Politics at its best. Or was it the worst? On the front page of the February 11th issue of another local paper, Representative Tracy Stallings seems to take credit for some unknown changes in the governors education-reform package, specifically relating to the "tenure" issue. "We were able to get some improvement in ... teacher tenure", he is quoted as saying. Thanks a lot. Quoting from an article on page two of the same paper, "The house passed the 152 page bill without amending a word." Who's telling the truth here? With the myriad of the governor's proposed changes, our state house members saw fit to give this bill just four hours of debate. Talk about a rubber stamp by a group of "Yes" folks...

In fact, two amendments to continue job protection for teachers were defeated 29-147 and 37-137. It doesn't sound to me like our local representatives did much of anything at all for us.

I don't pretend to know a lot about the Carroll Star News readership, but I'm sure there must be a few taxpayers out there... <insert grin here> You folks need to really take a close look at the fiscal impact this bills changes will have on us locally. Many of the changes will require funding from local tax money. Does this mean my local school taxes might go up? Duh. You can bet the farm on it.

Well, instead of constantly complaining, how about some positive proposals?

Okay, I'm game! Well, first off, either reinstate the fair dismissal policy for all teachers, or if you wish, be really fair and put us on a par with the states that consistently stand atop the educational rankings. You do know that in most of those states it is legal for teachers to have a union and collectively bargain? You didn't? Oh, it's against the law here...

How about equalization? Ever hear of it? It works. What "equalization" means is that regardless of where or how school tax money is collected, it is dispersed statewide, equally, for every student. Rich communities, poor communities, each students receives the benefit of the same amount of tax dollars. Every child has an equal opportunity for success. More affluent communities would still be able to do more for their schools if they wish.

Next, reconsider the proposed 3% raise for teachers. This will further entrench us in the lower half of the 50 states. Not many teachers will be terribly impressed to pay the additional taxes and have maybe enough extra cash each month to go out to dinner once! Make it a raise we can really notice in our take-home pay!

Really I'm starting to get carried away and nit-pick. I've got to quit this. (A side-effect of beanbag chairs?)

State Senators, we both know what we've done is not working. You are our last hope for this year. The state representatives have passed the buck to you. Make a difference. Instead of trying to fix everything with a bunch of misplaced Band-Aids, why not simply model our educational system after the ones in the states that work, the ones constantly at the top of the lists? We shouldn't be so proud that we have to re-invent each solution ourselves! We don't have time...