?"

 

Yes on 1 spokeswoman Lorene Steffes added, "Licensure and inspection is a place where pro-choice and pro-life advocates can agree," said Steffes.  "Anything less places the life and health of vulnerable women and girls in jeopardy."

 

Click on the link to view Yes on 1's new '911' television ad that is airing across Tennessee: http://youtu.be/fDOxVM9v8Tw 

Donate Today  

 

Please make a secure online gift today to help win Amendment 1.

Restore Life to Tennessee: Vote Yes on Amendment 1!   Election Day: Tuesday, November 4 Early Voting: October 15 - 30



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