We have a great slate for Council of State this time around. That includes MO Green, who will be a fantastic Superintendent of Education. He is campaigning hard and has such compassion and intelligence. His opponent wants to end public education.
The Legislature also needs to start funding the Leandro Bill. But of course, with Republicans in charge and a Republican Supreme Court in NC, they are doing what they can to overturn what the NC Supreme Court passed previously when they actually cared about the citizens.
I've had to take some time before framing a response to this post. If I started in on the state of affairs in education in NC at present, I would not know where to begin or when to stop. Will say, however, I'm glad Mills receives call from McClatchy's Head of Subscription Care and receives appropriate help and can remain a subscriber and claim access to all McClatchy sites. This is probably due to Mills' persistence, personal advocacy, strong personal speaking and writing skills, and maybe even perhaps his own name recognition. I do not know this last part about name recognition. Still. He's known for tenacity. Anyway. Great news. Here's my aside. I'm reminded of an experience a few months back when I struggled through hoops, loops, hours on the phone, and complete frustration with my secondary insurance--Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC. They set in motion a new operating system and launched before getting out the kinks. Such a mess. I put up with it for most of a day and stopped. Rather than pursue further I placed a call to the NC Department of Insurance consumer services and filed a written complaint. I knew the problem I was having was probably not at all unique. I figured many others were affected, especially those connected with Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP). This made it more imperative to get to an agency AND a person to be certain my complaint would be heard. In less than 24 hours, I receive a call from a complaint analyst from NC Department of Insurance. And within hours after that, I receive a call from customer service from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC to address the problem. Often what gets attention is using writing effectively to register a complaint. And registering the complaint with a higher-up. Forget customer call centers for tech support when departments appear scrambled. Yet in education it appears quite clear that refined critical literate skills are a threat to our NC Republican legislature or the assault on teachers and bombed out budgets for education in NC would not have happened. As Mills points out, the ongoing, precise assault against public education in our state has been in the works for years. Increment by increment. So, of course why not legislate something burdensome and repulsive like ordering teachers to post their lesson plans? Drag the system down further. Make it ever more difficult for educators to promote critical literacy across disciplines and teach students to exercise command with spoken and written language. That is too radical. What's radical is a Republican legislature or a political mindset to not want citizens to have and use power that comes from sharp thinking skills. And writing well can ignite as can a powerful weapon. I suspect those at the N.&O. and McClatchy caught wind of who was dropping their subscription and did something about it quickly. Or put another way--political winds blowing today suggest many in power do not desire educated citizenry. But would rather have fools standing at key intersections dressed in patriotic costumes waving flags and banners and shouting trump ass nonsense.
What can be done to put an end to gerrymandering? Some of these problems could be slowed down if there wasn't a super majority in the house and senate. I'm assuming, of course, that Josh becomes governor. I think Ohio is trying to stop gerrymandering through a ballot initiative. Is that possible in NC?
We do not have citizens initiatives in North Carolina, unfortunately. The NC League of Women Voters is developing a position statement on it, however, and their members will educate the public about how CIs can turn things around. It’s being worked on now in the Orange, Durham & Chatham (ODC) chapter, led by Dr. Jennifer Bremer. Please join and/or support if you can.
For years, the league has served as a definitive guide on political matters. Their articles have been a staple in my academic work since my college days, providing reliable references for my papers. Amidst a world increasingly filled with what Trump’s team refers to as ‘alternative facts’, they offer a beacon of veracity.
Thomas these shenanigans come as no surprise. Republicans have been trying to get rid of what used to be an excellent state operated educational system for the past ten years. There are documented cases where Republican politicians in North Carolina have accepted campaign donations from charter school corporations. For instance, Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson and State Superintendent Catherine Truitt have received substantial amounts from these charter entities. Representatives from a for-profit charter school operator based in Arizona have been issuing campaign checks to North Carolina officials who can ensure the continuous flow of our tax dollars in their direction.
Here are some of the Charter One Robinson donations for the year 2023:
Nathan Hunsaker, VP Charter One, Knightdale, NC, 2/8/2023, $5000
William Guttery, CEO Charter One, Queen Creek, AZ, 2/9/2023, $5000
Robert Plowman, Finance Charter One, Gilbert, AZ, 2/9/2023, $5000
Michael Way, Education Charter One, Wake Forest, NC, 2/23/2023, $3600
For more comprehensive information and to verify my figures consider checking the North Carolina campaign finance database or Transparency USA, which provides a summary of campaign finance in North Carolina.
How much do North Carolina politicians receive from the existing public-school systems in this state? Absolutely nothing. To be fair, public schools, being government entities, do not make political campaign contributions.
Increasing pressure on public schools and imposing unreasonable mandates, such as publishing their lesson plans and potentially installing cameras in classrooms (which infringes on the reasonable expectation of privacy for both students and teachers), will eventually push qualified teachers towards early retirement or to seek employment in states that appreciate their service. The obvious purpose aligns with the Republican (authoritarian) approach to governance. Allowing the government to infringe on a woman’s right to privacy regarding her personal healthcare and forcing the traditional public school system to navigate through unreasonable hurdles is not serving the people of this state!
There are some strong down ballot candidates and Anderson Clayton comes from rural NC and she and her team are covering all 100 counties to get the vote out and encourage people to run in historically “unwinnable” —i.e., gerrymandered—districts. The goal is to break the supermajority and demand reforms.
We have a great slate for Council of State this time around. That includes MO Green, who will be a fantastic Superintendent of Education. He is campaigning hard and has such compassion and intelligence. His opponent wants to end public education.
The Legislature also needs to start funding the Leandro Bill. But of course, with Republicans in charge and a Republican Supreme Court in NC, they are doing what they can to overturn what the NC Supreme Court passed previously when they actually cared about the citizens.
I've had to take some time before framing a response to this post. If I started in on the state of affairs in education in NC at present, I would not know where to begin or when to stop. Will say, however, I'm glad Mills receives call from McClatchy's Head of Subscription Care and receives appropriate help and can remain a subscriber and claim access to all McClatchy sites. This is probably due to Mills' persistence, personal advocacy, strong personal speaking and writing skills, and maybe even perhaps his own name recognition. I do not know this last part about name recognition. Still. He's known for tenacity. Anyway. Great news. Here's my aside. I'm reminded of an experience a few months back when I struggled through hoops, loops, hours on the phone, and complete frustration with my secondary insurance--Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC. They set in motion a new operating system and launched before getting out the kinks. Such a mess. I put up with it for most of a day and stopped. Rather than pursue further I placed a call to the NC Department of Insurance consumer services and filed a written complaint. I knew the problem I was having was probably not at all unique. I figured many others were affected, especially those connected with Seniors' Health Insurance Information Program (SHIIP). This made it more imperative to get to an agency AND a person to be certain my complaint would be heard. In less than 24 hours, I receive a call from a complaint analyst from NC Department of Insurance. And within hours after that, I receive a call from customer service from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of NC to address the problem. Often what gets attention is using writing effectively to register a complaint. And registering the complaint with a higher-up. Forget customer call centers for tech support when departments appear scrambled. Yet in education it appears quite clear that refined critical literate skills are a threat to our NC Republican legislature or the assault on teachers and bombed out budgets for education in NC would not have happened. As Mills points out, the ongoing, precise assault against public education in our state has been in the works for years. Increment by increment. So, of course why not legislate something burdensome and repulsive like ordering teachers to post their lesson plans? Drag the system down further. Make it ever more difficult for educators to promote critical literacy across disciplines and teach students to exercise command with spoken and written language. That is too radical. What's radical is a Republican legislature or a political mindset to not want citizens to have and use power that comes from sharp thinking skills. And writing well can ignite as can a powerful weapon. I suspect those at the N.&O. and McClatchy caught wind of who was dropping their subscription and did something about it quickly. Or put another way--political winds blowing today suggest many in power do not desire educated citizenry. But would rather have fools standing at key intersections dressed in patriotic costumes waving flags and banners and shouting trump ass nonsense.
Until teachers wake up and stop voting Republican this will only get worse! I’ve had too many tell me they vote Republican rather than Democratic
What can be done to put an end to gerrymandering? Some of these problems could be slowed down if there wasn't a super majority in the house and senate. I'm assuming, of course, that Josh becomes governor. I think Ohio is trying to stop gerrymandering through a ballot initiative. Is that possible in NC?
We do not have citizens initiatives in North Carolina, unfortunately. The NC League of Women Voters is developing a position statement on it, however, and their members will educate the public about how CIs can turn things around. It’s being worked on now in the Orange, Durham & Chatham (ODC) chapter, led by Dr. Jennifer Bremer. Please join and/or support if you can.
For years, the league has served as a definitive guide on political matters. Their articles have been a staple in my academic work since my college days, providing reliable references for my papers. Amidst a world increasingly filled with what Trump’s team refers to as ‘alternative facts’, they offer a beacon of veracity.
Thomas these shenanigans come as no surprise. Republicans have been trying to get rid of what used to be an excellent state operated educational system for the past ten years. There are documented cases where Republican politicians in North Carolina have accepted campaign donations from charter school corporations. For instance, Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson and State Superintendent Catherine Truitt have received substantial amounts from these charter entities. Representatives from a for-profit charter school operator based in Arizona have been issuing campaign checks to North Carolina officials who can ensure the continuous flow of our tax dollars in their direction.
Here are some of the Charter One Robinson donations for the year 2023:
Nathan Hunsaker, VP Charter One, Knightdale, NC, 2/8/2023, $5000
William Guttery, CEO Charter One, Queen Creek, AZ, 2/9/2023, $5000
Robert Plowman, Finance Charter One, Gilbert, AZ, 2/9/2023, $5000
Michael Way, Education Charter One, Wake Forest, NC, 2/23/2023, $3600
For more comprehensive information and to verify my figures consider checking the North Carolina campaign finance database or Transparency USA, which provides a summary of campaign finance in North Carolina.
How much do North Carolina politicians receive from the existing public-school systems in this state? Absolutely nothing. To be fair, public schools, being government entities, do not make political campaign contributions.
Increasing pressure on public schools and imposing unreasonable mandates, such as publishing their lesson plans and potentially installing cameras in classrooms (which infringes on the reasonable expectation of privacy for both students and teachers), will eventually push qualified teachers towards early retirement or to seek employment in states that appreciate their service. The obvious purpose aligns with the Republican (authoritarian) approach to governance. Allowing the government to infringe on a woman’s right to privacy regarding her personal healthcare and forcing the traditional public school system to navigate through unreasonable hurdles is not serving the people of this state!
Thx for this data, Doug.
There are some strong down ballot candidates and Anderson Clayton comes from rural NC and she and her team are covering all 100 counties to get the vote out and encourage people to run in historically “unwinnable” —i.e., gerrymandered—districts. The goal is to break the supermajority and demand reforms.
I could not agree more, Thomas.
If you haven’t already done so, send this message to Josh Stein and Mo Green.