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May 31, 2007
Morning Shots
New York Sun: How new generation of reformers targets Democrats on education
A money manager recently sent an e-mail to some partners, congratulating them on an investment of $1 million that yielded an estimated $400 million. The reasoning was that $1 million spent on trying to lift a cap on the number of charter schools in New York State yielded a change in the law that will bring $400 million a year in funding to new charter schools.
The organization from which they hope to launch their revolution, Democrats for Education Reform, does some of its work at cocktail parties hosted in Mr. Curry's Trump Plaza penthouse. The group — actually two separate political action committees — has raised money for senators Obama, Clinton, and Lieberman.
Next week, at a June 5 launch party, they will press their next goals, including a plan to raise several more million dollars, expand into at least four different states, and shape the 2008 presidential race.
Teachers' unions may give a big boost to the Democratic Party, but so do those working in finance. If Democrats for Education Reform can convince them to press issues like length of the school day and merit-based teacher pay, it could force a dramatic swing in the party itself.
Scripps Howard News Service: Most Americans want 'No Child' law left behind
A survey of 1,010 American adults reveals that nearly two-thirds of them want Congress to rewrite or outright abolish the landmark No Child Left Behind Act that mandates nationwide testing of elementary students to determine whether public schools are performing adequately.
Dissent against reauthorization has developed within Bush's own party. Fifty-two Republican House members and five GOP senators are calling for a repeal of the law in favor of a more flexible system of achievement standards.
Only about a third of those queried in the Scripps Howard News Service and Ohio University poll said they think the law has had a positive influence on public education, while slightly less than half said it has had a negative impact and a fifth were undecided.
Taken together, 63 percent want the law abolished or amended.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch: St. Louis School Board awards no-bid contract to counter charters
The St. Louis School Board Tuesday awarded a no-bid contract to a marketing firm headed by a local radio show host with ties to two board members. According to the resolution, approved 4-3, the firm, Penetrating Urban Market Politics, will use the $25,000 contract to "drive the message of the negative impact of charter schools."
The document says Gracie Mae Entertainment has an address connected to Elizabeth Brown of St. Louis. Lizz Brown is a morning radio host on WGNU.
In March, Brown and board member Donna Jones headed a five-day student takeover of Mayor Francis Slay's office to protest a state takeover of the district scheduled for June 15. The state's education department has revoked the district's accreditation.
The board awarded the contract just as it searches for a way to erase a $6 million deficit from the proposed 2007-08 budget.
To find out more about this sordid tale, see the latest from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Apparently, the School Board may take another look at how they're spending their $25,000.
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