Chance of New Charter School Legislation in WA?

[StealthRabbit]

Originally Posted by Seacove

StealthRabbit, ... I don't try to attack teachers or unions. You want to rip a state apart, move to Wisconsin. ... If the job pool deteriorates, the companies will leave. No companies = no jobs = no tax revenue. The elderly might be voting against schools because they just want their property taxes to be cheaper but that does not create a competitive job pool.

So far, Western Washington is doing okay ...

I don't think I have said anything about our PS teachers (since I am (was) one, as well as all my siblings and parents / grandparents). BTW: I spend lots of time in WI too, heading there in 2 weeks (but not to PROTEST gov controlling spending )

WA GOV has done an adequate job of chasing businesses away, don't need to blame the WA schools for that. Due to competitively unfair regs, I have let all my employees go (I am also a business owner), and will never create another job in WA state. I will utilize employees and operations in more business (and school) friendly locations.

Originally Posted by docwatson

...
While I disagree with StealthRabbit's characterization of systemic failure and the need to outsource everything, even SR hasn't "demonized" teachers yet or even called for spending cuts. ....
... I've seen people fight for years to convince public school bureaucracies that students need more than 50 minutes at a time in science lab or that art, music and physical education are worth teaching. I've been in public schools where 8th grade students couldn't use a ruler well enough to take woodshop. Etc. Etc. So the antagonism to charters seems to me misplaced.

OK, I represent employers who currently ask for 'educated' WA HS grads. Reading a tape measure, simple +/- math, answering a phone correctly, and being able to SPELL well enough to leave a note for the boss are some of the employer's biggest complaints. To think how terribly expensive WA State makes it to hire someone, it would be nice if you got an EMPLOYEE rather than an 18 yr old day-care kid (I used to have to hire 20 workers / day on my fruit farm - HORRORS Thank goodness for immigrant and Homeschool kids who could count!, and work...)

Originally Posted by Seacove

... What's important in my view is to not take away from public schools in any way in order to support them.

me too thus while home schooling in WA our ENTIRE family invested thousands of hours volunteering in Public schools for 10 yrs (WHILE PAYING HUGE school taxes, and not using services). It was a good experience for our kids to see how rough MANY kids had it by never even having parents that would / could read to them. BTW: each of my homeschooled kids also had to spend 10hrs / week volunteering with those 'stingy seniors' who were/are also paying the way for our inept WA EDU system. We did that as a family too, so... ~ 20 hrs / wk in volunteering + I worked nights at a factory so I could be home during the day to VOLUNTEER for 15 yrs at pathetic WA public Schools (I volunteered 5 more yrs than my kids, while they were pre-school age). ...writing those property tax checks did / does fry me.

Our crummy schools are not for lack of money. This is embarrassing (MOST of those countries from #90 to #98 far exceed USA academic test schools) PLUS our(USA) GDP is HIGH, HIGH, HIGH compared to most countries... so sad

Spending / pupil vs. % of GDP

# 51 United States: 22.4 %GDP
...
# 90 Australia: 13.9
# 91 Mexico: 13.8
# 92 Belgium: 13.5

# 93 Singapore: 13.3 %GDP

# 94 Bahrain: 13.2
# 95 Thailand: 12.8
# 96 Brazil: 12.6
# 97 Philippines: 12.5
= 98 Benin: 12.1
= 98 China: 12.1

[Seacove]

StealthRabbit, I'm not going to address your claims of unending volunteer work because there is no way to verify it. My impression is you are one of those "stingy seniors" but that is purely a guess on my part. Sounds like Wisconsin is right up your alley and that's great that there's a place for you. If you are retired and have minimal income, income tax is not a factor, so your motivations will be to reduce property taxes. If your ideal employee is/was kids and immigrants to pick produce in Central Washington/Oregon, I'm not sure how that has much to do with Charter schools in the Seattle Metro.

Your comparisons of US spend as compared to the rest of world are not unlike health care. We spend more and get less than anywhere. There are a lot of reasons for that but that's another discussion.