EVENT: Education Town Hall on Education Savings Accounts

Posted on November 5, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Action ButtonParents in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg areas might want to carve out time to hit a town hall being held in their area on November 10th.

The topic will be Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) and is being put on by Civitas. Get the facts on ESA’s  here.

 

Event details below:

Are you concerned that your children may not be getting the education they deserve?  Do you wonder if there is anything parents can do to improve the quality of the education your child is receiving?

School choice and Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) are frequently offered as solutions to these challenges.  But what are these programs all about?  Does school choice benefit the students and the communities in which they live? Do ESAs really work?

If you’d like answers to these important questions then join us for a Town Hall Discussion on Tuesday November 10th at First Baptist Church in Uptown Charlotte to discuss school choice and Education Savings Accounts. You’ll hear from

  • Dr. Mark Harris, Pastor of First Baptist Church and former candidate for Republican nomination to the United States Senate;
  • Professor Bart Danielsen of North Carolina State University,
  • Jonathan Butcher, one of the primary architects of Arizona’s ESA program.

The event is free, but you registration is required. Register here  Hope to see at First Baptist on November 10th!   

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION | Tagged | 1 Comment

Heartland Article: North Carolina Bill Regulating Virtual Currencies Stalls Out – #ncga

Posted on November 4, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

heartland iconThe article, North Carolina Bill Regulating Virtual Currencies Stalls Out, originally appeared at Heartland Institute’s Fiscal Times on October 30th, 2015.

North Carolina Bill Regulating Virtual Currencies Stalls Out

After approving a bill placing Bitcoin and other digital cryptocurrencies under the authority of the state’s financial regulatory commission, North Carolina lawmakers are now putting the brakes on the plan.

House Bill 289, the North Carolina Money Transmitters Act, would require state licenses for Bitcoin transmission, mandating the purchase of $150,000 in surety bonds to guarantee fulfillment of transactions.

The state’s House of Representatives approved the Money Transmitters Act in May, but the North Carolina Senate has repeatedly withdrawn the bill from consideration. Since its introduction in the Senate in May, the Money Transmitters Act has been re-referred to four separate committees.

More Laws Needed? 

State Rep. Jon Hardister (R-Greensboro), a co-sponsor of the bill, says the proposed regulations are necessary to protect consumers.

“[The bill] updates laws related to the virtual money transmitters, which haven’t been updated in more than a decade,” Hardister said. “With changes in technology, it is necessary to periodically update laws related to Internet-based industries.

“The bill, which is supported by the North Carolina commissioner of banks, is intended to provide proper oversight of online money transmitters,” Hardister said. “The goal is to ensure basic consumer protections. It is a very technical bill, which has resulted in a lot of discussions. Committee members want to make sure the bill is written properly before moving it forward, which is understandable.”

Profit Motive

Norbert Michel, a financial regulatory research fellow with The Heritage Foundation, says lawmakers should question the need for more rules.

“I always ask, when I hear that, ‘Protect from what?’” Michel said. “It’s hard to say exactly, with 100 percent certainty, with these sorts of things, but [with] most of the Bitcoin transactions that take place, if it takes place by a company, the incentive is to do what the customer wants.”

Michel says there is little incentive for businesses to steal from consumers, and there are already laws against theft and fraud, and hence little to no reason for special rules for digital currencies.

“What are they saying?” Michel said. “Are they saying that a company has gone into business to steal something from someone? I don’t think that would be the case. That’s why we have civil fraud penalties. We have laws against theft.”

Andrea Dillon (thell1885@gmail.com) writes from Holly Springs, North Carolina.

Internet Info:

Gerald P. Dwyer and Norbert J. Michel, “Bits and Pieces: The Digital World of Bitcoin Currency,” The Heritage Foundation: https://www.heartland.org/policy-documents/bits-and-pieces-digital-world-bitcoin-currency/

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), Government, NCGA | Tagged , | Comments Off on Heartland Article: North Carolina Bill Regulating Virtual Currencies Stalls Out – #ncga

I Apparently Live Rent Free In Gerrick Brenner’s Head – #ncpol #nced

Posted on November 3, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Apparently, I am living rent free in someone’s head lately.

Tons of cobwebs in there. Good times. 

TommyLee ReallyThe article Brenner links to is an op-ed at News and Observer.

The long and short of the article being the same, tired and debunked narrative Brenner’s Progress NC has been pushing for the better part of the year — teachers are leaving because of pay!

The op-ed is purely anecdotal. That works for the News and Observer when it comes from sources they like, but for parents speaking out on Common Core? Nope.

At the bottom we see who it is penned by:

Matt Buys is a member of the Asheville City Board of Education. His opinions are his own.

Yes, his opinions are his own.

“How bad can the discrepancy really be? Two of our top middle school teachers, a married couple, left for Georgia last year. They wanted to own a home. Considering the lower cost of living and that they could earn $25,000 more a year, who could blame them?”

Oh, so now it’s Georgia? What happened to Texas? The far, far left Progress NC really thought teachers were going to Texas, even though their turnover rate was nearly triple North Carolina’s last year.

The data doesn’t back his ‘opinion’. First, who are these people? Is the number Buys cites a combined increase of their salaries? How many years have the taught? What is their pay now? We don’t know.

I wonder, how does a wealthy county like Asheville lose teachers to low pay? Isn’t the teacher  supplement which they are responsible for setting high enough?

The Asheville Schools supplement for the 403 teachers in 2014-15 was $3,894. That made them the 13th highest in the state. As an Asheville Board member, Buys knows they are about to increase it again, yet he fails to mention that.

Look at their supplement rates over time. Asheville slashed them prior to the Republicans taking control of the legislature. Where was the outcry then?

Year Teacher No. of Positions Teacher No. Recd Supplmt Teacher Average Supplmt.
2014-15 403 403 3,894
2013-14 391 391 3,524
2012-13 382 382 3,650
2011-12 372 372 3,693
2010-11 370 370 3,252
2009-10 370 370 4,217
2008-09 389 389 4,003

Asheville actually seems to be maintaining the same number of teachers. How can that be thought? Because as Buys’s anecdotes continue to decry turnover:

I was complaining about our mass departure of teachers to an old friend on a school board in a neighboring rural county close to South Carolina. I told him, “Last year, we had a 15 percent teacher turnover rate. It’s the worst I’ve ever seen.”

He muttered, “At least you can hire teachers. In the last three years, we’ve almost lost half our teachers, and we have third-grade classes that still don’t have teachers. They’re all commuting to South Carolina. Nobody licensed has even applied for the jobs. It’s October, and we’re using subs. Those kids are losing the year.”

Since Buys left out the numbers for “the last three years”, let’s look at them.

Turnover 2010-2011 (%) Turnover 2011-2012 (%) Turnover 2012-2013 (%) Turnover 2013-2014 (%) Turnover 2014-2015 (%) Five Year Average (%)
5.3 5.25 13.19 17.07 17.13 11.59

Asheville’s turnover has increased even though we have seen that the supplemental pay has been increasing. When Asheville slashed their supplemental in 2010-11, the turnover rate didn’t rise. So again, is this really about pay?

Gee, this turnover claim Buy makes sounds more  like a district management problem to me.  Why would you have such a high turnover rate in a district that has the 13th highest supplement in the state?  He should know since he sits on the Asheville Board of Education, right? RIGHT?

Another trouble claim Buy makes was that about licensing. Nobody licensed applied? Really? Given that North Carolina over the last 4 years has granted nearly three times as many licenses to out of state teachers, I find this hard to believe.

Using Subs? They’re licensed, right? Were they offered the job full-time?  Whoever is running Asheville’s hiring department is falling down on the job. That’s within Buy’s purview to check on, perhaps he should get on it and spend less time writing slanted op-eds on behalf of Progress NC.

So it is really pay or lack of applicants as Buys asserts?

DPI’s own turnover report says no.

The vast majority stayed to teach in another NC School district and the second largest group retired. Note: To teach elsewhere in this chart means elsewhere in the state.

 

Why are teachers really leaving?  

In that turnover report is the little talked about number of 1,209 leaving because they were ‘dissatisfied with teaching’. That surpasses the number that ‘left to teach out of state’, which was 1,028 — less than 1% of the teacher workforce in North Carolina.

Two words: Working conditions.

DPI has created a toxic and hostile environment where teacher’s feel that they cannot speak out without fear of reprisal. Local school district administrations are no better.

Districts are funneling more and more money into black hole programs and less is spent on vital in-class basic supplies. These items are often supplemented by parents and very often come out of the wallets of teachers themselves. That’s a scandal.

Working conditions also includes dealing with the experimental Common Core standards being thrust on them.  To add insult to injury,  the ever increasing amounts of data collection that goes with Common Core is killing our teachers. More than one teacher has told me that they don’t feel like teachers, they ‘feel like data entry consultants’.

Related Reading:

Progress NC should retract mistaken-ridden op-ed

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

More on “Education Non-Profit” WakeEd Partnership – #nced #ncpol

Posted on November 3, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

CC ED Potemkin VillageAs previously reported last month, WakeEd Partnership penned a newsletter protecting the Common Core by way of demonizing the General Assembly.

The newsletter, entitled ‘How To Advocate for Common Core‘, is short but attacks the legislature for actually listening to the public they represent by creating a commission to review the highly controversial Common Core Standards.

Business certainly has a place in education discussions, however the trend we’ve seen becoming more and more prevalent in the last 5-10 years is that of business entities demanding a place at the education discussion table by buying the table and all the chairs around it.

So who is this ‘WakeEd Partnership’ anyway?

Founded in 1983, their main mission appears to be to take business directives and turn them into education policy in North Carolina. Sounds familiar.

Our Mission

To engage, inform, and mobilize the business community and community-at-large in collaboration with the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) providing every student with excellent educational opportunities, highly effective teachers, and strong leaders.

Wake Education Partnership’s work is made possible each year by investments from businesses, individuals, and foundation grants with the understanding that public education is central to a vibrant and healthy community. Contributions to the Annual Campaign for Public Education help WakeEd’s focus on systemic improvements for our schools that ultimately improve the achievement of all students. 

While well-intentioned, this is seems to be yet another example of how business does an end-run around the public despite claims of ‘community’ engagement.  Whenever I see that label, ‘community engagement’, I take pause. 9 times out of 10 that means ‘controlled engagement’ and subsequent selective hearing.

I can applaud their activity on school buildings and teacher grants, as for the rest, it ventures into areas one might consider to be subjective.  So long as the Powerpoint is flashy and the right buzzwords are used… all is well.

The biggest complaint from teachers has been lack of supplies and materials. To date, not a single one these ‘ed non-profits’ has addressed this. Perhaps their hundreds of thousands would be better spent there than on promoting a set of experimental and failing standards like Common Core? But what do I know? I’m just a member of that ‘community’ WakeEd claims to engage who shells out wads cash every year to help stock my kid’s classroom so the teacher doesn’t have to.

Lobbying Outfit or Education Policy Outfit?

Their ‘policy Agenda’ section is actually labeled ‘advocacy‘.   Currently, WakeEd is ‘advocating’ for the hotly debated Common Core, yet wants a revision of the lopsided  A-F School grading report. Good for them on the latter.

Their ‘Funding’ advocacy is basically the same as that of the Wake County School Board. Shocker, right?

WakeEd’s last self-produced “report” on their website is dated 2008 and is about supporting ‘diversity’ in Wake County schools.  Similarly, the latest “publication” was produced in 2009.

There are no reports or publications on their website that support their current ‘advocacy’ positions, perhaps this is why last year WakEd was forced to look in the mirror:

With the help of $51,000 from the John Rex Endowment in two separate grants, the partnership went through an extensive organizational assessment, performed by independent consultant Armstrong McGuire. It determined that the Partnership desperately needed a bold vision with clearly articulated goals. While that wasn’t exactly pleasant to receive, “As leadership, we needed to hear that,” says Steve Parrott, the partnership’s president.
 – BizJournals 9/4/15

Follow The Money

As I said in an earlier article, after looking at WakeEd Partnership’s IRS 990’s  — they appear to have become more of a lobbyist group masquerading as a ‘education advocacy  non-profit’. I would encourage folks to download and look at their records.

Contributions have been their main source of revenue; around 90% consistently. They have a long list of corporate donors and ways to donate on their website.

Looking at the most recent and available 990, FY Ending June 2013, it shows revenue of $724, 652 but expenditures of $739,060, which meant a net loss of $14,408.

“Other Salaries and Wages” appeared to have swallowed 57% of the budget that year – $422,214 to be exact.  The breakout of which had the lion’s share of  $327,561 in the ‘program service expenses‘ column.

The largest expenditure for the June 2013 990 was $286,284, which went to “Community Outreach & Board/Chamber relations”.  I would imagine a translation of that to be PR and Chamber of Commerce courting.

So Who is Running This Show?

In a nutshell, it is as I said before — Business people driving education policy. Given their current policy advocacy agenda, one has to ask if they took lessons at the Helen Keller School of Driving?

Steve Parrot is the current President.  According to his LinkedIn profile, he has no education background and is all business – mainly in telecom. I looked into the other top staffer and found that more than not were all business, no education — with the exceptions of Dr. Julie Crain and Teresa Pierrie.

Their PR/Media person is a former reporter.  Was he responsible for that political smear job of a newsletter?

The 2013 990 form showed Parrot is one of two employees who receive compensation at a rate of $144,964. Broken out, that’s 129,800 from WakeEd and $15,164 from related organizations.

The other compensated employee is Heather Campbell, the finance director, at a total of $18,000.

Who is ‘On Board’ With WakeEd

Some big names here, including many entrenched in the policy and funding of Wake County Public Schools, as well as being ardent supporters of Common Core.

Board of Directors Members Of Note (2015-16):

Chair, Doug Sprecher,Senior Vice President – Branch and Consumer Sales Strategy, First Citizens Bank

Caroline McCullen, SAS
Jim Merrill, Wake County Public School System
John Hummel, WLFL/WRDC TV
Monica Barnes, ABC-11 WTVD

Hardin Engelhardt, Wake County PTA Council

Leadership Council Members of Note (2015-16)

Chair, Doug Sprecher,Senior Vice President – Branch and Consumer Sales Strategy, First Citizens Bank

Dick Daugherty, IBM, Retired
Sandy Fain, News & Observer, Retired
Lynne Garrison, North Carolina New Schools
Jessica Holmes, Wake County Commission
Christine Kushner, Wake Co. Board of Education
Caroline Sullivan, Wake County Commission

More Background For Those Interested:

NC Secretary of State Record: http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/Search/profcorp/4676993
NC Secretary of State Filings: http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/Search/filings/4676993
Registered Agent: Millie Herget
Original Registrant: George Rogister (601 Deveraux St. Raleigh NC 27605)
Incorporated: 03/01/83
Initial Board of Directors: Cressie H. Thigpen, Jr., William E. Sherratt, N. Neil Kuvin
DBA Title Change: 5/30/95, “Wake Ed Partnership”, paperwork signed by Millie Herget, President.
Name Change: 06/25/98, “The Wake County Education Foundation”, paperwork signed by M. Anthony Habit as President.

NOTE: “Tony Habit” has been the head of another ‘education non-profit’ called NC New Schools since 2003 and has been advising the NC Large District Superintendent Consortium behind the scenes since 2013. In June 2015, he launched an offshoot of NC New Schools called “Breakthrough Learning”

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION | 1 Comment

Supt. Ann Clark: Hey Illegals, Sure You Can Volunteer in #CMS Schools – #nced #ncga

Posted on November 3, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

Wait-whatSupt. Ann  Clark, who was installed when Heath Morrison was arguably forced to resign after sketchy activities started to surface, has made it clear she plans to bail after her current temporary term is up.

What started with Morrison is being carried out by Clark. She has given her blessing to letting illegal immigrants volunteer in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools.

Don’t expect to read opposing parental views in this article, WBTV didn’t bother. You can hit the comments though, where push back has begun.

WBTV reported; emphasis added:

People of Action North Carolina are pleased undocumented parents can now volunteer at their children’s school.

Before they couldn’t do much, because Charlotte Mecklenburg School (CMS) District required a driver’s license and a social security number to have access to students.

The law now states a passport can be used as a government ID. Many believe that will make a difference.

“It means higher graduation rates,” Action NC Hector Vaca said. “It means higher grades because it means parents will be able to get more involved and actually be there for the kids in school.”

CMS Superintendent Ann Clark agrees. CMS has been working with parents to find solutions.

“Open up opportunities for parents to support teachers,” Clark said. “Copying paper, helping with bulletin boards,…helping with teacher appreciation.”

Passports are a compromise because they are easy to obtain.

“It’s a lot easier to be able to get a passport,” Vaca said. “Because it is offered by your home government.”

Action NC says it is pleased with parents being able to use passports but it wants more access.

“What we want is nothing less,” Vaca said. “Than full access for these parents. They are hardworking. They are honest.

Undocumented parents cannot be alone with students and are not allowed to go on field trips. Action NC is fighting for parents using their fingerprints to gain more access to their children’s school.

“Fingerprinting is actually more secure,” Vaca said. “It offers more security and opens up more doors for these parents, which means more parents will have the right to volunteer.”

They are honest.
Oh brother. So honest, that they are here in this country illegally, but at least they’re telling us that up front.  Got it.

A passport is acceptable?
That seems like a very specific claim and a safe bet this goes back to HB 318, the bill barring NC cities from adopting Sanctuary City status.

A sure way to begin the path of establishing a Sanctuary city is for the illegals to have their kids rooted in the schools of one. Arguably, what we see here is Ms. Clark engaging in politics using her student population and it’s disgusting.

So in order to gain more ‘parental involvement’, CMS is going to alienate current parental involvement. Make sense.

What about the background checks?
Every school in North Carolina I know of requires a background check on volunteers of ANY kind  and CMS is no different.  A passport from another country doesn’t cut it, sorry.

For a background check, one has to have a social security number and drivers license. Action NC wants to use fingerprints? Go for it . This will require a policy change, right? Did anyone even think this through? I can hardly wait to see how the thousands of irate parents react to having to be fingerprinted every single year and show up at the school board meeting when this comes up.

On a related note, will this mean CMS schools will be outfitted with fingerprint readers to make sure the person showing up is who they say they are? Just a question.

This is the kind of push one would expect from a partner of  Blueprint NC.  Action NC’s website tells us that the man quoted in the WBTV article is their Charlotte Director. Apparently, he must be a legal citizen since Hector Vaca is  registered to vote and has done so on multiple occasions going back to 2008.

Mapping The Left on Action NC:

Formerly ACORN. According to Capital Research Center, in its publication “Organizations Trends” dated September 2011, Action NC was the front group used by ACORN in North Carolina. In fact the former head organizer for NC ACORN, Pat McCoy, is the current Executive Director of Action NC. Community organizing and grassroots mobilization remains the mission of Action NC. Action NC shares an address with the Sierra Club.

Parting Reminder: Ann Clark also sits on the Common Core Review Commission. She’s pro-Common Core. With that support for standards parents are rejecting in droves, plus this latest move, perhaps it is a good thing she won’t be seeking re-election.

Related Reading

Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), EDUCATION | Tagged | 2 Comments

NC Superintendent Candidate Event: Meet Dr. Rosemary Stein

Posted on November 2, 2015 by A.P. Dillon

One of the most important races this election cycle will be the one for NC State Superintendent of Schools.

Dr. Atkinson, who brought the nightmare of Common Core into our state is running for re-election — and the is just the cherry on top of her reign of errors. Now more than ever, parents need to know their options.

Mark your calendar. Go meet Dr. Rosemary Stein on November 10th and keep and eye out for #StuffAtkinsonSays.

For immediate release
October 20, 2015
Brian Bock, Chair, Chatham County Republican Party
brian.lex.bock@gmail.com
919-357-7044

Chatham Republicans to host candidate for State Superintendent

Following a very successful event earlier this month, with more than 260 people in attendance, Chatham County Republicans are ramping up efforts to promote Republican candidates who will advance the party’s efforts for freedom, prosperity, strength and a vision for the future.  Over the next several months, events and volunteer opportunities will be added to the calendar in order to ensure that the party is ready for the 2016 elections.

The next event scheduled for Tuesday, November 10, 2015, will be an informative discussion about education in North Carolina, with special guest speaker and candidate for State Superintendent of Schools, Rosemary Fernandez Stein, MD.

Dr. Stein is the founder of the International Family Clinic in Burlington that serves underprivileged children in Alamance County, offering additional services in Spanish, French, Hindu and Hebrew. She has been a member of the Alamance Community College Board of Trustees since 2008.

Stein has treated and cared for children and their parents for 22 years and she understands that one of the most important factors to a child’s success is education.  She started a countywide after-school program, called the Mustard Seed Club, to provide elementary school children with after-school tutoring and religious education, and serves up to 200 children every year.

Dr. Stein will talk about what needs to be improved in our education system, the obstacles to improvement, and how each of us can help.

This meeting and interesting conversation will take place at the Historic Courthouse in downtown Pittsboro on Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 7:00pm. There is no charge for admittance however an RSVP would be appreciated at www.chathamncgop.com.

###

 

Cathy Wright
http://www.chathamncgop.com/
Posted in A.P. Dillon (LL1885), ELECTIONS, June Atkinson | Tagged , | 1 Comment