To tell the Whole Truth, Nothing but the Truth

Some people have noted that Pioneer is overstating the risk to education gains posed by the Governor’s proposal to “pack the board.” Some even take exception with the term “pack” which clearly refers to FDR’s notorious attempt to jam through legislation that could not pass muster at the Supreme Court.

Well, none other than Governor Patrick’s pick to be Chairman of the Board of Education has opined against the major elements of the Governor’s plan:

“So, Horace Mann and generations of subsequent leaders in the State House saw fit, for well over a century, to insulate educational policy from the ebb and flow of politics. This as accomplished by putting some distance between the chief policy making entity, the Board of Education, its executive, the Commissioner of Education, and the Executive and Legislative branches. They deliberately did not totally insulate education from the popular will as they recognized that schools should reflect the popular conception of the role of education in society…”

“Staggered terms also guaranteed that the Board could not be “packed”, because there would never be wholesale turnover of the entire Board.”

Who said that? S. Paul Reville in testimony before the General Court (that’s what we are supposed to call the Legislature). But it was Reville circa 2003, in the Age of the Mittster, not Chairman Reville A.P. (After Patrick).  Check it out here.

Perhaps, in taking testimony, the General Court should trot out a Bible and ask for an oath, or at least ask folks to check their party affiliations at the door when they testify.