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When you are wrong
/0 Comments/in Blog, News, Related Education Blogs /by Scott W. Graves and Micaela DawsonDoes the PTA really represent parents? After the PTA’s support of teacher strikes across the country in the 1960s, there was a significant drop in support for the organization. Across the country the number of PTA members has declined by more than half since the early 1960s from over 12 million to less than 6 million. The political bent of the PTA is not common knowledge to its membership, but as it becomes known–especially the PTA’s opposition to school choice, charters, and school reform–their membership has furthered declined. In the Commonwealth there are 1 million kids in K-12. There are 20,000 members of the PTA (down from a high of 100,000 in the 1960s). Only 3 percent of Massachusetts schools […]
When you are wrong, you are wrong. When you are right, you are right.
/0 Comments/in Blog, News, Related Education Blogs /by Scott W. Graves and Micaela DawsonOn NewsNight (NECN) last week, I wanted to communicate that the PTA is, as Jim Braude summarized, “a wholly owned subsidiary of the NEA.” He got my point, but I got my facts wrong. And I hate that. I said that the PTA headquarters was co-located with the National Education Association (NEA) HQ. In fact, as Lisa Guisbond pointed out to me in an email, the PTA HQ is in Chicago, not in DC like the NEA’s. I was referencing the fact that the PTA rented space within the NEA HQ from 1920 to 1953. I was off by 54 years – no small matter. And I apologize for the mistake. The context for this mistake was a discussion about the […]
The heart of the Pioneer Valley
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, News /by Scott W. Graves and Micaela DawsonTip of the hat to Heather Brandon at Urban Compass — a great place to get up to the second news and updates on shops and the heartbeat of Springfield.
They call it Pioneer Valley for a reason, 2
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Economic Opportunity, News /by Scott W. Graves and Micaela DawsonSo what has all the reform in the City of Springfield led to? Hundreds of jobs in the pipeline and tens of millions of dollars in private investment. You want to see the cold, hard facts on the progress? Good. Click here. Hard to imagine just a couple of years ago that we can now say without any possibility that someone would laugh – the City of Homes is the best managed large city in the Commonwealth. And with Ed Flynn at the helm of the Springfield Police, there is confidence that the public safety issues are going to be given the right kind of attention. If you are tired of the traffic, want access to great open space, and […]
They call it Pioneer Valley for a reason, 1
/0 Comments/in Better Government, Blog, Economic Opportunity, Healthcare, News /by Scott W. Graves and Micaela DawsonOne of the standout winners at the 2007 Better Government Competition was the Municipal Leadership Award given to the City of Springfield (Mayor Charles Ryan) and the Finance Control Board. And, guys, the award was a no-brainer. Springfield went from a deficit of $41 million in FY05 to a surplus in FY06 (and 07) a free cash position of minus $41 million in FY04 to plus $10 million in FY06. Oops, but I am understating their progress, aren’t I? In the Springfield Republican of today, there is an article noting that the FC position is actually plus $17 million. And how was all this accomplished? Hmm. Perhaps it was the usual bellyaching about the need for a huge new cash […]