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Teachers Unions Do Not Equal Teachers

/5 Comments/in , , /by Liam Day

In the wake of yesterday’s State House hearing on his proposal to create in-district charter schools in Boston, the Globe has an article exploring Mayor Menino’s motivation for changing his stance on charters, which he has historically (and quite vocally) opposed. I will leave aside for now my thoughts on the Mayor’s proposal, and simply point out in the article what I thought was a curious paragraph, one that highlights a problem that too often plagues public discussions of education reform: The party’s shift has elicited feelings of betrayal among teachers, who feel that too much blame is placed on them and that political leaders are failing to take responsibility for not providing funding and other resources teachers say are […]

Even More Zoo Thoughts

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(Disclaimer: I am in the tank for the Franklin Park Zoo. I’m a member, I go there often, I know Executive Director John Linehan (not well)) With that out of the way, I wanted to add a few items to the discussion: 1) Clause M of the Section 5 of Chapter 92b of the MA General Laws — I’m curious why this hasn’t come up sooner — it prevents the Zoo from charging admission to students on school trips. I understand the impulse but it seems unfair to expect the zoo to stand on its own (kind of) without letting them charge an important group of customers. 2) The Two-Headed Monster — The political dynamic created by the two locations […]

Start Here Before Cutting Into the Safety Net: Common Sense Budget Actions

/0 Comments/in , /by Editorial Staff

Common Sense Budget Actions Author(s): — Publication date: 2009-01-13 Category: Better Government Abstract: In October, Pioneer suggested $700 million in cuts that Governor Patrick could make to the fiscal year 2009 budget. A number of the cuts we recommended were included in the Governor’s $1.4 billion package of budget reductions. Unfortunately, in addition to inadvisable fiscal actions like extending the period for repaying unfunded pension liability and withdrawals from the rainy day fund, the Governor also made well over $350 million in cuts to safety net programs. It was too early in this difficult economic cycle to make those cuts. It still is. [wpdm_package id=69]

Duncan Rex, Daniels Rex

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Great news out of Indiana. We have in the past few weeks seen movement in Chicago, Tennessee, and Rhode Island to remove caps on charter schools or to implement new charter school laws. Duncan Rex is pushing the clock forward quickly, leveraging new Race to the Top funds to gain reforms at a pace that was until now impossible. From the July 1 Indiana News comes great tidings on Indiana’s progress. Because of wise fiscal stewardship by Governor Mitch Daniels, Indiana is one of a handful of states with a surplus in this fiscal crisis. And unlike Alaska, Indiana does not have oil and other resources to sustain a glide path on revenues. He is managing his way through it. […]

Minneapolis 180, Boston 0

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This just in from our friends at the Institute for Justice: The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals has come down with a decision that protects a freer market for tax medallions in Minneapolis. The Institute for Justice Minnesota Chapter intervened in the case on the side of the city of Minneapolis to defend its free-market reforms that removed a cap on the number of taxis allowed to operate within city limits. The reforms, finalized on March 30, 2007, will open the market to entrepreneurs who are fit, willing and able to serve the public, increase the number of cabs by 180 in the coming years, and eliminate completely the cap on the number of cabs in Minneapolis by 2011. In […]