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Why wait?

My post today is really a question. It has to do with Boston English High, one of the oldest and most venerable secondary schools in the country, erstwhile rival to Boston Latin and the focus two weeks ago (sorry, I’m behind the times) of a Boston Globe feature. It seems that English High is on the brink of closure due to consistent underperformance. The school, and its principal, Jose Duarte, have been granted a one-year reprieve to turn it around. To help him, Mr. Duarte has been given a moratorium on union work rules, allowing him “greater leeway over faculty appointments.” As Mr. Duarte and his teachers strive to turn English High around, I wish them only the best. But […]

School Choice Without Vouchers: Expanding Education Options Through Tax Benefits

Authors: William Howell and Mindy Spencer Date: October 2007 While efforts to offer Massachusetts families more school choice have stalled, other states have moved ahead, implementing innovative tax deductions and credit programs. By lowering barriers to private education, these programs open a new door for students trapped in underperforming public schools. School Choice Without Vouchers: Expanding Education Options Through Tax Credits

DiMasi Rex

Ready, AIM, fire! Call it what you want–line in the sand, declaration of war, shot across the bow. Can it be that, a few years into his reign as Speaker of the House, DiMasi is morphing into Amicus Consortii, the grown-up in the room, DiMasi Rex ready to brandish the sword of fiscal discipline? To push this overwrought string of descriptors further than it ever ought to have gone, is he the “salvatore” of business? OK, if you read on, I promise to cut that junk out. The Associated Industries of Massachusetts event on Friday showcased House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi, and as the State House News noted he asserted that state government does not need ‘new revenue sources’ and proposed […]

Needless Piling On Department

From today’s Senate Session, via State House News (sub. required): MOORE STATEMENT ON MISSED ROLL CALLS: The Senate agreed to print in its journal a statement from Sen. Moore explaining how he would have voted on roll calls he missed Sept. 20 while attending a National Conference of State Legislatures event. The statement indicated Moore would have voted to override all of Gov. Patrick’s budget vetoes taken up that day. Given that all the overrides passed by overwhelming margins, was this really necessary?

Tired, cynical – Them is fightin words

At Tuesday’s hearing on charter schools, the Mass Association of School Superintendents (MASS) trotted out their “tired” and “cynical” attempt to snuff out charters. “Tired”, “cynical”? Well, don’t ask me, read today’s inspired Globe editorial on charter schools, which opens by calling the supes’ bill “shifty” and not “merit[ing] serious consideration.” There is a lot of speaking truth to power, or at least to the MASS Protectors of the Status Quo. EACH YEAR opponents of state-supervised charter schools in Massachusetts perform the same tired dance steps on Beacon Hill in an effort to stamp out these distinctive examples of education reform. It’s a cynical exercise and an insult to the families of roughly 19,000 young people waiting for an opportunity […]