MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following statement can be attributed to NEA President Reg Weaver, who is attending the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis, Minn.:

"The 3.2 million members of the National Education Association are pleasantly surprised by Senator John McCain's selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to join his ticket as the Republican nominee for vice president.

"While she is only in her second year as Alaska's Governor, she has thus far shown herself to be a supporter of children and public education. She comes from a family of educators. Her father was a teacher, her brother is a teacher, and her mother was an education support professional.

"In her less than two years as the state's chief executive officer, she was able to increase per-pupil education spending, and she is opposed to sending public money to support private schools through political schemes like vouchers.

"Her selection, however, has certainly taken the issue of experience off the table for political debate."

Governor Palin participated in NEA Alaska's candidate recommendation process when she ran for the post. You can view her candidate interview with NEA-Alaska and her formal candidate questionnaire on NEA Alaska's website.

Here is my column in this week's Tea-Harrisburg Champion about the Harrisburg School Board and Administration's failure to come clean about the additional $10 million dollars that patrons could be stuck with.

Technorati Tags: Jon Loos, Jim Holbeck, Harrisburg, South Dakota, school district, open government

In all my years in and around politics, I have to tell you, the results of tonight’s Harrisburg School Board election are about as satisfying as anything I’ve ever experienced.

And that’s including Sen. Barack Obama sewing up the Democratic Presidential nomination a couple weeks ago.

Incumbents Jon Loos and Dan Hensch are out. Challengers Penny Rydberg and Josh Sisson are in. And in REALLY big.

The results:

Sisson: 807 votes
Rydberg: 754 votes
Hensch: 294 votes
Loos: 267 votes

Sisson and Rydberg won by nearly three to one.

That, my friends, is a thumping.  A landslide.  A mandate.

The seeds of his were planted soon after Hensch and Loos were elected three years ago. Their arrogance and self-serving attitudes didn’t endear them to Harrisburg patrons. But the last straw was last June when they ran popular high school principal Keith Huber and well respected superintendent Jim Hargens. The Huber situation was particularly poorly handled, with Loos and Hensch on the one hand saying they couldn’t discuss Huber’s non-renewal because it was a personnel matter then on the other refusing to take testimony from the public at a meeting.

They and their little buddy Ron Albers added insult to injury by telling the throng of us at a meeting after the Huber debacle that we were not representative of the district as a whole in our support of Keith.

I guess not. There were even more people than us who were at the meetings who were honked off about what was going on.  See today’s election results for proof.

A close knit community was torn apart. And it was all so unnecessary. 

 

And it was their fault.

Prior to a few years ago, the Harrisburg School Board handled growth issues quietly and effectively. While there may have been disagreements, all voices were heard and respected. Neighbors listened to neighbors. Then Albers, Loos, and Hensch got on the board, trying to make it more “profesional” and instituted changes without the input or support of the people.

I hope current—for now—superintendent Jim Holbeck pays close attention to the election results. He has allied himself with the Albers-Loos-Hensch Axis. Two of those axis members will be gone in less than a month.

Holbeck’s “my way or the highway” approach with patrons, staff, and students might have been supported when the Axis were in place. But not anymore. And my insiders tell me that Holbeck isn’t likely to get the message and offer olive branches to Rydberg and Sisson. I hope he does. But I give Holbeck a year—tops—in Harrisburg.  And then he’ll likely be moving along too.

These victories by Josh and Penny were well earned. They campaigned hard and on the issues facing the district. But the citizens also said that open government is important, that a little humility isn’t a bad thing in our leaders, and that the Harrisburg School District—TigerNation—is a democracy after all.

Technorati Tags: Harrisburg, South Dakota, Harrisburg Tigers, Jon Loos, Dan Hensch, Josh Sisson, Penny Rydberg, Ron Albers, Jim Holbeck

If you want to return the Harrisburg School District to openness and community, there are only two picks for today’s election: Josh Sisson and Penny Rydberg.

Read my Tea-Harrisburg Champion column here for the reasons why.

Technorati Tags: Harrisburg, South Dakota, school board, Harrisburg School District, Josh Sisson, Penny Rydberg

Here is my most recent column in the Tea-Harrisburg Champion:

• School board needs lesson in democracy
  

Technorati Tags: Harrsiburg, South Dakota, school board, cooperation, playing nice with others, education

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Apparently even Rep. Mark Kirkeby's fellow fraternity partiers in Pierre think the idea of closing a state college is a wacky idea.  The Rapid City Journal follows up:

Read: Kirkeby calls for study on closing a university

Excerpt:

State Rep. Mark Kirkeby, R-Rapid City, says other legislators have called his proposal to consider closing some state universities "political suicide," but he's not sorry he raised the issue.

Kirkeby floated the idea during a legislative crackerbarrel in Rapid City earlier this month.

South Dakota has six universities, and Kirkeby suggested the state's low population might not justify keeping all of them open.

"It might be the craziest idea that any legislator has publicly opened his mouth about," Kirkeby acknowledged Wednesday.

But he also said it wasn't a new idea.

"There have been some discussions behind the scenes in the past, but I don't know anybody who has the backbone to go public with it," he said.Kirkeby emphasized he was not suggesting closing any particular university. . . .

Hey Mark.  Unless Gov. Mike Rounds is behind this idea, which I highly doubt, perhaps you should go back to your back bench and learn a thing or two about state government.  You've gotten your fifteen minutes of fame.  Now, it's time to work on the more mundane issues that aren't as flashy but actually make state government go round and round.  Ok?  Good.

Meanwhile, DSU is losing (or winning, depending upon your point of view) in the Epp Poll on which state college you, our esteemed readers would close.

Photo: Rep. Mark Kirkeby (R-Rapid City)--No State college for you, Madison!

Technorati Tags: Rep. Mark Kikeby, Mark Kirkeby, South Dakota Legislature, education, higher education, colleges, South Dakota, Rapid City, fraternity parties

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Denise Ross over at The Hog House and Cory Heidelberger at the Madville Times both have well written and researched stories on one legislator’s proposed bill to shutter one of South Dakota’s state institutions of higher learning.

The theory is that if small K-12 schools need to close for economy sake, why not higher ed giving up some tenure?

Also, with the University Center (formerly USDSU) in Sioux Falls essentially becoming a seventh state university, is the state spreading its resources too thin?

My own thoughts on this is Rep. Mark Kirkeby (R-Rapid City) may (repeat MAY) have a good idea, but unless Gov. Mike Rounds is willing to expend a huge amount of political capital to close a school—which would likely be one of the smaller schools, such as Mines, BHSU, NSU, or DSU—it is not going to happen.

There are still plenty of people smarting over the closure of USD-Springfield in the early 1980s when Gov. Bill Janklow spent considerable time, effort, and political capital to turn the college into a prison.  I would argue that only someone of Janklow’s political skills, single-mindedness, and toughness could get a college closed.  I don’t see the current Governor wanting to take on such a battle—particularly if he has any inkling of running for the U.S. Senate this year or if he wants to spend the rest of his term mired in the nastiness of such a fight.

It was one thing to take on a small school like USDS in a small town like Springfield.  But take on Rapid City and Mines?  Fuggettaboutit!  Take on Spearfish over BHSU?  Nah.  Take on Aberdeen over NSU?  Nope.  Take on Madison over DSU?  Well, maybe, but doubtful.

Frankly, as higher education and technical education becomes even more important as our economy continues to change and grow, I think there is a good argument that our citizens—not just college aged citizens—need more, not less access to higher education.  Higher ed and technical education also draw research and economic development.  So, personally, I would hate to see any of the current colleges get axed.

But still, this Washburn University of Topeka and University of Houston graduate thinks it would be fun to ponder which school is the weak sister in the family of South Dakota higher education.

Here’s my school by school analysis in order of non-closeability:

1.  SDSU—No brainer.  Our only DI school that’s also a land grant college in an agricultural state.  Also, too many alums to let it happen.

2.  USD—No brainer.  A soon to be DI school with most of the state’s professional schools in business, law, and medicine.  Again, too many alums to screw with.

3.  University Center—No brainer.  The powers that be have made this happen.  Sioux Falls is a growing community that needs more (and cheaper) educational opportunities for a metropolitan area.  In ten years, this will be South Dakota’s largest university.

Now it gets tougher.

4.  SDSM&T—Perhaps a surprise.  But as Gov. Rounds pushes for more research, its proximity to SDUSEL, and its tremendous reputation as an engineering and scientific school, I think it is safe.  Or at least it should be.  If I were a smart kid who loved math and science, no matter where I was from, this is where I’d go to school.

5. DSU—A small school in a small town but it has an extremely focused mission that puts it in the forefront of today’s technology, use of computing, and integration of computing across all disciplines.  Also highly regarded for what it does nationally.  Also, Heidelberger would be forced to enter the real world and no one wants that.

6. NSU—The best thing it has going for it is that it provides higher education in the state’s third largest community.  The state would be stupid to leave that corner of the state without a college.  Plus, I’d hate to see Schaff and Blanchard have to find real jobs.

7. BHSU—This is not a knock on the school or its quality but it seems to have the least focus of any of the state’s colleges.  It’s programs could be moved to Rapid City at Mines and give Mines a college of Liberal Arts.  However, Spearfish is going to be a community that continues to grow.  It will likely be a place where the SDUSEL scientists and staffers live.  And those smarty-pants like college towns. 

Again, I would hate to see any of the schools close because more higher ed, not less, will make South Dakota and South Dakotans more competitive as well as smarter.

My guess is that the closure issue will get some debate but it will die well before the end of the 2008 session.

In the meantime, vote for which school you think should close if push comes to shove.

(Cross-posted to SD Watch and SDW @ KELOLAND.com.)

Technorati Tags: South Dakota, higher education, legislature, Gov. Mike Rounds, Rep. Mark Kirkeby, DSU, NSU, BHSU, SDSU, USD, SDSM&T, University Center, Sioux Falls, Rapid City, Madison, Aberdeen, Spearfish, Springfield

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A teacher friend of mine sent the article below which I think is in a restricted (members only) area of the South Dakota Education Association’s website.

As I’ve noted earlier, it appears the South Dakota GOP and now, apparently, the national Republican Party, are specifically targeting Republican SDEA (and other teachers union) members.  As a Democratic activist, I find this alarming—and an excellent strategy that my opponents have implemented.

I hope my party can devise a way to counter the poaching—and find ways to poach some of the GOP’s core constituencies such as the business community.

Here’s the material from the SDEA website targeting Republican SDEA members:  

The Elephant Educators Forum is an on-line advocacy group dedicated toimproving American public education through increased cooperation and understanding between Republican Party Organizations and the Teacher’sUnions.  As MORE THAN ONE MILLION loyal registeredRepublicans who are also loyal active NEA & AFT professionals, weare all devoted to creating great public schools.

 

Elephant Educators genuinely respect political diversity and believe in honest debate; therefore we invite conservative, moderate and liberal NEA & AFT Republicans to find a common home here on our forum.  We understand that our engaged involvement in the political process will assist in changing the dynamics surrounding public school improvement.  Elephant Educators will help both the Republican Party and our Teacher Unions to find common ground around our shared values and vision, recognizing the vitally important role that both the Republican Party and the NEA & AFT play in achieving educational progress. 

Our primary goal is to improve the relationship between Republican Party organizations and Teacher’s Union affiliates at all levels. Certainly, our on-line forum will expose both positive and negative examples from both sides as well as carefully monitor current issues, events and controversies.  Our lively on-line postings will encourage extensive conversations between pro-public education GOP political leaders, Republican NEA & AFT activists and friends who wish to contribute to our healthy dialogue.

 

Ultimately, an essential purpose of our forum is to make both the GOP and the NEA & AFT better organizations. Elephant Educators hope that both the Republican Party and the Teacher’s Unions will become more effective partners in advancing the quality public schools agenda. As “Horace” our mascot illustrates, the Elephant Educators Forum enthusiastically welcomes you to join with us under the Big Tent. Trunks Up

Technorati Tags: SDEA, SDGOP, South Dakota, South Dakota Education Association, South Dakota Republican Party, South Dakota Democratic Party, Republican Party, Democratic Party, teachers unions, NEA, AFT, Elephant Educators Forum

[where: 57104] 

I received the following from a trusted source about the SD Republican Party’s recruitment of GOP South Dakota Education Association (SDEA) (especially Sioux Falls Education Association) members—i.e., teachers.

Teachers are considered a formidable Democratic bloc.

Considering that state Republicans talk a good talk about education but don’t want to fund it, this is pretty ballsy—and a good idea—poach from your opponent’s strength.

I hope my party is ready to respond.

SIX tickets remain.  Please let me know ASAP if you are interested.

Ann

 

> Dear SFEA Republican Members:
>
> If our Sioux Falls membership mirrors our state-wide membership, I should be
> sending this message out to close to 400 members.  We know that statewide
> (and nationally) about 40% of our members are registered Republicans.  In
> case you are not aware, there were several Republican candidates recommended
> by our SDEA legislative interview teams during the 2006 legislative races.
> These legislative interview teams are comprised of teachers asking questions
> about education.  These were the Republicans who were recommended as
> pro-education candidates in 2006:
>
> District 5-     Bob Faehn recommended for the Hourse
> District 6-     Paul Nelson recommended for the House
>                   Kristi Noem recommended for the House
> District 9-    Tom Dempster recommended for the Senate
> District 14-   Dave Knutson recommended for the Senate
> District 17-    Donna Schafer recommended for the House
> District 20-    Ed Olson recommended for the Senate
> District 25-    Greg Ammon recommended for the House
> District 30-    Jim Lintz recommended for the Senate
> District 31-    Tom Hills recommended for the House
> District 34-    Mac McCracken recommended for the Senate
>                    Ed McLaughin recommended for the House
> District 35-     Mark Kirkeby recommended for the House
>
>
> SDEA has purchased FOUR tickets for SFEA members to attend the South Dakota
> Republican Party State Dinner to be held at 6:00 pm on Saturday, Nov. 17 at
> the Ramkota.
> If you would like to go, please respond to this email.  The first four to
> respond will be receiving these tickets (valued at $60 per person!) I’ll
> call the number below and reserve a table for the four SFEA members
> attending.
>
> South Dakota Republican Party State Dinner

Technorati Tags: Republicans, Democrats, SDEA, GOP, SDGOP, South Dakota Democratic Party, South Dakota Republican Party, education, education funding, teachers unions, NEA, South Dakota Education Association

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I didn't know foreign exchange student host families got any tax break for being so nice.  Sen. Tim Johnson wants to increase the tax break.

From GovTrack.us:

Bill Action: Introduced: S. 2252: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the deduction for host... Sen. Tim Johnson [D-SD] introduced S. 2252: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to increase the deduction for host families of foreign exchange and other students from $50 per month to $200 per month, and for other purposes.

Technorati Tags: tax breaks, taxes, income tax. Sen. Tim Johnson, foreign exchange students, host families, South Dakota

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Except for Professor Ken Blanchard, who I previously explained is single-handedly fighting a war against zombies and their undead attempt to take over the country, my esteemed fellow KELOLAND bloggers have weighed in the LaptopGate at Madison High School.

Cory Heidelberger, Pat Powers, and Prof. John Schaff have made common cause against the stupidity of giving students laptops.

I join their ranks.

Why Governor Rounds and some school administrators think giving every student a laptop computer will enhance their educational experience is beyond me.

A laptop is a means, not an end.

While I have been known to carry a laptop to meetings, to depositions, and to court, it is not my constant companion.  And I think I’m a pretty wired individual and professional.  Knowing how to use the computer is important.  Knowing how to use the computer and the Internet to make my job easier and help my clients is far more important.

John has been a constant critic of the laptops in the computer program.

Cory has closely followed the suspension of 14 MHS students for doing what most of us try to do—see if we can defeat the IT Nazis and their anal retentive systems that restrict accessing things that we really need—plus, human curiosity.

And Pat today talks about the Madison School District’s IT staff falling asleep on the job and not taking five minutes to download a program that would have easily prevented the students from defeating their obviously porous offensive line of “security” measures.

Democrats and Republicans, we all agree.  Technology for the sake of technology is stupid.

Back In The Day, I took not “Keyboarding” but “Typing.”  Imagine if my typing teacher Mrs. Schiller had insisted that I always carry a Underwood manual typewriter with me because “business operates on clean, typewritten documents and not messy handwritten ones.”  Then imagine if I wrote a racy short story on my Yankton High School issued Underwood.  I guess I’d have spent some time in Principal Hensler’s office writing—not typing—“I will not abuse school district property” a hundred times.

Believe me, my 18 year old daughter, my 13 year old son, and their friends know far more about computers than you or I do—or probably their schools IT departments.

Another example.  Back in about 1992—yes, 1992—I was a volunteer for the Brookings High School yearbook.  I helped students edit, write stories, and come up with story ideas.  The school had a bunch of unnetworked Macs.  Guess who figured out how to network them?  The BHS yearbook students, not the school district.

I can only imagine the kids have gotten even savvier since then.

I’m not against schools having computers—desktop computers—and maybe even a few laptops.  I can even understand not letting kids browse pornography. 

But to think that laptops will somehow make our kids smarter is a digital myth.  Frankly, I applaud the kids in MHS for trying to stick it to The Man.  If MHS were smart, they’d put some of these kids on an IT committee to help the district stay ahead of the “threats” our already computer-literate youth can concoct. 

This is a case where the kids clearly know more than the adults.  Anyone listenting?

I didn’t think so.


(Cross-posted to KELOLAND.com)


Technorati Tags: Madison, South Dakota, laptops, education, technology, laptops in schools, IT, Gov. Mike Rounds

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This is news?  Aren’t our fine state universities always starting or in the middle of some fundraising campaign?  Isn’t that why we went to college, to write checks to it after we graduate?

Isn’t the modern university a perpetual fundraising machine?

But I digress. 

From KELOLAND:

• Read: SDSU Announces Fundraising Campaign 
  

This is really not that surprising.

From KELOLAND:

… Mark Lee, the executive dean of the University Center (formerly USDSU), told the Board of Regents they served nearly 3,300 students over the summer,fall and spring terms during the past year.  Lee reported an eleven percent increase in total credit hours delivered during the fall semester and a headcount increase of about three percent over last fall… .

Yes, it is time to admit what is actually true—there is a seventh state university in Sioux Falls—the real university in Sioux Falls. I know that scares the crap out of the other regents schools. But it makes sense.

Where are the jobs? Where are the opportunities?

The Sioux Falls metro area.

I say we get the charade over with, build dormitories, recruit athletes, build a concert hall, and make it the University of South Dakota/Sioux Falls. I even have a name—the USDSF Fightin’ Pheasants. It’s another state animal we cherish and have a lot of, sort of like Coyotes and Jackrabbits.

Sorry if that seems like I’m being a Sioux Falls “bully.” But why shouldn’t the state’s largest—and most dynamic—city have a real state university? Put the schools where the students are. And the students are in Sioux Falls and are going to continue to be in Sioux Falls for the foreseeable future.

Above: Sure, formalizing the University Center as a “real” state university would be a political football.  But just think: we could have real football as well as USDSF, the home of the Fightin’ Pheasants!  Politicians of South Dakota!  This is no time to punt such a great idea whose time has obviously come. 

This is a little late but I thought it merited mention.

State Sen. Scott Heidepriem (D-Sioux Falls), the Senate Minority Leader, spoke June 15, 2007 at the Minnehaha County Democratic Forum in Sioux Falls. I thought Steve Kielman’s minutes did a nice job reflecting Scott’s message about education funding.

With Steve’s permission, here is an excerpt from the meeting minutes. The photo of Scott is from long-time member Mary Patterson.

Senator Heidepriem began with an introduction of four of his staff. He then moved to a discussion about the need to invest on the future of South Dakota Education. He stated that in the past years if you talked to Legislators about education funding they would tell you that they would like to help but they didn’t have the money. At that time it was true. That is no longer true today with the money we have in the Educational Enhancement Fund. This fund was established to enhance education and it is not being done.

We need to use it for the purpose it was intended or give it back to the people. K-12 education is the only part of our government that is being restrained. Education spending can be increased 3% or the rate of inflation whichever is less. The state’s government growth in spending was 6.7%.

South Dakota was last in teacher’s salaries and education funding and 1^st in prison growth in the nation. We need to use new strategies on the next session. We need to get legislators to fund education first or at least early in the session, and not let it be the last item at the end of the session.

This just in from the ACLU:

——-

WINNER, SD - The Winner/Ideal Native American community and the Winner School District announced today that an agreement has been reached to settle a class action lawsuit brought on behalf of Native American students attending Winner schools.

“This groundbreaking settlement agreement is a major step toward ensuring that our children have the best educational opportunities possible,” said Rodney Bordeaux, President of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe.

Catherine Kim, one of the attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union representing the Native American families in this case, Antoine et al v. Winner School District, said, “Across the nation, education for Native American youth is in crisis. In Winner School District, Native American students drop out of school, transfer to other districts, or are sent to detention facilities at rates far higher than white students. We are pleased that the Winner School District has agreed to take proactive steps to support Native American students. It is our hope that the district can serve as a model for other communities serving minority students.”

Rocky Blare, president of the Winner School Board, stated “Our Board spent two days in Sioux Falls, away from our families and jobs, in order to address the concerns that had been raised. Our goal was to act in the best way possible for all children of this district and move on. Ongoing litigation for years would be detrimental to our main goal of educating kids. With this settlement, we have welcomed the opportunity to provide visibility into our disciplinary policies and our cultural diversity.”

The settlement arose out of a lawsuit filed in March 2006 by ten Native American families with children in the Winner schools. The court certified the suit as a class action on behalf of all Native American students in the Winner Middle and High Schools and their families. The lawsuit claimed that the schools discriminated against Native American students in disciplining them, were hostile toward Native American families, and took statements from students involved in disciplinary matters that were later used to prosecute them in juvenile and criminal courts. The school district denied any wrongdoing, but agreed to enter into settlement discussions, mediated by U.S. Magistrate Judge John E. Simko, so as to avoid time-consuming and expensive litigation.

Under the settlement agreement reached by the parties, the district will enact policies and practices to ensure that the rights of Native American students are not violated and to enrich the educational experience of all students. Among the key terms of the settlement are the following:

• School officials will not require students to write statements that can be used to prosecute them in juvenile or criminal court;
• The district will hire a full-time ombudsperson, nominated by the collective Native American community, to serve as a liaison between Native American families and school officials, especially on disciplinary issues;
• An educational expert will work with school officials and Native American families to set benchmarks on improving Native American graduation rates, reducing levels of suspension and school-based arrests, and improving the overall climate for Native American students, among other goals; the expert will also conduct periodic on-site visits to ensure compliance with the agreement and monitor progress toward the goals;
• A committee of Native American parents and school officials will review all disciplinary incidents every quarter for racial disparities and, if disparities are found and cannot be explained, recommend policy changes to reduce such disparities;
• The Interwest Equity Assistance Center, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, will provide trainings for Winner students on conflict resolution and trainings for teachers on unconscious racial bias and educational equity;
• The schools will include Native American themes in the mainstream curriculum, in-school activities, and after-school activities. Additionally, the district will offer Native American Culture, History and Language class every year in the high school, taught by a Native American instructor.

Participants in the mediation included Native American families named in the class action lawsuit, members of the Winner School Board, the superintendent, and two school principals. The families were represented by the national ACLU and the ACLU of the Dakotas, and Dana L. Hanna, an attorney based in Rapid City. Additionally, the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Council and the Rosebud Sioux Tribal Education Department provided assistance and facilitation. The Winner School District was represented by Gunderson, Palmer, Goodsell & Nelson, LLP, in Rapid City.

The settlement agreement will remain in effect until the district substantially complies with its terms for four consecutive years. The federal district court will have jurisdiction over the agreement during this period. The parties will be submitting a proposed consent decree to finalize the settlement, and the court will next consider any objections and decide whether to approve it.