Folks, allow me to introduce ‘the education legislator”.

‘Education Legislator’ – That’s really part of the title of an article on Rep. Horn’s website, penned by Alex Granados.  Granados is a reporter for the PR firm that masquerades as a news outlet, Education NC.  (The article first appeared at EducationNC in April.)

Here’s the opening paragraph:

Rep. Craig Horn (R-Union) is the education legislator. It’s an odd moniker considering he only moved to the state in 2005, has no education background and didn’t even start out focused on the subject.

No experience, but he’s the ‘education legislator’.  Horn has experience with spin though and these days, that is what it takes to be a good Educrat.

Is his intent good? I’m sure it is. Is he being promoted well in this ‘education legislator’ role? You betcha!

Maybe Horn is a hero in his own mind, after all he’s done ZIP to get rid of Common Core besides pay lip service to parents and show up to one review commission meeting.

With this flurry of ‘Education Legislator’ promotion, I’ve got this image in my head of Horn standing on a hill with Jim Hunt,  the wind whipping through their hair as they wave to the unwashed masses below.  Education Gods among men!  By the Power of Greyskull!!! or something…

But I digress. Back to reality, please.

Bottom line — BEST NC has been writing policy/bills for Horn and Education NC has been promoting them.

Um what? No, BEST NC writes the policy, Education NC promotes it. #nced Rep. Craig Horn: The education legislator http://t.co/XbUMJ8u2MK

— A.P. Dillon – LL1885 (@LadyLiberty1885) September 11, 2015

Don’t Lose Sight Of Who Is Elevating Horn
Horn is paired up with Superintendent Atkinson in BEST NC’s “2020 Vision Initiative“.

The pair is in charge of “Accountability, Transparency and Communication”, yet in an article by Lindsay Wagner at PolicyWatch implies Horn and BEST NC are anything but transparent and accountable.

In the PolicyWatch article, the last section deals with “Crafting legislation outside of the public eye”.  Go read it.

There is a bigger picture here of ‘big ideas’ coming from think tanks fueled by business both from within and outside of our state.

Key excerpts:

When asked if the lack of transparency around the development of the bill was troubling, Berg emphatically said no.

“The process of vetting [a bill] behind closed doors and asking education advocates their opinion is very normal,” said Berg.

[..]

“When bills get introduced at the last minute and all the heavy work has been done out of the public eye, then there is little chance for public to respond,” said Jones.

I’ve spoken to Ms. Berg in person. I liked her and I think she has good intentions, however this transparency issue is the EXACT point that I made to her months ago.

If these groups haven’t figured out that transparency piece is not optional by now, they never will or, they are willfully ignoring it.

For those interested, here are BEST NC/Horn’s related bills:

• Great Leaders for Great Schools/Study 
• Excellence in School Leadership
• Teacher Recruitment and Scholarships 
• NC Elevating Educators Act of 2015 

Related Reading

• “Great Leaders” Bill Is Just BEST NC’s “Vision”.
• “Editor’s Note:  BEST NC is a supporter of EdNC.” (link to quote)