I agree with Ed(WOW!) that Charter teachers should not be in the same Union. A true conflict for Local 420. But Unions are dying, sad but true. So it is a business decision, they need new members to make up for losses of years past. However to say that Career Construction is getting it right is more than a stretch. 60% of students scored below avg. in mathematics on the MAP. I do believe math is the core competency in construction.

Big D can’t have it both ways. Teachers should not belong to a union, yet the students are not doing well before the union arrived. The D must stand for dumb since unions are not bad for schools. In most cases the unions are the advocates for the changes necessary to improve school performance.

All working people should belong to Unions! My point is that 420 should not represent teachers in Charter schools.Pay f@$%king attention! I do believe I said it is a “conflict of interest”. Also I said it was a “business decision” to make up for teachers who have moved on retirement, different dist., etc. The last point that went over your big RETARDED head was that they are not doing what their mission states(Union or not). Preparing Highschoolers for Construction trades, with 60% of students scoring below average in math. The most important element in construction!

Big R, when will they be “the advocates for changes necessary to improve school performance” in St. Louis?

I just love it when somebody (particularly somebody like Ed Martin) choses to bring to our attention how something impacts African Americans. He must truly believe in Darwin’s theory of the White Man’s Burden. I am so glad that he is there to look over us black folks. He is truly our friend.

How can anyone believe that an institution that is operated by union afliated and run organizations believe that union presense was inevitable. If the current model is working, then let the people running the program make the changes they feel are conducive to serving all of their respective masters as long as it works.

Ed should spend more time spending figuring out how to spend more taxpayer dollars with his GITMO bay style of governance. Can you spell HYPOCRIT.

Charter schools were created to loot the public school system and break the back of the union, carrying on a GOP agenda. 2000 people lost there jobs when the Mayor and his 4 non-profits took over the system several years ago. The union 420 made the mistake of not fighting back, it may never recover from such a poor choice. These charter schools do need a union, it will be a needed first step in rebuilding public education. 420 under aggressive leadership might be the best choice available to tie the schools back together. It is certainly worth a major discussion and if Ed Martin is against it, I am for it.
Don De Vivo

I do not know the answers—these are not rhetorical questions.

How is the record of this school regarding who is accepted, who is rejected, and what percentage of those accepted do not stay long?

The position that any work place should not join any union it chooses is fraganacle bull!

I don’t see a conflict of interest either. Show it to me please.

The union is not responsible for the dismantlement of the city schools.

Local 420 advocated for changes that impact education everytime they asked for better working conditions for their members.

All of the things that the district won’t do to support the teachers and other school related personel, are the things that would translate into an environment more conducive to learning.

A school started by “general contractors” that shouldn’t allow the employees to unionize? Aren’t these general contractors unionized?

Mr. Martin said lots of dumb things but one of them was that unionizing would create “dysfunction” between the staff and administration. If the employees feel the need to unionize, might there be some kind of “dysfunction” already.

420 is charged with protecting EMPLOYEE RIGHTS. In that capacity it also is in the position of strengthening the opportunities for the students, (sometimes directly, sometimes indirectly). For example, advocating for smaller class sizes would positively and directly affect both employees and students. Advocating for increased safety officers positively and directly affects students and employees. Advocating for fair wages is obviously directly beneficial to employees, but it also encourages “better teachers” to consider coming to the SLPS which also benefits the students. These are just a few of the things 420 has advocated for (not always very successfully, but I would hate to think where we would be without union representation).

I guess the point is you cannot divorce the rights and working conditions of the teachers and other employees from the quality of education. The students and staff are directly bound to each other through the working conditions. There are many, many examples of this.

(Don De Vivo is absolutely right that 420 leadership missed the chance to fight back several years ago by letting deadlines pass and not rallying the members when they were at their strongest)

What a waste of four minutes! You would think that Martin would provide some actual evidence for his claims; instead, all he does is say, “unions are responsible for all of the SLPS problems” without backing up any of his claims. This is a waste of time because the only reason you would agree with Martin is if you already think that teachers unions are bad; if you don’t already think that, he gives you no reason to change your mind.

BTW, how many times do you have to edit the film just to get Martin to almost make complete sentences?

Tax dollars used in funding Charter schools are divereted from SLPS. Affecting funding, staffing, salaries, and school closings. Charter schools don’t have to meet the same standards as SLPS. Also Charters are funded at a higher level per student than SLPS, by over 700 dollars. Just a few examples of conflict.

Why can’t parents make choices for their kids. There has got to be a way to serve both masters (choice and public schools). While this turf battle continues it our kids that suffer and fail. The strange thing is that if most parents had a choice to send their kids to whatever school that would best prepare their children for the future, public schools would probably fall near the bottom of that list. While opinions rule the day, our children continue to suffer. Would somebody please stop the craziness and let’s get our children educated. We can have a systems that supports both public schools and choice if the socalled leaders want to get their heads out of their collective asses, we can make this happen. We have to make this happen.

The simple fact of the matter is Tax payers can not support “separate but equal” school districts. Brown v Board of Education. One of the districts will be doomed as they were for Blacks prior to 1954. Public education was the foundation for success in America. Now it is a piggy bank, like Social Security. Only Republicans believe in moving public dollars to private parties for public services. Why because a group of select individuals will gain financially(Haliburton, Fee offices,Red Light Cameras). It is our right as Tax payers and Americans that Public education become a viable option for parents and children, as it once was.

My life is so pathetic that here I am on memorial day, googling for information about Milwaukee and their vouchers and charters—they have almost 20 years of stuff.

The wikipedia gives kind of an overview—they have a high dropout rate and low test scores. A recurring theme is that it is wise to do something Dr. Bourisaw asked the state to do in the case of TexasCan—look before you leap. Not all of these innovative schemes are alike.

Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) is the largest school district in the state of Wisconsin. As of 2006, it has an enrollment of 97,762 students and employs 6,100 full-time and substitute teachers in 223 schools. The Milwaukee Public Schools system is the 28th largest in the United States. A publicly elected School Board provides direction and oversight, with a Superintendent heading the organization’s administration. The district also owns WYMS-FM (88.9), which airs an eclectic selection of music and is programmed by a local non-profit group via an LMA.

In addition to its public schools, Milwaukee is home to a large number of parochial schools, including over two dozen private high schools and hundreds of private middle and elementary schools. It currently has a budget of $1B and a drop out rate in the top top 5 of America.

The district has a reputation for poor student performance on standardized tests, and efforts have been underway for years to reform the school system. School District officials note declining funding as a catalyst to problems in the district.[1]

In 1990, Milwaukee became the first community in the United States to adopt a school voucher program. The program enables students to receive public funding to study at parochial and other private schools free of cost. The 2006-2007 school year will mark the first time that more than $100 million will be paid in vouchers, as twenty-six percent of Milwaukee students will receive public funding to attend schools outside the MPS system.[2] If the voucher program alone were considered a school district, it would mark the sixth-largest district in Wisconsin.

Wisconsin policy research institute adds this—after a decade and a half of all these choices–only 10 percent of the parents try real hard to choose.

10 percent of parents consciously choose a school for their child, do so from at least two options, and consider academic/performance criteria in the process. Under the circumstances—with roughly 90 percent of parents either not choosing at all, or choosing but not applying particularly rigorous criteria—it seems unlikely that MPS schools are feeling the pressure of a genuine educational marketplace as a result of public school choice. Their performance certainly suggests not.

stlvoice Says:
May 25th, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Why can’t parents make choices for their kids. There has got to be a way to serve both masters (choice and public schools).

St. Louis makes better beer than Milwaukee–so…ya never know.

with roughly 90 percent of parents either not choosing at all, or choosing but not applying particularly rigorous criteria—it seems unlikely that Milwaukee schools are feeling the pressure of a genuine educational marketplace as a result of public school choice. Their performance certainly suggests not.