Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders Unveils Education Plan: Hike Teacher Pay, Wreck Public Schools
Win ... win?
Fresh off her incomprehensible culture wars rant about the State of the Union Tuesday night, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced a big new policy plan for education Wednesday, featuring a big increase in teachers' starting pay and a full-on voucher program that would radically shift taxpayer dollars from public education to private and charter schools, just like rightwing opponents have wanted for decades. But for the teachers left in the gutted public schools, the pay raise would probably help some.
Here are the basic elements of Sanders's plan to reform/dismantle schools:
- A universal school voucher plan, phased in over three years, that would give parents public funds to use at private schools, charters, or even for homeschooling.
- Repeal of a "Teacher Fair Dismissal Act" that offered very minimal job protections to teachers
- Restrictions on how schools will be allowed to discuss race and gender
- $50,000 minimum pay for teachers
- Up to $10,000 in merit pay
- Forgiveness of student loans for teachers who take jobs in "high need" areas
- "Streamlined early childhood education programs," which we can't find any details on. Aerodynamic toddlers?
- Sending 120 reading coaches to schools that need reading improvement
- $500 in tutoring grants for K-3 students who don't meet literacy benchmarks
- "Dual diploma" program in high schools, to encourage students who prefer entering the workforce after high school instead of college
There's actually some good stuff in that plan, as long as you ignore the toxic steaming shitwad at its core. No, we mean the voucher policy, not Sanders.
At the presser announcing the plan, Sanders said that making sure all children get a quality education is "the civil rights issue of our day, " meaning that parents should be able to use public funding to get their kids out of public education and let them learn evolution instead of Gender Indoctrination, obviously.
“The longer we wait to reform our failing schools, the more future generations we’re condemning to a lifetime of poverty,” she said. “I promised to be the education governor and I’m proud to deliver on that promise only a month into my term.”
It's the classic rightwing approach to governing: If there are problems with a government program (or if you can claim there are), the solution is to blow it up and give taxpayer dollars to private companies, which will just naturally use the money more wisely until they get caught defrauding the grant program. Then you cut the public funding and tell people who needed the service that government never fixes anything, so people should pay for mail service or education or healthcare themselves and not expect Mama Government to come and solve all their problems.
Sanders also announced that once the program is rolled out as actual legislation in a week or so, it will include new limits on how schools will be allowed to teach about race and gender, because what part of "Arkansas" did you not hear? Sanders said she wants schools to not teach children "what to think, but how to think," which clearly means how to think only about race and gender in ways the state approves of. Sanders had already issued an executive order banning the teaching of "critical race theory," but there's always the danger that some white child might read a book about Wilma Rudolph and get the impression that segregation is bad. Just another reason to spend public money on private church schools that got their start as literal "segregation academies" as part of the campaign of "massive resistance" to the Brown v. Board of Education ruling.
Fortunately, kids won't learn about that history anymore, because it's woke indoctrination.
The real mystery meat in the plan's school lunch shit sandwich will be the new "Education Freedom Accounts" that will
provide state funding for parents to enroll their children in public, private, parochial schools or homeschool, Sanders said. The program will be rolled out to “at-risk” families first and be available to all families within three years.
State Rep. Brian Evans, chair of the state's House Education Committee and who's been involved in drafting the legislation, said he thinks the full GOP caucus will eventually support the bill, even if some foolishly cling to the obsolete notion that public schools are important to their communities.
“I think there are some Republican members on both ends of the General Assembly that think about their communities back home. What are the cornerstones of those communities? In many instances, it’s the public school system,” Evans said.
“I think they’ll get over the line, but right now they’re just a little bit hesitant until they see the exact particulars of the bill just to make sure that the benefit and the gain is going to outweigh any potential risks to their communities.”
He may simply need to show some Libs of TikTok videos of teachers with purple hair to scare them, and maybe remind them that "community" has the same root as "COMMUNIST."
The Arkansas Advocate explains that the Freedom From Those People Accounts would, as Sanders describes them, amount to about 90 percent of the per-student funding that would ordinarily go to public education, or about $7,350 this school year. It would also provide funding for transportation and would "remove the caps on the number of charter schools or school choice transfers."
State Sen. Breanne Davis (R) took pains to make clear that this is the most liberty-est reallocation of public funds to private schools possible, because freedom, liberty, individualism (on the public dime), and also Luntzing It Up:
We call it a parent empowerment program because honestly when you say vouchers or school choice, that’s not really accurate because schools aren’t choosing. [...] It’s parents and families choosing a school that meets their kids’ educational needs.
We have to fault the Advocate just a teensy bit for not demanding Davis provide an example of anyone, anywhere, who thinks "school choice" involves a school making a choice, while also failing to note that charter schools and privates absolutely are doing the choosing, and do not in fact have to accept your kid's dumb ass — or your kid's disabled ass, or wrong religion ass, for that matter. Also, it's not a democracy, it's a REPUBLIC.
House Minority Leader Tippi McCullough (D) said that Democrats would oppose any "omnibus" bill that paired the private education vouchers with increased teacher pay and other funding to help kids in need of extra support, noting that cramming too many things in one bill might violate the state constitution. Plus, there's that school-wrecking elephant in the room.
“Even if there are some things that we would like to support, or could support, [we] just can’t do it because the voucher part of it’s going to be a systematic dismantling of the public school system in Arkansas,” she said.
The Advocate notes that in previous legislative sessions, a "coalition of Democrats and Republicans from mostly rural areas have blocked several voucher bills in committee," and clearly that's what McCullough is hoping can happen again if the vouchers are considered separately from the good stuff, like the pay increases. Arkansas currently has the fourth-lowest minimum teacher pay in the US, at just $36,000 per year, and raising it to Sanders's proposed $50,000 would put the state in the top five in the nation. That would be pretty good, as long as the price isn't getting rid of public education.
Also too, the Advocate notes that while Sanders didn't mention it in her presser, her proposal would repeal the "Teacher Fair Dismissal Act," which requires schools to notify teachers by May 1 each year whether their school districts plan to rehire them for the coming school year.
If teachers are dismissed, they are entitled to a written statement of the reasons why their contract is not being renewed, and they have an opportunity to appeal their termination to the school board.
Well dang, that sounds like it could slow the process of firing teachers because they were seen going into a movie theater showing Everything Everywhere All At Once or marching in a Pride parade two cities away.
[Arkansas Advocate / 40/29 News]
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BREAKING: Kari Lake Still Not Governor
She knows it. But she's got a grift to flog, so ... here we are again.
It is almost February of 2023, and yet the 2022 gubernatorial election rages on in Arizona. This weekend, Republican Kari Lake hosted a rally for the faithful at which she took a call from Donald Trump on stage. That should help boost her profile, not to mention her fundraising for an endless stream of legal challenges after a narrow loss to now-Governor Katie Hobbs.
The failed candidate's imaginary government in exile is being propped up by Steve Bannon, who knows a good grift when he sees one. Lake and Pillow Puffer Mike Lindell recently visited the putrefying podcaster to complain that Republican National Committee Chair Ronna Romney McDaniel won't meet with her.
“You shouldn’t have to reach out to Ronna McDaniel. You’re the frickin’ governor of Arizona. You just won in an incredibly tough race because you stood for policies that MAGA stands for. She should be blowing your phone up every day,” Bannon blustered.
Just look at these bloody idiots marching for their has-been never-was hero.
\u201cPeople at the Kari Lake rally tonight. One guy gives the credit to Steve Bannon: \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for Real America\u2019s Voice, we wouldn\u2019t be here right now.\u201d\u201d— Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@Ron Filipkowski \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6) 1675040378
Buoyed by the Bannon toxic filth firehose, Lake has filed one garbage lawsuit after another in her search for "one judge that loves the Constitution and loves this country." She even managed to get her lawyers, including Alan Dershowitz, sanctioned by a federal judge for spamming the court with a sack of crap that "no reasonable attorney" would have filed. And she's not done yet, because, by God, this woman is going to get to the statehouse if she has to burn down the entirety of Arizona's body politic to do it!
And she's attracting help — errrr, make that "help" — from some unlikely quarters. Meet Ryan Heath, an anti-vax activist who likens his anti-mask protests to Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott. Now don't get too attached because (Spoiler Alert!) we ain't keeping this mangy puppy longer than it takes to point and laugh in this blog post.
Our Ryan graduated from law school in 2020, so he knew he was just the guy to bring it home for "Governor" Lake. So on January 12, Heath marched into Arizona's Supreme Court and filed a petition for writ of mandamus on his own behalf against the Honorable Peter A. Thompson. That's right — he sued the trial judge.
Friends, when I tell you this case is idiotic ...
Heath wasn't a party to Lake's case, in which she sued then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs demanding that the judge toss out Maricopa County's vote results and decertify the November 2022 election. Lake actually got her day in court, during a two-day trial, after which her claims were dismissed. She appealed, but the appeal has not been fast tracked so the case should be decided sometime in the middle of Gov. Hobbs's first term. Nevertheless, Heath is sure that the loss was only because Lake's lawyers failed to "live up to the ethical duties of care to research the law and disclose to the tribunal controlling authority.” He's certain that this case he dug up from 1997 means that the trial court just had to order a new election, and he's threatening to get the Maricopa County defendants' lawyers disbarred for saying, "Uh, no, kid, that's not how any of this goes."
He's also written this, the greatest footnote of all time, to explain why it isn't his fault that he didn't sue two years ago when the exact same election procedures were used in the 2020 election:
Petitioner is uniquely situated to bring this action — given that Petitioner graduated from law school in 2020 and was not licensed to practice law until November of 2020. Thus, even though Maricopa County apparently employed the same illegal process as described herein during the 2020 election cycle, this election cycle is the first opportunity Petitioner has ever had to challenge this process and, therefore, laches should not bar this Special Action.
I'm not sure how much law school helped this dude, TBQH.
Not for nothing, but the only other election suit this numpty filed got dismissed because he couldn't figure out how to serve Hobbs. And this case also flamed out on Friday when the Supreme Court dismissed it without a hearing, although they did offer the young whippersnapper a participation trophy of sorts, allowing him to file an amicus brief in Lake's appeal. The appellate panel consisted of four Republican appointees, including three installed on the bench by Hobbs's Republican predecessor Doug Ducey — which just goes to show you the depths these Deep State RINOs will go to keep a truth teller like Kari Lake down.
In summary and in conclusion, Arizona, why are you like this? Vote Gallego!
[Heath v. Thompson via Democracy Docket / Lake v. Hobbs, via Democracy Docket]
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Congressional Florida Man Gives Out Dummy Grenades To Fellow Republican Dummies
Okay cool.
Rep. Cory Mills (R-Florida), one of the fun new Trump-endorsed members of Congress who actually won in the midterms, did his best to make a memorable impression on his new colleagues by handing out grenades (the kind fired by a grenade launcher, not the kind you throw) to other members of Congress, along with a note saying that the grenades were products of the Sunshine and Bath Salts State. It was just his way of saying how pleased he was to be on the House Armed Services Committee, you see.
Nothing to fear, kids; the letter noted that the grenades were inert, much like Kevin McCarthy's future. (Haha, we added that.) You know, just in case the GOP elephant logo printed on the grenades didn't make that clear.
\u201cRep @CoryMillsFL is passing out grenades to fellow House members\u201d— Morgan Phillips (@Morgan Phillips) 1674750903
The cheerful letter that accompanied the cheerful projectile read
Welcoming you to a mission-oriented 118th Congress. I am eager to get to work for the American people, and I look forward to working with you to deliver on this commitment. I am honored to be a part of the Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees
In that spirit, it is my pleasure to give you a 40mm grenade, made for a MK19 grenade launcher. These are manufactured in the Sunshine State and first developed in the Vietnam War.
Let's come together and get to work on behalf of our constituents. [...]
* These Florida manufactured grenades are inert.
Honestly, nothing says "looking forward to working together" like simulated explosive ordnance like the kind used by Linda Hamilton in Terminator 2: Judgement Day to temporarily blow big holes in the liquid-metal T-1000 death robot.
Mills spokesperson Juan Ayala told the Washington Post that "Per the letter," the whimsical keepsake grenades "are inert, and were cleared through all security metrics."
The fussbudgets at the Post also note that after Republicans took control of the House earlier this month they removed the metal detectors that had been installed following the January 6 insurrection.
The Post also points out the cheerful irony that Mills came to Congress by defeating January 6 Select Committee member Stephanie Murphy, and gosh how things change, don't they?
Mills, the story adds,
is among several new House members who deny that President Biden legitimately won the 2020 presidential election. A veteran and defense contractor, Mills also braggedin his campaign that he “sold tear gas used on Black Lives Matter protesters.”
Well that might have made for a fun hi-howdy-do gift for his new colleagues, too!
No one should read anything into the fun gift, because while many Republicans love paramilitary fantasies, it would take a herculean effort to suggest that there's anything at all worrisome about handing out pretend ammunition to other insurrection-curious Republicans in Congress, or to suggest it brings to mind Marjorie Taylor Greene's wistful reflections that if she'd been in charge on January 6, the insurrectionists would have been armed and would have won.
God, it's just a little inert grenade. We should get a better sense of humor! Cory Mills knows all about humor! When Kevin McCarthy finally got enough votes to become House speaker, Mills tweeted a funny joke saying, "Finally, one less gavel in the Pelosi house for Paul to fight with in his underwear."
That is very amusing, because old men having their heads fractured by a hammer really is humorous if it's not you and you consider violence against your enemies' families very witty. (The officer bodycam footage of Pelosi being attacked right in front of them was released today; it will not make a single conspiracy theorist change their minds, but that is for a different post.)
Welcome to Congress, you amoral soulless ghoul. May you die friendless and alone, of natural causes, long after everyone has forgotten you.
[HuffPo / WaPo / Image: Wonkette photoshoop using Facebook photo by Cory Mills]
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House GOP Would Like To Outlaw Lower Gas Prices When Joe Biden Is President, Please
Because 'national security' of course, yeah sure.
Republicans in the House of Representatives are still plenty pissed off that there was no "red wave" in last fall's midterms, so they're introducing a bill to make sure that future presidents won't be able to help Americans the next time gasoline prices spike. If only gas prices had stayed higher, maybe the election would have brought more MAGA crazies into Congress, darn it!
As Politico explainers, the bill, HR 21, would prohibit releases of oil from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve unless the government also allows oil and gas companies to increase production on federal land by the same amount as any drawdown. It's basically a neener-neener messaging bill meant to scold Joe Biden for drawing oil from the oil reserves to offset last year's increased prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, because what Biden shoulda done was make industry pump more oil on federal land instead. Like, even if that took a lot longer to bring down prices, which sure would have helped out Republicans, if not consumers.
This dumb thing won't have a chance in the Senate, and President Biden has already announced he plans to veto it. But it does at least give Republicans a chance to whine that the drawdowns from the reserve have hurt national security somehow, even though presidents and even Congress have in the past used the reserves to cool down fuel prices. The oil reserve was established in the '70s following the Arab Oil Embargo, when cars like my mother's 1973 Chevy, Vlad the Impala, suddenly became a terrible idea. You want a threat to national security? That thing can't be driven near Naval Air Stations lest F/A-18 Super Hornet pilots attempt a carrier landing upon its capacious hood.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) insisted that the bill is needed because tight world oil supplies due to Russia's invading Ukraine just wasn't the right kind of emergency, you see, and shame on Biden for not drill-baby-drilling more oil out of the ground and burning it. Said Kramer, "You don’t need an emergency reserve to bail you out of high energy prices. You just need to use the Bakken or Permian Basin." Especially since an increase in production would have left gas prices higher closer to the election. Shame on Biden for actually helping Americans pay less for gasoline.
Moar: Hey! Know What Ends When We All Have Electric Nerd Cars? Bitching About Gas Prices!
This is where we remind you again that one of the best things about the transition to renewable energy and widespread EV adoption — in addition to keeping the planet livable for large mammals like wildebeest and Kevin Cramer — is that we'll finally be rid of political ads about gas prices, the stupidest campaign issue ever because presidents have little control over them, apart from easing them a bit by releasing oil from the reserves. Yes, presidents from both parties have done it, too.
Biden’s releases last year — including a massive release just before the election — totaled more than 200 million barrels of oil from the reserve, a network of underground salt caverns that now holds 372 million barrels. That’s down from 638 million barrels when Biden took office and the reserve’s lowest level since 1983. [Say, who was president then? We bet it was Obama. — Dok]
The Treasury Department has estimated that the Biden administration’s releases reduced gasoline prices by up to 40 cents per gallon. The national average price was $3.446 a gallon Tuesday, down from an all-time high of $5.016 in June.
Not that any of that stopped Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Georgia) from falsely claiming that Biden had drawn down the reserves last year "because of the war on fossil fuels this administration declared when they first went into office. [...] He is jeopardizing our energy security, which jeopardizes our national security."
You know what really would have demonstrated a war on fossil fuels, jackass? Letting gas prices go so high that people would really think twice before driving anywhere. But that would have put a bunch of planet-wrecking goobers in charge of Congress, so instead Biden's going with incentives that will speed decarbonization instead.
Not that Democrats are too worried about the GOP call for higher gas prices, since as Politico notes, it's an opportunity
to remind the public that gasoline prices have fallen on their watch.
The administration has “used [the SPR] very reasonably for exactly the situation it should be used — for an emergency situation that is brought on by worldwide factors, whether it’s a war in the Middle East or a war in Ukraine,” said Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, in an interview.
Democrats also point out that the GOP insistence on increasing production on federal land is some bullshit too, since only about 10 percent of national fossil fuel production is on federal leases anyway.
In any case, the administration is already getting started on refilling the reserves, which we suppose some bright Republican will declare is proof that Biden doesn't think climate change is real either, because if we could just use solar and wind, why would he even want oil reserves before the transition happens, huh?
And then the MAGAchuds will install gas stoves in the back of their diesel 4X4's and post photos to Twitter to own the libs, the end.
[Politico]
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